Mayor Schamehorn’s Thoughts on the Planned Golf Land Swap
The Oregonian, June 06, 2015. Read original article here.
Article by guest columnist Mary Schamehorn
Bandon Land Swap Good for State and Community
Mike Keiser’s leadership has been critical in helping to restore the local economy in Bandon and Coos County. Since opening in 1999, the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort has brought more than 500 ongoing jobs, reported a $17.5 million payroll last year and provided contracting jobs for 300 caddies. The resort has put Bandon on the map and boosted tourism to the region.
Building on the success of Bandon Dunes, Keiser has focused on a new project, one that will give back to our local community in a different way. Over the past few years, Keiser has worked diligently with public entities, locals in the region and environmental nonprofit organizations to develop a neighboring public golf course and recreational area known as Bandon Muni.
Structured as a nonprofit, Bandon Muni will serve our region by providing affordable, accessible recreational activities including golf, walking and biking trails, bird watching and more. The project will employ up to 200 local students through a caddy-training program. Additionally, any profit from the site will go toward scholarships for students and fund the environmental control of gorse — an invasive species that has long plagued beach accessibility along the southern Oregon coast.
Creating opportunities like Bandon Muni is crucial for economic recovery in Oregon’s rural coastal communities. The state of Oregon and Bandon Muni have agreed to a mutually beneficial land swap that will allow the project to break ground and are currently awaiting approval from the Bureau of Land Management.
There have been environmental and procedural concerns raised, as reported in The Oregonian/OregonLive. However, these concerns are unnecessary in this case.
The deal creates more than a four-to-one return on investment for the state, yielding millions for future conservation work, including $2.5 million that will be set aside for future land acquisition, and $300,000 to fight the gorse infestation.
And Keiser has a demonstrated record of giving back to Coos County and living up to his commitments. In April, the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort opened its Wild Rivers Center, which provides a space for the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance. The alliance funds projects that empower the local community through conservation and economic development, partnering with the Coquille Watershed Association, Wild Rivers Land Trust and others since 2011.
Keiser has proven himself over and over again. His record of environmentally sensitive development at Bandon Dunes speaks for itself. And golf is a non-polluting industry, which, in this case, provides jobs for the locals and scholarships for students.
On a recent visit to the resort, I was struck by the number of young people in their 20s who have responsible jobs at the resort and most certainly would have had to leave Ban-don to find the kinds of jobs they now enjoy in their hometown.
Bandon Muni is a win-win for the local community and the state of Oregon. Not only should it be allowed to proceed, it should be supported, encouraged and welcomed.
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All photos by Kelly House, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Gorse grows into the trail at Bandon State Natural Area. Oregon's state parks department has agreed to trade this portion of the southern Oregon park to golf developer Mike Keiser, who will remove the invasive plant and build a golf course there.
After removing gorse, workers let the mulch stay on the ground to suffocate any lingering seedlings and block sunlight from reaching dormant seeds
Ben Fisher, park manager at Bullards Beach State Park, stands in a former gorse thicket that has been removed and replanted with American dune grass.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has begun an initiative to remove gorse from some of the hardest-hit areas. Here, dead gorse covers the ground at Bullards Beach State Park.
European beach grass is another prominent invasive on the Oregon coast. It stabilizes the dunes, making it easier for gorse to grow.
Spiny gorse covers much of the south coast, including the state park land golf developer Mike Keiser wants to buy. Keiser argues the land is too gorse-choked to serve as a usable park.
