B10 THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2021
83%
Central
Oregon
reservoir
levels
Madras
17%
83%
Haystack
Redmond
Sisters
85%
Prineville Ochoco
Bend
37%
52%
Sunriver
Crane Prairie
Prineville
27%
Deschutes Land Trust/Submitted photo
Wickiup
La Pine
Pat and David Green pose for a photo with the weeds they’ve pulled at Willow Springs Preserve.
Author
Continued from B1
Kimmerer is someone the
Land Trust has been hoping to
have speak for years.
“In part, that’s the beauty
of the virtual,” Mowry said.
“There are a lot of speakers
now who are not traveling be-
cause of climate change, and
she’s kind of one of them. It’s
just more accessible with vir-
tual, which is kind of cool, to
be able to bring a world-class
writer and thought leader to
Central Oregon to share their
thinking.”
The talks are held in the
winter, when cold, wet weather
may curtail activities such as
hiking but not people’s interest
in ecology. Even as the door
closes on Nature Night Talk,
another one opens, and this
door leads to fun in the out-
doors.
“We usually pick up our
in-person hikes — free nat-
uralist-led hikes — April
through November, so they’re
a great opportunity to actually
get out and learn more about
the natural history of Central
Oregon,” Mowry said. “Our
goal for both those programs
… is to help share some of the
amazing things about the na-
ture of this area.”
The Land Trust’s organized
events include wildflower
walks, birding walks and bike
rides. Of course, with the
COVID-19 pandemic, the
timeline is variable.
“We’re hoping to start
picking up our hikes again
in April if the county risk
level gets back to moderate,”
Mowry said. “It all depends
on where we land.”
Absent meddlesome pan-
demics, the Land Trust nor-
mally offers about 150 free
annual hikes. The hikes are
More Information
“Braid ing Sweetgrass” au-
thor Robin Wall Kimmerer
will speak from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
March 17 via Zoom. Tickets
are free, but registration is
required. To register, visit de-
schuteslandtrust.org/hikes-
events.
On Tuesday, the Land
Trust plans to post an array
of other upcoming virtual
events at its website, de-
schuteslandtrust.org, ac-
cording to Outreach Director
Sarah Mowry.
The Land Trust also of-
fers numerous volunteer
opportunities, from trail
maintenance to stuffing en-
velopes. For more info, visit
deschuteslandtrust.org/vol-
unteer.
primarily run by volunteers,
“amazing folks that are will-
ing to get out there and share
what they know, and do it for
free, so it’s really accessible
for everyone, and it’s a mix
of adult and kids activities,”
Mowry said.
However, there’s no need
to sit at home waiting for
group outings to come back
online. While some of the
10 community preserves
owned and cared for by the
Land Trust are restricted to
guided hikes, the 63-acre In-
dian Ford Meadow Preserve
and the 151-acre Camp Polk
Meadow Preserve, both
near Sisters, along with the
1,240-acre Metolius Pre-
serve, closer to Camp Sher-
man, are among those open
for hiking during daylight
hours.
“Our preserves are open
to the public. … People can
do their own, self-guided
walks. We have interpre-
tive trails,” Mowry said, add-
ing that people can visit de-
schuteslandtrust.org for more
information.
“Spring is here. I think peo-
ple are starting to get that itch
of going outside and getting
back out hiking. The wild-
flowers are starting to come.
I saw my first wildflower yes-
terday.”
David Jasper: 541-383-0349,
djasper@bendbulletin.com
Crescent
Crescent Lake
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
Clarinda Simpson/Bulletin graphic
Fire restrictions
Fire danger is currently
listed as Moderate in the De-
schutes National Forest. Fire
danger is listed as Low in the
Ochoco and Willamette Na-
tional Forests.
Industrial Fire Precaution
Level is currently at Level
1 for the Deschutes and
Ochoco national forests and
the Prineville District — Bu-
reau of Land Management.
2 LOCATIONS
BEND•REDMOND
Columbia Park access
closure
As of July 22, Deschutes River
access is closed due to safety
concerns and to prevent
further erosion to the river
bank. The access point will
be closed until further notice.
For more information visit
bendparksandrec.org
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