"Eugene
might as well be on the moon."
"Educated
people relate to Corvallis, but Albany has a Fred Meyer and a Costco that
brings in Sweet Home people."
"Lebanon
was farming and Sweet Home timber."
"We are becoming a bedroom community."
"It's always been a commuting area but more
so now because there is less of a local economic base."
Settlement
accelerated with industrial timber production after World War II and with the
construction of the Green Peter-Foster dams in the 1960s by the Corps of
Engineers. The timber industry especially thrived in the 1970s, and began to
wane in the 1980s with frequent layoffs and plant closures. When the spotted
owl injunction curtailed federal timber production in 1989, it was an added and
significant blow.
There is not much
new residential development in Sweet Home. Some low cost housing went in two
years ago between Highway 228 and Highway 20, at the end of Sunset Lane.
Another affordable housing project is currently underway by Linn County.
Retirement influences are being noticed in the community. The Wiley Creek
Community, "Retirement living at its best," is talked about as bringing retired
people in.
Cascadia Neighborhood Description
Foster and
Cascadia are neighborhood areas within the Sweet Home CRU. Foster is "just over
the bridge" (crossing Wiley Creek) from Sweet Home and extends up to Cascadia.
It used to be a larger community but over the years has reverted to a couple
stores, post office and residential areas. Foster has some of the very poor
residential areas along with more expensive homes located on the hillside,
offering a view.
Cascadia is a
"drug haven - you don't go out there at night." Such is the reputation of this
community that consistently came up in local conversation. Like most
stereotypes, it has an element of truth to it and residents talked about the
problems it has had with some people and substance abuse problems. However,
local people hastened to stress that the stereotype is not the whole story and
went on to describe an active, healthy community.
"There
are all sorts of people living in the hills of Cascadia."
Cascadia was
apparently begun through construction of a hotel and spa "of sorts" to promote
the local soda water ("It tastes awful"). The well was capped because of
contamination problems. Settlement in Cascadia is dispersed, along Highway 20
and in the backcountry, varying in quality from run-down to moderate homes.
Locals estimate the population to be about 300. There is a remnant of an old
gas station, a still-operating post office, and the Triple T Mill. The small
community store burned down a couple years ago, leaving only the post office as
a community gathering place.
Retired people,
summer vacationers, people who plan to retire, and some people with home-based
businesses comprise the local population of Cascadia. Hippies were a big part
of the population in the 1970s, but "they have left and young families moved
in." A few cattle and sheep populate the countryside.
The Triple T mill
is still a big part of the Cascadia community. Employing about 100 people, it
is still a family and locally owned business. It was upgraded 4 years ago and
relies on Washington logs to survive in the current market.
A state park is
valued by the community, which fought to save it in the 1990s. The community
also successfully fought to keep a dam off the Santiam River, which would have
flooded their community. Today, an informal Neighborhood Watch connects people
within the community.
After having a
strong influence in the 1940s, the Forest Service left Cascadia in the
1960s - its auctioned buildings still remain. District rangers in the '50s had
"green sheet sales" by which timber blowdown was sold to loggers and "money
came back into the community." Currently, residents feel they have no
relationship with the Forest Service.
ODOT has housing
units at their site near Santiam Pass where workers live. For years, the school would run a Jeep
Cherokee to pick up kids and bring them down to Sweet Home. No children of
school age live there now.
"You live this far away from the malls because you
want solitude."
"It's a natural thing in my lifetime - neighbors
helping neighbors. After the April 7 windstorm, we started calling the elderly
people to make sure they were all right."
"Californians are not easy to get to know. They are
just not trustful; they are afraid to let in the community. They would consider
a phone call a breech of privacy."
Current community
issues in Cascadia relate to the loss of the school, to the new fire hall, and
with the Forest Service. There are still bad feelings about the school
consolidation with Sweet Home, which came up in every conversation.
"The school was our focal point. Whenever there were
programs, everyone would show up."
"Even
though the school looked poor outside, it was good inside."
"We
didn't want to lose our school because we'd lose our community."
