Thornburgh Resort Development
This week, the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners is deliberating again on the proposed Thornburgh resort development. We want our children and grandchildren to be able to call Central Oregon home, and the Thornburgh resort puts that vision in peril.
We are concerned that indigenous science and the treaty rights of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have been blatantly disregarded by the Commission. The ancestors of the CTWS called this place home long before we and our ancestors did, and their understanding of how to care for water, fish and wildlife is essential. Thornburgh violates the Treaty of 1855. People across the country are watching to see whether Deschutes County honors this treaty.
It is especially important that people of faith and fierce love with lineage in Christian tradition pay attention in this moment. One of the legacies of Christianity is its championing of the seizure of indigenous lands. There is repair to do.
We cannot, in good conscience, promise a future to our children and grandchildren here in Central Oregon if we allow a new resort to pump up to six million gallons of water a day to serve the wealthiest. Thornburgh cannot clearly show how they might avoid harm and diminishment to water, fish and wildlife, and we will all suffer those consequences.
There is only one way forward that enables us to continue to call Central Oregon home: YES to water; YES to affordable housing; YES to treaty rights; and NO to Thornburgh.
— Rev. Erika Spaet + Alissa Tower
Editor’s note: The letter below was received before the Senate struck the public land sales provision from the budget reconciliation bill on Monday, June 23.”
More Than 60 Deschutes County MTB Trails Occupy Federal Land That Could Be Sold
A Senate reconciliation bill would require the sale of up to 3.3 million acres of public land. Between 2.2 and 3.3 million acres of public land must be sold under the current version of a Senate reconciliation bill that could go to a vote before Independence Day.
Those sales could occur anywhere on 258 million acres of eligible U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land across 11 Western states, according to a map compiled by The Wilderness Society. In Deschutes County, 61 mountain bike trails are on the chopping block.
“It’s hard to believe this could happen in America,” said Central Oregon Trail Alliance Executive Director Emmy Andrews. “Trails that are key to our economy and our sense of community and quality of life, this would put all of those trails at risk of losing access and having those lands transformed into something else.”
Public land sales would begin within 30 days of the bill’s passage, with the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum soliciting nominations of tracts of BLM and USFS land from interested parties. Proponents of the Senate reconciliation bill such as the provision’s sponsor, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), characterized it as necessary for increasing the inventory and affordability of housing. However, the bill’s language only requires tracts of housing to be “residential,” not affordable, and does not require them to be near existing developed areas or infrastructure.
Critics of the proposal have noted that much of the eligible land is too remote or fire-prone to be suitable for housing developments that would be affordable to middle class Americans. While state and local governments can nominate public lands they want to purchase, Andrews noted that states and counties do not have the funds to acquire or manage public lands. “They’ll become privatized, they’ll become houses and giant ranches for rich people,” she said. “There is very little money in outdoor recreation, but outdoor recreation has a huge impact on the economy and people’s mental and physical health.”
The proposal within the Senate tax and spending bill follows a similar proposal in the House version of the bill, which provided for sale of 500,000 acres of public land. That proposal was removed from the House budget reconciliation bill after public outcry prompted Congressman Ryan Zinke (R-MT) to pressure House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to remove the required sale.
Both Oregon senators have already voiced their opposition to the proposal.
In Deschutes County, support for the House version of the bill was split: U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR) voted against the House reconciliation bill while Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-OR) voted in favor of it.
If passed in the Senate, the reconciliation bill would return to the House for final approval. The office of Rep. Bentz did not immediately respond to a question on whether Bentz would vote in favor of the bill if the public land sale proposal passes the Senate.
These are the 61 Deschutes County mountain bike trails on land that could be sold:
- Phil’s Trail Complex: C.O.D., EXT, Grand Slam, Helipad, Phil’s Trail, Ticket to Ride (North), Voodoo Child
- Wanoga: Dinah-Moe, Duodenum, Kiwa Butte, Lone Wolf, Tiddlywinks (Upper/Lower)
- Swampy Lakes: Flagline, Flagline Access, Flagline Tie, Sector 16, Southfork, S.S.T., Swampy Lakes Loop, Swede Ridge, Tumalo Ridge, Upper Flagline
- North of Skyliner: Farewell, Mrazek (Upper/Lower),Northfork
- Cascade Lakes: Edison Lava, Metolius – Windigo
- Sisters: Hawk’s Flight, Peterson Ridge Trail (East, West, Middle, Tie), Sisters Tie, Top Rung, Windigo
- Cline Butte: Bull Snake, Blue-Belly Stem, Cline Butte XC, Rattler
- Maston: Fat Rabbit Loop, Headgate, Lost Dream, Oregon Sunshine, Talon
- East of Bend: Horse Butte, Arnold Ice Cave, Swamp Wells, Coyote Loop
- South of Bend: Peter Skene Ogden
- SW of Bend: Waldo Lake, Moore Trail
- Oregon Badlands Wilderness: Crazyhorse, Crooked Arm, Dry River Canyon, Escape from Moscow, Has No Horse, Holy Loop, Parkway, Sand Canyon
— Dan Roe
Letter of the Week:
Dan, as letter of the week, you can pick up a gift card to Palate coffee at our office on NW Bond Street & Georgia Avenue.
— Nic Moye, Managing Editor
This article appears in Source Weekly June 26, 2025.
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