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| THE CONSERVATION COLUMN Rogue Advocates By Sarah Vaile This month’s column is written by Sarah Vaile, program coordinator for Rogue Advocates, a new grassroots group that is working to preserve open space and agricultural land in Jackson and Josephine Counties. Rogue Advocates has had a number of important victories lately, so I asked Sarah to bring Rogue Valley Audubon members up to date on the work of the group. Urban sprawl and habitat loss are critical problems for wildlife in the Rogue Valley, so all birders and naturalists benefit from Rogue Advocates’ success. – Pepper Trail, Conservation Co-Chair. Rogue Advocates is a grassroots non-profit [(501)(c)(3)] organization that works to ensure that the Rogue Valley and its communities continue to be livable and sustainable for future generations. The group was formed in 2006 by a group of valley residents concerned about the unsustainable land use patterns that had been emerging for some time. It is no secret now that this valley is a highly desirable place to live, due in great part to its winning combination of small-town charm and close proximity to wilderness. The Rogue Valley’s population has been growing at a rate that far exceeds both the state and the national rates. |
| Something to ponder: "The last word of ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?' If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like, but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering." Aldo Leopold, The Sand County Almanac |
| Rogue Valley Audubon Society PO Box 8597 Medford, OR 97501 roguevalleyaudubon.org |
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use system to guide the way land is used, the Rogue Valley still needs protection. Rogue
Advocates closely monitors county and municipal agencies in Jackson and Josephine
counties to ensure that the powers-that-be are following these guiding principles when
making land use decisions. Unfortunately, Rogue Advocates has found many recent
instances when they have not. Here is what the group has done about it:
John’s Peak:
Around 340 acres of land zoned as "woodlot" near John’s Peak to the north of
Jacksonville has been the subject of debate for years now. The debate finally ended with
a deci-sion by the state Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) in mid-January. The owner of
this property has wished to de-velop it into residential housing for a long time. There is a
procedure in the land use code that allows a landowner to apply to have his resource
land rezoned for another use in some circumstances. Jackson County recently created a
new zone – ―Rural Use,‖ which would allow owners to divvy up large parcels of land
into chunks no smaller than 20 acres for development. After much debate, the county had
determined that 20 acres would be the smallest size these re-zoned lands should be
divided into.
In this case, the landowner requested a change to Rural Use, which was approved. He
then requested a zoning change to "Rural Residential–10 acres," which was also
approved. This allowed the landowner to divide his prop-erty into 10-acre plots.
Rogue Advocates appealed the county’s decision on the basis that doing this nullified
the Rural Use designation. LUBA agreed.
The appeal does not change the fact that 340 acres of habitat land will be converted to
residential use. It does, how-ever, make the conversion less bad. The land may be di-
vided up, but only into 20-acre plots, not 10-acre plots. This means that only half as many
houses will be built and half as many cars will travel in the newly created residential area.
The more far-reaching effect of LUBA’s decision is the precedent it has set for the county
and the state on this issue of rural sprawl.
Aggregate Mining in the Applegate:
Rogue Advocates has been working with Save our Apple-gate Valley Environment
(SAVE) on the issue of aggregate (gravel) mining in the Applegate Valley area. SAVE has
been working to stop the destructive effects of aggregate mining in the Applegate River
for years now, and has had decent success in its efforts. Now, the threat of mining has
moved from the riverbed to dry land.
One piece of land that has been targeted is the Hill property in the Applegate. Copeland
Sand & Gravel Company has been trying to mine this for years. First they tried to mine a 4-
acre area on the property and remove 94,000 cubic yards of aggregate under a Measure
37 waiver. When that was denied they sought a backroom deal with Jackson County to
continue forward with the mining. After a Circuit Court judge struck down this deal, the
company and the property owner tried a different route. The latest attempt is that the
owner has applied to build an "agricultural pond" in this same exact spot. The county
approved it.
Mining on farmland destroys valuable topsoil, which is one major concern of this activity.
On this property, a few other concerns exist. One is that the property is adjacent to the
Applegate Valley’s largest Blue Heron rookery, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife
prohibits development within close proximity to any nesting sites. This was one major
reason SAVE and Rogue Advocates were prompted to act.
SAVE and Rogue Advocates communicated what was happening to DLCD (Department
of Land Conservation and Development) and DOGAMI (Department of Geology and
Mining Industry), and now the mining activity has been ordered to stop. We are still
waiting to see what is happening with this project.
Regional Problem Solving:
These are positive outcomes, but the work is not done. The next major project Rogue
Advocates is taking on is the Greater Bear Creek Regional Problem Solving process, or
"RPS." Around 10 years ago a group of farmers and agricultural enthusiasts concerned
about the loss of farmland in the valley proposed an idea to save valley farmland. Their
idea was to create agricultural conservation zones, which would affirmatively protect
farmland into the future. The idea gained attention and momentum and eventually, local
officials became involved.
Ten years later this project has evolved into what is now known as the RPS, and
ironically, the plan now includes zero affirmative protection for valley farmland. Instead, it
proposes to add around 8,500 acres of rural lands to the urban footprint in the Bear
Creek watershed, where most of Jackson County’s population is centered. Around 7,000
acres are lands zoned exclusive farm use (EFU), and 1,200 acres of the land has been
deemed to be critical to the region’s agricultural economy.
Rogue Advocates has teamed up with 1000 Friends of Oregon and Friends of Jackson
County to mobilize valley residents to engage in the public hearings that will be held on
the draft plan beginning this spring and continuing through-out the year. There is just too
little farmland left in the Rogue Valley to sacrifice it to inefficient growth patterns. Local
food production (and bird habitat!) is at stake and it is vital that we all take the opportunity
to make our voices be heard around this issue.
Learn more about Rogue Advocates, please visit their site.
(Home)
Advocates closely monitors county and municipal agencies in Jackson and Josephine
counties to ensure that the powers-that-be are following these guiding principles when
making land use decisions. Unfortunately, Rogue Advocates has found many recent
instances when they have not. Here is what the group has done about it:
John’s Peak:
Around 340 acres of land zoned as "woodlot" near John’s Peak to the north of
Jacksonville has been the subject of debate for years now. The debate finally ended with
a deci-sion by the state Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) in mid-January. The owner of
this property has wished to de-velop it into residential housing for a long time. There is a
procedure in the land use code that allows a landowner to apply to have his resource
land rezoned for another use in some circumstances. Jackson County recently created a
new zone – ―Rural Use,‖ which would allow owners to divvy up large parcels of land
into chunks no smaller than 20 acres for development. After much debate, the county had
determined that 20 acres would be the smallest size these re-zoned lands should be
divided into.
In this case, the landowner requested a change to Rural Use, which was approved. He
then requested a zoning change to "Rural Residential–10 acres," which was also
approved. This allowed the landowner to divide his prop-erty into 10-acre plots.
Rogue Advocates appealed the county’s decision on the basis that doing this nullified
the Rural Use designation. LUBA agreed.
The appeal does not change the fact that 340 acres of habitat land will be converted to
residential use. It does, how-ever, make the conversion less bad. The land may be di-
vided up, but only into 20-acre plots, not 10-acre plots. This means that only half as many
houses will be built and half as many cars will travel in the newly created residential area.
The more far-reaching effect of LUBA’s decision is the precedent it has set for the county
and the state on this issue of rural sprawl.
Aggregate Mining in the Applegate:
Rogue Advocates has been working with Save our Apple-gate Valley Environment
(SAVE) on the issue of aggregate (gravel) mining in the Applegate Valley area. SAVE has
been working to stop the destructive effects of aggregate mining in the Applegate River
for years now, and has had decent success in its efforts. Now, the threat of mining has
moved from the riverbed to dry land.
One piece of land that has been targeted is the Hill property in the Applegate. Copeland
Sand & Gravel Company has been trying to mine this for years. First they tried to mine a 4-
acre area on the property and remove 94,000 cubic yards of aggregate under a Measure
37 waiver. When that was denied they sought a backroom deal with Jackson County to
continue forward with the mining. After a Circuit Court judge struck down this deal, the
company and the property owner tried a different route. The latest attempt is that the
owner has applied to build an "agricultural pond" in this same exact spot. The county
approved it.
Mining on farmland destroys valuable topsoil, which is one major concern of this activity.
On this property, a few other concerns exist. One is that the property is adjacent to the
Applegate Valley’s largest Blue Heron rookery, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife
prohibits development within close proximity to any nesting sites. This was one major
reason SAVE and Rogue Advocates were prompted to act.
SAVE and Rogue Advocates communicated what was happening to DLCD (Department
of Land Conservation and Development) and DOGAMI (Department of Geology and
Mining Industry), and now the mining activity has been ordered to stop. We are still
waiting to see what is happening with this project.
Regional Problem Solving:
These are positive outcomes, but the work is not done. The next major project Rogue
Advocates is taking on is the Greater Bear Creek Regional Problem Solving process, or
"RPS." Around 10 years ago a group of farmers and agricultural enthusiasts concerned
about the loss of farmland in the valley proposed an idea to save valley farmland. Their
idea was to create agricultural conservation zones, which would affirmatively protect
farmland into the future. The idea gained attention and momentum and eventually, local
officials became involved.
Ten years later this project has evolved into what is now known as the RPS, and
ironically, the plan now includes zero affirmative protection for valley farmland. Instead, it
proposes to add around 8,500 acres of rural lands to the urban footprint in the Bear
Creek watershed, where most of Jackson County’s population is centered. Around 7,000
acres are lands zoned exclusive farm use (EFU), and 1,200 acres of the land has been
deemed to be critical to the region’s agricultural economy.
Rogue Advocates has teamed up with 1000 Friends of Oregon and Friends of Jackson
County to mobilize valley residents to engage in the public hearings that will be held on
the draft plan beginning this spring and continuing through-out the year. There is just too
little farmland left in the Rogue Valley to sacrifice it to inefficient growth patterns. Local
food production (and bird habitat!) is at stake and it is vital that we all take the opportunity
to make our voices be heard around this issue.
Learn more about Rogue Advocates, please visit their site.
(Home)