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.
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This Work Began With Neighbors
RRVCP grew from people in Dorena, Culp Creek, and Disston working together to solve problems close to home.
Fire protection was one of the first and most urgent. Neighbors organized, volunteer firefighters stepped forward, and residents voted to create their own rural fire district.
Along the way, other needs kept coming to the table. Wildfire preparedness. Communication when cell service and internet are unreliable. Neighbors wanting to know one another. Older residents and families needing better connections to information and resources. Stewardship of the forests, waterways, and places that make this valley home.
Those needs shape our work today.
The Row River Review
The Best Little Newspaper in the Row River Valley!
In a rural valley, good communication matters most of all.
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
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
Good Partners Help Rural Communities Do More
Another Win for Resiliency in Rural Oregon!
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.
Over the past few years, residents have helped bring attention to the urgent need for emergency services and wildfire mitigation in our area. Together, with tremendous community commitment, our residents were instrumental in establishing the Row River Rural Fire Protection District through a successful public vote. Together, we have also secured two generous land donations for future fire stations, one, our main station, in central Dorena from a private local donor, and another from Weyerhaeuser to serve as an satellite unmanned station in Disston at the corner of Layng Creek Road and Brice Creek Road. We are actively seeking partnerships with local government, funders, and corporate partners to support construction of these stations.
The Row River Valley Community Partnership continues to grow and raise funds for emergency equipment, support neighborhood outreach, household mitigation and connect with our vulnerable residents. Our community faces real challenges. Many people live on fixed or limited incomes. Wildfire risk is high. Emergency services have been historically out of reach for many. We believe in facing these challenges together – and we put that belief into action.
We invite you to be a part of this effort. Whether you have professional skills to share, ideas to contribute, time to volunteer, or simply want to stay informed, your involvement matters. We welcome new partnerships, open communication, and fresh perspectives. Our work is ongoing, and it is powered by the people who live here.
Every success reflects the deep love our community has for this valley and the people in it. Together, we are creating a community where both people and the environment can thrive.
The idea for the Neighborhood Teams grew out of conversations with residents during a valley-wide income survey. As our volunteers went door-to-door, they repeatedly heard a common theme: They wanted more opportunities to connect with their neighbors and get involved in building a stronger, more vibrant community. The Neighborhood Teams are being created in direct response to this shared desire for connection and collaboration. Please visit the link above and let us know how you can help.
From Around the Valley
Stories, project updates, community news, and the people helping move the work forward.
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 [...]
$25,000 Challenge Grant Will Help Preserve the Row River Christian Fellowship
The Row River Christian Fellowship has stood in the Row River Valley for generations. Like many older rural buildings, however, time and Oregon weather have taken their toll. Now, the Woodard Family Foundation has provided [...]
