Supporters of a plan to preserve a pristine stretch of the upper Metolius River basin from development say they have moved closer to their goal.

Since beginning a campaign in February 2002, the Deschutes Basin Land Trust has raised $1.7 million toward the purchase of 1,240 acres along Lake Creek, a primary tributary to the upper Metolius.

Lake Creek has been identified by the trust as a prime area to focus salmon recovery efforts because of its role as a traditional spawning grounds for the ocean-run fish.

”It is a terribly important project for a whole variety of reasons,” said Brad Chalfant, executive director of the trust.

”It is key for our effort to see chinook (salmon) back in the Metolius.”

For the trust, the acquisition would increase the organization’s real estate holdings by almost sixfold. The trust, which seeks to preserve environmentally significant pieces of land through donations and voluntary acquisitions, holds easements on another 3,000 acres, sheltering them from commercial development.

In this case, the organization has a chance to preserve a piece of one of the most highly-prized waterways in the Pacific Northwest. The area also has significant value as a wildlife area, providing winter habitat to a herd of approximately 100 Roosevelt elk, Chalfant said.

For now, the property is owned by Weyerhaeuser of Tacoma, which acquired the timber land when the company merged with then Portland-based Willamette Industries in January 2002.

The trust has an 18-month option on the land which it negotiated with Willamette before the merger. The option expires in July. Chalfant said the negotiated price for the land is between $2.1 and $2.3 million. But the trust is hoping to raise at least $3 million to begin work on the ground that it hopes will result in the development of year-round multi-use area open the public.

”We want the public out there,” said Chalfant. ”This is not locking the forest away, this is making it available for the public in a way that supports long-term sustainability of the forest and its resources.” Chalfant said he is confident the trust will make the $3 million goal, but the window is closing fast. If the organization fails to raise the money by July 25, the land could go the highest bidder, said Jean Nave, chair of the Friends of Black Butte Ranch.

Nave is hoping to drum up enough support from her friends and neighbors in Black Butte and Camp Sherman to push the trust past its goal of $3 million.

A former publicist and marketer, Nave said her reasons are partly motivated by self interest.

She fears that if the trust comes up short, the area may be developed into a destination resort. Lake Creek is just a few miles from Black Butte Ranch and Camp Sherman and Nave isn’t eager to welcome any newcomers to the neighborhood.

”The big thing is we have many people out here at the ranch who have lived here for many years,” she said. ”And the people are very dedicated to this area. Sisters is growing leaps and bounds just like Bend. And a lot of us are concerned that with that growth we are going to lose some of our treasures.”

Whether the fears are founded isn’t clear.

Chalfant said he knows there is interest in the property from parties other than the trust.

Weyerhaeuser spokesman Frank Mendizabal said he wasn’t aware of this particular property or a pending sale agreement.

If the property were sold, there are still significant land use hurdles in Jefferson County, where the entire parcel is located. Under county rules, the property would have to rezoned from forest use to a less restrictive designation before a developer could apply for destination resort designation, said Tanya Ramey, planning technician.

”It is going to be a very difficult process for somebody to even attempt to do that,” she said.

In fact, Jefferson County commissioners torpedoed a proposal just last week that would have relaxed the rules slightly.

The trust’s effort has captured the attention of the renowned fly-fishing and outdoors company, Orvis, which highlighted the campaign in its catalog. The company offered to match dollar-for-dollar any donations up to $30,000.

”Orvis got us to a much broader audience than we would have been able to reach – no question,” said Brad Nye, trust project manager.

It also caught the eye of a New York Times writer who zeroed in on the Lake Creek project to illustrate the politics of salmon recovery issues in the Columbia River Basin earlier this year.

There has also been strong local support for the effort. Last month, board members of the Redmond-based Samuel S. Johnson foundation voted to contribute $50,000 to the campaign.

Foundation president and longtime Metolius River landowner Becky Johnson said the sum was a significant gift for her foundation, which bears the name of her late husband and former state legislator Samuel Johnson.

Johnson has deep ties to the Metolius River. Johnson’s father-in-law owned as much as 80,000 acres in the Camp Sherman and Black Butte Ranch area.

Johnson and her husband donated several valuable acres along the river to the Forest Service.

The land was put in a conservation easement and today offers the public a unique view of the springs that form the headwater of the Metolius.

Johnson said she often heard stories from her late husband about the bounty of salmon in the Lake Creek area prior to the construction of the Pelton-Round Butte Dam complex.

The dam may be part of the solution to the problem. Under a relicensing proposal floated by Portland General Electric, the dam operator, and the Warm Springs Tribe, salmon passage would be given a high priority when the dam complex is reauthorized.

Chalfant said it is the trust’s hope that another generation will have a chance to experience the sights and sounds that lived in Sam Johnson’s memories.

”We think this is a place we are going to introduce the next generation to working runs of sockeye salmon and chinook,” Chalfant said.

Eric Flowers can be reached at 541-504-2336 or eflowers@bendbulletin.com.