The Lake County Parks and Recreation Master Plan Team (through the Community Planning Workshop) has set out to develop a vision for parks and recreation in Lake County, Oregon. Our intrepid group of public administration and community and regional planning students will be working with communities in Lake County to understand their health and recreational needs and values. We even have a County task team with local knowledge and expertise to help guide our recommendations.
Understanding the context of planning parks and recreation in Lake County requires that we take an inventory of the current parks system and the role that it plays in the community and local economy. From concept to deliverable, this project involves: researching social and economic trends, interviewing stakeholders, surveying community members, holding community meetings, interpreting the results of this research, and, finally, creating a Parks and Recreation Master Plan based on our findings.
Turns out, there is a lot to learn about a place you’ve never been!
We’ve learned about Lake County’s geography – it has the highest elevation city in Oregon! –; populations of towns – hint: they are small –; demographics – apparently, it’s a great place to retire! –; seasonal swings in employment – farm towns vary a lot! –, and tourism.
From my experience, having grown up in a larger city, focusing on the economic trends in a rural county made me realize how important each and every job is to the local economy. Gaining or losing even ten jobs can make a huge impact in the prosperity of towns in rural Oregon.
From the Lake County Treasurer and our project advisor, Anne Crumrine, we learned about Red Rock Biofuels planned biomass plant for Lakeview, Oregon. The plant will create fuel from logging debris for the military. More importantly, this development will likely create needed jobs in Lake County. This project and developments like it will drive the growth that shapes the demand for parks and recreation.
My teammate Rory and I were so excited to visit Lake County that we went for sneak peak to Fort Rock. The eroding center of a volcano was like nothing I had ever seen – a piece of living geology still speaking the story of the Earth. We knew that this story needed to be shared and are excited to let others in on secrets like this in Lake County.
We are currently in the process of conducting stakeholder interviews. These interviews are preparing us for our first round of community conversations in February. During that trip we’ll get to taste even more wonders of Lake County’s park system.
That’s right, it’s our job to go to the park.
About the Author: Alexis Biddle is a law student focusing on land use and is pursuing a Masters in Community and Regional Planning. He has a passion for active and public transportation and wants to promote policy related to healthy and sustainable communities. In his free time, Alexis enjoys backpacking, snowboarding, biking, and competitive stone skipping.