Prineville councilors join Crook Co. in rejecting rec area proposal

Tension was high Tuesday night in Prineville as over 600 people packed into Carey Foster Hall for the second public meeting in a week where many residents criticized a 312,000-acre national recreation area proposed by the conservation group Oregon Wild in the Ochoco National Forest.

And at the end of the night, councilors unanimously agreed with their Crook County counterparts and voted unanimously to reject the proposal.

As they did before Crook County commissioners last week, resident after resident lined up to speak their minds to Prineville city councilors.

In the packed room, only a handful expressed support for the proposal.

Mayor Betty Roppe was moderator of the meeting, which she said as a goal to start a conversation.

“City council and myself as mayor really feel like we need to hear from our people, what they like and what they don’t like. We need to listen to our constituents,” Roppe said.

Sarah Cuddy, spokeswoman for Oregon Wild, presented their proposal.

“I think there is some mistrust of Oregon Wild in the local community here, and I think the mistrust is leading to misconceptions about the proposal,” Cuddy said.

The plan would create a 9,000-acre Lookout Mountain Wilderness Area and a 15,000-acre wilderness on the North Fork Crooked River.

At this point, it’s not a firm proposal, and Oregon Wild said it is looking for feedback from the county.

Many citizens expressed worry that more change in the forest will sour the economy and cost jobs. Residents complained about too much government oversight– an echo of the recent armed takeover at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Councilors spent hours listening to feedback, but said they don’t have a great deal of authority in the matter.

“The only thing that we can do is write a letter to our congressman and our senators,” explained Roppe.

Last week, Crook County commissioners voted to oppose the proposed recreation area.

At first, Roppe said Prineville councilors would not vote Tuesday, instead using the time to learn more about the proposal and residents’ views.

But she changed her mind at the end of the meeting, and councilors voted unanimously to also oppose the recreation area proposal.