We are Mckenzie river trust
The McKenzie River Trust is a nonprofit land trust formed in 1989 to protect critical habitats and scenic lands in the McKenzie Basin. Since 2000, our service area has included the watersheds of the Long Tom, Upper Willamette, Coast and Middle Forks of the Willamette, Umpqua, Siuslaw, and coastal streams and lakes from Reedsport to Yachats. In 2021, we expanded our coastal service area to stretch from Reedsport north to Lincoln City and opened our first field office in Newport.
Throughout our history, we have partnered with caring landowners, our members, foundations, and partner organizations to protect, forever, land and water in western Oregon.
- 9,000+ acres protected
- More than a million trees and shrubs planted
- 25 miles of Salmon bearing streams restored
protecting land and water
McKenzie River Trust works with willing landowners to protect and care for more than 7,000 acres of land for fish, wildlife, water quality, and the people of Western Oregon.
Connecting people to place
Each year, McKenzie River Trust members, volunteers, business supporters, schools, and community groups give their time and resources to help protect and care for the lands and rivers we cherish in western Oregon.
restoring natural systems
From the Cascade Mountains to the Oregon coast, McKenzie River Trust works with partners across the region to design and implement large-scale restoration projects for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and people of western Oregon. With your help, we’re leaving the land better than we found it.
Sustaining our mission
The work of land trusts is forever work. That’s why we rely on the incredible care of community members like you to help us not only advance, but sustain our mission over time. There are so many ways to get involved. We hope you will join us.
Join us on the land
From the Field
Birding By Ear – Songs of Spring with Charlie Quinn
In 1995, I was volunteering at The Nature Conservancy as a bird researcher and hike leader, just before getting my first paid job as a field trip coordinator that fall. My first volunteer project in Oregon was working on the production of a birding by ear guide. This guide was created to teach high school students how to aurally identify birds in bird surveys for the Audubon Society of Portland’s Green City Data Program. Now, nearly thirty years later, this guide as been transferred from cassette to cd, cd to mp3, and is now matched with photos of each species to continue sharing my love of birding.
Lessons from a Beaver on International Beaver Day
Beavers have important lessons to teach us about how to care for the living rivers in our backyard. As we celebrate the start of the 54th annual Earth Month, we also celebrate one of our area’s most incredible caretakers of land and water, the North American Beaver.
A Living Legacy at Sweet Creek Forest
When Mat Purvis moved to Oregon in the early 1970s, he was excited to spend more outdoors. Growing up in urban Atlanta, Mat was accustomed to camping, hiking, and fishing but had always dreamed of owning a wilderness property. As a young physician with spare time, Mat leapt at an opportunity to pursue his dream when a colleague offered to sell him a tract of forest
on Sweet Creek.
Get Involved
McKenzie River Trust
Eugene Office: 725 W 1st Ave, STE B, Eugene, OR 97402
Newport Office: 914 SW Coast Hwy. Newport, OR 97365
Mailing Address: PO Box 1451 Eugene OR 97440
Phone: (541) 345-2799
Email: info@mckenzieriver.org