Islands

ReadA friend from Thailand inquired about the location of the islands that we live on - a Blogger choice in about me section. The island metaphor refers to the Violet Umpqua - an island of rural reality where fish can be fish. A place where consensus process gets footstomped by politics, but we are too stubborn not to keep acting while negotiating. Our Umpqua Basin Watershed Council focuses on replacing culverts that are fish passage barriers. (we accept donations - see cool link - Dr. Lenny is very active in the council)
ThisThe state of Oregon has 3,000,000, but rural Douglas County has 100,000 on an area the size of the state of Connecticut. Most of the state pop is north, centered around Portland - 3 hours drive away. The centerpiece are our Umpqua Watersheds - a three river system (NU, SU, U) that engulfs the entire county - from sources - springs or snowpack, through estuary. Half our land is locked up from harvest due to timber politics and we are now a poor indigenous people (as different from native people, who's original homeland is there - i use the term indigenous to be 10 year residents or longer.)