Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2015)
2 Wednesday, June 24, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N Surveyed majority at BBr support paved trail By cathy ellis Guest Columnist Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Let- ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. Dear Editor, I appreciate the interest, interview, and commentary article published in The Nugget by Diane Goble on “Perils of Pesticides” in the June 3, 2015 edition. There are a few inciden- tal facts I would like to clarify. While Lowe’s has announced it will no longer carry neonic-treated seeds, plants, and products this will not happen until NEXT year. That means that this year’s neonic- treated products will be sold as usual and will kill pollinator insects and birds who ingest those insects as part of their normal bird-fare. The statement about deer grazing as an analogy of chemical contamination or chemi- cal trespass is from the an article about Milestone® contamination in composting soils sold as “natural.” This contamination resulted in a ban on the sale and use of Milestone® in the UK. Some positive actions for the present: Plant organic native perennials: pollenators know instinctively to look for them (DNA), they are more hardy and generally zenotropic than exotic, foreign varieties. A list of organic Oregon nurseries can be found at www.xerces. org. Planting neonic-treated plants and seeds, no matter how lovely the blossoms appear, is a death warrant to any bee or butterfly that eat the nectar — and the bird that may eats that invertebrate. The toxins become embedded in the cell structure of vegetation. Every time you walk across treated lawn/soil, humans and animals are also dosed with unknown concen- trations of poisons. Plant a cluster of northern milkweed indig- enous to Oregon for monarch butterfly cater- pillars. The Monarch caterpillar feeds exclu- sively on milkweed. Avoid pesticides and herbicides. Use nat- ural means to boost soil fertility and eradi- cate any garden pest. Ladybugs and other invertebrate predators are easily obtained to assist with garden health. Red wig- glers are a great way to make your own amending soil “tea,” and will eat vegetable waste. Dispose of existing contaminated lawn- cuttings and trimming correctly. This material needs to be buried, not sent to the landfill for See letterS on page 20 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday thursday friday Sunny Sunny Sunny 83/46 89/52 97/52 Saturday Sunday Monday Mostly sunny Mostly sunny Mostly sunny 97/58 96/62 91/na The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Publisher - Editor: Kiki Dolson News Editor: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Williver Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken Advertising: Lisa Buckley Graphic Design: Jess Draper Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Accounting: Erin Bordonaro The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $40; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2014 The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. As a family of walkers and cyclists, the path from Black Butte Ranch (BBR) to Sisters will benefit my family personally and BBR families and guests alike. It would be a wonderful ame- nity to the Ranch, providing a safe, scenic trail which links BBR to the commer- cial services of Sisters. The majority of owners support the path, despite some having concerns over increased public access. It is no wonder the trail has majority support when the top two family activities on the Ranch are No. 1 walk- ing at 91 percent and No. 2 cycling at 84 percent. When asked “How likely are you and your family to use a paved, multi-use trail between BBR and Sisters if one were built?” 63 percent responded “likely.” The facts listed are the result of a second BBR owner survey open to respondents September 5-14, 2014. The opposi- tion, who believed the first survey results from a 2013 survey were not a true reflection of the homeown- ers’ position, requested the second survey. In response, the BBR Board of Directors hired CFM Strategic Communications, Inc., located in Portland, to create and administer the second survey. A BBR com- mittee worked with CFM generating questions and contributing to the survey’s design. The committee’s homeowner reps included Isolde Hedemark, of the opposition and Clark Brody of the proponents. Owners, spouses, and partial owners, about 1,785 who had registered email addresses with BBR, were asked to participate in the second survey. According to BBR management about 93 percent of all homeowners had one or more registered email addresses. Survey question put to BBR owners: “The Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) is proposing to build a paved, multi-use trail between Sisters and BBR. Motorized vehicles and horses will be prohibited. The path would be built on United States Forest Service (USFS) land and would end on USFS property adjacent to the BBR Welcome Center. The STA is seeking grant money to pay for construction of the trail and maintenance of the trail would be the respon- sibility of STA and its vol- unteers. The Ranch would incur a small cost to tie the trail in to the existing path near the Welcome Center. Based on this information, do you favor or oppose the construction of a paved, multi-use trail between Sisters and BBR?” Choices: FOR — OPPOSED — UNDECIDED. The September 2014 BBR Homeowner Survey Results: 1: The survey found 61 percent in favor, 25 per- cent opposed and 14 per- cent undecided regarding the multi-use trail. The CFM consultants indicated that such a large response rate, 813 of 1,785, is sta- tistically significant. More owner participation would not significantly change the percentages for, opposed, or undecided. 2: Of the 813 BBR own- ers who completed the sur- vey, 218 respondents or 27 percent were concerned about increase use of BBR pools and fitness facilities by the general public, unau- thorized use of BBR paths 26 percent, risk to BBR’s safety and security 22 per- cent and impact on tranquil- ity 21 percent. 3: On Sept. 26, 2014, the BBR Association Board of Directors passed, for a second time, a unanimous motion in support of the proposed path. The motion reads: “The Board main- tains its philosophical sup- port for the proposed path from Sisters to Black Butte Ranch, subject to resolution of some issues of access that have been raised.” As evidenced by BBR’s survey of September 2014, the majority of BBR own- ers support the proposed multi-use trail entering the Ranch in the public area near the Welcome Center. The majority has set con- cerns aside in favor of what the trail offers their family and guests. It is time for all parties at BBR to come together with Commissioner Alan Unger and discuss the best way to mitigate con- cerns and stand behind the majority’s wish. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.