Washblog

In very recent weeks I began hearing my neighbors asking me what I knew about the National Heritage public meeting for comments from the local public in our area.  Nothing - I knew nothing and my neighbors couldn't tell me too much because they only newly heard about it as a public meeting that was going to take place that week.  Something, they said, about having the coastline from Cannon Beach, Oregon clear up to Tokeland, WA declared a national heritage.  And that it would include our little fishing village of Bay Center and the nearby towns of South Bend and Raymond.  

I tried to google it so I could discern fact from rumors, but couldn't find anything to expand on beyond what my neighbors were telling me. I'm sure that is more the fault of the words I was using to google.   But today, I hit paydirt in having some words to google and some content to read.

I had to drive my husband into work in South Bend and on the way home,  I stopped by the bakery to get a cup of de-caff coffee and a pumpkin-cranberry muffin.  Picked up a free Coast-River Business Journal, and there on the front page was a story 'Heritage area status could help regional economy'

 From that story, my google brought me results and information, including the story mentioned above in yesterday's Oregon newspaper, The Daily Astorian.  I googled some of the references in both papers, and found my way to Destination: The Pacific which is the umbrella group that has been generating the fundraising and interest in promoting the study.   Donors being

 -- The Conservation Fund
 -- Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Association
 -- Pacific County Friends of Lewis and Clark
 -- Washington State Historical Society

  From there I learned of another websitecreated for Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area Study and Environmental Analysis. At that website, I downloaded a few of the pdf documents, will post a couple at our post office bulletin board in Bay Center, and now both me and my neighbors will have a better sense of what it will mean to our community to be declared part of this National Heritage.  

 How much change should we expect when the tourists come?  There will be questions, but it looks like we got declared whether we wanted it or not, so it will be interesting....

  The concerns I've heard my neighbors express mostly reflect how little we know about the study, except that we are affected by it.  Ranging from concern that our community will be governed by National Parks and Recreation; concerns about donors, like The Conservation Fund working towards more land acquisition for their own agenda and purposes; tourist growth without explanations of impact; and while it will help businesses, promote tourism, many of us living here like it as it is and want it to remain as it is.

Also, some have pointed out that they have heard buyer's regret from other geographical areas, (primarily on East Coast) that have embraced having their regions declared National Heritage areas.  That the influx of tourism and business, has also brought an influx of environmental impacts on the rivers, waters, and land, citing examples of the sludge and poisoning of some of those rivers.  

  Now that I know more about what it is, the study, and the purpose, at this late stage of the process, with the act having already passed House and Senate, simply awaiting the President's signature, there isn't much to do but become part of the process.  

 And I would think that now that Pacific County, a National Hertiage Treasure, and one of the four counties declared FEMA disaster county with the Dec 2007 hurricane-strength storm, there would be a strong reason for the expense of a Doppler Radar for this region.  Otherwise, this National Heritage treasure isn't going to be too safe for the residents or the tourists, if the weather continues to change as dramatically as it has been doing.