Brief Summary

Timber companies and developers are rushing to turn 750,000 acres of Oregon’s farm and forest lands into subdivisions and industrial developments in the wake of Measure 37. Stimson Lumber company alone has filed claims to turn 108,000 acres of forest land into subdivisions.

Places on the chopping block include coastal forests, orchard land in the Hood River Valley, and fertile farm and vineyard lands in the Willamette Valley.

Environment Oregon is working with the Yes on 49 campaign to convince Oregon voters to pass Measure 49, which will limit large developments, protect forests, farms, and water supplies, and provide the fairness for landowners that Measure 37 failed to deliver.

Threats to Oregon’s Landscape
From the rugged forests on the Coast to the rolling farmland and vineyards of the Willamette Valley to the alpine lakes of the Wallowa mountains, Oregon is a state defined by amazing landscapes.

For decades, Oregonians have kept it that way – through smart land use planning to protect open spaces, farms, and forest lands. But now Oregon’s landscape is on the chopping block.

In a move never intended when voters passed Measure 37 in 2004, developers and timber companies rushed to file development claims on hundreds of thousands of acres of Oregon's forests and farmland.

A Rush to Develop Forests and Farmland
Out-of-state developers and timber companies want to build subdivisions and industrial developments on thousands of acres of coastal forests, rolling vineyards, and mountain orchards. Oregon’s land use laws have for thirty years been effective at protecting our landscape. How did this happen?

The Dark Side of Measure 37
In 2004, Oregon voters were told that ballot measure 37 would correct unfair outcomes of land use rules and let land-owners in rural areas build a home for their family when zoning did not allow it. Three years later the measure, bankrolled by timber companies, has had effects voters never intended:

• More than 7,000 claims have been filed to develop nearly 700,000 acres of forests and farmland.
• The Stimson Lumber Company wants to turn 36,000 acres of forest land in Washington County into subdivisions.
• A 17,000-home subdivision has been proposed in Klamath County.
• A developer near Bend has proposed a pumice mine and a geothermal power plant in the Newberry Volcanic National Monument.

It’s Time to Act
If we don’t act, it will be too late, and hundreds of thousands of acres are at stake.

The good news is that as more and more acres have been put on the chopping block, Oregonians have realized that Measure 37 is having unintended consequences. And even Oregonians who voted for Measure 37 are turning against it. In fact, two-thirds of Oregonians say today that Measure 37 should be fixed or repealed entirely.

Yes on 49: Protecting Oregon's Forests and Farmlands
Environment Oregon is working to pass Measure 49, a ballot measure that would modify Measure 37 to protect farm and forest lands, as well as water supplies by limiting large subdivisions and commercial and industrial development. Measure 49 also allows land-owners who only want to build a few homes on their rural property a simpler and fairer way to do so, providing the fairness that Measure 37 promised, but failed to deliver.

Measure 49 would: 

• Protect Oregon's best forests and farms by prohibiting subdivisions, industrial, and commercial development outside of areas planned for those uses.
• Protect water supplies by prohibiting subdivisions in areas with limited groundwater.
• Allow up to 3 homes on rural property if the land-owner could have built them when she or he bought the land, and create a simplified process for getting approval.
• Allow up to 10 homes on rural property if the land-owner documents that she or he has lost property value because of land use protections.