Wild Rivers Land Trust Celebrates 25 Years of Service on the South Coast
The year 2025 marks a major milestone for the Wild Rivers Land Trust.
It is our 25th Anniversary!
We are so proud of how far we have come in the past 25 years, and we couldn’t have done it without our hardworking staff, dedicated board members and longtime supporters.
As we look back on the past 25 years, we are so thankful for all of the people who have stood by the organization for decades, donating their time and money to bring our vision to life; where clean water, abundant salmon runs, sustainable working lands, and prospering rural communities define Oregon’s Southern Coast.
We are grateful for our many partners: land owners, foundation funders, regional conservation organizations, and individual donors. This support over the last 25 years has seen us through many achievements:
- The land trust was originally founded on March 17, 2000 by Jerry Becker and a group of like-minded dedicated citizens,
- we made our first land purchase, the 163 acre Keystone Preserve in 2004,
- our first conservation easement protecting 160 acres at Camp Myrtlewood in 2014,
- becoming an accredited land trust in 2019,
- today stewarding 997 acres of land with 12 properties throughout the Southern Oregon Coast.
In an effort to embark on new and innovative projects to protect and conserve our natural resources and the health of our wild rivers, our current portfolio of projects continues to push into new endeavors and challenging conservation objectives.
We couldn’t do this work without the help of our generous supporters. We intend to have a series of celebration events over the summer to give supporters the opportunity to tour project sites around our service area. Stay tuned for event details.
In recognition of our 25th Anniversary, we caught up with a longtime friend of the Wild Rivers Land Trust.
John Jones’ unwavering appreciation for the natural environment led to the creation of our first conservation easement at Camp Myrtlewood near Myrtle Point, Oregon.
Jones said he resonates with a quote from the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, “Hope doesn’t come from words. Hope only comes from actions. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere.’
Jones said he was having feelings of despair witnessing wildlife disappear from the land, when he was visited by the very animal he had been mourning – a pileated woodpecker.
“We can explain such things away. We can say, ‘That’s just a coincidence.’ But, I think, when we see those kinds of things in our lives, it gives us hope. When we have that hope, that gratitude, it gives us the courage to act.”
Jones’ willingness to put his passion into action moved many projects forward throughout his many years with the land trust. His leadership influenced important decisions made by the Wild Rivers Land Trust board of directors, and he and his wife Margaret continue to support the land trust as monthly sustaining donors.
During this year of celebration, please consider renewing your support so that the next 25 years can be as fruitful and productive as our first 25 years. Thank you for your continued dedication to the Wild Rivers Land Trust.
- Happy Anniversary from all of us at Wild Rivers Land Trust!
