March 20, 2010 -- Rogue Advocates Environmental group gaining praise, condemnation

Jimmy MacLeod of Williams is one of the principal volunteers for Rogue Advocates, a land-use watchdog group that is making a name for itself in Jackson and Josephine counties.

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

With relatively little fanfare, a new group of Southern Oregon environmental activists has taken the lead in opposing controversial Jackson County planning decisions, earning praise from other environmental groups and condemnation from those who favor more development.

Rogue Advocates' main voice is Jimmy MacLeod, 53, a Williams resident who volunteers his time. MacLeod said the organization carefully chooses the cases it takes and develops arguments that will stand up to legal tests. So far, that strategy has worked.

"Mostly for the stuff we've tackled, we've been successful — either part of it, or the whole enchilada," MacLeod said.

That success has earned Rogue Advocates no friends among those who favor fewer restrictions on property rights and development. Jack Swift, the lead attorney for Citizens for Constitutional Fairness, acknowledges he has referred to Rogue Advocates as a land-use vigilante group.

"If you are planning to do something, you have to anticipate this group is going to appear and challenge you," the Grants Pass resident said.

Citizens for Constitutional Fairness formed to battle in the courts for Measure 37 rights.

MacLeod said in general, state laws have been fairly effective at inhibiting unrestrained growth. The trouble starts at the local level, he said.

"The (county) commissioners' job is to facilitate growth in the area," he said. "If it makes money now, it will be up to the next generation to pay the bill."

Swift said the land-use process is geared toward confusion and expense, which makes development on rural land in Oregon a difficult and risky proposition.

"You have five tiers of regulation, one on top of the other," he said. "A person has to negotiate through this three-dimensional maze."

Because of the complexity of the maze, Swift said it is relatively easy for a land-use watchdog group to battle a landowner.

"You have these no-growth advocates who challenge anything in that three-dimensional maze at no cost," he said. "It is very easy (for Rogue Advocates) to be successful."

He said some environmental groups view any growth as detrimental, and ultimately want to undo the growth that has already occurred, Swift said.

"They would really like to see it return to the 18th century," he said.

MacLeod said it is unfair to characterize his organization as being opposed to any development. He said Rogue Advocates wants to strike a balance that will allow some growth, while encouraging a vision for long-range planning.

"I don't believe in just naysaying," MacLeod said. "There are valid issues on both sides of the debate."

The idea for Rogue Advocates first emerged one day when MacLeod went hiking with Spencer Lennard, another environmental activist, above Applegate Lake. They reached a certain vantage point where they could look out over both the Rogue and Applegate valleys. What they saw on the Rogue Valley side made them think that a lack of planning would lead to more sprawl.

Lennard had worked with KS Wild, and the two talked about creating an organization that would tackle land-use issues head on. MacLeod said he was worried the new organization might step on the toes of Friends of Jackson County or 1000 Friends of Oregon. Later, he learned they welcomed the new organization and they will be working together on certain land-use projects.

At the outset, Rogue Advocates concentrated almost entirely on Josephine County issues. By 2008, it became more active in Jackson County, Now, Rogue Advocates is handling more issues in Jackson County than in Josephine.

Choosing cases is not necessarily based on a fixed policy, MacLeod said, but mostly on whether a land-use action is precedent-setting or has some county-wide significance.

With an annual budget of about $30,000, the organization relies on volunteers, though Ashland attorney Sarah Vaile is paid.

Jackson County Commissioner Jack Walker said his goal as a property rights advocate has been to make local ordinances no less restrictive than state laws.

"That's been a goal of mine since day one," he said.

Walker said Rogue Advocates and other groups want the county to remain more restrictive than the state and will likely fight his efforts at every turn.

"You're looking at a group out there that is looking at every excuse to appeal a land-use decision," he said.

Brent Thompson, of Friends of Jackson County, said he welcomes Rogue Advocates into the community of organizations concerned about the environment and growth in Jackson and Josephine counties.

He said Friends of Jackson County has been focused on a regional effort to map out the growth of Jackson County in anticipation of a doubling of the population.

MacLeod said unrestrained growth will strain transportation systems, lead to sprawl and ultimately promote a poor quality of life that large urban areas already face, he said.

"There is a whole lack of vision for something better," he said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.

December 5, 2009 - Klamath pact creates concern

Pear grower Ron Meyer walks by a holding pond at his orchard in Talent. The debate among farmers, ranchers and American Indians over Klamath Basin water has raised concerns that Jackson County farmers could lose access to water that is piped in from the Klamath River.
--Jim Craven

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

An intricate network of lakes and canals brings water from the Klamath Basin to the 14,000 pear trees that Talent orchardist Ron Meyer calls his "pampered darlings."

