 |
|
|
| 5/10/2007 1:10:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article
Comment on this article |  |
|
| The Marr Ranch property, shown above, borders the City of Joseph on its north side and the Nez Perce National Historic Park to, roughly, the south, making it a good candidate for linking up with other trails. Oregon Parks and Recreation Department photo |
|
Marr Ranch sale 'on again'
By Billie Jo Jannen
Wallowa County Chieftain
Oregon Parks and Recreation officials say they finally have a deal with K&B Family Limited Partnership and Steve Krieger for the purchase of the 61.93-acre Marr Ranch property.
Kreiger had originally announced the sale in early March, then, the following week, said he would not go through with the it if Wallowa County Land Trust continued to be involved and if the region's Indian tribes were to have anything to do with management of the property.
The land trust has since bowed out of the picture and the tribes' contribution will be confined to donating money toward the purchase through the Oregon Parks Trust.
According to Chris Havel, of OPRD, progress to date consists of a letter of understanding between OPRD and K&B that details the terms of the sale. Yet to come is a final purchase and sale agreement - the drafting of which could take several months.
Asked when he thought the sale might close, Havel estimated that it could be near the fall of this year.
Of the $4.1 million purchase price, $3.1 million will come from money dedicated by OPRD for parkland acquisitions from its share of the Oregon Lottery, Havel said. The remainder will come from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Nez Perce Tribe through a donation to the nonprofit Oregon State Parks Trust. The OSP will hold a share of title to the land, he added.
Once purchased, the park's offerings will, in part, be governed by the wishes of local residents: "The land may be best suited to light day uses," and would probably include simple trails and outdoor interpretive exhibits, Havel said.
Key to the property's desirability is its location between the City of Joseph and Wallowa Lake, according to Mayor Peggy Kite-Martin.
"Several generations have used that as a safe way to get to the lake and I'm thrilled that it's going to be open to the public again," Kite-Martin said. ""I'm happy that the State of Oregon recognized the importance of the corridor linking the City of Joseph to the Wallowa Lake State Park and the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area and the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. I think that's incredible."
Joseph will be among the communities consulted when the park is being designed, Havel said, and the region's tribes will also be invited to offer input, though no role in managing the park, which will share a boundary with the small cemetery containing the remains of Old Chief Joseph.
The location of the property, right next door to the Nez Perce National Historic Park and Old Chief Joseph monument, has made it of interest to the Northwest tribes and has contributed greatly to the heated and emotional politics that have characterized the property in the past.
Tim Nitz, of Nez Perce National Historic Park, which oversees the Old Chief Joseph Monument nearby has opined that the proximity of the two sites to each other make it a natural for a partnership between National Parks Service and the state parks department.
Havel said this is a distinct possibility: "The Oregon State Parks Trust may eventually sell its minority interest in the property to the National Park Service, and dedicate the funds to park development and operations," he said. Much would depend on how - and whether - the U.S. Congress ultimately will decide to fund another park in the area, according to Nitz.
The seven-member Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission voted unanimously in March to purchase the property in what Havel characterized in the Chieftain's March 15 story as a "complicated multi-party agreement" between K&B Limited Partnership, the three tribes with historic connections to the land, the Oregon Parks Trust and the Wallowa Land Trust.
Under the deal, the Nez Perce, Colville and Umatilla tribes would each have kicked in $300,000 for a project total of $900,000. The parks commission would pay about $3.2 million and the Wallowa Land Trust would pay an undecided amount after holding fundraisers for the project.
Within days, however, Krieger announced that the deal was off if the land trust and tribes were to be involved in the purchase and/or management of the property.
Krieger also e-mailed members of the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners on March 19 telling them that he intended to pursue legal action against the county to recoup the $40,000 he spent in fighting what he characterized as a frivolous lawsuit. He said he also intends to pursue a defamation suit against Nez Perce Tribal Attorney Geoffrey Whiting and another against tribal member Joe McCormack alleging that Krieger committed a crime by creating a road on the Marr property.
An existing plan to split the property will not be discarded until the sale is culminated.
|
Article Comment Submission Form
|
|
|
|
