What We Do

Cerro Gordo, pre-1918

In 1974, a diverse coalition of people came together to purchase Cerro Gordo Ranch, comprised of approximately 1,150 acres of land on the north shore of Dorena Lake. Their initial vision was to create an alternative, environmentally based community, which would combine ways of living lightly on the land with close cooperative clusters of housing. Although Cerro Gordo Cooperative never realized its initial vision of creating extensive community on site, its efforts resulted in the building of two small Cerro Gordo neighborhoods, decades of sustainable forestry practices, and a positive impact on neighboring Cottage Grove.

By 2010, Cerro Gordo’s community efforts began to shift towards land conservation, in ways consistent with the community’s initial vision of preserving the natural, beautiful landscape. Under the initial guidance of Scott Ferguson of Trout Mountain Forestry—who had guided Cerro Gordo’s sustainable forestry efforts since 1986—Cerro Gordo was able to obtain its first conservation easement. Via the Healthy Forests Reserve Program, a project of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, an easement was obtained to protect 447 acres of Cerro Gordo Silviculture’s upland mixed conifer forests. As a result, a long-term restoration plan was devised and initiated, to restore diverse forests, and provide habitat for owls and other species. This HFRP easement was successfully obtained only 11 days before the passing of Cerro Gordo’s initial leader and founder, Chris Canfield.

After Chris Canfield’s death the Cerro Gordo community pulled together in an effort to obtain a second conservation easement through the Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program, in collaboration with McKenzie River Trust. The WWMP program is the result of a court settlement between the Bonneville Power Administration and the indigenous people of the Grand Ronde, Warm Springs, and Siletz tribes. It mandates spending on Oregon conservation projects, to mitigate the impact that BPA dams have had on wildlife habitat statewide. 

After a nearly 5-year long effort with many challenges, including negotiating with an infamous timber owner, dealing with a federal bankruptcy court to purchase Canfield Associates’ land interests, making two applications to the WWMP program, finding missing landowners and heirs of deceased landowners, and finally convincing all of the approximately 150 landowners to sell their land interests to us. Along the way Cerro Gordo Land Conservancy was formed, as a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Cerro Gordo’s meadows, riparian areas, oak woodlands, and upland mixed conifer forests. Finally in September 2017 a conservation easement deed, preserving an addition 532 acres of meadows, oak woodlands, and riparian areas, was recorded with McKenzie River Trust holding the easement. 

Since obtaining this conservation easement, Cerro Gordo Land Conservancy, with the help of grant funding, has already accomplished a great deal of conservation and restoration work. Cerro Gordo’s Central Meadow has been restored to its initial size, having lost 35% of its acreage to invasive growth since the 1974 purchase. Invasive plants such as Scotch broom and blackberries have also been removed from Mountain Meadow, on the open face of Cerro Gordo Butte overlooking Dorena Lake and the surrounding area. Further work is scheduled to restore Hidden Meadow, Lakeside Meadow, the oak woodlands surrounding them, and the forest understory. Fire restoration work will also soon commence in Lakeside Meadow and the forested area to the east of it, where a 24-acre wildfire scorched the land in September 2023.