Meyer thought his right to that water was secure because Congress authorized the Bureau of Reclamation in 1954 to improve the Talent Irrigation District. Three hundred miles of canals provide Klamath Basin water to Jackson County farmers and orchardists, but they fear their supply of that water may be affected by complicated negotiations about where the water will flow in the future.

"If we were cut dramatically, we would have to do something else," Meyer said. "The water rights are precious."

The much-debated Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement could lead to the removal of four dams, and it outlines water allocations among a variety of interested parties. The agreement could be signed in 2010.

More than half of the water that flows through the TID canals comes from the Klamath side, filling reservoirs such as Howard Prairie, Hyatt and Emigrant. Jackson County orchardists and water managers are concerned that the agreement could reduce their Klamath water or turn off the tap completely.

Jim Pendleton, TID manager, said that in general about 15,000 acre-feet of the district's water is from the Rogue River basin, while 20,000 to 24,000 acre-feet flow from the Klamath.

"We don't want to lose it," Pendleton said. "We don't want to just give it away."

If the Klamath water supply to Jackson County was stopped, it would cripple the water district, Pendleton said.

"A few drought years would put us under quickly," he said.

Much of the Klamath water serves the Talent district, but it also feeds the Medford and Rogue River districts' canals.

Jeff Mitchell, a lead negotiator for the Klamath tribes, said local farmers shouldn't be worried, that the water diverted to Jackson County is not in contention as various parties work through the complicated restoration agreement.

"It's not a lot of water in the big picture," Mitchell said. "I do understand that to folks over there (their share of the water) is the big picture."

He said the agreement that is being worked out is more concerned with preserving or improving fisheries and sharing resources.

"At the end of the day, I don't see anybody giving up their rights," he said.

He said rumors that the agreement could have an impact on Jackson County farmers are just part of what he sees as an effort to undermine the ongoing discussions.

"That's the fear-mongering that goes on by certain people," he said.

But others say tribal authorities have made no such promises on paper and that, regardless of the intentions of current tribal leaders, future decision-makers could change course and close the valves.

Medford resident Larry Nicholson, who has a ranch in the Klamath basin, said he's worried the agreement will ultimately give American Indians total control over the water used by local farmers.

"It gives the Indians all the water rights without any due process," he said.

For orchardists like Meyer, an adequate supply of water is essential to raising fruit that will sell in today's demanding market.

The right combination of water, labor and chemicals means that 80 percent of the pears he grows are the right size for market, he said.

When the family orchard started 100 years ago, Meyer's grandfather got by with dry farming, but the pears were smaller than what will sell today, he said.

In the early 1900's, there were 400 pear growers in the Rogue Valley; currently there are just 15, he said.

Meyer said he already tries to maximize the water efficiency of his orchard. He uses a sprinkler system that operates in two-week cycles to provide the right amount of water to size his fruit for the market.

Meyer said he's not sure about all the legal debates over the Klamath water, but he does know that local orchardists won't give up their share without a fight.

"If there is going to be pear orchards and farming here, we need the water," he said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.

June 16, 2009 - Toxic Algae Returns To Lost Creek

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

TRAIL — For the fourth year in a row, a health advisory was posted Monday at Lost Creek Lake warning that recreational activities could pose risks because of a toxic algae bloom.

"We're recommending people not swim in it," said Jackson Baures, Jackson County Environmental Health Division manager.

High levels of a blue-green algae known as anabaena flos-aquae have been detected in the water, and health officials fear that can produce toxins harmful to humans and animals.

The advisory warns that swallowing or inhaling water droplets should be avoided, as should skin contact with water by humans or animals. Drinking water from Lost Creek is especially dangerous as toxins cannot be removed by boiling, filtering or treating the water.

Health officials advise not eating crayfish or shellfish from the lake. Anyone who chooses to eat fish from the lake should remove the skin, organs and fatty tissues where algae-produced toxins collect.

Health officials say exposure to toxins can produce symptoms of numbness, tingling and dizziness that can lead to difficulty breathing or heart problems and require immediate medical attention. Symptoms of skin irritation, weakness, diarrhea, nausea, cramps and fainting also should receive medical attention if they persist or worsen. Children and pets are particularly susceptible.

Baures said the risks from eating fish that have been in this type of water are unknown, but he advised that a cautious person would avoid eating the fish.

Since 2006, Lost Creek Lake has been hit with high levels of toxic algae every year.

In 2008, a blue-green algae warning was posted at the lake on Sept. 25 and wasn't lifted until Jan. 27. Most of the advisories have lasted several weeks.

This isn't the earliest advisory at the lake.

Baures said that in 2007, the lake was posted on June 12, slightly earlier than the warning this year.

The safest recreational activities in the lake are boating and catch-and-release fishing, he said. Additionally, there is camping, hiking, cycling, picnicking and bird watching.

Doni Swearingen, general manager for the Lost Creek Marina, said she thinks it's up to the individual to decide whether to heed the health advisory.

