Partner Agencies
COIDC works with four primary partner agencies and units across Central Oregon's high desert, forested mountains, and protected lands.
Bureau of Land Management — Prineville District
The Prineville District is the largest District in Oregon with 1.65 million acres scattered over 13 million acres. The boundary generally follows county boundaries and stretches from the Columbia River in the north to the edge of the Great Basin in the south, and includes the Cascade crest in the west and the Blue Mountains in the east. It is roughly 180 miles across, both north-south and east-west.
Half of this land base (50%) is managed by three federal agencies: US Forest Service (33%), BLM (13%), and Bureau of Indian Affairs (5%). The remainder consists of privately-owned lands (47%), and minor amounts of other federal, state, and county properties (3%).
Oregon Dept. of Forestry — Prineville/Sisters and Fossil Units
The Prineville Unit / Sisters Sub-unit's mission is to protect approximately 450,000 acres of private forestland in Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties through a complete and coordinated system of fire prevention, suppression, and fuels management. Regulations within the "Prineville/Sisters Unit" apply in all three counties.
Central Oregon ODF District Wildfire News is updated through the season.
USDA Forest Service — Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests
The Deschutes National Forest and the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland encompass just over 2.5 million acres of Central Oregon. These public lands extend about 100 miles along the east side of the Cascade Mountains crest and eastward into the Ochoco Mountains. They are rich in human and natural history and offer diverse and scenic recreation opportunities.
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is comprised of more than 14,000 acres within three separate units located in eastern Oregon: Sheep Rock, Painted Hills, and Clarno. The three units of the monument hold some of the best fossil-bearing locations within the larger John Day Fossil Beds, which cover most of eastern Oregon.
You will find no dinosaurs here — this area was underwater during that time. The John Day Fossil Beds preserve plant and animal fossils from most of the Age of Mammals and Flowering Plants, covering a time period from 44 million years ago until 7 million years ago.