• 15 thing to do while you're here
• Beautiful Black Butte Ranch • Birding: Sisters is for the birds • Camping in the Sisters Country • Cycling: Put your skinny tires on the road • Day Trips in Central Oregon • Equestrian: Get out and horse around! • Family fun in Sisters • Fishing: Sisters is a fisherman's dream • Golf: Paradise on the greens of Sisters • Hiking: Sisters Country on foot • Lakes: Playing in Sisters Country lakes • Mountain Biking: Hit the trails on a mountain bike • Rafting in Central Oregon: Get your feet wet! • Running: Sisters Country is a runner's paradise • Wildlife: Going wild in Sisters • Wildflower abudance in Sisters • Winter fun abounds near Sisters |
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The Metolius Basin — focus of statewide concern Most folks associate the Metolius Basin and Camp Sherman with peaceful hikes, quiet campgrounds and soul-satisfying fly fishing. But over the past year, the Metolius Basin has become a battleground as developers, activists and government officials struggle to define the future of this Oregon gem. At issue is Jefferson County’s mapping of two areas in and around the basin for destination resort development. The county sees destination resort development as an engine to drive its economic vitality. Two destination resorts of different stripes were proposed. One was “The Ponderosa,” on more than 3,000 acres along Green Ridge, partly inside and partly outside the basin proper. It proposed 2,500 home sites, lodging facilities and at least one golf course. “The Metolian” was proposed inside the basin on 628 acres with 180 lodging units and 450 home sites. Instead of the usual golf course and other destination resort amenities, The Metolian was conceived as an “eco-resort” offering educational and recreational activities in the natural environment of the area. The proposals drew strenuous opposition from environmental groups and from individual citizens, who protested that any large-scale development threatens the unique qualities of the basin. The “Eco-community” concept of The Metolian drew international interest and garnered some support among locals intrigued by the state-of-the-art concepts proposed, but the majority of public opinion opposed any resort development. In December, at the direction of Governor Ted Kulongoski, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development began looking into designating the Metolius Basin as an “Area of Critical State Concern” (ACSC). While many supported the designation, others worried that it represented an unprecedented state intrusion on property rights and local land-use control. The department and the Land Conservation and Development Commission recommended the ACSC designation after a series of public hearings, while allowing a degree of severely scaled-back development on the two properties. As of press time, the ACSC designation had yet to be implemented by the state legislature.
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