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Douglas County Parks Plan Draws Concern, Protest

A park-goer surveys Dave Busenbark County Park after it was logged last year.
Dave Busenbark County Park Facebook page
A park-goer surveys Dave Busenbark County Park after it was logged last year.

A Parks Master Plan will be presented to the Douglas County Board of Commissioners Wednesday in Roseburg. A conservation group is protesting the plan.

A park-goer surveys Dave Busenbark County Park after it was logged last year.
Credit Dave Busenbark County Park Facebook page
A park-goer surveys Dave Busenbark County Park after it was logged last year.

Alan Bunce is with Umpqua Watersheds. He says he and others in the community are concerned that the parks planning process is not transparent. Last year, the parks department logged Dave Busenbark Memorial Park. Bunce says that park was clear-cut and old-growth trees were removed.

Bunce: “Our message is that the Parks Master Plan is incomplete and should not be approved as is. And, we’re not against logging. We just advocate for ecologically friendly logging and not clear-cutting of our public parks. ”

Bunce is afraid the county wants to do more clear-cutting although that’s not stated in the Master Plan. The Board of Commissioners will review the proposal at their Wednesday morning meeting. They’re expected to approve it.

The “Rally for our Parks” organized by Umpqua Watersheds is Tuesday afternoon at 2 at the Douglas County Courthouse in Roseburg.

 

Copyright 2016 KLCC

Rachael McDonald is a reporter and host at KLCC, a JPR News partner. Her reporting comes to JPR through the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.