Grants Pass, OR – Something stinks in Josephine County, and it’s not just the smoky aftermath of Fourth of July fireworks. The ongoing saga surrounding the lucrative $2,320,000 offer for the Pipe Fork Wilderness Area has many residents scratching their heads and questioning the motives of their county commissioners, particularly John West.
The county’s budget is in desperate need of funds, yet the commissioners continue to deploy stall tactics that interfere with the profitable sale of a county tract of forest land. Instead of seizing the opportunity to bolster public health and safety, the commissioners are inexplicably advocating for the defunding of Josephine Public Health. This puzzling decision flies in the face of common sense, especially when preserving the environment and enhancing public services should be top priorities.
Negotiations for the Pipe Fork Wilderness Area have been dragging on since 2020 with two conservation groups – the Williams Community Forest Project and the Conservation Fund. Despite countless obstacles set by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC), these groups have repeatedly met all stipulations. Finally, they reached an agreement on the purchase price, only to face further obstructions from the commissioners.
Pipe Fork’s watershed provides essential drinking water, the land is a cherished outdoor recreation site, and it is home to endangered Port Orford cedar. The property’s adjacency to an existing Bureau of Land Management (BLM) research natural area underscores its environmental significance. The Conservation Fund has assured that the BLM intends to add the property to its research area, with conditions that include maintaining public access.
Everything seemed set until Commissioner John West, who owns the adjacent property, intervened. West claimed the sale price was too low, backed by an unpublished appraisal, and demanded an additional $750,000. The determined Williams group raised another $300,000, yet West and fellow Commissioner Herman Baertschiger continued to erect barriers, demanding proof of permanent public access and logging restrictions. Just last week, Commissioner Baertschiger made a surprising last-minute demand for a $200,000 nonrefundable escrow deposit (the previously agreed deposit was $10,000) and walked out of the meeting after the buyer representatives said they can’t do that by policy. Buyer representatives have said they will lose their current funding if a deal is not inked with the County by July 15th.
These demands contradict the very nature of BLM land, which is public by definition. Moreover, the commissioners’ initial plans to log the area would have temporarily destroyed some of its environmental value and public utility, making their current stance even more perplexing. Commissioner West even said last week there was no County plan to log this property, and yet the County’s plan to log the property was why this whole negotiation started in the first place almost five years ago. As West is the Commissioner liaison to County Forestry, he should have known better.
For the conservationists, the inconsistencies and contradictions are overwhelming. Commissioner Dan DeYoung, who has been part of the negotiations from the beginning, now fully supports the sale. Even Commissioner DeYoung appears baffled as to why West and Baertschiger persist in their obstruction.
The delay and defunding tactics raise serious questions about Commissioner West’s motives. His history of allegations of unethical behavior for personal gain adds a layer of suspicion to his current actions. Why does he continue to defund and delay a deal that would bring significant financial relief to the county and make the county’s timber portfolio even more financially productive for the benefit of Josephine County Juvenile Justice?
The most baffling aspect of this saga is the commissioners’ refusal to accept more than two million dollars during a time of extreme budget shortfalls. Residents are left wondering why their leaders are ignoring such a substantial financial opportunity while pushing unnecessary cuts to public health funding.
