Don't Fight (Conservation) Success - Michael McAvoy, Portland

[Sent to Senators Brown and Rosenbaum, and Reps. Merkley, Hunt, and Roblan:]

I am writing you to strongly encourage you to support the original intent of Senate Bill 30 as initially written and keep a 3 mile exclusion zone for destination resorts along the Metolius River basin. This bill is heading for your rules committee very soon and I strongly encourage you to bring back the protections as initially written in this bill.

There is a proposal for two major destination resorts along the banks of the Metolius River. I’m not sure if you’ve ever been to the Metolius, it is a place where my family has camped, hiked, bird-watched, fished, star-gazed, and recreated my entire life. I remember numerous summers spent along the river. My father taught me to fish, my sisters and I rode bikes. Whether it was camping or renting a cabin, we always came to the Metolius each summer. I remember watching the most amazing meteor shower I’ve ever seen while laying on the hood of our family car – the family in complete silence while the sky put on a great show. I’m now starting a family of my own and am planning on taking my two young sons to the Metolius to teach them to fish and camp and to enjoy the outdoors.

The problem with destination resorts in this area, is that the Metolius is a tremendously fragile ecosystem. The Metolius River is a spring-fed river which means its extremely sensitive to any changes in the groundwater in the river basin. This river is one of the very few areas in the lower 48 states where the Federally endangered Bull Trout thrive. This is a testament to the clean cool water which flows through this river basin. A great deal of public and private money has been spent in the last several years on returning this rivershed to a natural state and the result has been fantastic. My fishing club has spent a great deal of time returning Wychus Creek to a natural state in anticipation of the return of Salmon and Steelhead scheduled for 2009. We’ve spent a great deal of time, energy and sweat working with local landowners to plant trees in the riparian zone and provide cover for fish and wildlife. All of this is done complete as volunteers because of the love we have for this very special river.

Wild trout thrive in this river, the local area (Camp Sherman) is reaping the benefits from increased tourism, fishing, camping and recreation. Salmon and steelhead are being returned to the tributaries of the Metolius River. Right now this river is a success story. It is our heritage and a gem of Oregon. This river is one of the best free flowing spring fed trout streams in America. We should be embracing this river and doing all we can to protect it. This river is 100% what Oregon should be about. By protecting this river from instant development, we will not only be respecting our heritage, but we will build upon the growing economic model which is based around recreation in pristine areas. Destroying the pristine areas destroys this economic model.

Should mega-destination resorts be allowed to be built on the river, the Metolius will become a shell of its former self. Destination resorts are planned with at least three golf courses and over 4,000 homes. This is an instant city, larger than Madras, Redmond or Sisters. The water requirements of such an instant city right on the edge of the Metolius would severely impact the groundwater and effectively decimate the water quality of the river. Pesticides, weed killers, run-off, etc from the 4,000 homes and golf courses would seep into the groundwater and thus into the river itself. All the work done to restore this river would be wasted. We will have ruined yet another river system, all to give the wealthy another place for a summer home that’s closer to Portland than Sunriver.

Please support the original intent of Senate Bill 30. Please provide a 3 mile buffer within the Metolius River Basin where no large scale destination resorts can be built. There are plenty of other areas in this state more suited for destination resorts where the impact will not completely destroy a fragile yet successful watershed.

There was a time in Oregon’s history where our elected officials stood up to developers with very deep pockets who attempted to change our way of life. I remember as a kid when our elected officials in Salem protected the public lands and protected our special areas of exceptional beauty from development. I remember when state senators and representatives and governors said no when special interest groups tried to take our heritage and natural resources. Its been a while since we had this kind of leadership in our elected officials. I very much hope we can get this back.

I ask for your support in returning Senate Bill 30 to its original intent and keeping destination resorts away from the Metolius River.

Sincerely,

Michael McAvoy
Portland, OR