Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2012)
NEWS BY CA M I L L A M ORT ENS EN AUTHENTIC KOREAN & ASIAN CUISINE BUBBLE TEA TERIYAKI HOT POTS HEALTHY & BUBBLE JUICE CHICKEN, BEEF THE BEST IN TOWN! BI BIM BAP TOFU, PORK HOT SOUP VEGETARIAN OPTIONS 11:30AM - 9PM MONDAY - SATURDAY 860 PEARL • 686 -1114 ERIN NOBLE IN PERU BE NOBLE Saving Eugene’s Amazon Headwaters Keystone I Fill Your Pantry Community Bulk Buying Events Don’t miss your chance to buy staple and storage crops directly from farmers. Linn County: Shedd Sunday, Oct 21, 2-6pm Methodist Church, 30090 Hwy 99E Product list available at tenriversfoodweb.org Lincoln County: Newport Saturday, Nov 10, 10am – 2pm Lincoln County Fairgrounds, 633 NE 3rd Product list available at tenriversfoodweb.org Benton County: Corvallis Sunday, Nov 11, 1 - 4pm First United Methodist Church, 1165 NW Monroe Product list available at tenriversfoodweb.org Lane County: Springfield Sunday, Nov 18, noon - 4pm Sprout! Corner of 4th and “A” Product list available at lanefood.org Brought to you by: The Southern Willamette Valley Bean & Grain Project Including: Stalford Farm, Greenwillow Grains, Ten Rivers Food Web, Willamette Farm & Food Coalition 14 October 25, 2012 • eugeneweekly.com n the hills of south Eugene sits 26 acres of land, called the Beverly property, that neigh- bors treasure for the trees, the wildlife and because the land is home to the headwaters of Amazon Creek. Deborah and Peter Noble say their son Erin, who died in a plane crash in Veneta near the Oregon Country Fair this summer, loved to hike from their house up to Spencer Butte, often following the trails through the Beverly property. Developers have tried repeatedly to turn the steep-sloped land into houses. Each application has been defeated, but the developers keep trying. The Nobles have started the Be Noble Foundation in order to save the Beverly property and turn it into a permanent part of Eugene’s parks and open spaces. Together with City Councilor Betty Taylor, Commissioner Pete Sorenson and Tsunami Books owner Scott Landfi eld, the Nobles announced the launching of the nonprofi t Be No- ble Foundation and its effort to raise $1 million to conserve the property, which they are now calling the Amazon Headwaters Keystone because, as Kevin Matthews of Southeast Neighbors said at the fundraising announcement on Oct. 23, “This is the keystone that if we conserve this property we can have a connection all the way through our watershed.” The Amazon is connected to the Long Tom and then to the Willamette River from which many communities draw their drinking water. Deborah Noble, Matthews, Taylor and others have been working for years to protect the Amazon keystone area from development. Noble says right before Erin died, they had a con- versation about a meeting she ˹ K E V I N M AT T H E W S , S O U T H E A S T N E I G H B O R S and other advocates had with city staff and the Beverlys about the cost of buying the property. Noble says that it would cost about $2.5 million to get the property to a state in which it could be developed, and selling the houses that would be built on it is projected to reap only about $3.5 million. Those numbers mean that Martin and Leslie Beverly would get only about $1 million for the developed property. Noble said the property’s current market value is $800,000 on tax statements. Reportedly the Beverlys were offered $1 million for the prop- erty, but the couple thought the property was worth more. Public entities can only buy prop- erty at fair market value, Matthews said, where a private foundation can offer more money. The Be Noble Foundation is looking to pay a fair price to a willing seller, Landfi eld said. He said Erin Noble was the youngest shareholder in Tsunami Books and an effort to save the land that Erin spent his life wandering is “a cause I can get behind.” Landfi eld wants to raise $1 million to save the property. Deborah Noble says that Erin told his father after the Country Fair was over he was going to jump in and help his mother with the effort to save the Amazon headwaters, but Erin died before the Fair began. isthat the property is reachable through walking, biking and even by bus. “It’s a crucial area for wildlife,” Taylor said, “a connective area.” Taylor said while ef- forts have been made to restore the lower Amazon and the Long Tom River — the Country Fair has been active in that work — the water in the upper Amazon in the keystone area is already affected by development, herbicides and road building. More houses would increase the problems, Taylor said. Matthews pointed out while both Taylor and her challenger for the Ward 2 City Council seat, Juan Carlos Valle, have voiced support for saving the Amazon headwaters, Taylor has championed the issue for years. On Nov. 7, Erin Noble’s birthday, there will be a celebration featuring music, drumming and more from 6 to 9 pm at the Noble’s solar panel-powered warehouse for their West Wind Forest Products, 3445 W. 1st Ave. At 7:30 pm Saturday, Dec. 1, there will be a fundraiser for the Be Noble Foundation’s Amazon Creek Headwaters Fund at Tsunami Books. ■ ‘If we conserve this property we can have a connection all the way through our watershed.’
