Today I learned of a long planned land swap on the slopes of Mt. Hood, and I was horrified by just about every aspect of the situation. The land swap is a raw deal for the public, and development of either location would be a blight on a beautiful region treasured by millions of Americans. Please join me in voicing strong opposition to the land swap and to further development of Mt. Hood.
I enjoy skiing on the slopes of Mt. Hood myself, but I don’t see how anyone could justify carpeting any more mountains slopes with ski lifts, runs, and lodges. Timberline, Mt Hood Meadows, Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, Summit, and the existing Cooper Spur ski area have already disturbed enough of a landscape fit for National Park status. Expanding cooper spur by 700 acres would be a disaster that would blight the Northeastern slope of Mt. Hood. This wilderness quality land should be left intact and undeveloped.
However, the solution is not to save that land at the expense of the wild forest land around Government Camp. Not only would building hundreds of houses here destroy acres of beautiful forest, it would also ruin the character of Government Camp. Resort towns tend to sprawl and destroy the very natural environment that the developers themselves are looking to capitalize on. As it is, Government Camp is an unusually pleasant resort community that does not intrude so horribly as other such towns where massive housing developments have ruined both the town and the surrounding environment. Expanding Government Camp would be a terrible mistake, and this must be prevented.
Furthermore, the land swap itself is a bad deal. It is obvious to anyone that the land at government camp is extremely valuable. It’s monetary value far exceeds that of the land at Cooper Spur. This is reason enough for the swap to be called off.
If enough of us speak it is possible we might put an end to plans that would be disastrous for Government Camp or Cooper Spur. Further development should be banned at either location. No compromise solution is necessary - all that is needed is the simple denial of any permits for development that might be applied for in the future.
Contact Mt. Hood National Forest through this link: https://www.fs.usda.gov/contactus/mthood/about-forest/contactus
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/email-ron
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkely: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/contact
You can also write to Mt. Hood Meadows, the company responsible for threatening to destroy Cooper Spur with massive and unwelcome development, to let them know that you oppose their plans: https://www.skihood.com/about-us/contact-us
I for one will be avoiding patronizing Mt. Hood Meadows next winter in protest of their part in this debacle, and I encourage other conscientious snow sports enthusiasts to do the same.
