Attendees of the Greater Hells Canyon Council’s Base Camp presentation on the Blue Mountain Trail on April 25 saw an informative presentation. The presenter has provided additional information about the Blue Mountains Trail.
For specific questions, individuals may contact Jared at jared@hellscanyon.org or Pip Redding, the Blue Mountains Trail Coordinator, at pip@hellscanyon.org.
To stay informed about the latest news from the BMT and GHCC, people are encouraged to sign up for newsletters at: www.hellscanyon.org/newsletters
In response to a question about how western Oregon residents can support conservation in eastern Oregon, the GHCC staff recommends contacting Oregon Senators and local Representatives to express interest in conservation issues in northeastern Oregon and request more involvement on eastside issues. The organization plans to provide more direct guidance in the weeks ahead.
The importance of northeastern Oregon conservation extends beyond regional boundaries. The GHCC mission area encompasses approximately 10,000 square miles with about 100,000 inhabitants in a rural, economically disadvantaged region. Despite this, it remains a popular destination, with over 100,000 visitors from the Portland region annually.
Support from western Oregon residents enables GHCC’s conservation work, which impacts the entire state through watershed protection, endangered species habitat preservation, and trail maintenance. The organization protects major watersheds including the Grande Ronde and John Day rivers, which serve as critical cold water refugia for wild salmon and steelhead. Their efforts ensure endangered species like wolves have suitable habitat, and through the Blue Mountains Trail initiative, they maintain hundreds of miles of hiking trails across the region’s three National Forests.
The People’s Right to a Healthy Environment bill has stalled in the Oregon Senate
Despite significant public support, Senate Joint Resolution 28-1 remains in the Senate Rules Committee. Without a committee vote soon, this important environmental legislation may not advance. Your action now can make a difference.
This resolution (SJR 28-1) proposes adding a new section to Oregon’s Constitution that would:
Establish a fundamental right to a clean, safe, and healthy environment for all people, including future generations.
Require the state to protect this right fairly for everyone, with special priority given to children and future generations.
Allow any person to take legal action when this right is threatened, without having to try other remedies first. If they win their case, they can recover their legal costs.
Recognize environmental protection (clean water, clean air, healthy ecosystems, and climate stability) as top priorities for the state.
Add to existing environmental protections rather than replacing them.
If passed by the legislature, this amendment would be placed on the ballot for Oregon voters to approve or reject in the next general election.
Two phone calls can help:
Call Senator Kayse Jama (Rules Committee Chair): 503-986-1724 Tell Senator Jama you support moving SJR 28-1 out of committee.
Call Senate President Rob Wagner: 503-986-1600 Request that Senator Wagner bring SJR 28-1 to the Senate floor after committee approval.
Key points to mention:
Referring this measure to voters has no fiscal impact
This constitutional amendment will save Oregon time and money long-term
SJR 28-1 provides legal protection against special interest challenges
The amendment enables state authority to hold polluters accountable
Earth Day is an annual event held on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first held on April 22, 1970, and now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org.
Its conception was in 1969 at a UNESCO conference, after activist John McConnell proposed setting aside a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be observed on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed at the United Nations, and a month later, Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed the idea to hold a nationwide environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. It grew well beyond this original idea for a teach-in to include the entire United States, and got the name coined, “Earth Day”. Key non-environmentally focused partners played major roles in this growth; notably the United Auto Workers union, which was unusual for the day.
Early Earth Day commemorations were focused on the United States, but in 1990, Denis Hayes, the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international and organized events in 141 nations.
The theme for Earth Day 2025 is Our Power, Our Planet, inviting everyone around the globe to unite behind renewable energy, and to triple the global generation of clean electricity by 2030.
Earth Day has been more than a commemorative event that looks back at the start of it all back in 1970; it was also intended from the beginning to be a participatory event. The participant count recently surpassed one billion worldwide in 183 countries, and there are many fine groups and organizations that are putting together local volunteer events near you, mostly on the April 19-20 weekend. These focus on repairing the damage done to our planet, and if you can find one and help them out, it would be great! Here is one that I partnered with for years to organize a local event to clean up around Portland’s Forest Park; they also list many similar events all around Oregon: solveoregon.org
Congressional leaders are proposing to sell federal public lands as part of the upcoming budget reconciliation package.
