What is the DCFP?

Founded in 2010, the aim of The Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project is to restore our forests to a healthier, more resilient condition through balanced, science-driven restoration projects.
ABOUT US

We Love Our Forest

The members of the Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project agree on the fact that the forest means different things to each of us and we must be good stewards of the forest if we want it to be good to us, today and for future generations.

We understand that unless we act now, the lifestyle and special places we all treasure in our local forests are at risk.
WHO ARE WE?

Forest Collaboration

We are volunteer community members representing a wide set of views and values.

Our group is one of many landscape restoration demonstration projects in the nation established by Congress to encourage collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes.

Our Collaborative includes experts on:

Forests, watersheds, wildlife, fire safety, timber, natural resource policy, recreation and tourism, local government, and conservation.

We are:

Environmentalists, businesspeople, professional foresters, research scientists, loggers, outdoors lovers, private landowners, elected officials, tribal members, recreationists, and government policymakers.
Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project

Our History

Forest Problem

Before 2010
Prior to the DCFP, environmentalists and the logging community did not see eye to eye on how to restore our forests and these groups ended up in court fighting about how restoration should look while our forests continued to grow out of control, with no restoration work happening.

Congress Fund

2010
Congress offered to fund collaboration groups to bring different user groups together to make balanced, science-driven decisions about restoration projects in our region, and the DCFP was created, and it was chosen to be one of the first 10 collaboration groups in 2010.

Collaborative Restoration

Since then, in partnership with the Deschutes National Forest, DCFP has achieved great success in collaboratively restoring healthier forests and improving the public’s awareness and engagement in the management of these important public lands in Central Oregon.

Chief's Honor Award

November 2017

In November  2017, The West Bend Project received the 2017 Forest Service’s Chief’s Honor Award, the highest award given by the Forest Service.

“The Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project team hosted meetings, field trips, presentations and conducted a vast awareness campaign to get buy-in for this project while the employees of the Deschutes National Forest put in literally thousands of hours planning, and now, implementation. This is a true demonstration of how well we can do when we build community support for restoration and how that allows us to increase the pace and scale of restoration in the future.”

- Kevin Larkin, District Ranger on the Bend-Fort Rock District of the Deschutes National Forest

Renewed Commitment

2020

In 2020, the DCFP proposed and was awarded an extension of an additional 5 years for participation in Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program in order to:

  1. Complete outstanding treatments and accomplish holistic landscape restoration objectives originally committed to in our National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents

  2. Uphold and leverage CFLRP funding and federal appropriations invested in the DCFP landscape to date

  3. Maintain relationships and trust with the diverse DCFP Collaborative membership that have invested 10 years in the CFLRP effort

  4. Sustain social license with our communities and partners

We Can Only Get This Work Done Together

What We Do

Forest Restoration Can't Wait

Diverse People, Common Goals

Stay Informed!

Advocates For Forest Restoration

Here's what some of our Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project Steering Committee members have to say about why they invest so much time in this project:
One of the greatest dividends of this willingness to collaborate is the development of understanding and respectful relationships between people that were previously at tensioned odds. And it is the development of these important relationships that pay back again and again with more forest stewardship accomplishments.
Bill Anthony
Retired District Ranger, Sisters District, U.S. Forest Service
In this day of Internet and social media, people only have to listen to, interact with, and be validated by those of the same perspective. The DCFP sort of forces people with diverse views and interests on forest management to engage with each other in a safe environment, and have an honest discussion about those views. This often results in broader and more inclusive recommendations than would come from individual interests. And it also results in more trust and understanding among participants.
Glen Ardt
Retired Habitat Biologist, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The DCFP provides a forum to work towards achieving Fish & Wildlife’s goals of implementing forest restoration at the landscape scale. Participation meshes well with our efforts to engage with a broad stakeholder group as we define how best to promote northern spotted owl conservation in the dry forests of central Oregon. And The DCFP allows individuals from various backgrounds to openly discuss issues of forest management that could result in litigation, resulting in better projects on the ground—and less likelihood of lawsuits.
Jen O’Reilly
Fish and Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
How can we meet our needs, such as clean drinking water or harvesting timber for houses, while making sure the ecosystems we rely upon are also functional and in good health? Restoration forces us to understand the processes and connections that support the forest, and encourages us to focus on stewardship and sustainability that will benefit us and our ecosystems for years to come. By working with a diversity of stakeholders to focus on restoration, I believe that we are concentrating on a shared vision to care for our community and ecosystems.
Darek Staab
Project Manager, Trouted Unlimited

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Join our newsletter list to receive updates on forest restoration activity in the Deschutes National Forest, including temporary trail closures, prescribed fire announcements, and related community events.

* indicates required
(c) 2023 Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project