The Defensible Space Reimbursement Program was funded by a grant from the Columbia Bank Foundation (formerly Umpqua Bank). The Low-income Senior Defensible Space Program was funded by a grant from Deschutes County. Our 2026 goal is to continue funding both defensible space programs at the current level.
Defensible Space Reimbursement Program
Projects Completed: 59
Property Owner Expenses: $64,679
Reimbursement Payments: $28,838
Three Rivers Area: 39 projects
River Meadows: 11
DRRH 6; 8
DRRH 1-5: 6
Fall River Estates: 5
DRRH 9: 4
La Pine Area: 20 projects
Low-income Senior Defensible Space Program
Property Assessments: 18
Projects Completed: 16
Contractor Payments: $14,900
Fiscal Sponsorship
Provided fiscal sponsorship for River Forest Acres community Project Wilfire fuels reduction project.
Community Outreach
Laura Miller gave a presentation about wildfire camp services during the 2024 Oregon wildfire season. Upper Deschutes River Communities (UDRC) Board members staffed table at the Wildfire Preparedness Fair sponsored by Oregon State Fire Marshal and Newberry Regional Partnership and staffed a table at the Discover Your Forest Burning to Heal Film Festival. Participated in the Newberry Regional Partnership Defensible Space Action Team meetings.
Announced community grant opportunities, workshops, and seminars through the UDRC website and email newsletter. UDRC partners with Newberry Regional Partnership for public meetings. If you have suggestions for future meeting topics Contact UDRC.
Looking forward to 2026
Funding for the 2026 Reimbursement and Low-income Senior or Defensible Space Programs is included in the La Pine Wildfire Mitigation Project five-year grant awarded to Deschutes County from the U.S. Forest Service. Funds will be available after formal agreements have been approved and funds allocated. The Defensible Space Reimbursement program opening will be announced on the UDRC website and email list.
The Roundhouse Foundation awarded a $15,000 grant to fund the 2026 Low-Income Senior or Disabled Program. This program is open for applications.
The UDRC works very hard to keep our administrative costs to a minimum. All our current Board members are volunteers, and we have no paid staff. Operating costs are required to keep functioning and we depend on donations to pay them. These include maintaining our website, insurance, government fees and taxes, postage, cell phone service, meeting expenses, etc.
Every dollar counts towards maintaining or expanding our programs. UDRC is a 501c3 organization and donations are tax deductible.To donate online via PayPal, go to the website udrc.org and click on Donate.
To donate by check, please fill out the donation form and make payment to Upper Deschutes River Coalition. Mail your donation to: UDRC, PO Box 3042, Sunriver, OR 97707.
