McKenzie School
Owned Property
Working in collaboration with the McKenzie School District to fulfill an intention of creating a scholarship program for students, the property was purchased using donations from McKenzie River Trust members.
Towering above Blue River, the McKenzie School property includes steep slopes and ridges that provide important habitat and sweeping views that benefit the plants, animals, and people of the McKenzie River valley.
Meet The Property
Property History
In 1986, McKenzie River community members, Fred and Dorothy Behm donated 47 acres of forested land to the McKenzie School District. With a growing Douglas fir plantation reaching up the properties steep slopes, the Behm’s hoped that the school district could start a scholarship fund utilizing timber sales just down the road. With limited resources to manage the timberland and increasing difficulty and rising cost of harvesting smaller acreage on steep hillsides, the McKenzie School District needed an alternative avenue to make good of the Behm’s commitment to students. In December 2019, the District sold the property to McKenzie River Trust.
With the support of private donors and members of the Trust, the sale generated funds to seed a scholarship fund available for McKenzie River community students.
After the transaction, Lane Tompkins, Superintendent/Principal of the McKenzie River Community School, shared, “We brought in the McKenzie River Trust as a potential broker to help facilitate a sale and conservation easement. Although this approach did not take shape, McKenzie River Trust took a more hands-on approach, buying the land to manage directly. We take pride in being a part of McKenzie River Trust and investing in our community, our school, and most importantly, our students.”