Who We Are

The Friends of Fish Lake is a small, robust non-profit organization devoted to the preservation and interpretation of the Fish Lake Historic Site. We are comprised of:

·      A Board of Directors, volunteers dedicated to serving the general membership, administering the non-profit, and completing critical work in support of the Fish Lake Historic Site. 

·      Directors Emeritus, a group of previous Directors providing leadership, knowledge and expertise to our Board.

·      General membership, a growing group of passionate individuals contributing to our mission through membership dues, volunteering, and donations. 

·      Partners and Donors who support us through grants, donations and expertise to complete on-site projects and deliver educational programs.

What We Do

The Board of Directors creates an annual program of work and budget to accomplish priority work to restore, preserve, protect and interpret the historic, cultural and ecological values of the Fish Lake Historic Site. 

Each summer, the Friends host a work week at Fish Lake, where members from across the Pacific Northwest gather to camp, reconnect, and volunteer to work on a variety of projects, including historic building restoration, maintenance and repairs, site cleanup, weed pulling, and more. 

We co-host and support professional educators’ workshops at Fish Lake.  We give customized tours and design immersive activities for visiting groups and during special events, including pack string demonstrations and guided entry into historic buildings. We provide oversight and logistics for youth groups working at Fish Lake.  We organize activities for partner organizations to visit Fish Lake to see the good work their contributions help us accomplish. 

How We Do It

The Friends of Fish Lake is powered by volunteers. During the summer, a group of dedicated individuals sign up to volunteer as on-site, resident hosts.  Site hosts provide interpretive tours of the site, greeting and educating site visitors, while protecting the historic features from misuse and vandalism.

Through membership dues and raffles, volunteer labor, donations, grants and support from partnership organizations, we accomplish major projects and provide educational programming.   Our partners, sponsors and donors include the Roundhouse Foundation, The Pacific Northwest Forest Service Association, the Kinsman Foundation, Oregon Natural Resource Education Program, Oregon State University Extension, HistoriCorps, Backcountry Horsemen, Oregon National Guard, the Federal Highway Administration, Cascade Volunteers, the Linn County Historical Society, the Crook County Historical Society, and individual members who give generous donations.

Why We Do It

We see a future for the Fish Lake Historic Site achievable through an expanding partnership and dedication of groups and individuals who are passionate about preservation and education in a unique historic site open to the public. 

Our vision is for the Fish Lake Historic Site to be recognized as one of the best cared for and operated sites in the Pacific Northwest. 

In these uncertain times, our dedication to our work at Fish Lake, in support of the Forest Service and the public, is more important than ever.  We hope you will join us in our ongoing preservation, restoration, interpretive and educational efforts.