Oregon to buy more Deschutes River land

SALEM, Ore. — A 10,000-acre piece of a ranch along the lower Deschutes River in Oregon will become a state wildlife area.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday approved purchase of part of Lower Deschutes River Ranch, in the Tygh Valley area downstream of Maupin.

The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit organization, bought the parcel from the original land owner.

Jeremy Thompson, district wildlife biologist in The Dalles, said the price is $3 million. Six financing sources are being combined to buy the land, but not hunting or fishing license fee dollars.

Mitigation dollars, donations and the federal excise tax on hunting equipment are part of the financing mix.

The land would become part of the Lower Deschutes Wildlife Area, which already has about 8,500 acres mostly on the east side of the river.

Access will be from the Deschutes River, Thompson said. The river is calm in the area and can be crossed by even small boats and canoes.

Oak and Ferry creeks on the property contain 2.5 miles of habitat for mid-Columbia steelhead, listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The Oregon Farm Bureau opposed the acquisition.