Deschutes Land Trust Purchases 450-Acre Property Near Sisters

SISTERS, Ore. -- After a deal 12 years in the making, Central Oregon will have a new trail system.

The Whychus Canyon Preserve deal is a 450-acre property northeast of Sisters.  The property stretches along two miles of Whychus Creek on which they are planning a trail system.  The area will also be prime habitat for steelhead fish -- a specialty to Central Oregon.

The final checks to seal this $2.9 million deal happened just before the new year hit.

"We had checks as small as $25 and as large as $50,000," said  Brad Chalfant, Executive Director of Deschutes Land Trust.

Their deadline was the end of the year.

Deschutes Land Trust hopes it will be ready for public use by summer of 2011.