The Horizon
All the latest updates on our work defending rural lands, creating livable cities and towns and preserving wild lands and water throughout Central Oregon
The Case Against Spot Zoning
Oregon’s land use planning system is hailed as a model for preserving its unique agricultural and forest landscapes while fostering sustainable growth.
Despite this, a troubling trend has emerged in recent years: spot zoning of farm and forest lands.
Another triumph over rural sprawl
Recently, LandWatch prevailed in a community effort to halt yet another instance of development interests seeking to convert agricultural land into rural sprawl.
40 years of farm land in Central Oregon
Taken from GIS mapping software, this short video shows the growth of single-family houses on rural areas in Deschutes County between 1980 - 2017.
Deschutes County keeps growing. What does that mean for the region?
Growth in Deschutes County continues to outpace the rest of the state. But as places like Bend continue to boom, how can the county grow responsibly? We hear details from Ben Gordon, the executive director of Central Oregon LandWatch, and Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang.