Land Conservation

UPDATE: Council President David Bragdon releases a statement calling this a vote a “historic moment.” He goes on to write: “Our work is not done. We need to refocus our efforts on how we can best invest in attracting more jobs and residents to our existing communities inside the urban growth boundary. Metro, local governments and...
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The Metro regional government is “almost” at a decision on urban reserves. The latest plan, as proposed by a committee called the Core 4, includes setting aside 27,000 acres for urban reserves and 270,000 acres for rural reserves. That leaves about 2300 acres in the “undecided” category.
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Cruise the Willamette downstream from central Portland and you’ll soon realize this is not the wild river our city founders knew.  Shipping terminals, cargo vessels, scrapyards, oil tanks, warehouses and gazillions of imported cars line the riverbank. This area, as city officials like to describe it, is a working river. An important area for...
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High above the Rogue Valley, the Table Rocks are the remnants of an ancient lava flow, and so unusual they support species found nowhere else on Earth. According to the Medford Mail Tribune, more of this area will be protected thanks to the Nature Conservancy.  The group says it’s completed a $4 million deal to...
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The first public hearing on a plan to protect the Metolius River Basin from large scale development has been scheduled for Tuesday, April 7th before the House Land Use Committee.  It’s been assigned a bill number, HB 3100. We’ve reported extensively about the plan before.  In a nutshell, it makes the Metolius Basin an Area...
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Big resorts and golf courses won’t be allowed in the Metolius River Basin under a plan approved Tuesday by the Land Conservation and Development Commission. For now, it’s only a recommendation that goes to the Legislature which can adopt, change or kill the plan.  But it’s an important step in protecting the Metolius Basin from...
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The Land Conservation and Development Commission will hold a special meeting March 24 to consider the future of the Metolius River Basin. When we last heard from the commission, they voted to make the Metolius Basin an “Area of Critical State Concern.” But it also left open some important issues, including how much of...
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A plan to ban destination resorts in the Metolius River Basin took a small but important step forward Friday. It happened when the Land Conservation and Development Commission decided that the Metolius Basin should be declared an Area Of Critical State Concern. That’s supposed to protect the Metolius from development. But the Commission...
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A draft plan to protect the Metolius River Basin in Central Oregon has just been released. Some of the features will look familiar.  It declares the Basin a State Area of Critical State Concern and wrestles away any local control over large scale development in the area.  The idea was proposed by Governor Kulongoski in...
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