Our nation’s public lands face an unprecedented threat. A provision in the proposed FY2025 budget reconciliation bill would permanently transfer public lands into private ownership. This could:
Eliminate public access for outdoor recreation
Destroy critical wildlife habitat
Weaken environmental protections
Threaten historic, cultural, and Indigenous sites
Public lands belong to all Americans. They’re where we camp, hunt, fish, and hike. They protect watersheds that provide clean drinking water and serve as crucial carbon sinks in our fight against climate change. Once privatized, these treasures are lost forever.
Why Your Voice Matters Now:
The budget reconciliation process requires only a simple majority vote with no filibuster option. Every representative’s vote will be crucial in this decision.
Take Action Today: Contact your congressional representatives and tell them to reject any budget reconciliation bill that includes provisions to sell our public lands. These natural treasures belong to all Americans, not just the wealthy few who can afford to buy them.
Subject: Reject Public Land Sales in the FY2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill
Dear [Representative/Senator] [Last Name],
I am writing as your constituent to express my deep concern regarding provisions in the proposed FY2025 budget reconciliation package that would authorize the sale of federal public lands. Our public lands are irreplaceable national treasures that belong to all Americans. They provide:
Critical access to outdoor recreation for people of all backgrounds
Essential habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife – Protection for watersheds that supply clean drinking water
Preservation of significant cultural and Indigenous heritage sites
Natural carbon sinks that help mitigate climate change
The budget reconciliation process, which requires only a simple majority vote without the possibility of a filibuster, should not be used to make such consequential decisions about our shared natural heritage. I strongly urge you to vote against any budget reconciliation bill that includes provisions to sell our public lands. These lands belong to all Americans, not just the wealthy few who might be able to purchase them.
Thank you for your consideration of this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
[Your Name] [Your Address] [Your City, State ZIP] [Your Phone Number] [Your Email]
For 131 years, the Mazamas has stood as steadfast defenders of our public lands, advocating for access, preservation, and protection of the wild places that define the Pacific Northwest. Since our founding on Mt. Hood in 1894, the organization has worked alongside dedicated land managers, biologists, and trail crews to ensure that these lands remain open, healthy, and protected for everyone.
Today, that legacy is at risk. Public lands across the country — and right here in Oregon — are facing an unprecedented crisis that threatens the trails we hike, the mountains we climb, and the forests and watersheds we depend upon.
An Unprecedented Threat to Public Lands and the People Who Protect Them
In recent weeks, sweeping staffing cuts have deeply impacted the agencies responsible for managing and protecting our public lands. According to the Outdoor Alliance, as well as reporting from the Statesman Journal, E&E News, and the Forest Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management have seen between 10 and 30 percent of their workforce laid off, with some reports indicating that up to half of all recreation staff have been eliminated.
These cuts are already being felt, as noted by National Parks Traveler resulting in unmaintained trails, closed campgrounds, and reduced emergency response capacity. Communities that depend on the outdoor recreation economy—an industry that generates billions annually according to the Outdoor Industry Association—also face economic impacts as public lands become harder to access and enjoy.
Industrial Logging and Environmental Rollbacks Compound the Crisis
Making matters worse, a recent executive order promotes a major expansion of industrial logging on public lands, including old-growth forests, as outlined by Oregon Wild. This directive calls for weakening long-standing protections under laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. Reporting by The Washington Post, Earthjustice, and the Statesman Journal confirms that these plans will fast-track logging projects while limiting public input and environmental review.
Rather than promoting thoughtful, science-based wildfire mitigation, this order prioritizes large-scale logging under claims of wildfire prevention and national security. Analysis from the Center for Biological Diversity and Earthjustice highlights how this move endangers ecosystems and wildlife while putting short-term industry profit ahead of conservation.
Why This Matters to the Mazama Community
As Mazamas, we know that public lands don’t maintain themselves. We’ve worked with rangers, scientists, and trail crews for generations to protect the places we love. Trails need maintenance. Forests need responsible management. And wildlife needs protected habitats to thrive. Without the trained professionals who safeguard these lands—and without the environmental protections now under attack—the future of our public lands and the outdoor experiences they offer are in serious jeopardy.
How You Can Take Action Today
Contact your members of Congress. Let them know you oppose public lands staffing cuts and the rollback of environmental protections. Ask them to reverse the staffing cuts, restore funding for public land agencies, halt large-scale logging in mature and old-growth forests, and prioritize science-based land management. Use Democracy.io to send a message quickly and directly.
Join the Mazama Conservation Committee. We need members to help us monitor and respond to these threats. Email us at conservation@mazamas.org to get involved.
Volunteer for trail maintenance and stewardship. The Mazamas regularly partner with organizations like Trailkeepers of Oregon and Washington Trails Association, which offer hands-on ways to care for our outdoor spaces. Look for trail tending opportunities on the Mazama calendar and via TKO and WTA directly.
Attend the Rally to Protect Public Lands hosted by People for Public Lands, happening Saturday, March 15 at noon in front of the Edith Green Federal Building in downtown Portland. Public lands belong to all of us, and showing up in person sends a strong message.
Finally, talk to others about what’s happening. Share this information, encourage friends, family, and fellow Mazamas to speak up, and remind them that these lands belong to all of us.
The Future of Public Lands Is in Our Hands
Whether you hike, climb, or simply find peace in nature, your voice matters. By speaking up, getting involved, and standing together, we can protect these places for generations to come. The wild places we love—mountains, forests, and trails—are still here because people stood up to protect them. Now it’s our turn.
If you’re ready to take action, email us at conservation@mazamas.org. Together, we can continue to protect and advocate for the mountains and forests that inspire and sustain us all.
As I contemplated the theme for this Bulletin, Health and Fitness, I felt drawn to something I hold dear, which is creating and sustaining a healthy culture within the Mazamas. As I wrote about last month, the Board and Rebekah have been diligently working through the strategic planning process. Throughout this work, I keep mentally returning to the saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” by Peter Drucker. The idea is that if we don’t have a healthy culture, we significantly decrease our chances of being successful in our strategic objectives.
With that in mind, the board has been discussing what a healthy board culture looks like and working to embody these elements as we move through our work together. First and foremost, our board culture is driven by our mission and values. From there, we are focused on the following areas:
Collaborative: respect, trust, hospitable
Diverse: backgrounds, opinions, ways of thinking
Accountable: to the organization, to each other
Inquisitive: engaged, curious, questioning
Disciplined: focused, prepared, consistent
Ambassador: reputation, good will, public relations
Data driven: assessing ourselves and the organization
Decisive: having focused agendas, measurable results, and being outcome-oriented
As I broaden that to consider a healthy volunteer culture, I believe it is one where volunteers feel valued, supported, and motivated to contribute their time and skills in meaningful ways. It promotes a positive environment that nurtures both the individual volunteer and the organization they support. Here are some key characteristics of a healthy volunteer culture:
Clear Purpose and Goals: Volunteers understand the mission of the organization and how their work contributes to its overall goals. They feel that their efforts make a real impact.
Inclusivity: A healthy volunteer culture is inclusive, welcoming individuals from diverse backgrounds and ensuring that everyone feels they have a place to contribute.
Respect and Recognition: Volunteers are treated with respect and appreciation. Acknowledging their contributions through thank-yous, celebrations, or small gestures of appreciation helps foster a sense of belonging.
Effective Communication: Open and honest communication ensures that volunteers are well-informed and have the opportunity to ask questions or provide feedback. They also know who to turn to for support.
Training and Development: Volunteers are given the training and resources they need to succeed. Continuous learning opportunities allow them to grow in their roles and take on new challenges.
Supportive Leadership: Leaders provide guidance, mentorship, and encouragement. They are approachable, empathetic, and actively engage with volunteers, creating an environment where everyone feels supported.
Flexibility: Volunteers are able to engage with flexible schedules and roles that suit their availability and interests. This makes the volunteer experience more sustainable and enjoyable.
