IN REPLY TO "POUNDING THE PAVEMENT" (8/5)
That's great. Former "mayor" moves on to represent petroleum companies. And we're supposed to take what this jackass says seriously? I'm so tired of these dimwits claiming "poor me." These are the same voices that scream to slash funding every budget cycle (except for the development lobby, of course), and now they're "stunned" when there's no money in the till. And as for the petrol conglomerates, it's not like the public hasn't been covering your corporate welfare for 75 years.
— Peter G
IN REPLY TO "NEAR AND (MULE) DEER" (8/5)
Many people playing in the woods (myself included) see deer and it's unclear to many of us how the deer are disturbed. They usually don't seem terribly bothered by our presence and they may or may not bound away, leisurely walk away, or just ignore us.
I'm not necessarily suggesting that we aren't a problem, but without a compelling explanation of the problem, I think many people will decide that their own recreation is not disturbing the deer when their observation is that the deer are present and are not overly frightened or bothered.
—Troy Smith
The article makes the assumption that recreation is partially responsible for the nebulous 44 percent unknown. It probably does affect the populations somewhat, but the logical leap, in the absence of rigorous research will make the conclusion a hard sell.
—Tim Kaiser
Giving a damn about mule deer shouldn't imply damning recreation. OSU-Cascades professors and retired ODFW employees will need to do a much better job defending their deep ecology perspective that pits humans—particularly those who recreate in nature—against the environment. When we hear scientists filling knowledge gaps with conjecture, we need to ask more questions.
If 44 percent of mule deer mortality has "unknown" causes, why are we pointing the finger at recreation? Amy Stuart of Central Oregon LandWatch labels hiking as "low-impact" while asserting that mountain biking has a relatively high impact because cyclists may travel further in the backcountry. That strikes me as an observation that may have nothing to do with mule deer. Maybe cyclists have a shorter residence time in an individual deer's habitat? Are cyclists, because they can cover more ground, less likely to camp overnight? Are cyclists more likely to stay on designated trails and less likely than other users to travel cross country? Are cyclists more likely to ride to the trailhead rather than drive, thereby reducing the need for road construction and the relatively massive environmental impact that roads bring?
Today I walked through a housing development that was formerly mule deer habitat. Then I mountain biked past a resort where nothing but golf carts and pleated pants roam the hillsides. When I finally got to the trailhead, I didn't really feel like the bad guy.
Community member Kreg Lindberg is right: A much more thorough discussion is necessary and perhaps the public event on August 12th can help move that forward.
—TrailLover
IN REPLY TO "LETTERS: A DOWNSIDE TO THE CCC" (7/29)
Gotta side with David on this one. Although, was it best to mention a rule about RVs parking on streets in a public forum if you didn't want others catching on? Some things are best left unsaid David. Besides that, he has some valid points, and I think most homeowners/renters would be annoyed as well if put in the same situation. Take a drive down Columbia to see a great example of what he's talking about. On an already narrow street there are several RVs, and some even parked up on the grass/sidewalks (Bend PD, feel free to follow up on this). I think the point that should be made here is that Bend has become more about appeasing the tourist than it is about the community and those that actually live and work here. Has anyone else noticed how stupidly expensive it has gotten to go out to a restaurant these days? And I'm not seeing quality in product to reflect the price increase. Should I even mention the rent/real estate prices? At what point do we draw the line and stop just trying to grab the easy tourist dollar and remember that there is an actual community that lives here? Be careful Bend, you have been on a slippery slope for a while now, and we are getting closer to the edge every day. This is and still can be a great place to live, but don't forget about what makes a place great. It's not the ones that show up for just a short time and leave a mess behind for someone else to deal with, it's the ones that have been here and will be here to clean up the mess, long after the "visitors" have gone back to wherever it is they practice their bad manners and get away with it.
—SC
IN REPLY TO "BUILDING BEND'S FUTURE" (8/5)
Greed rules Bend. Good hard working, civic, community and environmentally minded people can't afford to live there. Been trying to move to Bend for over a year and have watched rents skyrocket to absolutely ridiculous prices. I might as well start looking at Portland.
—Winds4sw
The City of Bend better be thinking about the infrastructure required to support increased density. It is already a pain driving through residential streets on the west side, with cars parked along nearly every street. Traffic around Southern Crossing (Reed Market near Old Mill) is gnarly during rush hour. The college is only going to make this worse.
This isn't a big city with great infrastructure for all this density. We can't just cram more and more people and cars into our already congested roads. What is the City's plan to deal with this?
—TheGuyThatSaysThings
What makes #inbend so great is the very things that attracted families and businesses to this area. When the number of people becomes an "issue", the answer is NOT MORE HOUSES—or MORE AFFORDABLE HOMES for that matter. Face it, what brough YOU here was not the sheer volume of "affordable housing". So ... let's work together to strengthen our local economy to put those previously "unaffordable" homes within reach of our valued populace.
—Makulu Danno
To me "affordable housing" means crime and trash. I moved here for the reason of nature and pretty land. Why are we not cleaning up the areas that look run down already? Why are we needing to clear more land? Makes no sense and now with a 4-year college, ugh, traffic and parties here we come!!!!! Even Prineville and La Pines housing is going up up up!!!!
—Heather Valentine
Heather - Congrats for the (anti) Letter of Week. Can we suggest where you go take your cup of coffee? Yeah, somewhere in the woods, far, far, away.
