In this issue: 
 

The future of the Madrone Wall, which has been closed to rock climbing for a year and a half, is finally looking brighter.  The purpose of this newsletter is to inform you of the progress that the Madrone Wall Preservation Committee (MWPC) has made over the last eight months since our last newsletter.  The Madrone Wall is a unique natural crag just east of Carver off Highway 224 on Clackamas County property.  It hosts over 120 climbing routes, hiking trails, and beautiful vistas of the lower Clackamas River Basin.  For twenty years, climbers visited the best climbing crag in the Metro area.  We have respected the property rights of nearby landowners while establishing safe climbing routes and hiking trails and have cleaned up the garbage left by others.  In the fall of 1997, the County posted the Madrone with “No Trespassing” signs, which barred access to the crag and then subsequently forged ahead with plans to open the site as a rock quarry.

Rock face and rare Madrone tree

Shortly after the closure, a group of concerned local climbers formed the grassroots Madrone Wall Preservation Committee with two straightforward goals: stop proposed rock quarrying at the site and restore climbing and recreational access to this amazing civic treasure. To date, we have focused our efforts in understanding five primary areas:
 
 

1. Zoning:

The Madrone Wall is zoned as timber. The purpose of land zoned as timber does not include rock quarry operations for general road maintenance as the County intends. The purpose of timber land is to conserve forest lands, assure continuous growing of timber, and to protect recreational opportunities. For the County to be successful in opening this site as a quarry, it will have to file a conditional use application to itself, and after a public hearing review process, grant itself a zoning variance to allow for a use of timber land that runs counter to the County’s own ordinances.

2. Liability:

Unfortunately, the County is using liability concerns as a reason to prevent climbers from enjoying this unique and beautiful site. We believe that enjoying the Madrone is part of the heritage and culture of the people who make this state their home. We wish to ensure that the unique recreational opportunities are protected for future generations. Oregon statutes support this heritage by providing landowners strong protection against litigation going so far even as to "encourage owners of land to make their land available to the public for recreational purposes" (ORS 105.676). We are trying to convince the County that a lawsuit is unlikely, considering that a lawsuit has never been filed, to our knowledge, against a landowner as a result of a climbing accident -- anywhere.

3. Other Quarry Sites:

We have discovered in Clackamas County alone at least 460 other quarry sites, including six owned by the County, have operated since the late 1940’s. Many of these sites are still active. We have attempted to constructively engage the County to learn how they have assessed the economic and ecological impacts at the site but have been stonewalled. The MWPC has filed public records requests to obtain these County studies. We have been denied access and have therefore taken our records request to the next step -- the County's District Attorney's Office.

4. Parkland:

5. Highway Safety:

ODOT records indicate an almost 20% higher accident rate on the windy, narrow "Carver Curves" between Carver and Barton on Highway 224 compared with a similar rural road. When we reviewed the County’s Transportation Plan, we found that there were no capital improvement plans for this treacherous highway. At the same time, the County would be adding over 100 rock trucks each day to the dangerous traffic made up of school buses, homeowners and recreation travelers to the Clackamas River. This defies logic.

The County has taken a hard line to the letters, emails, and phone calls placed by the MWPC and local area climbers: no chance of reopening the Madrone Wall for recreation. Furthermore, the County plans to reopen the site as an active quarry (a small portion of the natural crags were quarried decades ago as the Hardscrabble Rock Quarry). Last month, however, the MWPC seized an opportunity to increase support for our goals by encouraging Carver residents to get involved. We sent out informational flyers inviting 250 residents to meet at the Carver School to discuss the County’s plans. The 60-plus people in attendance were disgusted over the County’s failure to inform them on such a critical issue. They were outraged that the County would pursue quarrying at such an ill-conceived site.

The former Chair of the County’s Board of Commissioners had informed the MWPC that a public discussion had already taken place and the Board determined it was in the public’s best interest to proceed with their plans to quarry the Madrone Wall. When we informed the residents of Carver of this letter, they were again outraged as they had not been involved in any discussions and all felt it was detrimental to their interests.

As a result of this first meeting, concerned citizens and local area landowners quickly formed the Clackamas River Basin Conservation Alliance. Three MWPC members are active as Alliance Board and Officer members to continue to provide a voice for recreational use at the Madrone Wall. The goals of the Alliance are inline with those of the Committee’s, i.e., first, to prevent rock quarrying operations both in the near and long term, and second, to provide for a long-term solution for the site by re-initiating recreation at the site to include rock climbing. The Alliance has retained an experienced land-use attorney who has successfully helped prevent proposed siting of two other quarry operations in the Carver area.

In a short period of time, residents have given generously to support the legal battle as well as several studies.

The Future of Madrone

The MWPC, along with the Alliance, are now focusing on collecting information that will be needed to take our case to the County. We need to obtain expert assistance to study the economic feasibility of quarrying the monolithic basalt of the Madrone, inventory plant and wildlife to determine if any species are Threatened or Endangered and how they might be adversely impacted by quarrying, ground water hydrology studies to determine the potential for the adverse impact on wells, noise pollution assessment, and traffic safety analyses.

The progress we are making is very exciting and we now feel that our collective voice is finally being noticed by County bureaucrats! We are in this for as long as it takes to see that this land is preserved as the unique civic treasure for which it is. In the meantime, we request that climbers and residents alike continue to be involved and stay active, while respecting the closure to avoid jeopardizing future use at the site. We will be in touch as our fund raising drive begins and to continue informing the climbing community about developments with the County. Please do not hesitate to join us at one of our regularly scheduled meetings if you would like to become more involved in this worthwhile effort.

Public Meetings

The Metro-area climbing community’s help is needed to help find a long-term solution for the Madrone Wall. We need to show the County that these quarrying efforts will impact many recreationalists as well as the local residents. We will need people to attend public meetings at the County en masse when they are scheduled. As soon as dates are set for public discussion or public hearings, we will post this information in the local climbing gyms and outdoor stores, so please keep an eye out for this.

Fund Raising

The Stoneworks fundraiser in January 1998 supported the efforts of the MWPC over the past year to purchase geological and land-use studies as well as direct mail campaigns. We have recently received generous grants from the Mazamas and The Access Fund. In the near future, we will be initiating a fund raising drive within the local climbing community.

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Madrone Wall Preservation Committee

3129 N.E. 65th Street

Portland, Oregon 97213

503/253-5776

www.bwalsh.com/madrone

"Heroes are not giant statues framed against a red sky. They are people who say: This is my community, and it's my responsibility to make it better."

Former Oregon Governor Tom McCall

View of Clackamas River from the top of Madrone Wall