Five Generations - Becky Wood Hardesty, Boise

[Sent to Senators Metsger, Walker, Westlund, Brown, Morse, Kruse, Johnson:]

My name is Rebecca Biddle Wood Hardesty and my family (the C.E.S. Wood family and the Lamar Tooze family) has owned property on the Metolius for 5 generations. Our family has beautiful undeveloped property about 5 miles down river from Camp Sherman and we also have a tiny cabin at Camp Sherman upon land leased from the Forest Service. In both locations we have a view of the majestic and undisturbed Green Ridge.

I am absolutely shocked that development is being considered in such a beautiful and pristine area which Oregonians know as sacred, majestic, calm, scenic, undisturbed and for the most part free from human imprint. How can our elected officials even consider paving the forest floor with cement and asphalt, sawing down the majestic trees for the sake of installing sewer, gutter, sidewalks, roads, electricity, and other site improvements and then on top of that build 2,500 homes? How many car trips a day does THAT add up to? 5,000 perhaps??? It is sinful. It is outrageous. It promotes the exact opposite values of those I would expect my governmental representatives to protect. Development in that area would ruin it forever. It would irreversibly destroy the entire character of this gorgeous and sacred place.

Let's apply a cost/benefit analysis to the proposed development. On one hand we have the priceless value of leaving the landscape undeveloped to protect the amazingly unique and majestic landscape, the huge old growth trees, ecosystems, wildlife, views, quietude, undisturbed surroundings, and to preserve the place as one of the few sacred places left in Oregon. On the other hand we have the competing value of a developer wanting to make a profit and the county wanting to make some dollars, perhaps even to increase county commissioner salaries. Of course any developer could figure out some other way to make a profit which has a lower social, scenic and environmental cost and any commissioner could figure out a better way to increase the tax base or cut spending which has a lower social, scenic and environmental cost. Why do our elected officials think for a second that developers or commissioners have some God given right to reap profits at the irreversable expense of nature? Why are we not holding these developers and commissioners to a higher standard of intelligence, requiring them to look elsewhere to make a dollar?

On a more practical note, I also question the commissioners' thinking in approving this plan for development to increase overall county revenue when this development is in an extremely high risk fire zone and would require enormous spending on fire protection plans and personnel. What is the net increase in revenue to the county once that enormous cost has been considered? Anyone familiar with the area is familiar with the certainty of uncontrolled forest fires in the area. Is it even safe to put homes where they are proposing? If the fire from a couple of years ago occurred in that area, how would it be put out? Would water be taken from the river? Would this further endanger the river and the ecosystems it supports?

I have been in close communication with vast numbers of your constituents and on behalf of these friends of the Metolius and myself, I urge you to take every action possible to prevent the proposed development in the Metolius River area and to support and pass SB 30.

Please keep me informed on your position on this bill by sending updates to my email address at rbwh2@aol.com.

Thank you.

Becky Wood Hardesty
Boise, ID