State proposes land sale in Deschutes County

Published 12:00 am Friday, December 19, 2014

Staff at the Department of State Lands has started the process to sell four parcels of forestland totaling 357 acres in northern Deschutes County, but it could be nine to 18 months before the properties hit the auction block.

Known as Fremont Canyon north, southeast, southwest and west, the parcels are about 5 to 6 miles northeast of Sisters and mostly west of Wilt Road, which runs through the middle of one parcel. Two of the lots are 40 acres each; one is 117 acres, and the fourth equals 160 acres, according to state and county records.

The four properties are included in the Central Oregon Area Management Plan, the document that guides the handling of 34 sites totaling 7,423 acres of varied land types in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties.

The State Land Board approved the plan in 2011, after it had been the subject of public meetings in the region and presented to elected officials.

Eight sites totaling 516 acres went up for auction in May 2012. The total amount earned from the sales was not available Thursday, but the one Deschutes County parcel, a 160-acre lot known as Peterson Burn Road, sold at auction for $450,000, Clara Taylor, real property analyst with the Department of State Lands, said Thursday.

Money from the land sales helps fund Oregon schools.

Before the Fremont Canyon sites get listed for sale, the state must conduct studies to determine whether the parcels contain cultural resources, such as archaeological sites, or endangered species, Taylor said. The parcels also must be appraised. The state needs to find a way to legally access one of the sites, she said, which is surrounded by private land.

After completing the studies and appraisals — and if no ancient burial grounds turn up — the staff will seek approval for the sale from the State Land Board, comprising the governor, secretary of state and state treasurer, she said. The properties might be ready for auction in fall 2015 or spring 2016.

“We have a number of studies and hurdles these parcels have to pass through before we put them up for sale,” Taylor said.

— Reporter: 541-383-0360,

tdoran@bendbulletin.com