Land use advocates at conference cite exploited, imperiled state of coast

0 Comments | Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), March, 2003

Byline: Scott Maben The Register-Guard

The Oregon Coast is under siege from rampant development, weak planning and the lack of guiding principles for protection of natural resources, a pair of environmentalists said Friday at the University of Oregon.

"It's probably Oregon's most sacred place," said Cameron LaFollette, a Salem volunteer with the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition and the land use watchdog group 1000 Friends of Oregon.

It's also one of the most exploited and ecologically imperiled parts of the state, LaFollette said in one of dozens of presentations this week at the annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the UO School of Law.

"There's no protection for some key coastal assets," she said. "No statewide...