Mt. Emily Recreation Area Coalition
Mt. Emily Photo by Ed Shaul, 2006, Used by Permission
Mt. Emily Saved October 31, 2008
Jan. 29th Public Meeting Questionnaire
Final Results
The final tabulation is done as of Tuesday, February 19th, based on 406 received questionnaires.
368 favored public acquisition of MERA while 34 opposed it, a better than
10 to 1 ratio supporting acquisition.
Read
this report to get a more detailed picture of reponses, including comments and concerns.
The summary and all filled-in questionnaires have been provided to the Union County commissioners.
Thanks for providing your input!
Click here for response summary.
Mt. Emily, with its distinctive profile, is the icon of the Grande Ronde Valley.
For generations the mountain's privately-held timberlands (to the left, above) have been made
available for public recreation, but in late 2005, it became apparent that this traditional use was at risk.
Boise Cascade was divesting, and the new owner, Forest Capital Partners, thought it's new Mt. Emily holdings might be more valuable as
private homesites.
Concerned Union County residents and organizations formed the Mt. Emily Recreation Area Coalition
and spent the next three years working to ensure public recreational access to the forest on Mt. Emily, forever.
On October 31st, 2008, FCP's nearly 3700 acres on Mt. Emily was transferred to Union County, and the new Mt. Emily Recreation Area was created.
What's New
LLC forming to buy trees.
A for-profit LLC is being formed to buy the FCP Trails Unit harvest rights.
Plans are to do some harvest, establish a convervation area, then return to county control.
Investors are needed; contact Mary at mcmcc@uci.net
Save the Trails Unit Trees!
FCP plans to harvest 2/3s of the Trails Unit trees in summer 2010.
We have until Feb. 1st to convince Union County to help save these trees.
To help, contact Mary at mcmcc@uci.net
Proposed Trails Unit Stewardship Plan (Jan. 2010)
A Trails Unit Forest Management Plan requested by the Union County commissioners from the group advocating conservation of the Trails unit trees.
(Note:
Appendix A and
Appendix B are separate documents due to large download size.)
Plan identifies multiple stands within the Trails unit and prescribes differing management treatments based on the unique characteristics of each stand.
Harvest opportunities are identified in some stands, with conservation emphasised in those with more intense recreational use.
For-profit LLC Questions and AnswersInformation about the for-profit plan to save the Trails unit trees.
In essence a private group (LLC) will buy FCP's harvest rights, do limited harvesting, establish a conservation easement, and return the retained trees to county control with harvest restrictions established.
The expectation is that a reasonable profit can be expected for LLC investors.