"After
we lost the school district, we were promised a recreation bus to transport
kids from Cascadia to Sweet Home. It only lasted one year. Now parents have to
drive their kids."
Apparently, the
fire district plans to construct a new fire hall in Cascadia. Residents want it
placed by the church or by the covered bridge but it seems the district insists
on placing it near the mill.
"They wouldn't put it in an area that we could
access."
"It's
hard as a community. We want to put it in the hub of the community where we
could get to it. They just want our tax money."
And on the Forest
Service:
"It's sad there is so
little Forest Service activity in Cascadia. We feel we're locked out of Forest
Service lands."
"Think
of how much blow down there is in 20 years that could be harvested."
"When
we have a forest fire, roads will be closed and it will be bad."
Crawfordsville and Holley Areas
Crawfordsville
and Holley share about 1000 people according to local residents. Both
communities have a high percentage of affordable housing and have attracted
both poor and well-off people in the last several years.
The
boundary for the fire district is the same as the school district and
represents the break between Brownsville and Crawfordsville/Holley.
Holley
was described as more diverse - agriculture, livestock, trees, with the school
less important as a community institution. Youth as a percentage of the
population was said to be declining. Holley serves as a bedroom community for
Corvallis and Albany.
"Georgia Pacific workers
from Tangent also live here." [Holley resident]
The
Crawfordsville School serves as a community center with many organizations
using the kitchen and the facilities.
One knowledgeable
person stated that there are 365 property owners who have land along the
65-mile length of the Calapooia River.
Publics
Newcomers in the
Sweet Home CRU are not oriented to timber but to urban commuting, recreation
and trades and services. Some thought that the majority of newcomers were
retirees. Newcomers are said to "keep to themselves."
The
retired segment of the population is perceived to be growing:
"Fifteen years ago, 15% were retired. Now
it's about 25%." [Note, the census shows a 14% increase of people 65 years and
older, but their proportion of the population has stayed the same at 17%]
The
community has substantial numbers of "traditional" people who have made their
living from the timber industry but who have adjusted to changing conditions.
The business community is sizeable but still reduced and struggling with
leadership since the decline of timber. The area also has a large segment of
people "on the edges", working in marginal jobs just getting by, or choosing to
live in isolation because they want to.
Networks
See
Section Two.
Work Routines
Livelihood in
Sweet Home was predicated in the past on timber production with recreation
playing a secondary role. Today, those roles are reversed.
The timber
industry operates at a fraction of its earlier size in this area, but it
remains viable and important for the local economy. Weyerhaeuser just bought
land in the area and purchased Willamette Industries, whose Foster plant
employs 174 people. Observers believe that Weyerhaeuser will keep this plant
because of recent investments in new technology and because it features a
product consistent with Weyerhaeuser production line. Hill Limited Partnership
is a holding group with 140,000 acres. Giustina has 80,000 acres between the
Highways 22 and 20. Cascade Timber Consulting Company manages timberlands for Hill
and also for 30-40 small timber owners, wealthy or professional people living
elsewhere. Smurfit Newsprint has 50 workers and Ranier Wood Products has 42. Up
the river in Cascadia, the Triple T mill still operates.
Timber production
currently relies exclusively on private and imported timber:
"As the timber industry, we were like any endangered
species. We had to adapt or die, and we did. You have these portfolio
companies - pension companies like Cal PERS or John Hancock, who have
timberlands. You have new products, like oriented strand board, where high
quality wood is not essential."
The focus is on
small diameter, which has a small margin. The market must be watched carefully.
"We used to offer sales according to our schedule,
but now we play the market. Otherwise, we offer things people can't bid on."
[Forest Service staff]
"The price of plywood is going up but the price for
[timber] falling is going down. There is not much of a chance for someone like
me to make it anymore so I have to take the work whenever I can." [Timber
worker]
Special Forest
Products is an increasingly important part of forest related employment.
Secondary forest products in this area include mushrooms, sallow, moss, fern,
and cascara. One practitioner noted a growing demand for white oak from local
wineries that have discovered their use for wine barrels.
Bough sales are
popular on Forest Service lands, not just for local people but also for
companies from Washington. Special Forest Products sales get scrutiny and
pressure from environmental groups also.
"The future
for the small woodland owner is not tree farming as much as niche markets,
secondary forest products and specialty trees."
Recreation as an
economic niche is growing. The Recreational Vehicle (RV) business was said by
local owners to be steadily increasing. While almost all RV business is local
to the region, interstate business contributes also. The growth is attributed
to an expanding RV market - it is not just retired people now but younger people
using RVs.
"Recreation is big now. The town is trying to decide
whether it should be a logging theme town, like Sisters is Western."
"Sweet Home diversified after the timber industry
died to meet the needs of recreationists - gold panning, camping, hunters, boaters."
Along with the
trades and services economy that has emerged with recreation and retirement has
come commuting. Residents now rely on driving to Salem, Albany and Corvallis
for their livelihood. One outcome of this pattern has been the further erosion
of a local business base.
"We have one third commuters. The average salary in
Sweet Home is $23,000; for the county it is $27,000, so that tells me that
breadwinners work outside of town."
Nearly 400
businesses offer goods and services to the Sweet Home area, according to the
Chamber of Commerce. The Sweet Home Chamber of Commerce and the Sweet Home
Economic Development Group work to provide support services and leadership to
foster business health.
Many Sweet Home
residents voiced worry about the status of local business.
"Many businesses are on the edge right now. There
are vacant business buildings. The recession hurt. We have high unemployment
locally."
"In the past, there were three shoe stores, 5 lady
clothing stores, men's stores and now there are not."
"This area lost between 1500 and 2000 jobs in the
last ten years."
"We are seeing the death of the merchant class - our
small businesses, our local leadership."
"My wife and I shop here as much as we can. I just
bought some boots at DanDees. You have to go out of town to buy clothes."
Whites Electronics
is an employer of 170 workers, most of whom live locally. It manufactures metal
detectors and has interest in public lands because its customers do recreation
mining and are concerned about access to public lands.
Invest-A-Case is a
titanium plant has recently come into the community.
Sweet Home has a
rail line and is close to Interstate 5 corridor.
Support Services
Observers stated
that Sweet Home leadership has suffered in recent years.
"In '91, things fell apart. With the decline of
timber, town leadership has not been the same."
Sweet Home is a
community that prides itself on caretaking and volunteerism. While there are
still many individual caretakers in the community, "those people are very old
and many have died." Today, groups and organizations have taken over caretaking
roles, the Hope Center, the Evangelical Church, Assembly of God and the
Catholic Church.
"Sweet Home has a strong volunteerism base. I don't
know hot it got kindled, but it's here - like resurfacing the baseball diamond."
Many residents
spoke with great feeling and pride about their ability to create the new
community center. The center cost $2.5 million and houses the community center
and the Boys and Girls Club. Many attribute their success to the late Jim Riggs
who was a well-known and apparently highly regarded teacher, principal and
mayor in Sweet Home. The story about Jim was that he would personally take
people new to the community out for a day in his fishing boat where he would
explain his ideas and vision. He was able to mobilize people around this vision
and the community center was one outcome.
Figure 58
The Jim Riggs Community Center, Sweet Home
Another story is
that the community center parcel, which was donated by the city, was on an old
mill site that had accumulated many feet of sawdust. What normally would take
two weeks to remove and prepare it took four days for an army of volunteers.
"The engineers could not believe what the town was
able to do in such a short time."
The same thing
happened when the center needed furniture. Individuals and clubs within a short
while had entirely furnished the center, replete with an industrial kitchen for
the Meals On Wheels program.
One older
gentleman listed his civic involvement of the last several years - Chamber of
Commerce, Christmas Parade, Sportsman Holiday, development of football and
baseball fields for the High School, time keeper at school sports' events, and
the Sweet Home Green Peter Boat and Yacht Regatta, organized to promote water
recreation and now not very active. A number of residents expressed the
sentiment that younger people are not active like this anymore in community
affairs.
"Younger people are not stepping in to fill the
shoes of their elders."
