Oregon Public Broadcasting

Farmers, developers and environmentalists will meet in Madras Thursday evening to discuss the hot-button topic of destination resorts.

At last count there were more than a dozen built or on the drawing board.

But as Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports, putting one near the Metolius River is another story.

Jefferson County residents say they feel like the forgotten step-child of central Oregon.

This rural county in Mount Hood's shadow has historically seen high unemployment and low revenues, says County Commissioner Mike Ahern.

Mike Ahern: “Jefferson County is a beautiful county of about 20,000 people. The eastern 1/3 of our county is most of the private property, and there’s a grand total of about 50 people living there, and one paved road that’s falling apart.”

To help rural Oregon develop economic strength Salem designated land in the 1980s for “destination resorts.”

Deschutes County now collects $26 million in property taxes from resorts like Sunriver.

Jefferson County has no destination resorts.

But now developers have come calling.

The Metolius River rushes full-speed out of a mountainside.

It’s unique --  one of the areas mentioned by name when the state drew up its pioneering land use system back in the 1970s.

That charm is one reason investors want developments near Sisters.

Portland developer Jim Kean says the two resorts could double the county’s tax base.

His development is a self-styled ‘eco-resort’.

Jim Kean: “They thought we were these crazy greens doing this thing that wasn’t going to work. But we showed them the economic numbers on outdoor recreation and all that, and said, look you can really position your county as the outdoor recreation resort.”

In this economy, money is a siren song that’s hard to resist.

County commissioners say it’s an opportunity to create jobs and grow the property tax base.

But not everyone shares his excitement.

Eric Kancler: “The term destination resort is kind of a misnomer that gives people an incorrect impression about what’s actually being built.”

Eric Kancler is the executive director of the group Central Oregon LandWatch.

Eric Kancler: “For the most part, what’s actually being built are often-gated golf course subdivisions.”

Kancler says after the homes are built the only new jobs are low-paid seasonal help.

And the costs may outweigh the benefits.

Powell Butte is a small farming community halfway between Bend and Prineville.

Nancy Knocci: “My mother’s always said, in Powell Butte, if you can get water to it, you can raise anything here.”

Fourth generation rancher Nancy Knocci  - and other landowners - are in the middle of a fight to stop a destination resort called Crossing Trails proposed for Crook County -- a place where Knocci sometimes herds her cattle down the middle of the road.

Nancy Knocci: “I’ve even had motorists come up behind me, while I was horseback, moving cattle, bumping my horses hocks, trying to get me out of the way.”

Right now Powell Butte residents are in the middle of what may be a last-ditch challenge at the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

The lesson of Crook County is not lost on environmentalists worried about the future of the Metolius.

In their corner is Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski, who's taken steps to protect the Metolius as a ‘Area of Statewide Critical Concern.’

Richard Whitman is the director of the department of Land Conservation and Development.

Richard Whitman: “In general, our state land use programs works through local governments, but it was recognized at the outset that there might be instances that there might be threats to unique areas in the state. And so, the state looked at protecting the Columbia River gorge throughthis tool, and another area that was looked in the 1970s, was the Metolius.”

This week, the state signaled it would work with the developers to move their resorts further away from the Metolius headwaters.

There’s one problem with that plan – Jefferson County. The County has gone to court to change the zoning on the land from timber harvesting to allow destination resorts.