Rimrock Ranch: a lesson in conservation

Rimrock Ranch, near Sisters, has a special relationship with the Deschutes Land Trust. The Trust was formed to conserve and protect land in Central Oregon, but outright ownership is only one way the Trust accomplishes that goal. In the case of Rimrock Ranch, the property remains in private ownership; but conservation goals are achieved through the use of a conservation easement.

In order to prevent future subdivision of the ranch, the current owners, Bob and Gayle Baker, entered into a conservation easement agreement with the Land Trust designed to protect the area in perpetuity.

The Land Trust's Stewardship Director, Amada Egertson, explained that several landowners in the Deschutes Basin have entered into such agreements. Rimrock Ranch - a privately owned 1,120-acre working ranch north of Sisters - happens to be one of the most visible.

"The Bakers are very welcoming people," Egertson said, "and they are open to hosting tours, work parties and restoration."

Land Trust volunteer Mary Crow hosted one such tour last week. She explained how the Bakers wanted to permanently protect their ranch from development, even if the land were to pass out of their family's ownership. The answer: a conservation easement. As the Bakers themselves said, "We conserved our land with the Land Trust because we knew that the creek, juniper forests and all the wildlife will be cared for forever."

The Land Trust hosts several tours and events at Rimrock each year. According to Crow, the conservation agreement calls for 13 such visitations; but she says, "The Bakers are willing to host more than just the minimum."

Tours are usually held in the spring and fall, but conservation projects continue throughout the year.

One potential project involves the future of Whychus Creek and the reintroduction of salmon and steelhead to the Upper Deschutes Basin. More than a mile and a half of the creek flows through the ranch.

In the 1960s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers executed a misguided attempt to control potential flooding by gouging out artificially straight and deep channels. The result was the destruction of the creek's natural meanders, wetlands, and much of the fish habitat. Although the damage occurred more than a half-century ago, bulldozed berms and rock piles still mar the Rimrock Ranch property and keep the creek from spreading out over its natural floodplain.

Five miles upstream, similar damage occurred on what is now the Land Trust's Camp Polk Meadow Preserve. Work began this month at Camp Polk to repair the damage and develop a more natural streambed that will restore the lost wetlands and fish habitat.

According to the Land Trust's conservation director Brad Nye, similar habitat restoration could be in store for Rimrock Ranch. "There is a plan in place to restore the natural streambed," he said. "That is, a design has been created; but when or if it's implemented would depend entirely on the wishes of the landowners."

"We have definitely agreed to do meandering with the creek," said Rimrock Ranch owner Gayle Baker, "but we haven't really decided anything about scheduling yet."

She said she was excited about the restoration being done on the Camp Polk section of the creek and hoped to learn more from the progress of that project.

The Bakers have already taken some preliminary steps to normalize the stream flow, and Gayle Baker said that 44,000 steelhead fry were released on the ranch property just last week.

"We would like to do our part in getting this creek back to where it should be," she said.

Between Sisters and the north end of Rimrock Ranch, almost all of Whychus Creek flows over private land, so conservation efforts will necessarily involve the private sector.

Another section of streambed between Camp Polk and Rimrock Ranch has been acquired by the conservation and education organization, Wolftree. Plans are already underway for habitat restoration on that section of creek as well.

Another ongoing project at Rimrock is work to eradicate exotic weeds on the property.

"Mullen, knapweed, and medusahead are the primary invasive weeds here," said Crow. "They were introduced by livestock and ranching operations in the years before the Bakers acquired the property."

She pointed out a field near the creek that was riddled with thousands of tall, dead, unsightly mullen stalks and said that the Land Trust's "weed warriors" continue to help out with the problem.

The Bakers maintain a small herd of cattle, and the site continues to operate as a working ranch, but their primary focus is to protect the stream and forest with the valuable fish and wildlife habitat. The conservation easement also serves to maintain wildlife migration corridors between the large blocks of federal land surrounding the ranch.

For further information about ways to explore Central Oregon through the Land Trust, contact them at 330-0017 or http://www.deschuteslandtrust.org.