Sweet Home prides
itself on the number and success of community events it sponsors. Sweet Home
Jamboree has been a very successful public event. Sponsored by a community
group, this country music festival has brought enormous revenues into the area.
Among other events are the Annual Awards Banquet, the Boys and Girls Club
Auction, the Fishing Derby, Sportsman's Holiday, the Celtic Festival and
Highland Games, the Gala Autumn Festival of Music and Fine Art, and Christmas
in Sweet Home. A local group called the Ambassadors sponsors the annual
Christmas parade. Holley puts on a fair each summer before school.
Crawfordsville has an annual "Bridge Day" in August also.
Sweet Home was the
site of the first Jobs-in-the-Woods training program spawned by the Northwest
Forest Plan of 1994. It operated for a few years and successfully fostered
re-training and transition for ex-loggers and mill workers. Because of this
program and other economic development efforts created through the Northwest
Economic Adjustment Initiative, authors of a recent report conclude that
economic conditions in Sweet Home are better than they were in 1990. While the
effects were not quantified, nor separated from changes created by other
factors, such as the influx of newcomers, the picture remains clear that Sweet
Home residents mobilized to respond to depressed conditions and made a
difference (Draft report, Evaluation of the Northwest Economic Adjustment
Initiative, Lita Buttolph and Lisa Tobe, March, 2002, Forest Community Research,
Taylorsville, California).
School turnover in
Crawfordsville and Holley is low with active parent teacher associations in
each elementary school. One of the biggest challenges of the schools is dealing
with low-income students who progress at much slower rates. The work of these
parents typically takes them away from the home for long periods, and many
students live with single parents or grandparents. The schools both have
jogging trails around them. Schools are looking for Master Gardeners to operate
school greenhouses.
Recreation Activities
See Section Three.
B.
Themes and Citizen Issues
Related
to Community Life
Themes
1.
"Sweet Home is tough - one of the toughest towns I know. It
still has leadership, but it is on the edge."
2.
"This community is a diamond in the rough. It has tons of
potential that has not been realized yet."
3.
"This is still an old timber town. 'Get the cut out.'"
4.
"Sweet Home has a small town atmosphere." People liked that
their kids feel safe in the community and that Sweet Home is close to bigger
towns, the snow and airports.
Citizen Issues Related to Community Life
Although the
community has diversified its economy in recent years, it still sees itself as
relying on timber for a healthy economy.
"We
need more timber harvest." [common]
Jobs and Business
Development
"The biggest problem for larger employers is the lack of
work ethic with new employees. These are people out of high school who do not
come to work on time, whose communication skills are low, who do not come ready
to work."
"Sweet Home lost two opportunities because of state
politics - a women's prison and a police training facility."
"I wish the state would spend on Highway 20 like it
did for Highway 22 because then people would go to Hoodoo from here."
"There is nothing attractive to bring people
downtown. How could Sisters invent itself like that? How can Sweet Home do
something similar - someplace people want to stop and spend time?"
"I'd be scared to develop a destination resort here
like the golf course. Why would people come here? There's no clothing store,
few places to park, no easy way to stop and shop."
"Back
in the 1950s, parades were a big deal. Local commerce was very involved. Today,
you don't see local businesses participate - maybe DanDee Sales and a few others,
but that's about it."
"Kids
leave after high school. There is not work, the mills are gone, the timber is
gone. Environmentalists have killed us."
Cascadia
"I never take a call out there alone but take another
officer. The area is cleaning itself up but is still a potentially dangerous
place." [State trooper]
"Cascadia
has seen some small changes, a small influx of newcomers, and 3 murders in the
last two years."
Section
Two:
Communication
Strategies
A. Informal Networks and Communication
Gathering Places
Mollies Bakery is
the hub.
"It used to be that politicians had to go to Mollies
to get known."
"Mollies is the 'county annex.'"
The high school is
still an important social institution for bringing people together.
Point Restaurant
Elks Lodge,
especially Sundays for breakfast.
The Wal-Mart in
Lebanon
"One person from our congregation told me once,
'There goes ____. She is part of our Wal-Mart community.' Wal-Mart has become
the new civil religion."
Key Community Contacts
Rolf Anderson,
former District Ranger, is very involved in community affairs and in the
community foundation.
Mike Aman; (541)
367-7163; principal of Holley and Crawfordsville Elementary Schools. He would
be a good link to the community to talk about the scenic by-way proposal.
B. Formal Groups and Communication
Figure 59
Organizations With Interest in Public Lands in the Sweet
Home Area
|
Organization
|
Contact Information
|
Mission
|
|
Sweet Home Economic
Development Group
|
Karen Owen
1575 Main Street
Sweet Home, OR 97386
541-367-6185
|
Promote industrial,
commercial, and retail development; support recreation business in the
community. Manages the SH Jamboree each year.
|
|
Sweet Home Community
Foundation
|
Karen Owen
|
Coordinating
role to replace track, pool, skate park, and other school/youth support.
|
|
Sweet Home Tree
Commission
|
|
Appointed through City Council; managing Ames
Creek renovation; beautification; tree planting
|
|
South Santiam Watershed
Council
|
Tom Johnson, HS teacher
|
|
|
Ron Henthorne
|
Oregon Department of
Forestry
(541) 367-6108
|
Helps residents deal
with gates and access, especially related to hunting
|
|
Boys and Girls Club
|
John Sandberg
|
|
|
Santiam Four Wheel Drive
Association
|
(541) 367-7547
|
|
|
Sweet Home Bicycle Club
|
Bruce Davis
(541) 367-1988
|
|
|
Sweet Home Rock &
Mineral Society
|
(541) 259-1529
|
|
|
Linn County Forest
Protective Association
|
Sherm Callee
|
Mostly timber companies,
some non-industrial owners, oriented to fire protection. Annual Tree Day;
Outdoor day for 5th and 6th graders.
|
|
Linn County Forest
Deputy
|
Rick Cambell |
Control of trespass,
vandalism, dumping
|
|
Linn County Game Warden
|
Andy Heider
State Police Trooper
(541) 967-2026, x 473.
|
Wildlife issues on
private lands
|
|
Calapooia River Property
Owners Association
|
Don Hopkins
(541) 367-2986
|
Navigability issues on
the river.
|
|
Holley Grange
|
Mills Maramen
Dave Howard, 425
|
|
|
Linn County Small
Woodland Association
|
Ron Henthorne, ODF
Crawfordsville
541-367-6108
|
Education on small
woodlot management; specialty tree management for members
|
Section
Three:
The
Public Lands Perspective
A. Uses of and Orientation to Public
Lands
Recreation in the
area changes according to the resource. In the lower elevations, the lakes
attract high density, high technology uses (boats, higher end camping
equipment). The two reservoirs, Foster and Green Peter, are enormously popular.
Ironwood Mountain and its trail are very popular for wildflowers between May
and July. Menagerie Wilderness is valued for rock climbing and low elevation access.
While Salem people rely on Detroit Lake with the ease of access presented by
Highway 22, Foster and Green Peter Lakes are used more by Albany, Corvallis and
Eugene residents. Quartzville Road, that serves the lakes, has become quite
impacted from recreation uses and needs management attention. It is also known as a great bicycling road
because of its scenery and beautiful setting.
In the higher
elevations, once Forest Service boundaries are passed, some 20 miles beyond
Sweet Home, uses are more dispersed with tent camping and lower technology. The
area is known to be a favorite of Corvallis professionals for hiking and
skiing - "This is their playground."
"I think tent camping and just hanging in the woods
is coming back. I did it as a kid, saw it go away but now people are doing it
again." [Sporting goods store owner]
Highway 20 is a
recreation corridor but not a major one like Highway 22. Some residents voiced
regret about this and wished for an upgraded corridor from the State, as
happened with Highway 22. However, other residents pointed out that it is not
an east/west corridor and that it serves no major recreation area. Our research
shows that "flatlanders" value this area precisely because it is less crowded.
