Our story began on the McKenzie River in 1989, when a group of neighbors came together to protect a tract of forestland and return it to National Forest ownership. That act of community care became the seed that grew into McKenzie River Trust.
Nearly four decades later, the McKenzie remains our homewaters, but our work has flowed out across western Oregon. The same collaborative spirit that shaped our beginnings now brings together communities, Tribes, landowners, land trusts, businesses, agencies, and nonprofit partners from the Cascades to the coast to care for the lands and waters we all depend on.
This past month, one of those collaborations reached an exciting milestone when the City of Lincoln City acquired 300 acres of former timberland in the Schooner Creek watershed as part of their Source Water Protection program. Acquiring this forest will help ensure the quality of drinking water while restoring habitat for fish and wildlife. The project was made possible through collaboration between the City of Lincoln City, GSI Water Solutions, Weyerhaeuser, the Lincoln County Soil and Water Conservation District, and McKenzie River Trust. Our Central Coast Conservation Program Manager, Margaret Treadwell, provided technical expertise throughout the acquisition, helping guide negotiations, due diligence, and the land transaction.
This project reflects a broader effort underway along Oregon’s coast. Through the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Drinking Water Protection Program, communities, land trusts, watershed councils, soil and water conservation districts, and local partners are working together to protect the forests and headwaters that provide clean, reliable drinking water. By combining local knowledge with technical expertise, shared data, and strategic funding, these partnerships are helping communities strengthen their water security while conserving the landscapes that sustain people and wildlife alike.
As Oregon’s lands, waters, and communities continue to change, working across organizations, sectors, and communities is one of the most effective ways to build a resilient future. Thank you to our members, whose support enables us to bring our conservation expertise to these partnerships and help turn shared goals into lasting results across western Oregon.
Lincoln City residents depend on the clean drinking water that flows from the Schooner Creek watershed. Covering roughly 20 square miles of forest, the watershed is fed by a network of coastal streams that support both people and wildlife. Beaver, mink, and woodrats share these forests with black bears, Roosevelt elk, and cougars. In the creek itself, coho salmon, fall Chinook salmon, winter steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, and rainbow trout find habitat throughout their life cycles.
Every conservation success starts with people working together. From the McKenzie River to Oregon’s coast, collaborative partnerships are helping communities protect drinking water, restore habitat, and build a more resilient future for western Oregon.
More than four years ago, McKenzie River Trust expanded our work into Lincoln County to help safeguard this special place. Now, we’re carrying forward the good work of the Central Coast Land Conservancy and expanding impact across the Yaquina River watershed.
Almost all of Oregon’s coastal communities face water insecurity. Since 2020, we’ve been working with a broad coalition of partners to identify solutions to the coast’s drinking water challenges. These efforts are being uplifted across Oregon’s coastal communities, with Land Trusts at the table as transaction specialists who can support communities in acquiring land or protecting it through conservation easements.