I must say I was quite dismayed with Barbara Mossberg’s visions of waterfront development along the Willamette River (“Designing a Waterfront Town,” 3/8). She describes the Willamette as “a beautiful, large, wild river” and “one of the most beautiful unspoiled rivers in the world.”
With five dams in its headwater tributaries, excessive logging within watershed boundaries and aerial spraying of monoculture forests, the Willamette is hardly unspoiled and definitely not wild. The waterfront development in other American and European cities has tainted rivers passing through them, and watershed development is a main contributor to degradation.
If we are a society that cares about the environment, we must take steps to achieve a 400-year transformation away from dam building and hard-scaping rivers. That requires us to admit that rivers are wild and dynamic, and that hemming them in diminishes their character and robs them of their beauty and sustainable potential.
There will never be successful salmon and steelhead recovery unless we dream about moving development at least 1,000 feet from the banks, removing dams and considering alternatives for flooding, power and irrigation.
Eugene needs a democratization of development so that each neighborhood can have its own Red Barn Grocery, Sam Bond’s, WOW Hall and culture centers. And when it comes to the Willamette, we traverse a serpentine path to a small opening where we will get to behold a truly wild, beautiful and unspoiled river.
Louis J. Wentz
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519