News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
State planners have put the brakes on a proposal that could have sited a gravel quarry on public lands east of Sisters.
Local residents and people who ride, hike and explore in the so-called "Golden Triangle" between Highway 20 and 126 rose in vocal opposition to an Oregon Department of Transportation study that put forward several possible gravel mining sites.
One of those sites was off Buckhorn Road and another was off Fryrear Road.
According to ODOT planner Jason Neil, the agency decided to await the completion of the Bureau of Land Management's Upper Deschutes Watershed Plan before proposing gravel mine sites.
That plan will determine whether resource extraction is an appropriate use in that area. If mining is allowed, ODOT would likely continue the process of siting quarries.
The BLM planning process is expected to take about two years.
ODOT Region 4 Manager Bob Bryant emphasized that the agency is not abandoning the effort to locate an aggregate site.
He said ODOT will "fold the work that we were doing through the ODOT process... into the BLM planning process."
Bryant acknowledged that the agency had hoped to have an approved and permitted site by mid-summer. This move will delay that timetable by at least a year, depending on how quickly the BLM work proceeds.
The agency will continue to conduct sample mining to determine the quality of aggregate in the area.
"Within a month, people will see an exploratory drill and will see ODOT personnel out there," said Randy Davis, Geology and Hydrology Manager with ODOT.
Mimi Graves, a Sisters area resident and an opponent of ODOT's plan, was pleased with the agency's announcement.
"It was a win from the standpoint that we got their attention," she said.
Graves said that the Cline Buttes Recreation Association and other interest groups will continue to monitor plans for the area and will participate in the BLM's public planning process.
"This is the beginning of our endeavor, not the end," Graves said.
Neil acknowledged that public pressure played a role in ODOT's decision to hold off on its plans, even though, "it's putting us back several years."
Neil said, "the public had some real, legitimate concerns about the future use of the public lands."
He expects mine opponents to continue to be active.
"There's clearly a need for lots of public input and compromise on the future of that particular area," Neil said.
ODOT's store of aggregate is being rapidly depleted, according to Neil, and the agency needs gravel to handle road maintenance.
Katy Yoder (Graves' daughter), said that opponents don't buy that.
"We think it's more of a political move on (ODOT's) part to bring in out-of-town bidders (offering subsidized gravel)," she said.
Neil argues that having access to gravel simply allows ODOT to find more competitive bids on subcontracted jobs, potentially saving taxpayers significant amounts of money.
Opponents remain unconvinced.
"We would like to prove that they don't need a gravel pit at all," Graves said.
Bryant acknowledged that opponents question the justification for a quarry. He said the agency will review the bid history on public projects in the region to "validate" their assessment that the area requires a new public source of aggregate.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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