In a Bend area Visitors Survey conducted for summer 2017 by Visit Bend, 69 percent of tourists reported visiting Bend for outdoor recreation, leisure, sightseeing and brewery tourism.
Those surveyed were asked to comment on the question, “If you could change one thing about Bend, what would it be?” The most common responses involved dissatisfaction with increased traffic, unsustainable growth, poor signage, road infrastructure/conditions and a lack of diversity.
Many working in the outdoor and tourism industries are torn between wanting to share Bend’s epic, recreationally suited panoramas with out-of-towners, and in so doing, grow their businesses. Equally, there’s a desire to keep coveted river and trail stashes on the down-low.
So where can the two meet? The answer: stewardship. As defined by Merriam-Webster, stewardship is: “The conducting, supervising, or managing of something.”
In the context of natural resources, land management agencies are doing this every day—attempting to balance the needs of the public against conservation and preservation theory.
It’s clearer than ever that one agency or entity alone cannot unclog this artery. To awaken your inner Wonder Woman, we’ve collected some inspiring words from our city’s Secret Superhero Society of Stewardship.
“Stewardship is both a verb and a noun. Stewardship is found in action and in a way of thinking about the world. In order to be a good steward of our river and all of our incredible natural resources, one considers their daily impact on the environment when they make choices about how to spend time in nature. Stewardship means adopting attitudes, behaviors and lifestyle choices that contribute to a healthy and sustainable environment.”
—Kolleen Miller
Education Director, Upper Deschutes Watershed Council
“Stewardship means to thoughtfully care for someone or something entrusted to you. At the Bend Endurance Academy, we thoughtfully care for the children and families we serve by providing quality climbing, cycling and Nordic programs, meaningful volunteer opportunities, and educational seminars for both youth and adults. Our coaches and staff set a positive example on how to treat one another and care of the fragile environment we share in Central Oregon.”
— Sandy Visnack
Executive Director, Bend Endurance Academy
“Being good stewards is at the heart of who Old Mill District is as a company. It’s why we created our Take Note Initiative that introduces reusable pints, compostable cups and the elimination of single-use plastic water bottles at the Les Schwab Amphitheater. It’s why we support campaigns like the Enjoy Protect Respect project that encourages responsible river use. And it’s why the Bend Brewfest gives money to nonprofits every year. We love this place. Where we live, where we work and where we play. Finding ways to give back is part of being a responsible and engaged community leader.”
— Beau Eastes
Digital Content Manager, Old Mill District
“At Pine Mountain Sports we believe that the outdoor community has a greater responsibility to participate in and support the entire Central Oregon community. Not everyone who lives here is fortunate enough to enjoy our surroundings the way a lot of us do. Therefore, Pine Mountain Sports will continue to utilize our fans and combine our efforts to help combat hunger, clothing, access to health care and education and homelessness right here in our backyard. We, as outdoor enthusiasts, get so much while living here. It’s also our job to give back.”
—Dan McGarigle
Owner, Pine Mountain Sports
To share your perspectives or your recent efforts on social media, tag @SourceWeekly and include #stewardshipinbend.
This article appears in Sep 19-26, 2018.
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Note from the author:
Awesome quote that didn’t quite make it into the story…
“When we’re talking about stewardship of anything – including the environment – first, you have to give a great big damn. You have to care deeply enough and be invested enough to be willing to be changed by the very thing you’re stewarding.
“Secondly, you have to be willing to be ‘inconvenienced,’ and thus, uncomfortable at times. Reclaiming inconvenience and discomfort – as life practices – is a much larger conversation, so what I’ll offer is an invitation: take on the practice of doing the ‘inconvenient’ thing for a day, and notice what happens… you might find yourself making a meal rather than ordering take out; pulling the weeds in your front yard rather than calling the landscaper; or foregoing your afternoon caffeine fix because you forgot your reusable cup, and you’re unwilling to use another plastic one.
“These small actions, over time, ultimately lead to deeper connection with self, others and all of Life around us … which creates even more fodder for caring deeply, and stewarding something well and whole-heartedly.”
-Breyn Hibbs, life-time Central Oregonian, owner/founder of Sol Alchemy Temple and Keynote speaker at this year’s Bend Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network Conference, September 29th
It’s to bad most of these stewardship projects only come to be after an area is pushed for personal profit (by the people making the profit) then it gets destroyed and trashed. But hey we can just clean it up later and just claim the people who trashed the area just need to be “educated” with a “awareness” campaign, yearly “stewardess” campaigns and a “raffle” to justify continuing to drive tourists to these areas.
The people who participate in stewardess campaigns, are the same people who do not destroy and trash things in the first place. We do not need a awareness campaign/raffle telling people trash does not go in the river, we need to stop advertising exceptional outdoor areas to tourist idiots for the personal profit of a few people.