McKenzie Community Land Trust’s Rose St. Neighborhood Celebration Remarks

Good afternoon, everyone. I am honored to be a part of this exciting celebration and ribbon-cutting.

In celebrating progress and the present moment, we should never forget the context that created this housing development opportunity. We all acknowledge that five years is too long for any family to come home after a disaster. The McKenzie Community Land Trust exists because this community has determination, resilience, and vision. 

While state and federal systems moved slowly, you organized yourselves, created your own solutions, and built the partnerships that finally got homes constructed. Thank you.

Your success today is a testament to community-led recovery. The McKenzie Community Land Trust is leading the way for workforce housing in wildfire-impacted communities and demonstrating recovery partnerships that are faster and more responsive. We know Oregon will face future wildfire disasters, but it is good to know that the work of the Land Trust is creating a model that others will benefit from.

 

Everyone here today is a part of the recovery story of the McKenzie, one that will not wrap up until Melanie’s store re-opens, and more housing is constructed, and Blue River becomes the community it has envisioned – for the adults who grew up here and for the next generation that will someday play in Blue River Park. 

As participants in this effort, you know that when we talk about disasters, we can't just focus on the emergency response phase. We must also commit to walking alongside communities for as long as it takes – because that's what real resilience demands.

 

The McKenzie Valley needed faster support, better systems, and more resources after the Holiday Farm Fire leveled over 500 homes. In 2020, the state had no infrastructure in place to support communities' long-term recovery. But this community didn't wait for us to learn. Instead, you chose to lead and show others the way. 

 

I am inspired by what you have accomplished. You formed the McKenzie Community Land Trust, fought for funding, and built six firewise, affordable homes where Blue River once stood in ashes.

 

What the McKenzie Valley community has accomplished through the land trust model isn't just remarkable local recovery. As I’ve said, it’s a blueprint for how Oregon must approach disaster resilience statewide. This is exactly the people-centered approach we're building into our Plan for a Resilient Oregon, and your success proves we need to scale up community-driven solutions across the state. I want to thank the McKenzie Valley Long-Term Recovery Group for serving as an advisor to the work of the Plan for a Resilient Oregon. Your leadership is invaluable in helping the state best serve rural, remote, and unincorporated communities.

Disaster recovery isn't something that the government does to communities or for communities: it's something we must do with communities, and it takes all of us. The McKenzie Community Land Trust partnered with DevNW, secured OHCS LIFT funding, and now they're planning their next neighborhood.

No single entity could have accomplished this alone. Real recovery demands that state agencies, community organizations, nonprofits, and local leaders work as true partners, each bringing resources, expertise, and commitment to the table. That's the model we need to build into our systems before the next disaster hits.

 

Five years after the Holiday Farm Fire, the McKenzie River Valley has taught Oregon a critical lesson: the communities on the frontlines know what they need, and they can build back stronger. As we develop our comprehensive resilience plan, we're learning from organizations like yours who are doing the essential work of housing, economic development, and community rebuilding.  

 

The McKenzie Community Land Trust demonstrates what's possible when we invest in local leadership and trust communities to drive their own recovery. This is the kind of community-centered success we must fund and replicate statewide, and it's why your work here will shape how Oregon prepares for and recovers from the climate disasters we know are inevitable.

 

Congratulations to the families that will be moving into these beautiful homes. Thank you for your dedication to your community, commitment to recovery, and for your partnership. The state is committed to the long-term prosperity of the McKenzie Valley community.