"Why resorts, Metolius River don't mix"

This piece originally appeared in the June 6th Bulletin on Page C6. It can be found online (subscription only) at the Bulletin's website here.

Why resorts, Metolius River don’t mix
By Erik Kancler / Bulletin guest columnist
Published: June 06. 2007 5:00AM PST

It’s not often that a place as extraordinary as the Metolius River is so unnervingly threatened by plans for massive residential developments. In Oregon, of all places, these sorts of things aren’t supposed to happen.

Yet, every so often they do. And when local protection either isn’t feasible — or local governments fail to grasp the big picture — higher powers must step in. Otherwise, amazing places like the Metolius River, Oregon’s beaches, Hells Canyon, Crater Lake or the Columbia River Gorge would be severely and irreparably degraded.

In the case of Jefferson County and the Metolius River, the issue is both bigger and smaller than county officials care to acknowledge. Smaller, in that for years, county officials in Madras have ignored the voices of Camp Sherman, a small community nestled along the banks of the Metolius and geographically isolated from the rest of the county. Bigger, in that the Metolius is a home of sorts for thousands of families, anglers, hunters and others not just from Central Oregon, but from all over the state and the nation who visit the Metolius regularly and have been coming for generations.

These people, a great many of whom have been voicing staunch support for Senate Bill 30 and who oppose destination resort development in or near the Metolius, cut cleanly across the social and political divisions that usually define “environmentally oriented” issues. The debate over the Metolius isn’t Republican vs. Democrat or wealthy vs. middle class — those types of distinctions simply aren’t relevant here.

Sen. Ben Westlund — SB 30’s primary sponsor and most vocal advocate — has received, he says, more letters supporting this bill than he has on any other issue since taking office. And for every hundred letters of support, on average, only one is sent in opposition.

Central Oregon LandWatch has received more than 200 letters from concerned citizens to their lawmakers. We’ve banked them online along with images, personal stories and historical accounts at www.noresorts.blogspot.com.

What these citizens want, without fail, is a complete ban on destination resorts in or within three miles of the Metolius River Basin. SB 30 in its current form doesn’t go quite that far but does call for a total prohibition where it matters most.

What they all recognize is that resorts in or near the Metolius will have dramatic impacts on wildlife — terrestrial and aquatic; cost government millions in fire prevention; create tremendous traffic impacts in the basin and in Sisters; work directly against millions of dollars being invested in stream restoration and fish reintroduction in the Metolius (and Whychus Creek); and irreversibly alter this remote, unique and completely sustainable combination of low-level human activity and ecological splendor.

So why then is SB 30 controversial?

The biggest problem, it seems, is the belief by some that the state is unduly stepping on the toes of a local government that has followed the rules. The state, however, clearly possesses the power to protect places of broad importance against local threats when the local government isn’t willing to do so. True, these powers should be used only when absolutely necessary, but they are undeniably real.

The last time the Legislature prohibited destination resorts from a particular geographical area was 20 years ago when they were banned from the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. That decision was, and still is, lauded as landmark protection. So it can neither be argued that the state has no business using these powers nor that it has historically been heavy-handed on such matters. Twenty years is a long time.

Given the unwillingness of Jefferson County officials to look beyond their own economic interests, the massive threats posed by resorts, the unique beauty and ecology of the Metolius River, and the statewide importance of preserving places like this, surely the Metolius, like the Gorge, meets all the fundamental criteria for state-level protection. Eleven out of our 30 state senators voted against SB 30 on May 22. What they were essentially saying was that were SB 30 not about the Metolius, but rather about protecting Crater Lake, Hells Canyon, the Gorge or Oregon’s beaches, they would leave them open to development. They would let the locals rule, regardless of their aim. That’s not leadership — that’s an inexcusable lack of it.

As Sen. Westlund has been fond of saying: Let’s keep Oregon Oregon. Without unspoiled places like the Metolius River, Oregon wouldn’t be Oregon. At least not the Oregon we know and love. SB 30 is fair and just, it is badly needed, and it deserves our full support.

Erik Kancler, erik@centraloregon landwatch.org, is the executive director of Central Oregon LandWatch.