Item B: Ordinance Concerning Goal 5 Natural Resources Study

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Exemptions to prevent excess impact on use of private property are intricately conceived. So, with such careful and comprehensive exemptions, couldn't the conservation areas be made more substantive? Perhaps no where in the city are stream bank setbacks large enough to protect even the cortical root zone of the first row of mature trees alongside. How can that be considered to provide stream protection? Even for the most sensitive, ecologically rich streams_even when in city-owned land!_we are not looking at robust protection (for instance, packet page 148). In the water resources conservation plan, the significance criteria listed in section II are such that they would include 1900 acres of additional wildlife habitat areas. Politically, I understand the process that has lead to the delayed review of those areas. But it is not how the plan is intended to achieve technical self-consistency given those criteria-some additional criteria are required to reduce the inventory to what is presented, and what those additional criteria are, remains unstated. We dispute the finding of "no" for ecological significance for many Amazon headwaters sites, including E37 J and K, in the Amazon Headwaters Keystone area, and E37 M in the Amazon Headwaters East Fork area (packet page 50, 78, etc.) The significance, rare and threatened species, and broad community value of many of these areas has been documented time and again. In Ordinance 1, section 9.8030(21)(c)7 seems to be aimed at supporting an important fine-tuning of conservation corridor adjustments. When conditions allow, if a setback is reduced on one side, it can be expanded on the other side to partially compensate. The wording of the section to support this concept is very confusing. Our precious piece of Earth at the south end of the beautiful Willamette Valley has natural resources worth protecting. Everything we've learned-and are still learning-about sustainability and human impact on our planet is calling us to protect our pieces of nature, as others must learn to protect theirs. Please, strengthen these protections, strengthen the findings of ecological science that should explain them, and strengthen the ability of the public and hundreds of sympathetic volunteers to contribute. If not in this round, then surely, please, in the next. Respectfully, Kevin Matthews President, Friends of Eugene matthews@artifice.com PO Box 1588, Eugene, OR 97440 c/o 541-345-7421 vox c/o 541-345-7438 fax http://www.FriendsofEugene.org Friend of Eugene · 10/3/05 · Page 2