In the meantime, the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners will be voting on “part 2” of the original application. If you’ll remember, back in early 2011, they decided to vote on the application in two steps — the first was the question of “significant resource” (i.e. is there enough gravel to warrant meeting the legal requirements?). In that case, they voted yes, two to one, and this is the decision we have been appealing through the Oregon courts (see above).

Now, they will be meeting to vote on the second legal question as they saw it: the potential impact on farmers in the area. This is the primary question that many of us on the island were concerned with and the major content of our testimony at the hearings in 2010.

The Commissioners are scheduled to address this topic at their upcoming May meeting: 10 am, May 17 in room 32 of the courthouse. Technically, the record is “closed” and there will be no opportunity for further input from the public, but it’d be great to “pack the room” with bodies of people in support of Grand Island farmers. We can also write letters to the editor of local newspapers in support of our cause again.

Thank you for your continued interest in this very important work!!!

Court Rules on One Part of Battle to Protect Grand Island
Farmers Plan to Fight On to Protect their Family Farms, Water Supplies

(Grand Island, Oregon). In a decision issued April 4th, the Court of Appeals affirmed a determination by Yamhill County that high value farmland proposed to be converted into a large gravel mine contains a significant aggregate resource. Next, the mining corporation must prove that the proposed mine will not negatively impact existing farming operations immediately adjacent to the pits. The County counted two distinct layers of minerals to meet the “thickness” test, which is a prerequisite before high value farmland may be destroyed for commercial mining operations. However, because the County bi-furcated its decision the question remains whether the operation will have a negative impact on farming operations. The mining corporation also faces other hurdles, including the need to seek permission to cut a large ditch across popular State parklands along the Willamette River. The company has proposed the ditch as way to allow endangered salmon to escape if they get captured in the pits during seasonal flooding.

Grand Island is home to a diversity of family farming operations and orchards. The island draws people to a stretch of the Willamette just downstream from the historic Wheatland ferry and is home to Grand Island State Park. Baker Rock Resources seeks to dig a series of mining pits adjacent to existing orchards and family farms and haul the rock out on the islands narrow roads. The land regularly floods from seasonal rains in the spring and summer and the operation requires the dewatering of the pits which will alter the flow of water for neighboring farms. While Grand Island farmer Sam Sweeney is disappointed in the Court’s decision, he is optimistic that other state laws will protect the island from the proposed mine. “The Court’s decision means that too much valuable farmland along the Willamette could be mined, and underscores that state land use safeguards need to be fixed to protect these valuable resources. Regardless, these mining pits cannot co-exist with our farming operations. The proposal to dewater the pits will negatively impact our water supplies. Without water, we cannot farm.”

Orchardist Ron Schindler took over the farm started by his father and he echoed these concerns: “The mining corporation proposes to mine below the water table, which will significantly impact shallow wells that I rely on to grow cherries. I cannot shoulder the burden of depleted and contaminated water supplies. We farmers have enough to worry about already.”

The mining corporation also proposes to cut channel across an Oregon State Park, because in floods endangered fish will get captured in the stagnant mining pits. Long time local resident Margaret Scoggan stated: “The mining corporation proposes to cut and dig a large ditch across a state park that is owned and enjoyed by all Oregonians. They promise that the pits will be become ponds and habitat – they will, for invasive weeds, and hungry geese and ducks. The end result will be deep stagnant mining pits and our crops will feed the geese and ducks.” To these local residents and thousands of Oregonians who visit and island annually, Grand Island is a special place – the Sauvie’s Island of the Willamette.

The mining operation would be in operation for three to four decades and would seriously harm the investment that local farmers have made in this land and a place enjoyed by thousands of Oregonians.

Now is our chance to get our views out to a very large audience. Please listen to Sam, if you have something to add please do so. If you want to comment via their site you do need to preregister with Think Out Loud. You can comment before the show, to prime the pump, if you would like. The call in number is 888-665-5TOL (or 665-5865). To preregister to make an online comment or ask an online question go to:

Oregon Public Broadcasting · Think Out Loud

After the hard work of preparing for several public hearings last year, we had a few months of waiting before the Yamhill County Commissioners met to discuss and vote on the pending gravel quarry this spring.

At that meeting, the commissioners decided to break the vote into two parts, both legal elements for the zone change. First they voted on whether the site represents a “significant” resource of aggregate (the second vote is pending). They voted two-to-one yes, which is in the quarries favor.

Our next step then was to appeal this decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). This summer, our lawyer made our case before LUBA and we once again waited until last week, when they released their verdict. Unfortunately, they upheld the county’s decision.

This was a disappointment, but it’s by no means the end of the story. We’re regrouping now to plan for the next steps and will be holding a community meeting soon to gather ideas and energy from everyone who cares to protect Grand Island!

On a related note, our legal team, CRAG Law Center, is celebrating their tenth anniversary next month! Congratulations to CRAG! If you are interested in protecting important land and natural resources across the Northwest, check out CRAG’s work and please consider becoming a supporter. We have been grateful for all the work they have done for us so far and look forward to more in the future as we continue to work on protecting Grand Island!

You can also continue to support our cause directly by donating to our own non-profit (see sidebar for details).

Finally, it’s the end of the harvest season here on the island. The season started out slow, with much lower than average temperatures. But by mid-summer the view on the island was as bountiful as ever, and over the last few weeks we’ve watched as farmers have worked all hours harvesting corn, green beans, dairy silage, fresh vegetables, fruit, and more. We live in a beautiful place.

This time, testimony will begin with the opposition! See you there!

We hope that you can join your neighbors in a public Food and Farm Forum next Tuesday from 6-8:30pm at the McMinnville Community Center (600 NE Evans St., Room 103). There will be a meet and greet followed by a panel with Representative Jim Weidner and Susan Sokol Blosser, both candidates for House District 24. This is an opportunity to discuss food and agriculture issues with the candidates to highlight for them your concerns and thoughts, and to hear from the candidates where they stand on these issues (including Grand Island!). Free and open to the public! Sponsored by Friends of Family Farmers, Slow Food Yamhill, OSALT.