Category: Press

DALLAS — One of Dallas Downtown Association’s goals is to make Dallas a bike-friendly town. It just received a big boost in the form of a $200,000 grant from the Oregon Main Street Revitalization Program.

The grant will help pay for preservation, seismic upgrades and remodeling to transform the upper floors of the Latitude One and Dallas Yoga & Balance Studio buildings in downtown Dallas into a bike hostel.

“It was very competitive, and we were funded to the fullest level, so we won the full $200,000 for the seismic retrofit and the modernization of the 904 Main St. building, which a lot of people know as Latitude One, and the yoga studio (115 SE Court St.),” said Gabriel Leon, the DDA manager. “The purpose of the Main Street Revitalization grant is to provide a spark for a lot of these rural main streets to become modernized economically that can support tourism and other economic development.”

The grant will cover about half the cost of converting the vacant space into a bike hostel that will have 30 to 40 beds and a few private rooms, Leon said.

He said once completed, the hostel will attract bicycle tourists to Dallas at the rate of 11,000 bed rentals per year. Those guests are likely to spend time and money in Dallas.

“Because of those 11,000 bed stays, the way we calculated it was, if each person spent about $35 to $40 on food and retail goods, which is a really low number, that would generate about $250,000 new investments in tourism dollars in our downtown, so that’s a really big deal,” Leon said. “Particularly for our restaurants and retail, that will be a big boost.”

The Oregon Heritage division of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department awarded 30 grants worth $5.2 million to Oregon Main Street Network organizations across the state for building projects that encourage economic revitalization, according to a OPRD press release.

The grant application received support from the Itemizer-Observer, the city of Dallas, local bicyclists, the Willamette Valley Visitors Association, and the Salem Area Trail Alliance, along with other bicycle coalitions in the area.

“The city of Dallas has considerable potential to be a magnet for bicycle-based tourism, with excellent nearby opportunities for both mountain biking and road cycling and cycle touring,” wrote Salem Area Trails Alliance President Beth Dayton in a letter of support for the project. “The hostel project would close a significant gap in tourism infrastructure by providing up to 30 beds at an affordable price in a very attractive sociable setting.”

Mark Thackray, the vice president of Mid-Valley Bicycle Club, said Dallas is near a coast-to-coast bicycle trail called the Adventure Cycling TransAmerica Route.

“The official route goes through Corvallis, up Highway 99W, very close to Dallas, Oregon,” he wrote in a letter of support. “In many towns along the route, one finds bicycle hostels and accommodations. They are enjoyed by bicycle tourists, who then spend additional dollars in the community during their stay.”

Marshall Guthrie, of Monmouth, who uses his bike as his primary form of transportation, said the project isn’t just about tourism, but supporting cycling as a viable option for commuting.

“Creating a culture of support for cycling means that all residents, especially low-income residents, can more easily and inexpensively get to work and businesses,” Guthrie wrote in his letter in favor of the project. “A bike-friendly community encourages more people to enjoy parks and public spaces, and improves their personal health as they do. Cycling leaves a community more vibrant, healthier, and better off.”

Leon said there’s still some work to do on financing before the project can start, but with the Main Street grant in hand, the renovation will move forward. He said the DDA and building owner Marlene Cox will apply for a National Trust for Historic Preservation Grant.

“That’s hyper-competitive. Last year, there were seven projects chosen and about 1,000 applied,” he said. “There are very, very narrow chances we are going to get it. We have a couple other smaller grants that we’ve been thinking of, and we are in line for about $20,000 of in-kind donations.”

Leon said he’s supportive of cycling as a form of transportation and historic preservation, so to be part of the team that wrote the grant is thrilling.

“I definitely was jumping up and down about it,” he said. “This was what we needed, so we’ll go forward with the project regardless.”

He said Dallas lacks amenities that cater to bicyclists, and he hopes that is project will begin to change that.

“I feel like this will kind of push Dallas in that direction of being more welcoming to bicyclists,” he said. “We are working on a lot of other projects that are adjacent to it, and I think it will be good for Dallas, both for downtown and the rest of the city’s development.”

With the seismic upgrade and work on electrical and plumbing, he said the grant will help preserve one of the features that makes downtown Dallas unique.

“I think everyone really appreciates the building. It’s kind of unique in that it’s a beautiful Victorian building. It’s on the courthouse square,” Leon said. “There’s not another one like it in Dallas.”

