Murcia, Spain, is a desert area very similar in topography to our Central Oregon landscape, the photo on the bottom of the page showing a cone-shaped mountain and sparse vegetation. Good land farmed for generations has given way to a plethora of golf courses and elegant vacation homes, in a "resort-building boom." The result: Murcia is running out of water. The Spanish Environmental Ministry blames this on a combination of "global warming and poor land use." But it's more than just bad decisions: some local officials are now in prison for taking bribes that allowed construction on land with insufficient water.
The greener pastures of Central Oregon are turning from farm land into resorts and golf courses at an alarming rate. The old farming and ranching way of life is losing out to more and more five or ten acre plots as agriculture becomes increasingly more difficult to keep economically viable, and farmers and ranchers are tempted by the money that can be made from selling to developers.
It would behoove Crook County to take a lesson from our sister climate in Spain. Avion Water, which is supplying water to Brasada Ranch, and which will likely attempt to provide water for the two other approved resorts, is rumored to have already had seven dry wells. (It's also rumored that the record of these dry wells has somehow become lost.) Golf courses take a tremendous amount of water, and what Avion takes out of the ground can't help but deplete the area's aquifer. (It should be noted here that Prineville's excellent public Meadowlakes Golf Course is a wastewater treatment facility that has won Golf Digest's National Environmental Leaders award.)
Our previously approved resorts are nowhere near capacity; some are just in the planning stages with no impact yet on our water supply. I have to agree with the overwhelming majority of voters in Crook County, and say that we should approve more resorts only after we have seen the impact of our planned resorts at full or nearly full capacity.
Are the resorts we have already approved good for Crook County? Yes, because they are and will be a valuable asset to our economy, but new ones should be considered only after we have conducted real, unbiased planning and research into habitat, water, traffic, and any other area having an impact on our infrastructure. The voters have spoken loudly; these same voters will be watching the actions of our county court and planning commission. Government too often forgets that its purpose is to do the will of the people, not the other way around.
Keep visiting this blog for up to date information on issues in Crook County. A link is coming soon on the Central Oregonian's Calendar page. Walt and Rebecca Wagner
