Fall 2018
DCPARC
John Hunter
The hot and smoky summer has been a busy and hectic one for DCPARC. We toured Mildred Kanipe Park in July after hearing that the Parks Advisory Board alleged numerous trees were dying and posing a fire danger. Our tour was led by Mike Burke of Friends of Mildred Kanipe Park where he revealed an insignificant number of dead trees. We fear this is another excuse to log a Douglas County Park and will continue to monitor and oppose such an action.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Oregon Development and Conservation Department, and Friends of Douglas County has filed an appeal with the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals on The Rural Open Spaces proposal submitted by the Douglas County Board of Commissioners. It appears that this appeal will be a long litigation battle. It has the potential of affecting the quality of life in Douglas County as well as the entire state of Oregon by making it easier to change our land use law. We are fortunate to have Friends of Douglas County fighting against this proposal. DCPARC is providing some financial support in their efforts and if you would like to help with their legal expenses contact them at: wetherel@earthlink.net
The Bolan Island eagles nest was unknown to the Oregon Dept. of Forestry until we notified Keith Cubic, D.C. Planning Dept. Consequently he sent the county forester and an ODF forester to confirm the active nest. As a result, new restrictions were added to the already awarded sale. The Parks Advisory Board has had only 5 meetings in the last 10 months and no meetings for July or August. They have 2 unfilled positions. Former Parks Director Gary Groth’s former business partner, Jerry Chartier, is the new PAB Chairperson.
In August we completed our third of four trail clean up on the riverside trail for the Roseburg Parks Dept. Our next one will be on October 22, please join us.
Monitoring our County Government takes time and help. Please join us at our monthly meeting on the third Wednesday of the month, 6PM at the UW Office.
