"Dear Ben" - Carole Hancock, Powell Butte

Dear Ben - How very, very sad after all these years it appears the beautiful Metolius River/Camp Sherman area is threatened and in jeopardy of being completely lost and taken over by big money powered developers who seem be on a trek of completely destroying by rezoning peaceful retreats for the soleful purpose of monetary gain, with the promise of monetary allocation to unrestrained and overspending city/county/state government recipients. When is it going to stop?!!

I am a frequent visitor to the Metolius River, for a peaceful place of retreating. Please do all you can to not allow Metolius River/Camp Sherman to become rezoned for any purpose. Let's decide to leave some places completely alone for that purpose and that purpose only - to just plain leave it all alone. The area is available as it stands now to anyone who cares to make reservations for overnight and visit as frequently as possible.

The Metolius River has been unequivically protected by those in Camp Sherman who not only love their privacy and serene beauty of the lifestyle in Camp Sherman, but truly love the river, so affectionately referred to by many of us as the Melodious River. How very sad and threatening this must be to they who have worked so long and hard to safeguard this beautiful wilderness area.

As a child we visited and fished the Metolius River many times. I personally was privileged to live in Camp Sherman for one winter in an established cabin and witnessed wildlife yet to be hindered by big development areas. A whole herd of elk walked the river in the moonlight; deer meandered without fear of man; numerous species of ducks raised their young; bald eagles flew overhead, used dead tree stumps as perches; and the great blue heron fed along the Metolius shores, along with many other species of wildlife too numerous to name. To experience this wildlife, it required my calm respect of the land they own and trust. Cabin owners and friends of the Metolius have maintained river trails for years, protecting for respectful visitors what the Metolius River has represented for years - wilderness, and a place to go and escape without the noise and bustle of overpopulation.

I was born (1941) and raised in Redmond. Sadly watching Redmond change as our little town has been rezoned for huge development, and now living in Powell Butte, where destination resorts have been allowed to manipulate their way into Crook County and this farming community, it is my feeling as with any rezoning, this would be only the beginning of the ruination of the entire natural ecological structure of Camp Sherman Metolius River area, as we again fall under the manipulative power of those who have only personal monetary gain in mind and no thought of safeguarding the future of such areas. How very, very sad.

Carole Hancock
Powell Butte OR