On March 10, 2022, over 200 people attended a virtual public hearing over a proposed land sale from the Department of State Lands (DSL) to a private resort developer. Thornburgh Resort has been the subject of controversy since its proposal in 2005 for its impacts on rural lands between Bend and Redmond.
The Department of State Lands is currently reviewing a request to sell 400 acres of public land at Cline Buttes to Central Land and Cattle Company LLC, the developers of the proposed Thornburgh Resort.
Central Oregon LandWatch has long opposed aspects of the proposed development and is involved in numerous ongoing appeals over the resort’s water mitigation plan, as the development may use up to six million gallons of groundwater per day.
One week ago, Central Oregon LandWatch put out a call to the regional community to provide input to the Department of State Lands. Since then, over 3500 businesses, groups and individuals have signed on to a community letter opposing the sale. According to the Department of State Lands, over 1800 written comments were submitted into the public record as of Thursday night’s hearing.
Thursday’s public hearing was a part of the Department of State Land’s due diligence process in looking into the merits of the proposed sale.
LandWatch’s Executive Director Ben Gordon testified in opposition, requesting “As DSL conducts its due diligence and considers whether or not to oblige the request of Central Land and Cattle Company LLC to sell it 400 acres of public land in the Cline Buttes Recreation Area, please consider the unified voice of Central Oregonians who unequivocally oppose this sale.”
During the virtual hearing, in over two hours of public testimony, all of those who spoke opposed to the proposed sale.
During the hearing, Bend City Councilor Anthony Broadman stated, “Generations to come will look back at this moment in Oregon’s land use history, at the decisions we’re making now in rooms all across our state and ask whether we’ve upheld Oregon’s land use system and honored the land. So I would ask: you would consider what we need as a region instead of what a very few want.”
The Department of State Lands has requested public input and the comment period remains open until March 17. You can submit comments through the Department of State Lands website for State Lands Sales, Cline Buttes Tract (Transaction Number 63509-LS).
The DSL Land Board, including Oregon’s Governor, Treasurer and Secretary of State, will issue a final decision during its meeting in June 2022.
As a watchdog organization, LandWatch’s mission is to uphold Oregon’s land use system to protect rural landscapes, wildlife habitats and farmland for generations to come.
The above article was prepared by the author in his/her own personal capacity. The opinions expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cascade Business News or of Cascade Publications Inc.
