The Land Trust acquired and protected the 30 acre Metolius River Preserve in 2018. The Preserve includes .75 miles of the Metolius River, mixed pine, cedar and spruce forest, a riverside meadow, and a rare fen or wetland. Located near Camp Sherman, OR (see map below) the Preserve is home to a host of wildlife species including returning salmon and sockeye, songbirds, deer, and a variety of trees and unique plants. The Land Trust received the Preserve from The Nature Conservancy, which was gifted the property in the early 1980s by the Erskine B. Wood family. Take our virtual tour or read below to learn more about the property.
The fen at Metolius River Preserve. Photo: Jay Mather.
The Metolius River Preserve can only be visited on guided Land Trust tours or via hosted educational offerings. However, the majority of the Metolius River Preserve can be observed from the Metolius River Trail. When visiting:
Learn about the Metolius River: The Preserve protects 3/4 of a mile of the Metolius River along with two river islands. The Metolius River is one of the largest spring-fed rivers in the United States and its flow is clear, cold, and constant. The river provides a wide array of habitat for fish and wildlife and is a designated Wild and Scenic River.
Find out about fens: The Metolius River Preserve is home to a rare fen, or wetland. A fen is a type of alkaline wetland that is fed from groundwater. Common along the coast or in subalpine regions, mid-elevation fens are rare and found infrequently throughout Central Oregon. Fens are biological hot spots and are home to a high percentage of rare or uncommon plant species. They also are wet year-round and can remain in the same location for thousands of years. Learn more fun fen facts!
Explore native plants: More than 300 species of plants call the Metolius River Preserve home. From forests of pine, cedar, spruce and fir, to the rare Peck’s penstemon to mosses and bog orchids, you can truly explore the botany of the region. Summer is particularly lovely when the Preserve comes alive with bright wildflowers and butterflies.
The Metolius River Preserve protects ¾ mile of the Metolius River, a designated Wild and Scenic River, mixed pine, cedar and spruce forest, a riverside meadow, and a rare fen or wetland. The Preserve is home to a wide variety of wildlife including salmon and sockeye, songbirds, deer, and unique plants including the rare Peck's penstemon.
Community values include helping maintain the scenic character of the region, while also protecting water quality and quantity. Finally, Metolius River Preserve helps mitigate the impacts of climate change by helping store CO2 and by growing native vegetation that removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Land conservation is climate action!
An island in the Metolius River at the Land Trust's Metolius River Preserve. Photo: Jay Mather.
Land Trust staff take inventory of plant species at the Metolius River Preserve. Photo: Land Trust.
The Land Trust manages the Metolius River Preserve to protect and, where necessary, restore fish and wildlife habitat. Since acquiring the Preserve in 2018, the Land Trust has started a variety of stewardship and restoration projects including:
Groundwater monitoring. The Land Trust is building an annual data set of water table levels within the fen at the Metolius River Preserve. This will be used to see how things change (or stay the same) over the years and relate that data to snowpack and climate data for the Metolius area.
Managing weeds. Noxious weeds are a reality at all Land Trust protected lands. If they are not actively managed they compromise healthy native plant communities.
The Metolius River Preserve can only be visited on guided Land Trust tours or via hosted educational offerings. When visiting, please note that the Metolius River Preserve is a rustic nature preserve. There are no established facilities such as parking areas, trails, restrooms, or trash removal services. However, the majority of the Metolius River Preserve can be observed from the Metolius River Trail.
Preserve guidelines
The Metolius River Preserve can only be visited on guided tours or via other authorized use. All use is conditional upon following these and any other posted rules:
Dogs are not allowed.
Pedestrian travel only.
Respect restrictions as posted.
Removal or disturbance of plants, wildlife, and historical artifacts is prohibited.
No hunting, camping, campfires, smoking, or unmanned aircraft use.
Commercial use, private events and unauthorized public use are prohibited.
Please note: The Metolius River Preserve is private property owned by Deschutes Land Trust. Your use of the property is conditional upon these and any other posted rules. Preserve users failing to observe posted rules are trespassing and subject to applicable laws and penalties. Visitors to the Preserve may encounter risks associated with terrain, wildlife, and weather. Please exercise appropriate caution: the Deschutes Land Trust is not liable for injuries to Preserve visitors.
The map below shows the location of the Metolius River Preserve. The Metolius River Preserve can only be visited on guided Land Trust tours or via hosted educational offerings.
Fishing is a favorite pastime on the Metolius River. Photo: Jay Mather.
From time immemorial, Native Americans, including the Warm Springs, Wasco, and Paiute tribes, lived in this region or visited it to hunt, fish, gather foods, and trade. Whychus Canyon Preserve is within the lands ceded to the United States in the Treaty with the Tribes of Middle Oregon in 1855. The bands that signed the 1855 Treaty moved onto to the Warm Springs Reservation and are known as the Wasco and Warm Springs tribes. Paiute people began settling on the Warm Springs Reservation in 1879 and, along with the Wasco and Warm Springs tribes, now comprise the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, by virtue of the Treaty of 1855, have legal rights to harvest and manage wildlife and, by implication, the right to habitats suitable to support wildlife populations. The Land Trust considers the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs an important partner in management and restoration of the property.
The first record of Europeans in the Metolius came in December of 1843 when General John Fremont forded the river less than a mile from the Preserve, a site now occupied by the Pioneer Ford campground. The area was surveyed in 1873, and in 1915 Charles W. Allen and his family came to live on what is now the south end of the Preserve. Allen built a small cabin, a barn and a bridge for access. They raised pigs and chickens and grazed cows and horses in the meadow which they irrigated with water channeled from Wizard Fall's Spring.
The Allens augmented their income by providing lodging for fisherpeople that came to the Metolius. The Erskine B. Wood family enjoyed the Allen's hospitality on many occasions. In 1920 the Woods purchased the land from the Allens. The Wood family spent a great deal of time enjoying the property over the years. The Preserve was eventually donated to the Nature Conservancy by the Erskine B. Wood family in a series of gifts in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Deschutes Land Trust received the property from the Nature Conservancy in 2018.
The fen at Metolius River Preserve. Photo: Jay Mather.
An island in the Metolius River at the Land Trust's Metolius River Preserve. Photo: Jay Mather.
Land Trust staff take inventory of plant species at the Metolius River Preserve. Photo: Land Trust.
Fishing is a favorite pastime on the Metolius River. Photo: Jay Mather.