Trust dedicates Metolius Preserve

Children enjoyed exploring for insects at the Metolius Preserve dedication on Saturday. Nugget News photo With a deep blue sky between the green pines, on the banks of Lake Creek, 1,240 acres of critical habitat for the reintroduction of steelhead and salmon in the Upper Deschutes Basin was dedicated on Saturday to the idea of community.

Before a group of nearly 200 people, Brad Chalfant, executive director of the Deschutes Basin Land Trust (DBLT), attributed the success of a campaign to preserve the land to 90-year-old Becky Johnson. She received honorable mention for her tireless effort in raising campaign funds.

Lake Creek, a principal tributary of the Metolius River, was previously owned by Willamette Industries. The day the Willamette-Weyerhaeuser takeover was announced publicly over a year ago, the Deschutes Basin Land Trust received a call from Willamette Industries asking them if they were interested in buying some land.

The acquisition is part of a larger campaign for the Deschutes Basin Land Trust called "Back to Home Waters." The hope is to restore salmon and steelhead to the Upper Deschutes Basin.

The fund-raising campaign goal for the Metolius Preserve is just under $3.2 million. The Land Trust has raised $2.5 million.

Guest speakers included Bobby Brunoe, natural resources general manager for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Bill Anthony, Sisters District Ranger for the Forest Service; John Casey, former board president of the Land Trust, John Shelk from Willamette Industries (during the time of the acquisition); Rich Wininger from Weyerhaeuser; and State Senator Ben Westlund.

Westlund's help was critical in securing $450,000 of lottery money from the Oregon Watershed Council Program.

The preserve has biking trails, hiking trails and an interpretive center. Along the path near Lake Creek, hikers will find plaques explaining the work that has been done and the work to be done.

Wolftree, a partner with the Land Trust, seeks to host educational activities for children within the preserve. Graduate schools will be invited to conduct research and grade school children will tour the property on field trips.

Becky Johnson recalled early threats to the Metolius River. Because a railroad connecting the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon didn't happen, loggers wanted to turn the headwaters of the river into a log pond and build a sawmill on site.

That proposal failed and the headwaters were preserved. The new Metolius Preserve expands on the tradition of protecting the valuable and scenic area.

When asked what the Metolius Preserve means to her, she responded, "It means that this priceless part of Oregon, that people are just loving to death and wanting to build developments in, is in danger of going. If we don't have some groups whose goal and ability is to plan to preserve it and keep it in its natural state it will be gone. Gone forever."

Six-year-old Merle Nye already has an appreciation of what's been preserved at Lake Creek.

"It's a really good nature habitat," he said. "I like that there's the desert on this side and sort of a jungly thing on the creekside. It makes it pretty unusual."

When Nye returns to the Metolius Preserve he would like to play around and collect some bugs.

Chalfant noted that he thought that if this area had not become a preserve, a destination resort would sit beside Lake Creek.