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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:
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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.’