Hello SB 30 Supporters:

This morning (Sunday, June 10) the Oregonian printed an editorial expressing concerns about SB 30, essentially opposing the bill as written. The piece, entitled, "Yes, this river must be saved" asks whether or not Oregon can save the river without subverting its land use and water laws.

The answer is almost certainly no.

(read it here.)

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update to let you know what the Ponderosa Land and Cattle Company (Colson resort) is up to in their efforts to oppose Senate Bill 30.

Attached is a scanned pdf of a flyer they've been handing out around the capitol, which believe it or not, proposes to save the Metolius River by developing it!

The flyer reads "Protect the Metolius River... Amend Senate Bill 30." The deal is that in exchange for allowing a 3500-acre 2500-unit development (with two golf courses) they will support a ban on all resorts within three miles of the river.

Hello everyone,

As we head into what is supposed to to be the final month of the Oregon legislature's 2007 session, the battle over Senate Bill 30 will soon come to a close.

The Sisters City Council last night voted 4-1 to support a resolution broadly backing Senate Bill 30. This is a very important vote of confidence.

To read their resolution, go to: noresorts.blogspot.com.

-Erik

Hello everyone,

As you probably know by now, the Senate passed Senate Bill 30 earlier this week by a 19-11 vote. I've included a complete breakdown at the end of this e-mail.

Earlier today we were informed that the bill was not referred to Rep. Roblan's Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources as expected, but to the House Committee on Elections, Ethics, and Rules - owing to a matter of timing.

Hello SB 30 Supporters:

It gives me great pleasure to announce to you that mere moments ago, Senate Bill 30 passed the Senate floor by the wide margin of 19-11! That's a resounding victory!!

We've also just learned that the Warm Springs Tribes– upon whose decision we've been anxiously awaiting– have informed the legislature that they are completely behind Senate Bill 30, so that gives the bill an extra push as it heads into the House.

So take a moment and pat yourselves on the back for a job well done.

Hello everyone,

We've just learned that Senate Bill 30 is going to the Senate Floor tomorrow (Tuesday). We feel very good about its chances there, and will contact you after the vote to provide you with a detailed update and additional instructions.

Keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned...

-Erik

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update on SB 30– not to report anything new regarding the bill, but to inform you that the time has come to shift our focus from the Senate to the House.

If you still want to send letters to send to Senators, either asking for their vote when SB 30 hits the Senate floor or thanking them for their ongoing support of SB 30, by all means send them. We want to have as strong a showing on the Senate floor as possible, and we certainly don't want to take anyone's vote for granted.

Good news everyone!

A very strong version of SB 30 passed through the Senate Rules Committee on a 3-2 vote this afternoon. For details please go to noresorts.blogspot.com.

Next week the bill heads to the Senate Floor for a vote. We'll keep you updated on it's progress and our next moves. For now, good work on letter writing (I received 30 since yesterday!) and have a wonderful weekend.

-Erik

Hello everyone,

Good news! - Senate Bill 30 has been referred to and just earlier today received by the Senate Rules Committee for further work. Although this in and of itself doesn't change the bill, it's a very good sign and gives us tremendous hope that we can restore the bill's original vision before the senate brings it to a vote.

A work session– but not a public hearing– has been scheduled for tomorrow (Friday) at 1:00pm. Your attendance there is not needed, BUT your letters are– and ASAP!

Why? Because there's a chance that this bill could move TOMORROW!!

Hello everyone,

We need to get e-mails and letters to all State Senators ASAP encouraging them to support the original vision behind Senate Bill 30. Simply address your letter to your Senator, mention you are a constituent, and also cc the rest of the senators, stating:

• That you want a complete ban on destination resorts in and within three miles of the Metolius Basin as provided by the original SB 30 bill;
• that you are are passionate about the Metolius and why;
• that the senate needs to act NOW to protect the Metolius.

Hello everyone:

The hearing last night didn't go very well. For more information, please read our blog entry at noresorts.blogspot.com.

The post has links to several news stories as well. We will continue to work and figure out how to move forward on this, and when we can offer additional guidance, we will do so right away.

The news is bad so far, but hang tight, this isn't over.

-Erik

[Sent to our SB 30 mailing list:]

Hello, everyone:

Iâ'll keep this e-mail short.

I want to tell you about the initial success of our new blog in support of SB 30 - noresorts.blogspot.com.

Since it was launched yesterday, we've received over 80 letters and testimonials supporting an uncompromised SB 30. The letters have come from Portland, Salem, Eugene, Bend, Sisters, Maupin, Vancouver, Idaho, Massachusetts and many other places along with dozens of pictures, poems, historical accounts, and personal stories.

The response has been amazing.

The following is a copy of a letter that was sent out to our SB 30 mailing list:

Hello everyone:

Here at LandWatch, we're always working to come up with new ways to make our voices heard. Being that many of us are from Central and Eastern Oregon, it can be difficult to make the trip to Salem to testify on important issues like keeping destination resorts out of the Metolius. When we're given short notice, it's often impossible.

And so we've come up with a brand new idea to make our voices heard: blogging.

The following letter was sent to members of our mailing list for Senate Bill 30 on April 18th:

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update on SB 30 and our effort to protect the Metolius from destination resort development.