Old time Oregonians that mourn the isolation they found on public lands in the
last generation actively seek out places that remain less popular. The North
Santiam Wilderness, for example, is highly valued because it is not crowded.
South Santiam
River is the most used in eastern Linn County because most of the other rivers
and creeks have been heavily restricted, negatively affecting usage. While
trout fishing is down, salmon and steelhead are up due to the high percentage
of hatchery runs. People from Salem, Albany and Springfield use the river more
than residents from other areas.
Local residents
are active in a variety of support activities for youth and land stewardship,
including the Foster Lake Trails Committee, Riverside Clean Up, and the Fishing
Derby. The Foster Lake Trail Committee is currently working with the Corps of
Engineers to build a 7 & 1/2 mile trail around the lake. Scouts and schools,
especially East Linn Christian School, a fire patrol, correctional inmates and
the Corps have all helped with the trail.
Residents reported
a gift by the Hill Foundation of tracts of land to be protected from
development as well as land along the river to be developed for campsites. The
foundation also donated land around McDowell Creek as a park, with waterfalls,
trails, bridges and stairways along both sides of the creek. The county will
grow timber, thin it and use timber receipts to maintain the park.
Salmon Creek Golf
Course is a new development proposed on 700 acres of what were once the Morse
Brothers' rock pits. The Forest Service
reportedly is offering technical assistance in support of this project.
"With the
golf courses, this will be a tourist destination area."
Linn County Parks
has helped develop boat ramps at Green Peter and Foster Lake. Until last year,
there was only one ramp at Green Peter and it was only accessible when the
water level was very high. But last year, a lower ramp was completed that
allowed boats on the water year round. Green Peter apparently is only filled to
capacity each year in May and June as it is drained to maintain Foster Lake.
There have been discussions to add a ramp at Foster Lake, off Quartzville Road
and Highway 20 but there are some concerns about additional traffic flow.
"On
a hot day, there are already too many people on the lake."
The lower
elevation reaches have unique impacts and challenges. The decline of clearcuts
on Forest Service lands has led to a shortage of foraging opportunities for
herbivore herds on public lands. Consequently, herds have been relying more
heavily on private lands, increasing the desire for greater access onto private
lands and contributing to the increased use of gates. The large timber
companies have varying policies regarding land closures and their reputations
consequently vary as well. Horse users reportedly make use of higher, more
scenic elevations and have not been impacting lower private lands.
The Linn County
Protective Association is a group that represents just about every industrial
timber company in the area. This group fields concerns from the public and
manages impacts created by hunters and others on private lands. It keeps track
of the opening and closing of gates, current gate policies among various
companies, and vandalism.
At the same time,
Forest Service personnel state that they are paying closer attention to lower
elevation issues:
"We are dealing more with flatland issues, water
quality, for example. There is greater regional awareness and desire for
cooperation in the South Santiam Basin. A watershed perspective is happening."
[Forest Service staff]
The Forest Service
historically has had, and still does have, enormous ties to the local
community. Presently, it is assisting with the swimming pool, the school, and a
PAYCO project. On Thomas Creek, it is offering technical expertise to the Watershed
Council and NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service). The Rural Community
Assistance program, offered locally through JoAnn West, has been extremely
well-received. The Ranger District is
currently working with the Siletz and Grand Ronde tribes on the Camus Prairie
Project.
Forest Service
staff are active in the community, serving on various boards and playing
support roles as members of the community.
The schools appear
to be active in outdoor education. Biology classes have segments in ecology,
and an environmental science course is being offered next year. Forest Field
Day has been held on private ground toward Lebanon for many years. The
elementary school has a four-day outdoor school each year. Finally, the Ames
Creek Project, supported by a three year grant from the Forest Service, is part
of an after-school program of the elementary and junior high schools.
The Forest Service
sells Forest Passes both at their offices and at three locations throughout the
community.
Forest Service
staff stated that a Quartzville Corridor Plan is needed over the next couple of
years, with necessary involvement from the BLM, Corps of Engineers, Oregon
Department of Forestry, and private timber companies. "It is an armed zoo out
there," one staff person said. Whites Electronics, among many others, has an
interest in participating in this plan.
