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. were not designated by numbers so he was unaware if they were the same ea- gles. Mr. Cornacchia persisted, saying that testimony had been submitted that bald eagles were using the area for foraging and nesting across the river in the old growth. He said he found it interesting that the eagles were still around, given that the old growth had been removed. Mr. Boles suggested that there was more than one analysis in terms of the economic value associated with natural resources, particularly from a recrea- tional standpoint. He believed that there was increasing economic value associated with the preservation of natural resources, particularly in light of Oregon's attractiveness to tourists for the sake of its natural beauty. Mr. Cornacchia clarified that his remarks were confined to the concerns of the property owner rather than to the community as a whole. Mr. Dumdi noted that preservation of the natural resources on the property could have the effect of removing the property from the tax rolls. Mr. Nicholson said it was unclear whether Mr. Fox would be able to extract the gravel resources on his property even without natural resource protec- tions. Mr. Mason submitted letters in support of the designation from the lane Coun- ty Audubon Society, Native Plant Society, and Thomas Pringle of Emerald Con- sulting. . Mr. Cornacchia spoke of his concern that precluding the resource extraction use on the property would result in the need for the County to purchase the property. He said that the County is not in a financial position to purchase the property. Mr. Mason suggested that the County dispose of nearby property with less value to fund the purchase. Ms. Frazer said it appeared to her that resource extraction activities on the property had enhanced wildlife habitat. She suggested that continued use of the property for resource extraction would be a continued enhancement. Mr. Mason disagreed with Ms. Frazer's comments regarding the benefit of resource extraction on wildlife habitat. He said that to his knowledge, there had not yet been gravel extraction from the site; aerial photographs from 30 years ago show no sign of such activity. Mr. Mason acknowledged repeated logging activities on the property and attributed the loss of eight or ten acres of land on the site to erosion created by logging. In response to a question from Mr. Rust, Mr. Mason said that the river channel changed, eliminating the land of another property owner whose land had been logged by Mr. Fox without permission. In response to a question from Mr. Morrisette, Mr. Mason reiterated that there was no evidence of sand and gravel extraction on the site. Mr. Fox maintained that he had removed gravel from the site in 1959, 1960, and 1987. Ms. Frazer suggested that flooding could have obliterated evidence of gravel extraction. . MINUTfS--Joint Elected Officials July 1, 1992 Page 13