Since the 1970s, Mt. Hood Meadows has made multiple attempts to site a destination resort on the North side of Mt. Hood. Local citizens, conservation groups, recreation clubs and communities around Mt. Hood have repeatedly opposed these efforts. After decades of dispute, Congress stepped in to end this "fight on the mountain" with a land trade that would result in permanent protection for thousands of acres on the wild north side of the mountain around Cooper Spur while directing development to about 110 acres public lands in Government Camp that had been designated by the community and Clackamas County for resort development. But 9 years later this trade is still stalled.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with a lawyer, a farmer and the leader of the Oregon Nordic Club about their efforts to protect the wild side of Mount Hood for future generations. Our guests will be Mike McCarthy, a long-time resident of Hood River County who owns pear orchards near the land that is the subject of this dispute, Ralph Bloemers, Staff Attorney with Crag Law Center and Russ Pascoe with the Oregon Nordic Club and chair of the Cooper Spur Wild & Free Coalition.
Russ Pascoe is an active volunteer and leader with the Oregon Nordic Club and has served as the President of the Cooper Spur Wild & Free Coalition since its founding in 2002. The Oregon Nordic Club helps maintain and operate the popular Tilly Jane A-Frame and the Oregon Nordic Club Cabin on the North side of Mt. Hood. Russ volunteers with the local Portland chapter of the Oregon Nordic Club, which is one of 10 ONC chapters in the state.
Mike McCarthy is long-time resident of Hood River County who owns pear orchards near the land that is the subject of this dispute. As a resident of Hood River County, Mike McCarthy has a direct and substantial interest in the future of the North side of Mt. Hood. Mike McCarthy seeks to preserve his farming operations and protect his water quality. Mike also volunteers with the Hood River Valley Residents Committee, which has worked through the Cooper Spur Wild & Free Coalition to support the protection of the North side of Mt. Hood. Mike supports the Congressionally-mandated trade because it will permanently protect the North side as Wilderness and the Crystal Springs drinking watershed, which provides drinking water for more than 25% of Hood River County residents.
Ralph Bloemers is the Co-Executive Director and Staff Attorney with the Crag Law Center, a non-profit law center that protects and defends the Pacific Northwest’s natural legacy. Crag provides legal aid for the environment by representing community-based conservation groups, Native American tribes and local residents throughout Oregon, Washington and Alaska on the issues that matter to them. Since Crag's founding in 2001, Ralph’s has worked on forest and wildlife conservation. For over 17 years, Crag has worked with local conservation groups, orchardists, recreation clubs and the Oregon Congressional delegation to protect the drinking watershed and old growth forests North side of Mt. Hood from development.
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