Rebuilding a Thriving
McKenzie Community For All!

The Board of the MCLT is made up of McKenzie neighbors & stakeholders who have stood up to help fill the need for affordable housing and economic development after the wildfire by purchasing land for the community benefit - leveraging the land trust model!

The McKenzie Community Land Trust, a nonprofit, is working to support the entire McKenzie River Valley reaching from the upper river community of McKenzie Bridge, on downstream to Springfield, Oregon. 

On September 7, 2020 our community was devastated by the Holiday Farm Fire.  With over 500 homes lost, over 173,000-acres burned and the rural town of Blue River gone overnight, our community has changed forever.  As neighbors and stakeholders of the McKenzie Valley, we are standing together to rebuild a thriving and more resilient community for the people that lived here before the wildfire and for the generations that will call the McKenzie home after.  

The McKenzie Valley is rural and unincorporated.  The need for a collective local voice and approach to rebuilding our community and filling the growing challenges of affordable housing has increased significantly since the wildfire.  One such solution that rose to the top was organizing a community land trust.  

Land trusts are nonprofit, community-based organizations designed to ensure stewardship of land for the community benefit. This model can be used for many types of projects including long-term housing affordability, commercial, conservation and other community spaces like parks and shared gardens. As we work together to rebuild, we need a diverse community that offers housing for all, community services, open space, locally owned businesses, and a healthy environment. 

Founded in 2022, we are a growing organization, committed to working alongside partners, agencies, foundations, volunteers, nonprofits, industry and our valued neighbors in the McKenzie Valley.  As a nonprofit, we can be nimble and open to considering new community benefit opportunities where we might be able to help.  We can't bring back the McKenzie community alone.  We are in this together.  Join Us!