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Is the valley going to lose its best farmland?

Mail Tribune
March 09, 2008

Local farms have been an economic foundation for the good in Bear Creek Valley. The annual farm gate income in the county has reached over $82 million. The seven cities in the Bear Creek Valley are the principal beneficiaries of this income, but growth of these seven cities threatens the industry unless we protect the land the industry depends on from development.

In the mid 1990s, concerned Bear Creek Valley citizens who recognized we live in a special place created what became the Regional Problem Solving Project (RPS). Recognizing that the cities would continue to grow, the goal was to create a plan that would accommodate that growth while protecting the land the agriculture industry needs to survive. First, they set out to identify the most critical of those lands we should not grow into, and then to decide where the cities should grow.

The RPS seemed a worthy and achievable process. But in the hands of the politicians it has become a land grab. The current plan calls for about 9,000 acres to be added to the cities, which the project's own models show is far more than is needed.

Seventy-five percent of these acres are currently zoned farmlands. Over 1,200 acres are considered by the experts appointed by the project to be "critical to the region's agricultural economy." In addition to taking all of this valuable land, the RPS plan doesn't make any provision for future protection of agriculture lands that are outside of the growth areas, leaving them also vulnerable to future development. The original concept of identifying and protecting the lands not to grow into has been dropped entirely.

The reasons for preserving agricultural land have become increasingly apparent. The price of most agricultural and food products has jumped precipitously. Locally grown products will become more valuable as transportation costs increase and greenhouse gas regulations come into play.

But, farmland with sufficient soil properties is a finite resource. Here in the Bear Creek Valley, orchard acreage, which has decreased in the past decade, stands at about 7,000 acres.

Wine grapes, which thrive on the same type of soils, could potentially grow from 1,300 acres to somewhere between 11,500 and 40,000 acres in the region in 20 years (Greg Jones of SOU). Annual food crops grown on the richer soils west of Bear Creek are becoming more important. Agriculture is a viable industry in the region, but land speculation associated with urban development is pushing the price of farmable land beyond what farmers can afford.

Agricultural land is a vital part of the economy of our state as well as our county. A recent report from Oregon State University found that Oregon's agriculture industry was linked directly and indirectly to $25.8 billion in sales of goods and services in 2005. This represents 10.6 percent of the state's gross product and employment for over 214,000 Oregonians.

Converting farmland to houses is short-sighted and potentially ruinous for our economy and quality of life. We agree with the idea of coordinated planning to decide where growth goes. But to protect our economy and our quality of life, we should also plan to protect appropriate areas from that growth.

The current plan, representing over 10 years of hard work, fails to meet its original purpose of protecting agricultural lands, fails to follow the advice of the project's own experts, and fails to provide a path by which the Rogue Valley can both grow in population and preserve what is special about this unique place.

The region's cities and the county are set to have public hearings in April and May to decide whether to approve the current RPS plan and send it to the state for approval in June at a hearing to be held in Damascus. The only local opportunity for the public to directly tell state regulators what they think about the plan will occur during public comment sessions when LCDC meets March 19-20 at the Ashland City Council Chambers.

The question is how do we accommodate growth and improve our quality of life. Part of the answer lies in preserving our farmland. Please comment at the LCDC meeting or the city and county hearings, whether or not you agree, because we need as many as possible to be involved in the decision.

Don Moore of Talent is a retired internist and University of Southern California professor and a major owner of Quail Run Vineyards. Porter Lombard of Medford is a retired OSU professor and presently a vineyard consultant.

By Don Moore and Porter Lombard

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