Our thanks to The Bulletin for their coverage of our ongoing work at the West Bend Project. The West Bend Project is one of 10 primary forest restoration project areas on national forestland within the larger 250,000+ acre Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project landscape. The goals of the West Bend Project: restore forest ecosystems, reduce the potential of high-severity wildfire, and provide economic and social benefits to our community.
Read the full story, “West Bend Project starting up again” here
The West Bend Project is 26,000 acres that sits within shouting distance of the Widgi Creek Golf Club and not terribly far from several subdivisions nearby.
The land needs help. Between logging and fire suppression, what was once a forest of diversity has become one of too much uniformity, with even-aged trees that are more susceptible to fire and less able to support a diverse plant and wildlife population.
Susceptibility to catastrophic fire is not good anytime; it’s particularly problematic when the land in question lies too close to a major population area for comfort.
Read the editorial, “Forest near Bend gets what it needs” here http://www.bendbulletin.com/opinion/3477211-151/editorial-forest-near-bend-gets-what-it-needs
