Development and logging threaten
Cooper Spur
The northeast side of Mt.
Hood, or the Cooper Spur area provides a pristine, yet accessible
alpine backcountry experience for those who Nordic and telemark ski,
snowshoe, hike and alpine climb. The Cooper Spur area is steeped in
history, having first been used as a backcountry recreation haven in
the 1880s and continuing through today. Fortunately, part of
the area has been listed on the National Historic Register.
For generations, Klickitat basketmakers gathered cedar roots from
this area for use in making their coiled huckleberry baskets.
The forest here is also a watershed for a quarter of the people
living in its vicinity. The valley below is one of the
nation’s agricultural showpieces, famous worldwide for its pears -
more than 30% of the United States' winter pears are grown here, as
are over 11% of the nation's Bartlett pears. This unique area
benefits all who live in Oregon. Unfortunately, the Cooper
Spur area, the Crystal Springs watershed, and the agricultural
community are currently threatened by:
- Meadows North LLC plans for a 4-season
destination resort
- Logging: Polallie-Cooper project and Clear timber
sale
- Massive expansion of the Cooper Spur
Ski Area
Meadows North LLC, is a
subsidiary company of Mt. Hood Meadows, owned by Franklin Drake of
Portland. Meadows North LLC was created to develop the north side of
Mt. Hood. As a developer on the south side of the mountain, Meadows
does not have a good environmental record,
an additional item that red-flags the development
proposals.
The following maps are provided by
the Oregon Wild: |