At his annual town hall meeting in Bend this weekend, Senator Wyden will hear two words that members of Congress don’t hear often: “thank you.” 20 local businesses have signed on to a letter (see below) thanking Senator Ron Wyden for his work on conservation and protecting public lands.
“We have seen firsthand how important our natural areas are to the economy here in Central Oregon, and as business owners we are expressing our gratitude to Senator Wyden and our other congressional leaders for their work to protect wilderness areas like the Oregon Badlands,” said Dennis Oliphant, owner of Sun Country Tours.
Business owners from Sisters, Redmond and Bend pulled together the letter, which states, “Beautiful scenery, ample access to wild lands for outdoor recreation, and clean air and water are all key elements that attract visitors, residents and new businesses to our area.”
Also mentioned in the letter is Senator Wyden’s support of protecting places such as the Oregon Badlands Wilderness and providing funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to purchase new public property on the Wild and Scenic Lower Crooked River. Among the wide variety of businesses who signed the letter are the Oregon Outfitters and Guides Association, Donterra Artworks and Eurosports in Sisters and Paulina Springs Books in Redmond and Sisters.
Business owners and members of local public lands stewardship groups will deliver the letter to Senator Wyden at his annual town hall meeting in Deschutes County on Saturday.
Several attendees plan to wear stickers conveying a clear and powerful message: WILDERNESS=JOBS.
The Friends and Neighbors of the Deschutes Canyon Area (FANs) and the Friends of Oregon Badlands Wilderness (aka Fobbits) are also grateful for Senator Wyden’s leadership on conservation. “Protected public lands enhance our quality of life, which benefits everyone in Central Oregon,” explained Cindy Murray, president of the Friends and Neighbors of the Deschutes Canyon Area. “Clean air and water, scenic views and beautiful places for recreation—these are all assets of our community that Senator Wyden has helped protect, and for that we are grateful.” Rob Windlinx Jr., Friends and Neighbors of the Deschutes Canyon Area- linxwind@aol.com
Oregon Outfitters & Guides Association Serving Oregon Outfitters Since 1963
January 18, 2014
Senator Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. Washington, D.C., 20510
Dear Senator Wyden,
Thank you for your work to protect public lands such as the Oregon Badlands and Spring Basin Wilderness Areas, and for your continued leadership on conservation throughout our state. As business owners in Central Oregon, we come from varying backgrounds and viewpoints, but we all agree on one thing: conservation and economic development go hand in hand here in Oregon. As you are aware, our high quality of life in Central Oregon contributes to our competitive advantage and makes our region unique.
Beautiful scenery, ample access to wild lands for outdoor recreation, and clean air and water are all key elements that attract visitors, residents and new businesses to our area. We appreciate your efforts to protect and enhance this quality of life through your leadership on conservation in our region, and we urge you to continue to set aside new areas as wilderness while safeguarding the environmental laws that protect the natural heritage of future generations. We also appreciate your support of full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has helped conserve millions of acres of public lands.
As you know, full funding of LWCF is needed to ensure that critical lands are saved from development or sale to private interests. Locally, the Crooked River Canyon parcel is a priority for acquisition that will provide another world-class attraction to Central Oregon once it is preserved in public ownership.
Finally, we urge you to stay strong on keeping public lands in public hands. We hope to see this administration bring the acres of land set aside for the use and enjoyment of all Americans into balance with acres of land leased for private uses such as oil and gas development. Lands protected for recreation enhance our quality of life, which in turn draws visitors who shop at local businesses and helps us retain and attract top-notch employees. With your leadership, our community continues to be a great place to live, play and do business. We urge you to keep up this good work to ensure that public lands such as Cathedral Rock, Horse Heaven and Whychus-Deschutes are permanently protected, and that our rich natural environment remains intact for future generations.
Sincerely,
Brian Sykes,
President Oregon Outfitters & Guides Association
541-617-9090 info@ogpa.org
Dennis Oliphant Sun Country Tours
531 SW 13th Bend, OR 97701
Fred McCalou Sisters Feed & Supply
102 E Main Sisters, OR
Teague Hatfield Footzone
845 NW Wall St Bend, OR
Robert Windlinx, JR Three R Enterprises
Bend, OR
Kim McCarrel Oregon Horse Trails
64495 Old Bend Redmond Hwy Bend, OR
John & Lotte Hermannsson
Hermannsson Architects Roundup Pl. Crooked River Ranch, OR
Jeff Perin The Fly Fisher’s Place
151 W. Main Sisters, OR
Brad Boyd Eurosports
182 E Hood Sisters, OR
Brad Smith Paulina Springs Bookstore
422 6th St Redmond, OR
Melvin Herburger Mevlin’s Fir Street Market
160 S Fir St Sisters, OR
Don Patheal Donterra Artworks
222 W Hood Ave Sisters, OR
Sue Leek Mackenzie Creek Mercantile
290 W Cascade Ave Sisters, OR
Steven Segal Alpaca by Design
140 W Cascade Sisters, OR
Teagan Johnston The Pony Express
160 S Oak Sisters, OR
Helen Schmidling Sisters Gallery and Frame
252 W Hood Ave Sisters, OR
Rosie Horton Common Threads
161 E Cascade Sisters, OR
Kathi and Ed Beacham Beacham’s Clock Co.
300 W Hood Sisters, OR
Kara Calmettes The Paper Place
171 Elm St Sisters, OR
CHA Gallery
185 E Hood Sisters, OR
