Would a new 6,100-acre state park in Grant County in eastern Oregon be worth 280 acres along the Oregon coast in Coos County?
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission is considering a land exchange with golf resort developer Mike Keiser, the commission's largest ever exchange. The proposal includes:
?The state would give up its part of the 902-acre Bandon State Natural Area, between U.S. 101 and the Pacific shore just south of Bandon. The site is plagued by gorse, a noxious invasive plant that has cost $67,000 in the past two years to control.
The owner of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, which operates five golf courses north of Bandon, would acquire a portion of the state natural area to build a 27-hole, walking-only course. The land proposed for exchange is between coastal dunes and U.S. 101, not oceanfront.
The state would protect a scenic view on a coastal headland in Lincoln County.
Keiser's preliminary agreement with Oregon parks would pay $300,000 to fight gorse locally, transfer 208 acres near Bandon to state parks and pay nearly $3 million to help state parks acquire property elsewhere.
In return, he would receive land to build another golf course that will be designed for use by locals and to augment tourism on the southern Oregon coast. His other courses are rated among the best in the country and attract elite golfers.The Oregon parks commission has never considered an exchange of this magnitude, according to spokesman Chris Havel. A state rule mandates that a property exchange provide an overwhelming public benefit.
Whether there is such a benefit will be analyzed during the commission's meeting Wednesday, July 17, at North Bend, where public comment will be taken. A decision to proceed with the exchange could come at the next commission meeting, Sept. 24-25, at Condon.
Parks meeting
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission will meet July 16-17 to consider a land exchange with the owner of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. The session on Wednesday is open to the public.
Where: The Mill Casino Hotel, 3201 Tremont St., North Bend
When: 8:30 a.m.
Comments: Members of the public may comment in person at the meeting or in writing by Aug. 9 to Bandon Proposal, 725 Summer St. Suite C, Salem, 97301.
Decision: The earliest the commission may decide on whether to proceed with the exchange is at its Sept. 24-25 meeting in Condon.
Land the state would acquire includes the north side of Whale Cove near Depoe Bay, plus almost 10 square miles in Grant County.
The Whale Cove acquisition would be funded by a $650,000 federal scenic byways grant, plus $450,000 in necessary matching funds provided through the exchange. This would complete acquisition of approximately 13 acres of forest, grassy coastal prairie and rocky coastal headland at Whale Cove, the only area in Oregon's territorial sea where all marine life is protected.
The Grant County ranch that state parks would acquire cannot be identified due to ongoing negotiations, but Havel described it this way:
"It's a mix of year-round stream bottomland, with hardwood forests in the bottoms. It goes up small mountains to reach a pine and juniper forest. The land was used for grazing, but is no longer grazed. It has strong wildlife values and is a major wildlife area. It would give the state a chance to build another park of landscape-scale proportions."
A similar landscape-scale park, the 8,000-acre Cottonwood Canyon State Park on the lower John Day River in Sherman and Gilliam counties, will be dedicated when the commission meets in September at Condon.
Havel said that buying property from the right owner is important when considering development of a new state park.
"This land has that kind of owner," he said. "This landscape is park ready."
-- Terry Richard
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2013/07/oregon_state_park_land_exchang.html
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