Learn and Get Involved
You already love spending time in Central Oregon's National Forest, why not take it to the next level? Whether you sign up as a volunteer, attend a ranger talk or join as a member, you can go beyond just visiting and make an impact!
Volunteer
Central Oregon’s National Forests are home to a group of wonderful volunteers ‑ men and women of all ages with a passionate interest in conservation, education and the rich environmental, cultural and geological history surrounding Central Oregon’s public lands. Join the dedicated people helping the Forest Service to protect our region’s most treasured places.
SHOP
We are proud to offer visitors a chance to support their Public Lands by purchasing items from our many Discover Your Forest stores. Proceeds from your purchases in our stores support student education programs, interpretive programs, exhibits, publications and other services on the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests. Visit one of our retail locations to pick up passes, guides, maps and more!
Events
May
1
Tue
May 1 @ 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
May
5
Sat
May 5 @ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The Monarch butterfly is vulnerable. There were an estimated one billion North American Monarchs twenty years ago. Today there are about 33 million. But their decline is only part of this compelling story. The Western Monarch—our Monarch butterfly—has seen a much greater population decline; yet dedicated study on their dwindling numbers only began in 2012.
Why is this significant? Because their story is an indicator of total pollinator decline which means our entire food chain is in peril. Fortunately, citizen scientists are making a meaningful difference in helping experts understand the underlying problems. The key to developing a citizen scientist network is education. Students can and are becoming engaged citizen scientists. The study of pollinators like the Monarch butterfly can get kids excited about learning.
We’ve seen this at Sisters Middle School and we want to share our success with you. That’s why we urge you to attend our free Western Monarch and Pollinator Spring Migration Celebration on May 5, 2018. See below.
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Southern Oregon Monarch Advocates is hosting a pre-conference
round-table discussion where everyone may share their stories of success in helping Monarchs
and pollinators in their area.
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Main Conference includes the following program:
Keynote speaker: Entomologist Dr. David James of Washington State University, founder of the Western
Monarch tagging and tracking program will bring us all up to date.
Featured speaker: Robert Coffan, of Southern Oregon Monarch Advocates is part of a team that is currently performing the largest single monarch habitat restoration project in the western United States! As SOMA co-founder, Robert will share just why and how they are doing it.
Special guest and MC: Sisters Middle School Special Education teacher Susie Werts, used Monarch butter-flies to enhance student reading and writing skills while rearing monarch caterpillars and releasing tagged Mon-arch butterflies. Teacher Werts some of what she has learned.
Featured video: Journey’s Flight, The Video Storybook, produced by Angela Street. Angela captured the
essence of the book Journey’s Flight, written by Sisters Middle School students into a delightful short video
with music and student art.
Please join us and others throughout the Northwest who care about the plight of the monarch butterfly and all of our pollinators, as we come together to celebrate at our Spring Migration Celebration at Sisters Middle School on Saturday, May 5, 2018, from noon to 3 p.m.
Please email your questions and registration to Jean at butterflyprogram@aol.com
Jun
9
Sat
Jun 9 all-day
The following federal agencies offer fee free days on National Get Outdoors Day:
- Bureau of Land Management
- Forest Service
Visit Us Today!
Newberry National Volcanic Monument is open, come experience the wonder of Central Oregon's Volcano!
2937
Volunteers donating their time on Deschutes National Forest
53,186
Hours Volunteers dedicated to conserving our Forest
125+
Types of conservation specialty projects completed on Central Oregon's Forests
$1,223,657
of donated labor from volunteers on Deschutes National Forest.
Volunteering for Discover Your Forest is a fun and rewarding way to meet others and provide opportunities for children that otherwise would not have the chance to see what our forests have to offer them. There are a variety of activities to get involved in and the best part is that you get to choose which ones interest you.
Sharing the forest and the monument with visitors is a total blast! You get to meet people from all over our country as well as from around the world!
We have volunteered at the Guard Station for 6 years and enjoy the location and meeting people. We first learned about the opportunity at the Station while on vacation in the area, and then enjoyed the great volunteer opportunities.
