What we’re working on
Practical projects that make the McKenzie River safer, more connected and better able to rebuild, led by locals with MCP’s support.
Projects that change things on the river
Helping downtown Blue River come back after the fire, from Flex zoning to wastewater options and plain-language rebuilding guides.
Helping river homeowners keep their insurance by making homes far more likely to survive a wildfire: a free toolkit now, with chipper days and grant help next.
The online home for the 60-mile Main Street: a visitor guide, business directory and events calendar for the whole McKenzie River, supporting the Chamber of Commerce’s Main Street efforts.
Recruiting businesses back to the Upper McKenzie after the fire, including Lucky Boy Mining Camp, a planned home for local vendors and micro-businesses.
Plain-language guides on the issues residents face, from septic and rebuilding to wildfire readiness. Next up: in-depth guides that tie each series together.
Cleaning up and rebuilding the riverside path Blue River neighbors built together, badly damaged by the 2020 fire.
Volunteers light the Belknap and Goodpasture bridges, line Hwy 126 with displays and host the Christmas boat parade on Leaburg Lake.
Keeping the river’s history alive: the 37 roadside panels MCP installed, the companion website, and new stories from families who lived through the fire.
We also advise on Three Sisters Meadow, where a dozen local nonprofits are planning the future of a 16-acre former millsite.
Past wins on the river
Some of MCP’s biggest results now stand on their own. A few we’re proud of:
First on the ground after the fire
In the weeks after the September 2020 fire, before the McKenzie Valley Long Term Recovery Group formed, MCP carried a large share of the local emergency response. When residents could return, we opened resource centers stocked with food and household supplies.
State funding to rebuild Blue River’s water and sewer
Right after the fire, an MCP effort led by Tim Laue, then MCP’s manager and a board member, worked with state lawmakers to secure $15.5 million in state funding (HB 5006, 2021, through Business Oregon) to replace drinking water and wastewater systems in the McKenzie River Valley. Alongside FEMA aid and insurance, it is helping rebuild the Blue River Community Water System, now nearly complete, and carried the community sewer project through design.
A world-class track in Vida
MCP served as fiscal sponsor to help the community build an eight-lane certified track in Vida. It has since hosted Ireland’s national team before the 2022 World Athletics Championships, sheltered residents during the Holiday Farm Fire, and become its own 501(c)(3).
The river’s story, told along the road
Before the fire, an MCP volunteer team led by local historian Margaret Beilharz gathered photos and stories from river families, then designed and installed 37 history panels, three feet by five, along Hwy 126 from Cedar Flat to Clear Lake, with a companion website. A grant from the Willamette Valley Visitors Association, using Travel Oregon funds, helped pay for it.
“The McKenzie Welcomes You”
Gateway signs now greet travelers at both ends of the river: in Walterville, opened in September 2022, and near Fish Lake, just above Clear Lake. After the Oregon Legislature secured $150,000 for the east sign, MCP worked with the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce, which led the design, to help fund the west sign.
A path neighbors built together
Blue River’s first Ford Institute Leadership Program class, 36 neighbors strong, built a riverside walking path on Forest Service land on the west side of town, raising $15,000 to $20,000, doing much of the work themselves, and opening it in 2010. MCP served as fiscal sponsor. The 2020 fire badly damaged it, and rebuilding it is now an active project.
A sign for every river town
The second local Ford Institute Leadership Program class built large welcome signs at the entrance of each of 8 communities along Hwy 126, and groups later added matching signs for a few more. MCP served as fiscal sponsor.
What makes a good MCP project
We’re a small, volunteer-run group, so we focus on projects where our help makes a real difference.
Solves a real local problem
It answers a need residents have told us about, like wildfire risk, rebuilding, jobs or getting around.
Has local champions
Neighbors are ready to lead it. We help with the paperwork, partners and planning so they can focus on the work.
Can pay its own way
It can be funded through grants, sponsors, tickets or participation fees, so it lasts beyond the first year.
Have an idea for your community?
If you and your neighbors want to make something happen, we may be able to help.
Tell us the idea
A short note is enough: what you want to do, where, and who’s involved.
We help find a path
We look at partners, permits and funding, including grants a nonprofit can apply for.
You lead, we support
Your group stays in charge. We help with fundraising, paperwork and getting the word out.
Who we work with
Projects move faster with good partners. These organizations have supported MCP’s work on the river.
United Way
Eugene Cascades & Coast
Oregon.gov
EWEB
The Lamb Foundation
Travel Oregon
Weyerhaeuser
OCCU
Lane County Oregon
The Ford Family Foundation