Collaboration: Volunteers work together as a team, fostering a sense of camaraderie and shared purpose. Team-building activities or group/committee projects can strengthen relationships.
Feedback and Growth: Volunteers receive constructive feedback on their performance, as well as opportunities to share their own suggestions for improvement. This promotes a continuous cycle of growth and positive change.
Wellness and Balance: A healthy volunteer culture recognizes the importance of balance, ensuring volunteers do not experience burnout by setting clear boundaries and encouraging them to take care of themselves.
Overall, it’s about creating a positive, supportive environment where volunteers feel motivated, appreciated, and empowered to contribute in ways that align with both their personal values and the organization’s mission.
One of our strategic priority areas is focused on member and volunteer engagement. Working together to foster a healthy culture will absolutely support our success in this domain. Given you all are critical to creating and sustaining a healthy culture in the Mazamas, I invite you to contemplate what a healthy culture looks like to you. Here are a few questions for consideration:
What do you value in the community and culture of the Mazamas?
If you are a leader, what are you modeling for others? If you are not a leader, what do you see being modeled by leaders?
What areas are we doing well with regard to creating a positive community and culture?
What areas could our sense of community and culture could be improved?
What role can you see yourself playing in supporting a healthy culture?
As the board continues to move through the strategic planning process, we believe having a healthy culture is interwoven with all of our values: Inclusion, Safety, Education, Service, and Sustainability. We are incorporating all of these elements as we continue diligently working on defining and refining our goals, tactics, metrics, and key performance indicators for the next 3 years. I loved Rebekah’s vision of vitality—an active, connected, and strong Mazamas creating our future together. Let’s all work together to create and sustain a culture that realizes this vision!
Welcome to spring! Or should I say, “Welcome, Spring,” as this season of awakening and renewal offers opportune insight. In the last issue, I wrote about the changing financial landscape, constraints the staff and board are working with, and the organizational response it will require to secure a more stable foundation. (The CliffsNotes version, for those that didn’t read it, goes like this: rising costs have outpaced revenues, and we’ve got serious work to do.) This conversation continues to develop in real-time, representing a dynamic scenario which calls for clear communication, strong coordination, and decisive action.
Ominous as that may sound, trees and shrubs are beginning to bud, song sparrows serenade us earlier each day, and the sun is gradually warming our hemisphere, apt reminders that regeneration is part of life. Aligning with both the season and the theme of this Bulletin, my own innate belief in the power of potential has me feeling deeply inspired by a vision of vitality—an active, connected, and strong Mazamas creating our future together.
But what does it look like to cultivate vitality? What does it take to persevere and grow?
Connecting with our purpose
The Mazamas is a nonprofit, and nonprofits are full of purpose. Whether they deliver social, economic, or environmental impact, nonprofits solve real problems and offer meaningful, fulfilling work for both those carrying it out and those benefiting from their services.
At the Mazamas, we’re in the business of building community through activities rooted in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. We take our cues from nature: interdependent systems, mentorship between the established and the new, and resource-sharing, to name a few. Fitting as these concepts may be, let’s not discount how fundamental to the mission they are, nor how rare they are to find in a business setting. As strategies, they lead to resilience. As tactics, they develop personal and collective trust, camaraderie, engagement, and accountability. Is the Mazamas curing cancer? Maybe not, but we sure as hell are giving people tools to build a life worth fighting for.
Reflection and revision (rinse and repeat)
Despite being anchored in a shared purpose, when we look under the organization’s hood we find a business model that’s unsustainable by many measures: budgeted deficits rather than calculated growth; income streams that don’t cover their operating costs; and under-supported resources spread thin across a tangled web of objectives. The 2025-2027 Strategic Plan addresses all of this by prioritizing responsible financial planning, recalibrating our revenue model, and identifying ways to better future-proof operations.
But this doesn’t live with the board and staff alone. This is a call to all members to come together in support of our mission and community. To ask, “How can I help?” To refer a friend, or make a donation. To be an engaged ambassador of the organization. Zooming out to examine the big picture, we’re experiencing the kind of watershed moment that inspires evolution. It’s not the first time in our 131-year history, and it won’t be the last.
