History and Current Use

The Vandevert family began ranching on Parcel I in the 1890’s.  The meadow east of the river was used to raise rye to sustain cows and calves through the winter and was not irrigated.   The cattle were put on a government allotment, Spring River, June through October to allow the home place to provide enough feed for the rest of the year.  The cattle grazed on the ranch during the fall and spring, including in the riparian area.  See the History section of the ranch website for more on the rich history of the ranch. 

Only minimal logging of Parcel I had occurred until 1989 when beetle-infested and existing dead trees were removed.  Historically, the Vandeverts removed trees only for products needed for the Ranch; fence posts, house logs, bridge timbers, etc.  In the 1970’s, very selective high grading was done on the west side of the river where lumber was cut on site for railroad ties.  Some posts and poles were also removed in an ineffective thinning type operation on the east side in the early 1980’s by a previous owner. 

Parcel II had never been logged and there had been heavy beetle kill in recent years in the lodgepole.  In 1990, a fire swept through the heavy accumulation of beetle-killed lodgepole allowing for the creation of the large pasture which is now west of the stable.  Some salvage of the older trees has been undertaken over the years by woodcutters throughout the property.

In the early 1990’s, a new owner began development of the ranch as a high-end, low density residential community.  As of February, 2008, there are now 16 houses on 21 lots.  Two of the original 22 lots were merged.  The common areas are entirely owned by the lot owners, acting through the Vandevert Ranch Association and its board of directors.

Active forest management started in mid-1997 when the present Ranch Foreman was hired to manage the natural resources.  Fuels reduction began shortly thereafter and is an ongoing process.  In 2002, the Ranch was successful in obtaining an OWEB small grant for erosion control on the Little Deschutes River.  A like project was completed in 2004.  In 2003, the Ranch signed an agreement for a 15 year CCRP program.  The requirements for that program were satisfied in 2004 which included planting 19,100 seedlings on 80 acres of the 110 acres in the riparian zone.  An additional 38 acres were planted under a contract with the Deschutes Resources Conservancy in exchange for carbon sequestration credits for a total of 33,215 seedlings planted.

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