Mt. Emily Recreation Area Coalition
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The visual landmark of Union County, Mt. Emily, was at risk. Gallatin Northeast Timber and Land Company/Forest Capital Partners, LLC (FCP) an independent investment firm that acquires and manages large-scale investment forests across North America, purchased the 3,700+ acre Mt. Emily parcel. Each year FCP evaluates their holdings and sells a portion of their land on the public market. Until very recently, their Mt. Emily property looked to be slated for sale as early as March 2007.
If this had happened, Union County could have lost this historic recreational venue which has been used for decades by hunters, hikers, horseback riders, cross country skiers, archery enthusiasts, Mt. bikers, and ATV riders.
The potential loss of public access to Mt. Emily has created significant local anxiety. In response, local citizens formed the Mt. Emily Recreation Coalition (the Coalition) with the goal of keeping Mt. Emily open to all by purchasing the land from FCP and establishing the Mt. Emily Recreation Area.
The Coalition, backed by the people of Union County, has been successful in helping convince Forest Capital Partners to take a different path. FCP has made a commitment to work with our elected representatives and the Coalition to pursue opportunities for public ownership of the Mt. Emily Recreation Area. With this important cooperation and support from FCP, we are confident of avoiding the grim alternative; large-scale subdivision of the property and restricted or prohibited access to formerly accessible lands.
Since the May 9, 2006 public information meeting, members of the Coalition have collated the input received from over 250 meeting attendees and prepared a feasibility study based on this input. Here are web links to the feasibility study and a collated summary of the public comments from the May public meeting.
On June 21, 2006, Union County Commissioners, John Lamoreau, Colleen MacLeod and Steve McClure voted unanimously to pursue grant funding for acquisition of the land. (Please note that under the proposals for acquisition of this property there is no public indebtedness to Union County). On August 18, 2006 Union County presented a preliminary grant application to the Oregon State Parks, ATV Account Allocation Committee. Funding for grants comes from ATV user fees. On August 29, 2006, Union County received a letter of support from the ATV Committee for the acquisition of the proposed Mt. Emily Recreation Area.
The ATV grant, if awarded, would only cover a portion of the costs associated with the acquisition. Because of this, the Coalition is pursuing additional funding opportunities - and we need your help!
Even with the cooperation of FCP, Union County will need to make a significant investment to acquire the property. If the county is unsuccessful in raising this money, the proposed Mt Emily Recreation Area may well be sold to private investors, and instead of a forested recreation area we will likely will see the harvesting of all existing timber and new 240 acre parcel subdivision.
The Coalition seeks to raise roughly 1.2 million dollars to fund a set aside of timber reserves within the property. It is likely that without this match, the ATV funding will not be awarded, or the a very large percentage of the merchantable timber will have to be liquidated to provide the required local match that will not be covered by the ATV grant. The proposed timber reserves would be largely in the lower portion of the Mt. Emily property, which is the portion of the site most visible from La Grande and the surrounding Grande Ronde Valley. This area is also where most wildlife occur, and is planned for primarily non-motorized uses such as mountain biking, hiking, trail running, berry picking and other low-impact recreational activities.
If the county is able to acquire the proposed Mt. Emily Recreation Area, it would be managed to produce timber, range, watershed, wildlife, and recreation resources-as it has for decades. Management of the Mt. Emily Recreation Area would be based on a proven model, like that of the Senior Center and Animal Shelter, where non-profit corporations manage county owned properties. Following this model, the Coalition would be incorporated as a non-profit entity and the County Commission would delegate management responsibility to the Coalition. The Union County Commission would appoint an advisory council comprised of recreation users, representatives from state agencies (forestry, fish and wildlife, parks), federal agencies (Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla National Forests) and interested Union County residents, to oversee management of the Mt. Emily Recreation Area.
In summary, for nearly two years, the Coalition has worked closely with FCP on the proposed acquisition. The Coalition continues to work diligently on securing additional funding sources for the proposed acquisition. Public interest and support for the project has been instrumental in helping guide the chain of events so far, and continues to grow.
Now more than ever, we are counting on the support, advocacy and community connection of local representatives from FCP - John Warness, Steve McClelland, Joe Justice, and the rest of the staff at FCP in La Grande - to work with residents of Union County on this proposal. The Coalition is grateful for their far-sighted and community supporting actions, and truly hopes that FCP will continue to help us make this dream a reality.
There are a myriad of things that can be done to support purchase of the recreation area and help save Mt. Emily. Writing letters to elected officials, joining the coalition, donating time, services or money; just take your choice. Take a look at our How to Help page to get some ideas for what you can do. As Joni Mitchell said in the song, "you don't know what you got 'til it's gone." Help us make sure that the forest land on Mt. Emily isn't gone before we can fully appreciate what we "got."
The Coalition sends a special thanks to John Warness, Steve McClelland, and Joe Justice of FCP in La Grande for continuing to work with us on this important project. The success of this project will weigh heavily on their support.
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