Gratitude and celebration
In nature, spring has a way of making things look easy. That’s because once balance is in place, rebirth unfolds seemingly like clockwork. In truth, it took millions of years of trial and error for Earth’s ecosystems to harmonize.
Volunteers, leaders, and staff are working tirelessly to support and uplift the Mazamas—every one of us experiences moments of exhaustion, disappointment, and fear of failure. To support vitality, it’s especially important that we hold space to acknowledge all that’s going right:
Our people: Nothing short of extraordinary are the staunch corps of volunteers upholding the Mazamas’ reputation for excellence, the board of directors rising to the occasion, and the capable staff that’s ready to make a difference. Combined, the nearly 3,000 members that make up the Mazamas move our mission forward each day, building community at a time when many among us need it more than ever.
Responsivity: Leadership has immersed itself in research and analysis, as we aim to articulate our core competencies and identify a tangible and optimal business model. We’ve confirmed that our services have been wildly undervalued, leading to a new program pricing policy; this brings needed consistency internally and ties pricing directly to the cost of production, encouraging awareness of the impact programs have on resources. We’ve also identified that (like any non-profit) fees for service can only cover a portion of our costs and must be subsidized by charitable contributions; among other strategies, we’ve widened our donor base, have normalized applying for foundation support after a multi-year hiatus, and are implementing a formal planned giving program.
Transparency and accountability: Since I joined the staff in 2023, we’ve fully caught up on four years of independently reviewed financial statements, and we’re about to publish our first impact report since 2016. Importantly, we’re also working to address a significant omission in our financial statements by quantifying the astonishing in-kind value that volunteer leaders contribute each year—this alone is worth celebrating for many reasons, not the least of which is that it will help us more meaningfully recognize you, our members and volunteers, who carry out our mission.
Friends, on behalf of everyone at the Mazamas, thank you for your enduring partnership and support. The future is not a thing merely to be experienced; it’s a great and wonderful opportunity to be created together. Let’s lean into the lessons of spring.
Adventurous Young Mazamas snowshoeing near Mt. Hood, 2024
by Jacob Lippincott, Adventurous Young Mazamas
Oregon is typically not a state for fair weather hikers. In the summer expect to contend with heat, long dry spells, and skies filled with wild-fire smoke. In the winter, you’ll find cold temperatures, copious amounts of rain at lower elevations or many feet of snow at higher elevations. When the few nice weeks of fall give way to winter, people who want to continue enjoying one of our local trails often turn to snowshoes.
It is thought that snowshoes were first used around 4000 BC in Central Asia. People in snowy environments used them not for recreation at first, but for travelling and hunting. Snowshoes at this time did not look much like the ones we see today but were made from teardrop shaped planks of wood with a binding to attach to the foot. It wasn’t until they were brought to North America, by people crossing over the Bering Sea Land Bridge that they started to take on a more recognizable form.
The Indigenous peoples of the Huron and Cree tribes are credited with modernizing snowshoes, replacing planks with webbing and a frame around the outside. As they were used more extensively, their form changed to meet the demands of conditions specific to that region. For example, snowshoes found in Alaska tended to be longer and skinnier, more suited for long trips in open country with deep snow. In contrast, the “bear paw” snowshoe, oval in shape with no tail, was great for navigating through dense woods and hilly areas. Today’s snowshoes resemble these older versions in shape and serve similar function, but are made with newer materials like aluminum and plastic, allowing them to be lighter and more durable.
For winter travel on trails and snowy plains, it is hard to beat snowshoes for their effectiveness and ease of use. While they may not provide the downhill speed of touring skis or the efficiency of cross-country skis, they require less training and less financial investment. If you can hike, you can snowshoe. That being said you will find that snowshoeing through deep snow is tiring, and usually slower than hiking.
