Farm & Forestland Protections

As an affiliate of 1000 Friends of Oregon, HRVRC works with citizens, policy makers, and local government to advocate for and implement creative solutions to conserve farmland. We work to accomplish this goal via a variety of channels:

Monitoring HRVRC is the local “watchdog” organization working to minimize land use decisions that damage or destroy the quality of life and/or undermine the farm and forest land use base making it more costly or difficult to farm. With two volunteer attorneys on the Board, and other active community members, HRVRC receives, tracks and accesses all development applications in the valley. As a last resort, HRVRC has and will litigate.
Creative Solutions HRVRC works within the community to identify solutions to conflicts that arise. One prime example of this is the “land trade” that was developed as a result of mediation between Mount Hood Meadows, HRVRC and Hood River County.
Educational Events HRVRC hosts educational forums, sends e-newsletters/paper newsletters regarding issues that could have potential impacts on resource land or open space in the Hood River County. See past events to learn what kinds of events HRVRC has hosted in the past. See HRVRC's upcoming events for more information about what's next.

It's not all about windsurfing Unlike many farming communities around the country that have been swallowed by sprawl, Hood River Valley’s 100+ year-old tree fruit industry is thriving. Composed largely of small, 20 – 200 acre family farms, farming in the Hood River Valley annually drives 100 million dollars into the local and state economy. Hood River is the top fruit-growing county in the state of Oregon, and county's pear crop represent 1/3 of the winter pears eaten in the US.