"In the summer, families flock to the Quartzville
corridor. There is dispersed camping there. Numbers must reach over 5000 on the
weekends in summer. Littering in the area is bad - it must be a monitoring
nightmare."
"Quartzville is designed wrong. It doesn't have
camping spaces so people are camping on the side of the road. We seldom go up
there in the summer."
Budget concerns
are forcing consideration of closing the Sweet Home Forest Service office.
B.
Trends, Themes, and Citizen Issues Related to
Natural
Resource Management
Trends
A diversified
economy is emerging with continued need for business incubation and support.
Themes
1. "The federal government
has tied up the land. Until science overcomes emotion, public timber will not
be cut."
"The 'ologists' have taken over, especially
biologists. They have no motivation for a timber program."
"I'm disappointed in the Forest Service for allowing
environmentalists to control the forest."
2. "Our land is
disappearing." More and more people mean that the dispersed recreation
experience is getting more difficult to find and that the lands experience more
impacts.
3.
"The Forest Service is great here. They ask us what we think."
"The Forest Service
didn't mind rolling up their sleeves and helping."
"They not only rolled
out the red carpet, but they laid on it to keep it warm."
4.
"The future of the Forest Service is multipurpose functions of the
forest - wildlife, fisheries, recreation, timber." [common]
"The Forest Service manages people now, not trees."
Citizen
Issues Related to Natural Resource Management
Timber
Timber people were
vocal in their frustrations about the current low levels of timber production
from Forest Service lands and pessimistic about changes in the near term.
"The Forest Service has lost their timber production
staff and they capitulate to environmental interests."
"The Forest Service won't pay me for work I did in
the '96 flood. They are full of apologies but can't even make their
organization pay."
"The district is permitted to offer 10 million board
feet a year in timber and it does little if any of that."
"It's not their job to do grants, it's to make the
forest more productive. They are just trying to keep their jobs, to rationalize
that they are doing something."
"The State is doing the same thing as the Forest
Service, caving into Portland pressure on the Tillamook Forest. They are the
professionals. They should say what's appropriate."
"You can't reform the Forest Service timber program.
They lost their timber personnel. They don't trust their own standards and give
in to environmental interests now."
"The recent windstorm blew down hundreds of trees,
many directly in the community. Yet they can't be cut. What a waste of natural
resources. It's so easy to block a timber sale. The 'ologists' of this world
are our worst enemy."
Recreation
Interests
"There are opportunities for more vending around the
lake. Food vending, rentals of boats and ski-doos. We could use fueling
stations at the lakes, more campground spots. With more capacity, more people
would come here."
The Corps has multiple mandates for managing the two
lakes - hydro, navigation, irrigation, domestic water, flood control and
recreation. We can't just be recreation oriented. Foster Lake is at capacity
for safety. The Corps lands there are needed for habitat protection - not
economic development." [Corps of Engineers official]
"No one
wanted to help on the mudflats case. There were drugs, alcohol, safety issues
but everyone else seemed to just be glad it wasn't on their land. I talked to
all the chamber companies, and not one would give me a nickel." [Corps of
Engineers official]
"I am happy to sell the Forest Passes but why am I
not able to offer them on sale, as the Forest Service office does? I think
people get $5 off the yearly $30 fee if they go to the office."
"Hunters hate the trail park permits. They will
intentionally park away from a Forest Service lot and walk in. It would be OK
if money was being directly used for the land."
"Forest
users are getting displaced onto BLM and Forest Service lands from private
lands because of increased vandalism and a general lack of respect. Private
timber companies are restricting access more and more."
Gates
Apparently, gates are
color-coded so that people know whose land they are on. There are also signs
posted with phone numbers
"Gates are now everywhere. The public is paying the
price for trespass and vandalism."
"Sweet Home people feel like gates deny them access
that they have a right to. They have a reputation for going around or
destroying closed gates."
"Hunters are very concerned with the declining deer
population. Some disease called 'hair loss syndrome.'"