Often, you find fewer people braving the elements so snowshoeing, even on a trail that is popular in the summer, can feel like you are deep in the backcountry. Just remember that snowshoeing or other forms of winter recreation come with their own set of challenges. Navigation can be harder, as even familiar trails can look vastly different under a few feet of snow and storms easily remove evidence of yesterday’s bootpack. Be prepared for cold temperatures in the morning and potential warming throughout the day, dress in layers. Finally, the sun goes down early in winter, start early and be back before dark. Now is not the season to stay overnight in the woods.
I often say that I don’t like to snowshoe, that I would rather ski if I am spending time outside this time of year. But, writing this has made me reconsider that position. Yes, snowshoeing is often more tiring and slower than hiking and I want to get to the summit or back to the car to get warm. But when I remember to stop and marvel at the forest around me and soak in the quiet splendor, I am once again reminded how lucky I am to live in the Pacific Northwest. The dark green stands of evergreens, when covered with snow, are what comes to my mind when I think about the mountains here and trails become more beautiful during the winter. Moving through the woods in the cold, with tepid winter sun filtering through the trees and heavy snow-laden boughs gently swaying in the wind above provide for a wonderful, unique experience. Winter also provides a stillness to the outdoors that can be hard to find today. Honestly, I think about how lucky I am to live here almost every time I am outside in Oregon but it hits differently this time of year. And when on one of these magical winter hikes, thanks to snowshoes, I didn’t posthole every ten feet for the last five miles.
If you would like to join the Mazamas for a snowshoe, keep an eye on the calendar this winter season. The Adventurous Young Mazamas is hosting our Winter Weekend the weekend of February 14–16. There will be snowshoeing events for everyone regardless of age or experience level, join us!
Letter sent by Rebekah Phillips, Mazama Executive Director on behalf of the Mazamas to Morgan Steele, City of Portland Environmental City Planner
Dear Ms. Steele,
Established in 1894 on the summit of Mt. Hood, the Mazamas is an Oregon-based 501(c)3 with a proud tradition of providing excellence in climbing education, leadership, and conservation in the Pacific Northwest. Our mission – to build a community that inspires everyone to love and protect the mountains – is carried out in partnership with more than 300 highly dedicated volunteers through education programs, climbs and hikes, stewardship activities, and scientific research. Current membership includes about 3,000 individuals.
Many Mazama members have been involved with Portland’s Forest Park from the beginnings of the park in 1946; in fact, many of the original committee of 50 that urged the city to make this area a city park were Mazama members, including the founder and chair of this committee, Ding Cannon. Our roots run deep with Forest Park, and we continue today to host many of our local outdoor activities in the park.
We are deeply concerned with PGE’s revised land-use application in the north end of the park, which proposes to clear cut 4.7 acres of 150+ year old Douglas fir and bigleaf maple trees and proposes to remove five white oak trees estimated to be 170-500 years old. In total, the proposal includes the removal of 376 living trees and 21 dead trees. It will permanently fill at least two wetlands and disrupt two streams that support multiple species of aquatic wildlife.
According to PGE, Phase 5 of this project may impact another 15 acres of Forest Park to the northwest and west potentially disrupting the Miller Creek watershed which contains salmon habitat. Should Phase 3 be approved, it will pave the way to Phase 5 as the “least expensive” alternative.
This area of land lies within the City’s Environmental Conservation and Environmental Protection overlay zones, and also within the City’s Forest Park Natural Resources Management Plan (FPNRMP). Legally, PGE must comply with this plan unless they can prove that there is no alternative to meet their obligation to provide reliable power. We are not convinced that PGE has investigated alternatives, nor have they been forthcoming with convincing information that they have tried to do so. Such information was requested as far back as 2022, and although a report on this was delivered to PGE by a private consultant at that time, it was not made available until a few weeks ago. Now PGE has released the report after withholding this information from the public for two years, and is requesting urgency on this matter to be decided.
As documented in the City of Portland’s 2012 Forest Park Wildlife Report, the northern area of Forest Park is home to over 200 species of interest, either listed, candidate, sensitive, or of concern at the State and Federal level. It is rich in wildlife structural diversity including larger trees, standing snags, and native understory. One of the streams that would be denuded is habitat for the northern red-legged frog, an at-risk species as noted in the Special Status and At-Risk Species List prepared by the City of Portland in 2022.
