One of Alex Hardison’s most meaningful experiences with the natural world is also one of his earliest childhood memories.
It begins on a small sailboat his parents had chartered, not far from their home in Anacortes on Fidalgo Island, Washington. There they bobbed in the Salish Sea. The North Cascade Range and the Olympic Mountains hugged the periphery. A young Hardison noticed something large and instantly recognizable, cresting the water’s surface.
“I remember seeing this orca just 10, 15 feet away from the boat,” Hardison said. “It was incredible.”
Hardison, now 30, has carried that sense of awe with him not just to Bend, where he now lives, but to an accelerated career with Central Oregon LandWatch. Presently the communications manager, Hardison handles messaging and content for the nonprofit. He also launches outreach campaigns and organizes grassroots conservation efforts.
A distinct slice of Pacific Northwest grandeur, Central Oregon speaks to Hardison as intimately as his corner of coastal Washington.
“Visually, Central Oregon is so expansive,” he said. “I remember the first time I visited, coming from the North Cascades — they’re so rugged. So much of the surrounding landscape is obfuscated just by the geography, you can’t see it. But in Central Oregon, you have this vast volcanic plateau. You can see these high Cascade peaks all the way down and across the sagebrush steppe to the horizon.”
Hardison moved to Bend after receiving a degree in International Environmental Studies from the University of Washington. He got busy acquainting himself with the area. A fly fisherman, he paid visits to Whychus Creek, whose course he plotted while decked in waders, casting at its silvery surface until it meets in confluence with Lake Billy Chinook and the Deschutes River.
“Fly fishing in the Deschutes Basin is one of my all-time favorite things,” Hardison said. “It gets you out there. I’ve spent so much time standing in these waters, streams and creeks of all sizes. You’re able to find solitude and stillness and peace. You’re exposed to so many sensations.”
He soon counted Tumalo Creek and Skyline Forest as two additionally special personal retreats. They’re also where his conservation ambitions would catch traction.
After a stint volunteering at LandWatch in 2021, Hardison pitched the executive director an internship that positioned him as the manager for the nonprofit’s 2022 Save Skyline Forest campaign, which continues today.
His work on the project landed him a paid position as the program and communications coordinator. Despite approaching his fourth year with LandWatch, Hardison, as communications manager, is still more accustomed to promoting his coworkers and their accomplishments than his own, he said.
One of Hardison’s biggest imperatives is emphasizing public engagement and input.
“Conservation is defined by grassroot efforts; that’s kind of where it starts,” he said. “Communities that know the landscapes, those who live there, are the ones that typically care about them the most.”
Advocating for all the values that make Central Oregon unique, and so beloved, goes part and parcel with being a conscious resident, he said. At LandWatch, Hardison and his colleagues grapple with the often-entangled interests that go into land-use planning, he said. Community needs and environmental factors are often defined by neighboring watersheds and landscapes.
“It’s an interesting tapestry,” he added.
When Hardison talks about his passions for the natural world, he often narrows his eyes.
“I’ll tell you about catching a fish,” he begins. “If you’re the kind of person who likes collecting rocks from beaches or different riverbanks, each fish is kind of like that. They’re all distinct in their colorations and markings. To have that moment, to connect with another living being that depends on and is sustained by the lands and waters that also sustain me, my friends and family and communities, is special.”
This article appears in Source Weekly April 17, 2025.
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