"Last year, my kids and I swam in it, and we're not glowing green," she said. "You can still come up and do anything you want."

She said her family ate fish from the lake and had no ill effects. Swearingen, who operates a marina, store and restaurant, said she hasn't heard of anyone getting sick from the lake.

Out in the middle of Lost Creek, there is less algae and many visitors go boating out there and swim in the water. She said most of the algae blooms occur in shallower waters.

Last year, she said the algae continued to grow into January even when lake temperatures dropped to 38 degrees.

Despite the algae bloom last year, Swearingen said her business has done well, though she said the health advisory was posted after the holiday period was more or less over.

So far this year, she said the downturn in the economy has helped business. A lot of locals, Swearingen said, are choosing to stay closer to home for their vacations. The campgrounds, she said, have remained full.

"We've had a great year so far," Swearingen said.

Jim Buck, operations project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers, said algae blooms typically have lasted five to six weeks.

Officials don't know how long this outbreak will last. They plan to watch the bloom and will retest when they see the algae drop.

Three tests at locations around the lake found about 500,000 algae cells per milliliter of lake water in two samples and 1.6 million cells per milliliter in another sample, Buck said. Health standards require a warning if more than 100,000 cells per milliliter are found.

In 2006, tests found 14 million cells per milliliter of lake water.

Buck said the Corps also has resumed water-quality testing, a program that was discontinued in 2001 because summer testing usually found little variation. Tests are reporting high levels of phosphorus, a nutrient that algae thrives on, but more data is needed, he said.

He said officials aren't aware of any illnesses caused by blue-green algae in the lake.

June 29, 2009 - The Good News? Projections Give Rogue Valley Time To Prepare

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

Global warming has turned up the heat on local policy makers and scientists as they react with skepticism or take heed of predictions that Jackson County's climate will fluctuate wildly this century.

Not sold yet on global warming, Tom Ferrero, who has studied the geology of this region for 25 years, calls a localized climate study by University of Oregon scientists to be released Monday ridiculous.

"This is laughable," he said.

While other local scientists disagree, Ferrero said there is not enough data or evidence to accurately predict local climate changes, much less use them as a basis to plan for these changes.

"They haven't even planned for a world without global warming," said Ferrero, who runs a geology company in Ashland and Newcastle, Calif.

He said officials have largely ignored the possibility of extreme floods like the one in 1861, which had 10 times the water volume of a devastating 1964 flood that took out several bridges. Waters during the 1861 flood rose almost to Foothill Road in east Medford.

"If you plan for the 1861 flood, you'd have to get rid of Medford," said Ferrero, who advocates more restrictions on building in floodplains but thinks they have to be weighed against the economic realities of the region.

"Central Point — forget about it, it's long gone."

Local officials have been invited to weigh in on the Rogue Basin Climate Study at a workshop Monday at the Medford library.

The study predicts that water supplies will diminish, more water conservation will be needed, more air pollution will result from higher temperatures, more flooding will occur during the winter and more disease-bearing insects could populate the region. Southern Oregon counties are among those most at risk in the western states from both existing and future wildfires, the study says.

Smaller snowpacks will mean decreased business for ski resorts and less water to irrigate crops. In other years, however, there could be healthier snowpacks because of a far more changeable climate, the study says.

"We should not stick our heads in the sand and not do anything," said Don Greene, vice chairman of the Jackson County Planning Commission.

"We're going to need some really outside-the-box solutions."

Greene said that with big changes expected in the environment locally, policy makers must wrestle with balancing economic and political realities with events that could devastate the region.

He said it will be difficult to convince some people of the changes that need to be made.

"Unfortunately, it seems to take major events to wake everybody up," he said.

Pointing to the flood disaster in the Midwest this month, he said there is at least a greater awareness of what could happen to homes and businesses in floodplains.

More fires also are predicted under the global warming scenario for this region, and Greene said that could influence how new homes are approved in rural areas.

Enacting any new ordinances will inevitably give rise to some strenuous political discussions, he said.

"There's a real balance between property rights and community rights," said Greene.

He said reducing the area's carbon footprint will be a challenge for planners in the years to come. The county, he said, is working on changes to its comprehensive plan that could result in energy-saving designs for buildings.

Mike Curry, Jackson County's emergency management program manager, said he didn't want to minimize the predictions, but "in a worst-case scenario, it's not looking anything like the Midwest."

He said unlike towns along the Mississippi River, Jackson County likely wouldn't experience days where buildings or homes were underwater.

Also, emergency officials know where flooding will take place and are prepared for it, he said.

Bob Jones, a geologist with the Medford Water Commission, said he's "not quite on board yet" when it comes to global warming.

He said there are just too many normal cycles in weather and not enough historical data to convince him that the current warming trend is abnormal.