Ecological impact on the protected area of Forest Park would not be restricted to the area targeted for clear-cut. The edges of this pristine coniferous forest would be susceptible to plant invasions (ivy, blackberry, garlic mustard and others) that degrade forest health and limit diversity of species supported by the Park, tree blow-down from storms, land-slides, temperature increases which can weaken the forest making trees susceptible to insect and disease invasions. The slopes in this area of the Park are extremely steep, as documented in the Toth report, making this landscape prone to landslides when vegetation is removed.
Mitigation is not a solution for the environmental impact caused by power lines. Once a corridor is widened or opened, it is continually maintained in a manner that does not resemble the original natural state of the land. Proposing that this can somehow be compensated by improving other areas is ludicrous.
There are two more phases that PGE wants to follow up with. If this proposal is approved, against the overlay zones and long-ago approved FPNRMP, it will become a slippery slope – there would be an expectation that the following two phases could also be approved, incrementally increasing total impact to the north end of the park.
On behalf of the Mazama Board of Directors, Conservation Committee, and membership, I urge the City of Portland to reject this proposal.
By next month’s end, the Mazama Lodge will finally have a new roof! Over the past year, we’ve stressed the importance of this step in caring for and maintaining the lodge, but there’s much more progress to report as we continue to prepare the facility for its much-anticipated re-opening.
Last March, the Board of Directors engaged consultant Chris Jaworski of Five Stakes to identify the steps required to open and operate the lodge as an overnight facility. The goal was, and remains, a phased reopening of the lodge—first to members and then to the general public—to transform the lodge into a revenue-positive asset that advances our mission, furthers brand recognition, and reflects our values.
Both a Mazama member and a board member, Chris’ familiarity with the organization provides him with critical insight into the successes and failures of past operating models, as well as our unique need to support our education programs through use of the lodge. Chris’ career in the hospitality industry means he also brings an acute understanding of the ins and outs of facility operations. Chris (who has, per board policy, disclosed a conflict of interest and does not vote on lodge-related matters) was hired specifically to:
1. Assess the lodge for health and safety compliance, and help us bring it up to code where needed 2. Develop and document standard operating and emergency management procedures 3. Identify and build relationships with potential vendors to support equipment, repairs, supplies, and food and beverage 4. Recommend a business model, including staffing operations and a reservation management platform
Inspired and excited by the prospect of what the lodge can ultimately be, it’s been an exercise in prioritization as we find solutions suited to our immediate needs and means as a non-profit. But with additional help from staff and volunteers, we’ve managed to make considerable progress in just five months. As we continue to chip away at both necessities and niceties, fire and kitchen safety now meet required standards, faucets, toilets, and pipes have been repaired throughout the building, procedure manuals have been created, preventative maintenance schedules have been established, and reliable phone and internet is on the way. As you may know, the lodge roof has been paid for thanks to members stepping up to make its fundraising campaign a success; the rest of the work has been supported by rental revenue earned over the summer from youth ski camps.
Key items we’re still working to resolve are the technical system for managing reservations and a staffing model that fulfills the need for both day-to-day management and big picture oversight. Cost efficiency is top-of-mind, though we recognize that a properly supported facility is a requirement of success.
Visually, the lodge still resembles itself with a few small exceptions. On the outside, the vent stack that protrudes from the west side of the roof has been rerouted and will be removed entirely with the new roof, as its position was contributing to the leaks. On the inside, staff is working to curate displays on the walls to tell the story of the lodge over the last 60 years. Additionally, membership has asked for a more flexible, user-friendly kitchen, as well as an environmentally sustainable carbon-neutral facility. Cautious to not get ahead of ourselves, we’re beginning to imagine what those larger upgrades might entail.
Again, first things first—we still have a few items to resolve before we can reopen to members. Once we’re up and running, we’ll be able to use real-time feedback to fine-tune our operations and generate the revenue we need to expand service. If you’d like to support the lodge, please consider attending our September 25 fundraiser, Steps Together, or making a charitable contribution in lieu of attendance. For the latest updates and announcements, keep your eyes on our eNews and the November/December MazamaBulletin.
