Currently,
the town's appearance is somewhat run down. The main road into town has huge
potholes and many front yards display rusted equipment or cars. The main street
area has a number of empty storefronts. There is one restaurants, a market,
fire station, elementary school, high school, and a few parks. The land
surrounding the community is large private timber companies. Beyond these lands
is BLM land, much of which is landlocked by private holdings. The scenery
around Falls City is exceptional (Figure 26).
"Falls City is gorgeous but needs help."
"I tended bar 20 years
ago in Falls City. It was alive then. Now it's a bedroom for Dallas, Monmouth,
and even Portland."
"One of the best things about Falls City is
the swimming hole and rope swing."
Falls City residents are oriented more to Dallas than to Monmouth or
Independence. Figure Two shows the falls near the town.
Publics
Long-timers are
associated with logging and the timber industry, while newcomers are commuters
or people that live with less in some way. Residents describe long-timers as
being against growth and against new industry, with the perception that Falls
City will cease to be if it grows. Newcomers are said to be "newcomers" until
they've been in the community at least twenty years. Newcomers are rejected if
they try too hard to "fix things."
"The types of people that
live in Falls City are outlaws, hippies, religious freaks, transplants from
California and artsy."
Networks
See Section Two.
Figure 26
Falls on the Luckiamute River Near Falls
City
Work Routines
Logging
trucks constantly drive through town. The presence of timber is still
prevalent, though it is obvious that the community has been struck hard by the
decline in timber sales. We were told that most of the people in Falls City
connected to timber are involved in log truck driving.
A number of forest
workers are gatherers of special forest products. Mushroom pickers believe their activity adds substantial revenues
to the local economy. Mushroom pickers are almost exclusively people local to
Falls City, Dallas, Monmouth, and Independence. The primary mushroom market is
overseas.
"Mushroom picking is Christmas money." [That is,
payment is inconsistent, usually low, and cannot be relied upon.]
One doctoral
candidate who did her dissertation on commercial mushroom harvesting had these
observations to make about the regulatory climate. The late 1980s marked the
creation of regulations for mushroom pickers. They were created primarily out
of two events happening around the same time.
First, the
Laotians and Cambodians were entering Oregon and began to take up mushrooming
in southwestern Oregon as a viable occupation for themselves. They chose southern
Oregon because of the price of Matsutake mushrooms and because there weren't a
lot of local pickers. The Laotians, especially, created a lot of worries
because they were not careful with their cigarettes in the woods, left trash
and so on. The presence of these groups caused "turf" tensions with locals. The
media exaggerated claims of huge profits from mushroom harvesting.
Second, the timber
receipts of the Forest Service were plummeting rapidly and the agency believed
that permitting mushroom pickers could generate revenues. At the same time,
concern grew about the environmental sustainability of mushroom harvesting.
One of the main
points of this student's dissertation is that policies governing mushroom
harvests were developed over the region, based on the southwest Oregon
experience, and were not sensitive to important variations from area to area.
In particular, the Willamette Valley has had a long history of mushroom picking
on a small scale. The vast majority of pickers are local people from the rural
areas who piecemeal out a living. For many of these people, it is not their
only source of income but a substantial portion of it. Pickers use the term "pick down their crop"
to refer to the practice of taking most of the crop. By picking down their crop
and by keeping sites secret, Willamette pickers have been able to create a
"home field advantage" that has successfully resisted intrusions by outsiders.
The student also revealed that most central Oregon pickers live in the
Willamette Valley and include central Oregon as part of their "turf."
Agriculture
remains an activity that support livelihood for some.
"Communities are no longer dependent on agriculture,
just individual families."
Newer residents
commute to the urban areas of the region.
Support Services
Three community
groups serve different functions. Neighborhood Watch is a "coalition of people
who have had it with the drug dealers who are infecting our children" (www.fallscity.org). There is also the
Falls City Garden Club and the Falls City Seniors.
The Churches are
strong in the community, especially the Seventh Day Adventists and Methodists.
City hall is used as a resource center by residents who come for information.
Every year a reunion
is held for those who once lived in the ex-town of Valsetz. There is also an
old-timers picnic held every year as well.
"It's hard to meet people unless you have kids. You
used to meet people at the swimming hole and at picnics."
The Falls City
Fire Department got special mention from residents as highly dedicated and
important for the community.
"I was most impressed and very grateful [for
emergency services from the Fire Department]."
Recreational Activities
See Section Three.
B.
Themes and Citizen Issues
Related to Community Life
Themes
"The old time residents are yielding power quietly."
"People
who live in Falls City choose this life. They love it here. Residents are very
protective of their town. Falls City will always be home."
"Falls
City is a true democracy - rough and tumble."
"Today,
no one knows each other. People don't live with the land anymore."
Citizen Issues Related to Community Life
Falls City
recently lost its contract with the sheriff's office, and its recent levy attempt
to fund law enforcement failed at the polls. At the moment, there is no police
presence in Falls City. Neighborhood Watch has been active in filling the gap,
but some citizens have complained that the group is over-zealous and intrusive.
"There is a serious criminal element here.
Neighborhood Watch is a good answer but they are walking a tightrope. They're
almost too nosy."
"The lack of law enforcement has burned out the
town. It causes Falls City to get bad press - a bad image."
Falls City schools
have one of the worst tardiness problems in the state. The problem is
attributed to the long commute times of parents, who leave for work before
school begins.
Falls City is
currently undertaking a project to create a more attractive and safer north Main
Street. The downtown revitalization project is underway, with the first phase
to resurface Main Street, supported in part by tax dollars from timber
companies who haul logs on the street. Curbs, gutters and sidewalks are being
added for the first time. Community support is mixed. Some people believe that
curbs and gutters are unnecessary. Artists are being sought to landscape some
of downtown and one street corner in particular.
"There is a
difference between growth and improvement." [City Hall in general provokes
frustration and anger among many residents. While residents generally recognize
that some things are getting done, the type of progress concerns them.]
"The town should do picnic facilities right next to
the falls. Falls City needs to develop more if they expect to attract
visitors."
There is nothing
for kids to do, especially in the summer when school is out.
The city is
investigating the possibility of developing hydropower resources.
Section
Two:
Communication
Strategies
A. Informal Networks and Communication
Kids like to hang
out at the bell at the fire station.
Mac's Pizzeria is
a popular hang out for adults.
Falls City Market
has a bulletin board used for posting community events.
Residents consider
the Dallas Itemizer-Observer as their paper.
The churches are
very popular and important to the town.
B. Formal Groups and Communication
Figure 27
Organizations With Interest in Public Lands in Falls City
|
Organization
|
Contact Information
|
Mission
|
|
Falls City
|
Bob Richardson
Special Projects
Assistant
P.O. Box 310
Falls City, OR 97344
(503) 787-3631
FC_Projects@aol.com
|
Grant writing for youth programs; hydro-power
feasibility; downtown revitalization
|
|
Neighborhood Watch
|
Calwill62@aol.com
|
Anti-drug; crime
reporting and prevention
|
|
Luckiamute Watershed Council
|
Sean Burgett
810 Parry Rd.
Falls City OR 97361
(541) 787-5016
Luckiamute57@yahoo.com
|
Watershed restoration
|
Section
Three:
The
Public Lands Perspective
A. Uses of and Orientation to Public
Lands
Local kids make
use of a number of swimming holes. One of the favorites is the third trestle of
the bridge heading out of town. They also like after school activities put on
by the school district. Older kids like to "mud bog" with their four-wheel
drive pickups but places at which this activity is permitted are getting hard
to find.
"People like to camp in the summertime, but
anymore, private land holders around Falls City are not allowing people to
camp."