"We just went through one of the biggest snowpacks we've ever had," said Jones, who lives in Prospect.

Jones said the water commission and other groups have been working on long-range plans that will ensure an adequate water supply for the region for the next 50 years. Proposals include lining irrigation ditches or piping the water to cut down on evaporation and leaks.

Jones said he would still be interested in hearing what the scientists have to say about the climate study.

"As far as the water commission's official position, we're always willing to work with anybody on water planning," he said.

Craig Harper, natural resources planning manager for the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, said he's seen enough evidence from the scientific community to convince him that global warming is a reality.

He said there obviously will be some variability in weather over the next century, but he's looking forward to receiving the Rogue Basin climate report.

"I think it's good to hear what some careful scientific analysis has shown," he said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476 or dmann@mailtribune.com.

June 11, 2008 - River Is Public Property

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

An 89-mile stretch of the Rogue River is owned by the public, the State Land Board ruled Tuesday, raising the ire of many Jackson County landowners along the waterway.

"The whole thing is solving a problem that never existed," said Roger King, president of Save Our Legacy, a local group representing some 90 property owners along the river who plan to file a lawsuit blocking the state action.

There is no problem to be fixed," King said. The Shady Cove resident said everyone has known for more than 150 years that the river is open to the public.

The decision affirms state ownership of the river channel and the banks up to the ordinary high water marks, but not to areas that flood.

Making the banks public land allows rafters, anglers and other boaters to pull off the river without being accused of trespassing on private property, said Louise Solliday, director of the Department of State Lands.

The three-member Land Board adopted the Final Rogue River Navigability Study, which finds the state has owned the beds and banks since statehood. The river has changed course many times in some stretches during the past 150 years, so there could be some title disputes with landowners.

The Land Board includes Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and state Treasurer Randall Edwards.

More than 3,000 property owners will receive notification over the next few weeks that the state is asserting its claim over the river from Grave Creek in Josephine County to Lost Creek Dam in Jackson County, Solliday said.

"This will clarify that the state is the owner, and public has the right to use the river," she said.

She said the state's action could be stalled if property owners challenge the decision with the state Court of Appeals.

State lands officials based their findings on an act by the U.S. Congress that brought Oregon into the Union in 1859. The act declares the state's navigable waterways free to all inhabitants of the country.

The state is relying on maps produced in the 1850s to determine the original course of the river, which will be used to establish state ownership. It is also relying on historical documents to show the Rogue has been a river that is considered "navigable" under federal standards.

The navigability study was prompted by complaints from the Josephine County District Attorney's Office over difficulties in determining jurisdiction in disputes between riverfront property owners and river users.

Solliday said the state will not use eminent domain, but will negotiate with property owners to obtain quitclaim deeds for disputed lands. The state also will issue a quitclaim deed back to landowners for areas where the river no longer flows over a particular property, she said.

Property owners will have an incentive to settle with the state because there would be a cloud over the title if the land were offered for sale without a clearly defined title, said Solliday.

She said some property owners might think they own to the middle of the river or to the far bank, but she suggested they check their title report carefully because they will find that is not correct.

The state has been sued over other navigability studies on other rivers, but ultimately the courts have ruled in its favor, she said.

King said the Save Our Legacy organization has received money from 80 to 90 landowners that could be used for legal action to block the state. He said the group doesn't dispute that all Oregon rivers are navigable and open to the public. Rather, they are protesting the state's disruptive plan to take away their land because the river has changed course over the years.

King said he would likely have to get his own land surveyed because the river channel has meandered, and a neighbor across the river appears to own the land across the width of the channel right up to King's river bank.

Save Our Legacy is preparing its own management plan for the Rogue River that it will be presenting to counties in the next two weeks, said King.

"The idea is to form a volunteer commission of people who will work on the management of this river," he said. "They will see if we can create more access for fishermen to get to the river and fish."

He said his organization also will work with lawmakers to come up with legislation that would address the problems of state ownership of the river without prompting conflicts over land ownership.

Danny Ingledew of Medford was fishing on the Rogue Tuesday near Dodge Bridge, downstream from Shady Cove, but was having no luck catching the salmon that were occasionally jumping out of the water.

Ingledew said he didn't agree with the state's decision.

"Why change it now?" he said.

People have been using the river for years, and there has been no question about access, said the 45-year-old cabinet maker.

However, he said, "I also don't agree that you own out to the middle of the river."

He said disputes pop up from time to time, particularly during the summer when rafters leave their trash along the banks.

"If people respected other people's property it would not be such an issue," he said.

Ingledew said property owners also need to be aware that not all fisherman are trespassing.

"I've pulled over on the banks and gotten yelled at," he said.

Ingledew's brother, Paul, also objected to the state taking away land.

"To me it just ties in with the state encroaching on everybody's property rights," said the 40-year-old Medford contractor.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476 or dmann@mailtribune.com.