VTF 2025 December Newsletter

Gretchen Dubie
3 days ago
4 min read

Honoring the land, uplifting community—sending you holiday peace and light.

Director's Message:

"We preserve, protect, and enhance the natural environment through collaborative actions for scientific, educational, recreational, cultural, and economic goals that benefit the Yachats community and its future generations."

Happy Holidays, Friends of View the Future!

As we wrap up the year, I’m filled with gratitude for all of you—our volunteers and board members, partners, and supporters who help keep Yachats wild, beautiful, and deeply connected to its cultural roots. This community continues to show up in ways that inspire me every day.

With Solstice and the Peace Hike approaching, we pause to honor the Tribal history of their homeland and our Tribal partnerships that help us share their stories.

We’re deeply grateful to be part of the statewide movement to advance reconciliation and return lands to Tribal stewardship—work that is central to who we are. A special thank-you to Joanne Kittel, whose decades of dedication recently led to View the Future being recognized by the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts, at the annual State-wide meeting, as pioneers in integrating cultural history with land conservation. Her work continues to inspire a broader movement of true partnership with the Tribes, and her leadership continues to guide this important work. For land trusts across the state. We warmly invite you to join us on New Year’s Day for the 16th Annual Peace Hike, a time of honoring, remembrance, and reconciliation: https://www.viewthefuture.org/peace-hike.

Our work with the City of Yachats, Oregon Parks, The Fireside, Mid Coast Watersheds, and so many of you has helped strengthen trails, access, education, and conservation throughout our coastal region. Looking ahead, 2026 will bring exciting new projects and community gatherings, and I can’t wait to celebrate what we’ll accomplish together. Thank you to everyone who has already contributed to our annual campaign—and especially, to the Chamber Family, for their generous match that kicked off our annual campaign. As the year comes to a close, please keep View the Future in mind for your annual giving, planned giving, stock investments or estate plans. Your support truly makes a difference. Find our more here to learn about options: https://www.viewthefuture.org/donate

With so much gratitude,

Gretchen

Please consider a donation to help support our continued momentum.

Please Donate

Cultural Preservation:

16^th Annual New Year’s Day Peace Hike

Local Indigenous History Exhibit in the works for Little Log Church Museum

With full support and funding from both the Board of Directors of the Little Log Church / Museum (LLCM) and the City of Yachats, View the Future (VtF) is developing an exhibit dedicated to our region’s Indigenous history. This initiative is supervised by the Cultural Department of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (CTSI) and the Cultural/Natural Resources Department of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians (CTCLUSI).

The project began a year ago, led by Drew Caldwell, a View the Future (VtF) volunteer, and Joanne Kittel, VtF co-chair and honorary tribal member of CTCLUSI. After seven months spent drafting content suitable for the available space, the team held the first of what has now become four meetings with tribal representatives since late last summer. Contributing their knowledge and expertise are Peter Hatch (History and Archaeology Specialist, CTSI), Jesse Beers (Cultural Stewardship Manager, CTCLUSI), Alycia Cossey (Cultural Stewardship Associate, CTCLUSI), and Patty Phillips (Tribal Linguist, CTCLUSI). Their involvement has been invaluable and greatly appreciated.

A special thank you goes to Drew Caldwell for his dedication, technical skills, and passion for this project alongside Joanne from its inception. Both Drew and Joanne agree that collaborating with these experts has been deeply rewarding and meaningful.

As reconstruction of the museum progresses quickly, we anticipate opening the new exhibit by next spring or summer.

Photo: From left to right: Patty Phillips, Jesse Beers, Drew Caldwell, and Peter Hatch. Not pictured: Alycia Cossey and Joanne Kittel.

Partners Protecting

Improving Accessibility on the 804 North Trail

View the Future, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), and GSI International (GSI) have been collaborating to rehabilitate sections of the 804 North Trail to restore wheelchair accessibility.

When the 804 North Trail first opened in 1990, it was fully wheelchair accessible. However, a series of major storms beginning in 1995 caused significant damage. While periodic repairs have been made over the years, a long-term solution is now underway thanks to the generosity of the Fireside Dollar Opt-Out Program, which is dedicated to projects on both the 804 North and 804 South trails. A portion of this fund is supporting reconstruction work specifically aimed at increasing accessibility.

The Dollar Opt-Out Program, initiated by Drew Roslund, is not only helping improve the 804 North Trail—it is also contributing to the construction of the Estuary Walkway, scheduled to begin this spring.

Several key steps have already been completed in preparation for construction. OPRD will lead the work, which is expected to begin this winter once guidance from SHPO is finalized and all materials have been ordered and received.

We extend heartfelt appreciation to the Fireside Committee—Drew Roslund, Brian Fowler, Bob Langley, Michael Hempen, and Joanne Kittel—as well as additional partners: Doug Sestrich (OPRD), Stacy Scott (Archaeologist, OPRD), and Maury Morganstein, Ph.D. (Archaeologist, GMI).

Weather permitting, our hope is to complete this important accessibility project by spring.

Join us for a night out at Bayside Cellars:

Save the date!

Join us on January 13, 2026 for Toast the Coast! Friends of VtF Happy Hour at Bayside Cellars 4pm-7pm. Expect coastal cheer, community fun, and lots of gratitude for our incredible supporters.