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,i, �OOSE
<br /> ilan ,� ■ BY MARY 0 BRIENil THOUGHTS 1
<br /> ` -3-- °3 �
<br /> CONSCIOUS
<br /> Chokingon 5 A ,r , wall
<br /> 44.,, �.
<br /> a master t(
<br /> Eugene resists adopting key
<br /> ;" '2 ��r Sat.,June 7, One day PI
<br /> land use plan. ,, P , ' .•4". CONSCIOUS LANGU
<br /> .1011)uti on this fun and exciting journey to
<br /> his week I remembered how,as a child, I had PattyCurtis •• 54 I-484-1407
<br /> tried to "stay within the lines"when I colored
<br /> with crayons. I was particularly proud of myself
<br /> one afternoon: I was supposed to be taking a nap, but
<br /> instead, I was coloring in a drawing of a monkey,on the sly. NOW AC
<br /> (My childhood rebellions were not spectacular.) Even though
<br /> the room's shades had been pulled down to dim the room, I was staying ()rev the lines. However, in post-"nap" bright light, I found to my horror is
<br /> that I had colored the monkey purple,instead of brown. 11
<br /> That memory returned last week as I was coloring within lines traced „rt , P J
<br /> from three maps of Eugene—one 25 years old;the second 11 years old;the > s ,� 4w t a r «
<br /> third 2003.The first map was fragile: It had been painstakingly hand drawn ;? `‘'.',t,':` ,, ry„,,,.'14,,,4169�,I
<br /> in color on parchment. It was Eugene's first survey of its areas that still con ',} e ,
<br /> tained remnants of native plant communities,such as oak savannah,cedar �”" ''`Ttixv
<br /> stands,or wetland prairie;and still could support native salmon, butterflies,
<br /> frogs,or other Oregon originals. :; 344-7901
<br /> I traced these lines onto mylar placed over the 2003 map of such sites.
<br /> Then I copied lines of such sites that been considered for conservation
<br /> practices under Oregon's"Goal 5" in 1992.
<br /> Goal 5 requires each Oregon city and county to identify areas of natural Whocaes ' I I � '
<br /> heritage within its boundaries, and to develop measures that will insure I A� � ,
<br /> their continuance.Other goals include regularly designating 20 years'
<br /> n:
<br /> worth of land on which to construct new houses and industrial facilities.
<br /> Eugene has readily complied with these goals.We have choked, however,on ,x n a
<br /> meeting Goal 5: It means sharing with other species. ) ,,+. ,,,Kell'-4 `,
<br /> Back at the map, I colored red the natural areas that were lost in Eugene p�..„ ..
<br /> di
<br /> between 1978 and 1992 to human commerce and developments;and orange w
<br /> the areas that were lost between 1992 and 2003.There was lots of coloring i`
<br /> to do, because during Eugene's 25-year process of not deciding on any form ^
<br /> of care for most of the ideritified sites,they have shrunk to 9 percent of
<br /> Eugene. I longed for the simpler horror of coloring a monkey purple. These Clean Water
<br /> ater in the week,on another matter of losing ground, I wrote e-mails have made a commitment to
<br /> Sery
<br /> L to each Oregon senator.I was asking them to oppose HB 3013,a
<br /> gravel mining industry bill that would grease the skids for more pro of Eugene/Springfield • Servicemaste
<br /> destruction of our best, remaining farm soil for gravel.The average piece of Quality Cleaning • Rainbow International
<br /> food on a U.S.plate travels 1,200 miles.Cannibalizing the last otourlocal, • Cleaning • Global Tech Building Services •
<br /> sediment-rich farm soil for river-side gravel to build more road5_seems par- Carpet Care • Brothers Carpet Cleaning
<br /> titularly insane,given that more than enough gravel can be gotten from ,Inc.. Carpet&Uphe
<br /> plentiful upland basalt sites.
<br /> Then there was the matter of writing comments to Lane Council of
<br /> Governments,opposing some of their proposed amendments to the Metro more I
<br /> Plan. For instance,one would drop current language about caring for multi- (
<br /> EUGENE/ call 6E
<br /> ple forest values (e.g.,wildlife habitat,clean water,open space)for those
<br /> forests immediately outside Eugene's urban growth boundary.The pro-
<br /> posed new language would state that the highest value of these boundary s<s- =t ? z `=?�2LL? :J?�,y.={?
<br /> forests is"harvest"—i.e., logging.Another would drop all time require c�;� ''' J:">�tluCt
<br /> ments for considering conservation practices on sites identified within C?�
<br /> Eugene or Springfield as containing wildlife habitat. a) 25th Mnlver:ary Celebra
<br /> Sometimes despair waits close by for me:We humans seem so unwilling (�;"a�
<br /> C2:30&5
<br /> ��d
<br /> to be plain citizens,rather than relentless liquidators,of Earth's communi- C"
<br /> ties. ► A The We
<br /> Your Chance
<br /> ut then this morning, I walked on the newly completed portion of �a , 8:30P1
<br /> the Amazon bike trail that passes through the West Eugene Tickets-Cony.
<br /> Wetlands.The wetlands,still free of a roaring,elevated,five lane rel i,: _ County-Eugen
<br /> Cwt — at www.anlmaH
<br /> West Eugene Highway,spread out in the distance for what is surely the al Tot
<br /> most open,expansive landscape in all of Eugene.Red-winged blackbirds Cev)
<br /> were singing;turkey vultures were strutting around an inviting breakfast of 0 e.0
<br /> smelly,dead fish;and native flowers and grasses were blooming in bands, C j fit_ a �s�oY'1 The Grow
<br /> each species thriving in a differently colored level above receded wetlands C��) Forthose who love t
<br /> water. � �� ch�pao hips Island Park,I
<br /> Sept rr
<br /> How can I despair when a red-winged blackbird sings,all purpose and
<br /> will, in lands that others before me conserved for the benefit of all? I can 0. Show&Sales by the Northwest's fine
<br /> only be grateful that there are birds and citizens who know that much Cwt nurseries
<br /> depends on standing up publicly for more than one's own"rights"to A;• Show&Sales by some of America's I
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<br /> Maty O'Brien has worked as a public interest scientist for the past 22 years.She can be reached at ) �. �
<br /> mob@efn.org
<br /> ��� - The Event Managers, LL'
<br /> (i.:!„1 '7.. -_ www.theeventmanagers.con
<br /> �w�) 541-767-0459
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