‘The Wallowa.’ This quiet, beautiful valley and its surrounding mountains and canyons is among Oregon’s most treasured places. The home of Hells Canyon, the Wallowa Mountains and Wallowa Lake, the famous history of Old and Young Chief Joseph, its scenery and wildness largely intact, the Wallowa Country boasts a strong and diverse agricultural base, an emerging arts community, and a century-long legacy of cooperation and respect between the Nez Perce people and the non-Indians who occupy the valley today.
The large number and various sizes of productive farms and ranches attest to the prominent role agriculture plays in the economy and culture of Wallowa County. At the same time, ties to Nez Perce people who occupied these lands for over 12,000 years, run deep. Today, tribal members continue to pursue traditional activities, such as hunting and fishing, rights reserved by treaty, and are involved in an ambitious cooperative fisheries restoration effort with state and federal agencies.
One of the valley’s greatest natural resources, and most economically significant assets, is its open space. Whether serving as wildlife habitat, agricultural lands, cultural sites or scenic viewsheds, or some combination thereof, open space underscores the essence of the Wallowa Country. Its continued existence is important to the future economy and livability of the entire county, and to Northeast Oregon as a region.
Over the past few years, as new housing developments have begun creeping up the spectacular moraines of Wallowa Lake, into prime agricultural lands and other sensitive areas, the local landscape has begun to display the effects of inappropriate growth. The Wallowa Land Trust was recently formed by Wallowa County citizens to work proactively with landowners and others to address this problem.
As a local nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, the Wallowa Land Trust’s mission is to help protect the rural character of the Wallowa Valley and surrounding lands, by providing additional financial options and economic incentives for private landowners. The Trust can offer an alternative to building or subdividing certain properties through purchase of title or easement, which generates revenue for the landowner without the need to degrade or develop the site.
The Trust is not an environmental or land use watchdog group, nor a conservation organization concerned with management of public lands, but rather a land trust whose sole focus is creating opportunities for voluntary economic options for private landowners and local communities, providing market-driven solutions for potential land use conflicts.
The Wallowa Land Trust seeks to maintain existing land use patterns as much as possible, including protection of farms, ranches, forests, grasslands and other economically important working lands. Protection of historic and cultural sites within this context is an equally high priority. The Wallowa Country is pretty nice the way it is, and although some change is inevitable, the Trust hopes to help play a role in keeping things both rural and vibrant.
The Trust invites the participation of all Wallowa County citizens, and the support of everyone who cares about the Wallowa Country and its future.
