Land preservation gets big financial boost

The Deschutes Basin Land Trust got a big boost to its Metolius Preserve Campaign with a gift of $10,000 from the Bill Healy Foundation and a gift of $100,000 from the Montag Family Fund.

The Land Trust is seeking to raise $3 million by July so that it can acquire a 1,240-acre tract of forest land on Lake Creek, a tributary to the Metolius River.

The Land Trust has been quietly raising money since obtaining an option to purchase the land from Willamette Industries and has raised roughly $1.9 million to date.

The acquisition is part of a campaign to restore salmon and steelhead to the upper Deschutes Basin.