Originally published in the Polk County Itemizer-Observer

As you read this, the Oregon Dunes are disappearing. But at the same time, while this unfortunate situation unfolds, something is being done about it. And you can help.

For the last four years, a collaboration of user groups, individuals, resource agencies and Indian tribes have been working on solutions with the US Forest Service, which manages the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (ODNRA).

The problem, in two words, is invasive species: European beachgrass, Scotch Broom and gorse.

Before I continue the story, however, I must admit that people are correct when they point out that we’re all invasive species. It’s just that some are more robust than others. For example, if nothing is done about the Oregon Dunes, resource officials say they’ll be overgrown in less than 75 years.

This chilling prediction led to the formation of the aforementioned collaborative effort, known as Save the Oregon Dunes. Sharing details of their efforts is Florence-based Dina Plavis, USFS volunteer dunes interpreter, who’s made recent presentations at venues ranging from Southwestern Oregon Community College to “Pub Science Night” at 7 Devils Brewery in Coos Bay. She’ll speak at the June 4 First Tuesday Talk at Coos History Museum in Coos Bay, among other places.

At the talks, Dina said she and other volunteers will also be present at Dunes events such as the UTV Takeover and DuneFest, as well as at upcoming Earth Day events and at the various fairs and festivals coming up on the Central and South Coast. Volunteers are actively sought to help with the efforts, she said, ranging from staffing information booths for an hour or two to distributing Save The Dunes brochures, posters and other materials. More dates and details at the end of this article.

At the presentations, Dina explains European beachgrass was planted from the 1930s to 1950 to stabilize embankments at the mouths of coastal rivers so they wouldn’t silt in. Their roots consist of fibrous rhizomes that aggressively spread and overwhelm other species as well as open sand. Forest Service aerial photos show how the Dunes have been steadily getting overgrown through the decades. But why do we care? Dina said the answers take in everything from habitat preservation (there are more than 400 species out there, including the Siuslaw Hairy Necked tiger beetle, fastest insect on the planet) to recreation (ATVers, hikers, equestrians, anglers, boaters and paddlers) to economic stimulus (in 2017 the Dunes were estimated to have generated $271.1 million dollars in visitor spending).

In addition to clearing beachgrass and brush, giving presentations, and supporting Forest Service plans – about which more in a moment – Dina said a gratifying aspect is the participation by all user groups, from ATV riders to those who enjoy the Dunes’ vehicle-free areas. “We’re working together without other agendas, because division doesn’t do anything to solve problems,” she said.

Dina praised the ATV group Save the Riders Dunes for their work parties at the Bull Run and Signal Hill areas in the Dunes. At the 7 Devils presentation, riders group president Leo Cox and treasurer Jody Phillips discussed recent “smash the grass” events in which ATVers show up to do battle with invasives with everything from their ATVs to hand tools to bulldozers.

With Forest Service support, the collaborative developed goals of preserving the best of what’s left and restoring “landscape-scale” projects to get the sand moving again. The idea was to bulldoze a large swath of land from the foredune through the deflation plain to open sand, followed by spot application of herbicide to preserve the newly-opened area.

But the plan was derailed with the discovery of coastal martens – a small, furry mammal that lives in the relative shelter of the densely-forested deflation plain. “They didn’t want to divide the marten’s habitat in two, creating open sand, because martens don’t like to cross open sand as it exposes them to predators,” said Dina. It’s estimated there are less than 200 martens left, with endangered species designation expected by this summer.

So now they’ll try plan at Baker Beach at the north end of the dunes and evaluate its results. Dina noted the plan will not affect the 5600 acres of Dunes open to ATVers, except for lowering speed limits in some forested areas, a change actually supported by many ATV users.

Meantime, work parties are planned for further hand removal of the invasives. Individuals are also welcome to clear brush on their own. Gorse and European beachgrass must be completely dug out, but Scotch Broom can be trimmed to its crown to kill it. Stack cut brush and leave it to decay, but don’t put it on top of the native groundcover plant called kinnikinnick.

Brush and beachgrass removal sessions are planned for April 20 at Dellenback Dunes near Lakeside and April 27 at Honeyman State Park south of Florence. More volunteers are also needed in communities at the south end of the Dunes.

Space limitations here have necessitated a compressed overview of this subject; for more information, or to sign up for emails, or to make donations, check the website Saveoregondunes.org . The ATV rider group’s website is www.savetheridersdunes.com , with further details on their Facebook page.

Originally published in the South Coast Shopper