County hears midyear updates from five special‑project grantees, including water, forest restoration, mentoring and shelter expansions

At a midyear report Jan. 14 the Board of County Commissioners received updates from five organizations funded through the county’s FY26 special project grant program. Presenters summarized progress, outcomes to date and near‑term needs.

Deschutes Basin Water Collaborative (Deschutes River Conservancy) — Lisa Seals and Alex Ahrens described a multi‑stakeholder basin planning process now in phase 5, said the group has restored close to 350 cubic feet per second of streamflow across projects and noted recent transfers that will provide roughly 28,000 acre‑feet to North Unit Irrigation District during the irrigation season; the collaborative is using state and federal partners and listed Bureau of Reclamation, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and the Oregon Community Foundation as key funders.

Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project — Jacob Fritz presented findings from a 15‑year monitoring report showing approximately 160,000 acres of restoration work in a focal area and trends toward greater structural heterogeneity and lower fuel hazard at project scales; the collaborative emphasized social license building and partner funding.

Friends of the Children — Rachel Cardwell reported the chapter now serves 97 children across Central Oregon (93 county residents), described the long‑term mentoring model and noted a recent loss of three funding sources that created a $250,000 gap (about $160,000 raised so far to reduce that shortfall); she described plans to become a licensed behavioral health provider and to expand revenue diversification.

Newberry Regional Partnership — Megan Tuck reviewed a newly finalized strategic action plan for Lapine and surrounding areas, described volunteer action teams and highlighted wildfire preparedness and public‑land cleanup work (including removal of abandoned RVs and hundreds of cubic yards of refuse).

Shepherd's House Ministry — Jerry (Shepherd's House) described campus expansion leveraging county seed funding, a $3 million Federal Home Loan Bank award and private donations to convert and own several homes and expand Abby’s House capacity for women and children to more than 40 residents; the presenter outlined remodeling and ongoing operating funding needs and a six‑step process for resident transitions.

Commissioners asked questions about program metrics, scaling, county follow‑up and clarified that when applicants request additional funds staff will return with specific budget information. The board acknowledged the grantees and thanked them for program accomplishments.