"Hunting seasons are so backed up that the wildlife
get no break."
"The 'Jobs
in the Woods' training program funded by the federal government was useful but
too short. Timber people were trained to work in industrial plants like Entek
and Ore-Met Wah-Chang."
Community
Development
"The Forest Service has played a very positive role
because of its community involvement. The shift happened in 1995-97. They are
more community minded. Funders want cohesion and a local vision of what people
want. The Forest Service has helped make that happen."
"Their [Forest Service] funds have helped revitalize
this community. They have been excellent, responsive."
"Just being willing to come to the meetings has been
helpful. Even though they don't always have money, their leadership counts."
Highway 228 Scenic
By-Way Proposal
In recent years,
there has been talk about creating a scenic by-way designation for Highway 228
from Interstate 5. Residents along this corridor, the "linear" communities
between Brownsville and Sweet Home, were cautious about the concept. The major
response was that the designation might hurt - traffic and property rights, and
was unlikely to help. However, no one knew what the designation really meant
and so most voiced interest in more information.
"Increased
traffic will trickle over onto Crawfordsville Drive, a road that loops adjacent
to 228. Many residents ride their horses along this road."
"I'd
hate to see the designation force landowners to manage their property
differently."
"We
might get more strangers asking to hunt our property."
"The
road is very dark and visibility on the road is limited. Kids speed on this
road."
"The stores at Crawfordsville and Holley really hurt
after the [Calapooia] River was shut down. Maybe the by-way would bring them
more business. These stores are part of the cultural life of the community."
"Is 228 really scenic? Maybe it would encourage
people to clean up their homes that live along the road. I can name 8 homes
that have rusted cars in the front yard."
"That might make it an honor - something someone would
want to see. Maybe it would bring newcomers in and help revitalize the
community." [Crawfordsville resident]
"We think it's a good idea - it will help the stores
and tourism. For the small woodlot owner there is probably no benefit. We
better make sure there won't be effects on how private lands are managed."
[Board meeting of Linn County Small Woodland Association]
Environmental
Quality
"In the 1980s they told us to clean the streams,
take out excess debris and make them clean. Now, it's the opposite, we need to
pub natural debris back into the stream, make them dirty."
"There
are water quality issues for the wells up valley."
General
"The
Salmon Plan basically shut down the Calapooia River. The stores in
Crawfordsville and Holley suffered because of it."
"BLM
has paved roads leading to the forests in the Brushcreek area, significantly
increasing the use of the land. This is especially dangerous during fire
season. Because there is a 'no gate' policy on BLM land, and it's pretty much
used year round, residents that live in this area have to deal with the public
more than normal."
"We
appreciate the information on fire that the Forest Service puts out to the
4-H."
"There are more squatters in the woods now. They
move back and forth from BLM to Forest Service land. They are mostly ex-timber
people who were living from paycheck to paycheck. They have no place to go."
C. Management Opportunities
Communication Opportunities
A number of Forest
Service retirees live in the community and they have remained engaged in the
community. At least one person, observed at an organizational meeting, was
moderating on behalf of the Forest Service, explaining procedure and policy to
the group. These individuals could be tapped for their communication skills and
links to the community and even used for specific projects, such as scoping
issues for the Highway 228 scenic by-way proposal.
Many of the
contributions of the Forest Service to the local community are not visible or
known to others. The agency could take steps to make sure key communicators are
aware of its contributions.
"The Forest Service provided fire engines to ODF and
federal dollars to support a fire protection crew, but I don't think anyone
else knew this."
Action Opportunities
"Hire loggers to clean-up blow down. If the blow
down is in an area where habitat around the trees can't be touched, then take
logs out by air. We need to salvage timber."
"Create "Volk Walks" similar to the Albany fit
walkers who are members of the Volkssport club. The walks are usually a 10K
route that takes walkers through historical areas, or they are nature walks.
The Albany group organized a walk around Foster Lake that attracted 200
people."
The final chapter
of this report includes recommendations about timber sale programs, recreation,
and other policies of interest to Sweet Home residents.
Previous Chapter
