This Work Began With Neighbors
Across Rural Oregon, small communities have always found ways to take care of their own. RRVCP grew from that same spirit here in Dorena, Culp Creek, and Disston—neighbors working together to solve problems close to home.
Fire protection was one of the first and most urgent. Neighbors began asking questions, gathering information, holding community meetings, and exploring what dependable local fire protection could look like. In May 2024, residents voted to establish their own rural fire protection district.
That experience brought people together and opened conversations about other needs in the valley: wildfire preparedness, communication where cell and internet service are unreliable, stronger connections between neighbors, support for older residents and families, and care for the forests, waterways, and places that make this valley home.
These aren’t challenges unique to us. Rural communities across Oregon are finding their own ways to meet needs with the people, knowledge, and resources available close to home. Here in the Row River Valley, that work continues to shape what we do together.
Upcoming Events
The Row River Review
The Best Little Newspaper in the Row River Valley!
In a rural valley without mobile service, staying informed and connected is essential.
The Row River Review is mailed directly to households throughout Dorena, Culp Creek, and Disston, bringing local news, preparedness information, community resources, meeting notices, and stories from our neighbors to the kitchen table.
View Our Latest Edition
Neighbors Are Still Showing Up
Welcoming the Central Row River Road Team! Photo of their first Neighborhood Teams meeting.
Teamwork never tasted so good!
In a rural valley, good communication matters most of all.
Neighborhood Teams began with something we heard while volunteers were going door to door: people wanted more opportunities to know their neighbors and take part in what was happening around them.
Today, teams are forming in different parts of the valley. Each one looks a little different because each neighborhood is different.
That is exactly as it should be.
Learn about Neighborhood Teams
OUR IMMEDIATE PRIORITY
Our Community Built a Fire District. Now We Must Build Its Stations.
In 2024, Row River Valley residents came together to establish Lane County’s first new rural fire district in nearly 30 years.
Land has been donated for the Dorena Main Station and Disston Substation. Firefighters are training and serving. Equipment has been secured. Plans are underway. We are now working to bring together the funding and partnerships needed to build permanent stations.
These stations will give our firefighters places to train, protect equipment, keep apparatus ready, and respond from both ends of our long valley. They will serve our residents and visitors while strengthening protection for the Row River watershed and surrounding forest lands.
Good Partners Help Rural Communities Do More
Much of what has happened here has been possible because local effort has been met by people and organizations willing to come alongside it.
Public agencies, foundations, businesses, nonprofit partners, landowners, volunteers, and individual donors have helped provide land, firefighter equipment and training, wildfire mitigation, planning, technical expertise, community programs, and the early work toward permanent fire stations.
We are grateful for every partner who has taken the time to understand this valley and invest in its future.
There is still plenty of work ahead.
From Around the Valley
Stories, project updates, community news, and the people helping move the work forward.
UWSWCD & Neighbors Help Care for the Disston Pathway
UWSWCD & Neighbors Helping Care for the Disston Pathway
Lane County Leaders Join the Row River Valley’s Think Tank Tuesday
Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch and Lane County Policy Director Stephen “Steve” Adams recently joined Neighborhood Team organizers and community members for Think Tank Tuesday at the Little White Church in Dorena. Held on [...]
Building the Capacity to Serve Our Valley
The Row River Valley Community Partnership has received a $5,000 capacity-building grant from the Autzen Foundation. This support will help RRVCP engage a qualified fundraising consultant or firm to strengthen fundraising for our current [...]
Helping a Rural Community Build the Resources to Succeed
The Row River Valley Community Partnership is deeply grateful to announce a $5,000 grant from The Ford Family Foundation to help strengthen our fundraising capacity for the future Dorena Main Fire Station. This grant [...]
Neighbors Come Together to Form the Valley’s Fourth Neighborhood Team
Eight homeowners gathered Saturday at the home of Dennis and Cindy Igou for the first meeting of a new Neighborhood Team serving the upper-middle area of Row River Road. Their gathering marks the formation [...]
Help Keep the Row River Review Reaching Our Community
With gratitude to the Oregon State Fire Marshal for sponsoring the Row River Review from May 2025 through August 2026 and helping bring safety information and community news directly to our valley. Will [...]
The Sentinel Told Our Story. Now We Can Support Theirs.
By Cindy Weeldreyer Cottage Grove Sentinel On August 5, the Cottage Grove Sentinel placed the Row River Valley Community Partnership on its front page. Written by Cindy Weeldreyer, “Partnership Strengthens Ties Across [...]
Row River Review Recognized in Statewide Journalism Study
Building Connections, One Story at a Time When we first published the Row River Review, our goal wasn't to start a newspaper. Our goal was to help neighbors stay connected. Living in a rural [...]