The Falls City
High School offers a course in forest resource management that is considered a
first step towards putting together a CAM (Certificate of Applied Mastery)
certification program in resource management. The Superintendent at the High
School is working with others to turn the school into a satellite for timber
resource education. The goal of the district is to have each school specialize
in some aspect of resource management. This effort has strong community
involvement. Program people are looking for opportunities to do collaborative
projects with the BLM and the Forest Service, as they have seen other schools
do in other parts of the state. Evidently, the intermediate school received
some funds for an after-school club that helps students maintain and enhance
wildlife habitat.
"Across
the street is a lot that was cut-over old growth that was reforested by the
children of the town."
Firearm supplies
are obtained in Sheridan or Willamina.
While residents
have familiarity with BLM and the Oregon Department of Forestry, people do not
relate to the Forest Service very much.
B. Themes,
and Citizen Issues Related to Natural Resource Management
Themes
"A locked gate doesn't mean you can't use the land."
Residents consider all the land around Falls City as somehow part of what they
are, with use rights attached.
Citizen
Issues Related to Natural Resource Management
Forest Management
"We don't like the clearcutting on private lands.
It's not good for the forest."
"People ask all the time for information about
Valley of the Giants, but BLM has never approached the City. It would be
helpful if City Hall had more information about this area. Also, people have no
idea whose land they are on - ownership maps would be great." [City Hall serves
as the resource center in the community.]
Access
In this area, the
use of gates has affected private land access more than public land but not
exclusively. Many local people have made use of both public land and the large
industrial timberlands for generations. In recent years, as the use of gates
has increased, access into traditional areas, even private landholdings, has
decreased. People also complained that restrictions to private lands have
restricted access to public lands that lie beyond the private lands. In
general, these issues seem to be proliferating and are at risk for becoming
disruptive.
Shooting
"There
used to be a shooting range in the basement of the high school but it closed to
the public. Now, it's harder and harder to find a place to shoot."
Special Forest
Products
A local family
that has been prominent in mushroom gathering, buying and selling for
twenty-five years was very appreciative of the chance to discuss their concerns
and grateful that the agencies have made the effort to get out and talk to
others. They had high interest in further discussion. Three generations of
family members offered a list of issues related to federal management of
nontimber forest products:
BLM permits
are too restrictive and difficult to obtain.
Private and
public gates keep mushroomers from being commercially viable;
Logging
practices have eliminated many renewable mushroom crops;
Minors cannot
be issued permits through the Forest Service.
Indigent
people have trouble raising the money for permits.
Mushroomers
believe that added fees are spurred by exaggerated profits in central Oregon
that were reported by the media.
Weekend
pickers and hunters that also pick mushrooms have logistical difficulties
getting permits.
Global market
volatility, peoples' capricious taste, and climate conditions make the mushroom
profit margins vary substantially. Meanwhile the fees and regulations are constant and somewhat rigid.
Restrictions
lessen brokers' ability to compete with other eastern block countries.
Burn area
policies are unfair for commercial mushroomers.
Too much
energy is put into policing mushroomers. Practitioners feel belittled by this
because it implies they are not concerned with the sustainability of the
resource. They also feel enforcement is not effective in changing
behavior - rather self-policing and education are more valued.
Private
timber companies are unwilling to negotiate with mushroom pickers on issues of
access.
Regulations
cut against the independent spirit of many mushroom pickers.
Native plant
harvesting is a recent trend that this area has not fully exploited.
C. Management Opportunities
The BLM could
provide the city government of Falls City with information about its resources,
especially Valley of the Giants and ownership maps.
The Forest Service
could explore the prospects of using the Rural Community Assistance program, or
other programs, to assist Falls City with the development of its
infrastructure.
People who grew up
in this region have had long practice in dealing with gates and access issues
because of the presence of large industrial timberland owners. As the Forest
Service and the BLM begin grappling with these issues on a region-wide basis,
stories from these local residents would provide ideas for how to structure
management options culturally so that they would blend in and also work.
Local mushroomers,
important for the livelihood of many in this area, have clear ideas for
improving the responsiveness of permitting agencies. Dialogue will help bridge
the differences in perspectives between pickers and regulators.
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