TOO MANY HOMES ON THE RANGE?

1000 Friends of Oregon to host Portland forum to examine the impact of rural sprawl on ranching and habitat

1000 Friends of Oregon is hosting a forum entitled "Too Many Homes on the Range? The Impact of Rural Sprawl on Ranching and Habitat" at the Portland YMCA Conference Center on May 21, 2004 from 8:30am-3:30 pm. The event is co-sponsored by the Oregon Department of Agriculture and Defenders of Wildlife.

Bringing together ranchers, environmental organizations, academics and land use planners, this forum will foster discussion of the impacts of rural residential sprawl on ranching, ranching communities, habitat and biodiversity. Ranchers and land trust leaders will also discuss several "Oregon-grown" strategies to protect ranchlands from development.

Dr. Richard Knight, Professor of Wildlife Conservation, Colorado State University, will present a keynote address on the impact of ex-urban development on plant and animal habitat. Pointing to the devastating impact on biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and plant communities when ranches are converted to rural housing developments, Dr. Knight emphasizes that "the need of the moment is to find common ground on which to work for common good."

Rick Gustafson, Chair of the Oregon Board of Agriculture, will deliver welcoming remarks. "The single most environmentally friendly action Oregonians can take is to protect agricultural lands for farming and ranching," Gustafson says. Other panelists and speakers will include Post rancher Jim Wood; Oregon Rangeland Trust Board member and Wheeler County rancher John Lillicrop, and rancher Becky Hatfield Hyde who has partnered with Sustainable NW to restore the ecological values of Yainix Ranch, while ensuring its economic viability as a working ranch. Other panelists are identified on the attached agenda.

Oregon ranches are better protected than in many other states. But even in Oregon, non-farm dwellings were approved on 67,000 acres of agricultural land east of the Cascades between 1991 and 2000. What ranchers and wildlife have in common is that both need large blocks of land to be viable. When non-ranching neighbors move into an area, ranchers face mounting costs due to conflicts between ranching and residential use -- dogs harassing livestock, complaints about road congestion due to farm equipment or livestock, and opposition to common agricultural practices. Fragmentation, invasive weeds, destruction of big game winter range, and curtailment of prescribed burns and other necessary management practices threaten Oregon's wildlife and ecosystems.

The development pressure on Oregon's ranchlands is likely to increase as the state's population continues to grow. Between 1990 and 2002, approximately 140,000 people moved to Oregon's rural, unincorporated areas. In sparsely developed areas, even a few new non-ranching residents can have a significant impact on habitat and ranching operations, both of which require large expanses of contiguous acreage.
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AGENDA

"Too Many Homes on the Range? The Impact of Rural Sprawl on Ranching and Habitat"
May 21, 2004, YWCA Conference Center, 1111 SW 10th Avenue, Portland, Oregon

Sponsered by: 1000 Friends of Oregon
Co-sponsered by: Oregon Department of Agriculture, Defenders of Wildlife

8:30 Registration/Check-in

9:00 Welcome
Bob Stacey, Executive Director, 1000 Friends of Oregon
9:10 Opening Remarks "The Future of Oregon Agriculture"

Rick Gustafson, Chair, Oregon Board of Agriculture

9:30 Keynote Speech "The Impact of Ex-Urban Development on Plant & Animal Habitat"

Dr. Richard L. Knight, Professor of Wildlife Conservation, Colorado State University

10:15 Break

10:30 Presentation on Development Patterns in Central & Eastern Oregon

Carrie MacLaren, 1000 Friends of Oregon

11:00 Panel I: Impacts of Rural Residential Development on Ranching*

Jim Johnson, Oregon Department of Agriculture
Jim Wood, Rancher, Crook County
Susan McAuliffe, Rancher, Klamath County

Moderator: Rick Gustafson

12:00 Luncheon

1:00 Panel II: Impacts of Rural Residential Development on Plant & Animal Habitat

Cheryl Hummon, Defenders of Wildlife
Steve Buttrick, The Nature Conservancy
Erik Fritzell, Associate Dean, Oregon State University

Moderator: Bob Stacey

2:00 Panel III: Strategies for Protecting Ranchlands

Jon Jinings, Department of Land Conservation and Development
Becky Hatfield Hyde, Rancher, Klamath County
James Honey, Sustainable NW
John Lillicrop, Oregon Rangeland Trust
Beverly Sparrowk, Drew's Valley Ranch
Brad Chalfant, Deschutes Basin Land Trust

Moderator: Bob Stacey

3:15 Closing Remarks

Bob Stacey, Executive Director, 1000 Friends of Oregon

[*Some invited speakers have not yet confirmed]

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