Arlene Dietz holds up a map on Nov. 12, 2025, showing the Rice Farm and the adjacent waterways, namely Cedar Creek and the McKenzie River. She’s excited that her farm will be partially kept for agricultural purposes, and turned into riparian floodplain forest.
In October, the board of the Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District unanimously approved a purchase agreement for what’s known as the Rice Farm in Springfield.
On a balmy fall afternoon, Arlene Dietz, 81, navigated her 2014 GMC pickup through rows and rows of hazelnut trees. Some are but saplings; others are dense, tall and majestic…