A former logging camp along the McKenzie River will be preserved in perpetuity. The 154 acres near the town of Blue River was purchased this week by the McKenzie River Trust.
McKenzie Camp includes 2 miles along one side of the river. In the next couple of months, the non-profit will acquire the 2 miles on the other side. The Finn Rock boat launch is part of that parcel. Joe Moll, Executive Director of McKenzie River Trust, says they’ll work with the community to manage and restore the land.
Moll: “So ecologically it’s just ridiculously rich. There are salmon spawning everywhere in side channels, in the main stem of the McKenzie. We’ve encountered Cottonwood Trees that are 20 feet around, just these massive old trees. It’s an area that the town of Blue River has a lot of history with. You’ve got the logging camp history there. So it’s just culturally rich. It’s ecologically rich.”
The property was purchased from Rosboro Timber Company for $775 thousand. It was paid for with private donations and a low-interest loan from Craft3’s Conservation Bridge Fund.