Zena Timberlands

In 2007, with the help of Bonneville Power Administration Wildlife Mitigation Funds and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, The Trust for Public Land protected Zena Forest—1,466 acres of mixed timber (including rare native oak savannah) only 8 miles northwest of Salem. In September 2008, TPL worked with the same team to preserve an additional 330 acres of adjacent land by purchasing conservation easements.

The Deumling Family, who have managed the Zena Forest for over 25 years, have partnered with Willamette University to take on ownership of the property. Under their stewardship, the forest will be an invaluable resource for the whole community.

The university and local elementary schools are using the property as an outdoor classroom for a wide variety of courses from forestry to music; meanwhile sustainable forest production continues and the land remains open to the public.

TPL continues to work with Willamette Valley landowners to further extend the protected land in this beautiful region of Oregon’s working lands.