Trust working to preserve Alder Springs

The Deschutes Land Trust's Skyline Forest proposal has grabbed the limelight and the public's attention recently, but that is just one project on the organization's land preservation agenda.

At a public meeting in Sisters last month, which was attended by approximately 120 local residents, the Trust announced it is working on a plan to protect views, wildlife habitat, and public access to the Alder Springs area near Sisters.

About a dozen miles northeast of Sisters, the popular hiking destination was featured in The Nugget earlier this year (see The Nugget, July 16). The area can be reached off Holmes Road or through the southwest corner of the Crooked River National Grassland via Wilt Road.

Although wholly within the National Grassland, which is administered by the USDA's National Grassland Office in Madras, the Alder Springs area also includes hundreds of privately owned acres. In fact, the trailhead cannot be reached without crossing private land.

According to the Land Trust's Executive Director, Brad Chalfant, "A previous owner sought to subdivide the area. That didn't happen, but some land development potential does still exist."

As a result, he says, the Trust is negotiating for ownership or a conservation easement to ensure that the area is fully protected.

Conservation easements that stop short of a land sale, but limit future development, can actually benefit both the public and the landowner. Chalfant indicated that owners may be able to realize significant tax write-offs with the donation of a conservation easement - without ever having to give up ownership of the land.

The springs themselves erupt from the base of a large rock outcropping in a very arid setting. There, a crack in the volcanic basalt provides an escape for waters seeping down from the Cascade mountains. Even in dry years, the springs add an important surge of cold water to the lower reaches of Whychus Creek. The resulting oasis of green provides a unique hiking opportunity amid spectacular rock walls and formations along Whychus Creek and the Deschutes River.

Above all, Chalfant says, the Trust hopes to prevent anything that would "change the full experience of a visitor to Alder Springs." In addition to helping preserve hiking and scenic opportunities, Chalfant pointed out that preserving the open space would prevent disruption of important deer and elk habitat in the Metolius Winter Range.

The Land Trust's Conservation Director, Brad Nye, is responsible for identifying and carrying out the Land Trust's conservation projects, including conservation easements and acquisitions. As such, he has been the point man on this project.

"The landowner is good to work with and recognizes the benefits of conserving this property," Nye said, "but it's been a challenge to find funding for the project. The preferred outcome would be for this to become public land, but we're still considering all options."

The Land Trust helped procure the heart of the Alder Springs country 10 years ago when Alder Springs Ranch was added to the National Grassland.

"The Trust for Public Land became involved and went out to obtain the funding with our assistance," Nye said. "We've had a continuing interest in this property as a result of the work we did back then."

The property currently in question includes 1,227 acres straddling Deschutes and Jefferson counties, and the access from Holmes Road cuts right through the middle of it.