Friends of Family Man – HRATS Post Canyon Update

By White Lotus Media on May 3, 2017 • ( 0 )

#LoveFamilyMan

Hello All,
We are sending this email to inform the community about the status of logging Family Man in Post Canyon.
Here are some basic facts about the area:

• Family Man is part of Hood River County’s 30,000 acre Tree Farm.
• The County receives over 30% of its budget from the sale of timber on the Tree Farm.
• The County Forestry Department is not currently planning on cutting trees at Family Man this year.
• The County Forestry Department does plan to cut trees in Family Man in the next few years. The plan is not set yet, but some form of commercial thinning is expected in the next few years.
• Family Man proper is about 16 acres or about 0.05% of the Tree Farm.
• The Flat area surrounding Family Man (Heart Attack Hill Parking to Lower 8 Track) is about 50 acres or about 0.17% of the Tree Farm.
• It is clear that the County’s Tree Farm is economically vital to the county. It is also clear that Family Man is an incredibly special place to our community. We as a community need to work together to keep Family Man a special place for years to come. To do this, we would like the community to document every time you and your family use Family Man and Post Canyon.

Posting pictures and comments to Instagram is the simplest way to do this. When you post to Instagram, you NEED to add #LoveFamilyMan to the caption or comments of the post so that we can create a record of our usage. This will establish a central place to see everyone’s posts about Family Man and create a record of how important Family Man is to our community.

This record is critical if we want to save Family Man.

Our goal is to make a convincing statement to the County Commission on how special Family Man is by the end of the season (fall 2017). We would like Family Man to be treated as a special place and not clear cut. These posts, and the record we create, will be part of our argument. It is our County Commission that can let us keep Family Man special for years to come.

Currently, the County Forestry Department is managing the tree farm as they have been asked by the County Commission. Their job is to create revenue for the County through timber sales while allowing recreational use of the tree farm lands as a secondary use. Family Man is part of this plan and currently has no designation to be treated differently. Our vision is to create a respectful and open dialogue with the County Commission and to share with them how their citizens value Family Man.

Any solution to keeping Family Man a special place and safe from clear cutting will need a monetary solution. Pleas to the County Commission to save Family Man solely because we love it will fall short. We as a community need to get creative to help offset the County’s lost revenue. Our argument to the county Commission will show Family Man’s value from many aspects.

We are meeting on meeting Tuesday May 9th at 7:00 in the upstairs room at Pfriem. You are welcome to join if you are interested in learning more or would like to help find solutions.

Updated information is planned to be posted at https://www.hrats.org/get_involved/friends-of-family-man

Please take time to post your use of Family Man on Instagram – EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU USE IT! Our strength lies in numbers. Remember #LoveFamilyMan .

Spread the word!
Thank you,
Friends of Family Man & HRATS