June 2025 -The Newberry Country Land Stewards successfully completed their second major cleanup of the year. This large-scale effort saw over 30 dedicated volunteers, with additional vital assistance from our neighbors, the Public Land Stewards. We’re especially grateful to April McDaniel for her generous donation of gloves and trash bags, which were essential for the cleanup. La Pine Figaros provided a delicious lunch, and we were graciously hosted by Legend Cider in La Pine.
Just four days later, on June 25, 2025, we received exciting news: COIC staff notified us that we were awarded $30,000 for RV removal off of Public Lands. The catch? We had to complete the project in just four days, two of which were over a weekend! The Newberry Land Stewards Action Team sprang into action, demonstrating incredible hustle. They quickly found a place for the RVs, secured a towing company, and managed numerous other critical factors.
Our goal was to remove at least 10 RVs. Despite many of the RVs being virtually unmovable by traditional means, and a brief delay due to a fire in one of the areas where a few RVs were located (which was quickly controlled), the project proceeded smoothly.
We want to extend a huge thank you to Action Team Leader Shannon Shahan and action team members from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, High Lakes Dumpster Rental, and C & S Dirtworks for making this monumental task possible. A special shout-out to Journey Salvage for answering our call and working with us on such short notice. In the end, we successfully removed 11 abandoned vehicles and RVs from BLM land. While we weren’t able to use all of the awarded funds, we are incredibly pleased with the outcome and the positive impact on our public lands.