Foster helped shape Camp Sherman

There are few of us who succeed in leaving the world a better place than the one we found, but Toni Berke Foster succeeded. Foster fought many battles to improve all of our lives but lost her final battle to cancer on August 23. Her death is a loss to all whose lives she touched and a loss to many who may not even know her name.

Foster's legacy will continue to touch lives for generations, for she brought about change in people's lives and the environment. Like a stone skipping across a pond, the ripples pour outward from everywhere she touched, flowing through lives, touching and changing even those who never met her.

Gary Lovegren said, "She was instrumental in my becoming an EMT Paramedic and Fire Captain."

Every fire and emergency call Lovegren makes spreads the ripples of Foster's life outward.

He went on to say, "Toni was a dedicated schoolteacher (at Black Butte School in Camp Sherman) who put the will and drive in all her students to excel. Her mix of love and discipline made for an environment that the kids flourished in."

Her field trips and hands-on teaching style brought the subjects to life for her pupils. Her guidance taught her students not only to express their beliefs but to question and research everything.

Sheriff Jack E. Jones of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office remembers Foster and her influence: "She was involved in the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District as a firefighter and EMT; then in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Search and Rescue through the Camp Sherman HASTY Team and Citizen Emergency Response Team; Jefferson County Education Service District; Jefferson County Planning Commissioner; President and co-founder of Friends of the Metolius and just about every community activity that has happened in Camp Sherman for many years."

Jones continued, "Toni was not just a member in name of all of these services but a committed and dedicated worker who was most often in a leading role, yet was frequently observed with her sleeves rolled up and getting the job done."

She has left behind a formidable legacy for those who follow her.

There are few people who have committed as much of their personal life to the care and stewardship of the public lands around their community and the preservation and sustainability of their community as Foster.

Kent Gill remembers, "In the early 1980s, the Forest Service announced a major timber sale along the Metolius (River) to include many old-growth trees. Toni and others formed an ad hoc 'No Cut on Little Buck' committee which generated community opposition, resulting in a major revision of the sale resulting in a gentle treatment of the forest."

Bill Anthony, Sisters District Ranger said, "Some of Toni's legacy is about her tenacity, commitment and endurance to battle for the changes she strongly believed in."

Anthony continued, "In later days, after the changes were more broadly accepted and supported by both citizens and the Forest Service, Toni evolved into a promoter and champion of partnerships to get mutually agreed upon objectives accomplished. For that, she will be remembered as a friend of the forest and the Forest Service."

Foster was instrumental in shaping the vision and management philosophy of the Metolius Basin in the 1990 Forest Plan for the Deschutes National Forest. She became the founding president of a non-profit local conservation organization, Friends of the Metolius (FOTM), serving in that role for 13 years.

The purposes of this organization include interpretive and educational activities, monitoring of Forest Service activities in the Metolius Basin and attention to Jefferson County decisions regarding the limited amount of privately-held land.

In a collaborative effort, FOTM promoted a forest management demonstration project which led to the large vegetative management project now underway in the Heritage Area.

FOTM has restored road closures, purchased gates, monitored dispersed camping and evaluated the effect of hazard tree programs on the forest. The management philosophy for the Metolius that Foster and FOTM crafted in that 1990 plan was visionary and fits well even today nearly 20 years later.

An outcome of Foster's vision was the creation of the Metolius Conservation Area. When anyone drives into the Metolius Basin, the signs welcoming them to the Metolius Conservation Area are a part of her legacy.

Foster was also a key figure in shaping the 1997 Wild & Scenic River Plan for the Metolius River which was designed to protect the outstanding and remarkable values of this unique and pristine river that emerges from underground springs and meanders through the Camp Sherman area.

A major part of her legacy is the unspoiled Metolius Basin we all enjoy today.