Introduction And Overview
The Oregon Country Fair
Oregon Country Fair (OCF) is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation that hosts an annual arts, crafts, education, and entertainment event on the site it owns near Veneta, Oregon. OCF emphasizes fellowship, innovation, integrity, non-violence, and reverence for the land.
The site, on the banks of the meandering Long Tom River, has been used for seasonal gatherings for thousands of years, as indicated by the archaeological evidence of camas-roasting ovens and flint knapping. It is flooded several times most winters. The site includes wetlands and uplands, forests and prairies, endemic and introduced plant and animal species, wildlife habitat, camp sites, parking lots, roads, bridges, public paths, and work zones. Indian Creek crosses the property in a constructed channel. The former agricultural land on the property has been retired from active production for at least three decades.
The Oregon Country Fair, in accordance with our policies and philosophies as stewards of the land, vows to restore and manage our lands and waters for the purpose of protecting and preserving its natural wonders, significant fields, forests, wetlands, rivers and streams, with all of its wildlife, in a natural state for the education, pleasure and recreation of the public now and in the future. With this vision of stewardship, the site will be managed as a natural forest with its full cycle of birth, growth, senescence, and decay.
Purpose of Plan
This plan is meant to be used as a guideline for land management decisions at the Oregon Country Fair. Balance is necessary in its application. Reverence for the land, health and safety of OCF participants, and the success of the Fair require compromise and judgement. No rule can cover all possible contingencies, and evolving knowledge dictates that the plan must also evolve. Consult the OCF Site Manager or the Land Use Management Planning (LUMP) committee to determine how proposed developments can follow these guidelines.
The OCF Board of Directors established the Land Use and Management Planning committee (LUMP) in 1991 and charged its members with developing a comprehensive overview of the site and a plan for its management. The Board voted in 1998 to adopt land use planning as a guiding principle.
LUMP committee members and volunteers have included biologists, botanists, land use planners, builders, landscape architects, wetland delineators, and OCF participants from all parts of the Fair. The recommendations contained in this plan are distilled from extensive site monitoring, the advice of experts, and OCF tradition. Interested parties are urged to contact the LUMP committee to participate in the evolution of this plan. Our thanks to all those who have contributed.
Components of plan
This document includes land use policies, implementation guidelines, subplans, a zone map, and zone descriptions. The different sections serve different needs. The following two sections (land use policies, implementation guidelines) list central, and concise, policies and implementation actions. The subplans include more detail on land use activities and site characteristics. The zone map and accompanying zone descriptions provide a geographical guide to land use. Where practical, the zone map and descriptions are cross-referenced to land use subplans.
Policies And Implementation
Land Use Policies
- Reverence for the land
- No brush cutting
- Plant native species
- Designate, enhance, and protect green zones
- Maintain wildlife habitat
- Preserve and restore forest understory
- Maximize carbon sequestration
- Temporary construction
- Health and safety of Fair participants
- No violence
- Green, barefoot-friendly paths
- No fireworks
- Campfire safety
- No dogs
- Safe drinking water
- Alter abled accessibility
- Reduce overcrowding
- Maintain good relationships with neighbors, larger community
- Promote education about, discovery of natural and cultural heritage
- Recycle, re-use, reduce, rethink
- Retain rustic character
- No campsites visible to the public
- Follow applicable land use laws
Implementation
Management
- Follow land use plan
- Use adaptive management to update land use plan
- Continue existing management practices where appropriate
- Minimize impacts on neighbors
- Educate the public, OCF family members
- Maintain existing infrastructure
- Call Archaeology, Communications, Construction, Water crews before you dig
- Protect, research archaeological sites
- Promote alternative energy
- Purchase and/or lease neighboring properties
- Train staff and volunteers in watershed stewardship
- Strengthen relationships with environmental partners
- Apply for grants to support wetland and riparian restoration
Roads
- Reduce the number of vehicles on site
- Promote alternative transportation
- Develop efficient, joyful entrances, exits from site
- Maintain securable control points and boundaries
- Discourage pedestrian traffic along Highway 126
- Facilitate safe pedestrian traffic along Suttle Road
- Minimize road footprint; develop roads to barest minimum necessary
- Develop and follow a maintenance schedule for roads and bridges
- Make bridges wildlife-friendly
Services
- Reduce waste, increase recycling
- Add toilets, showers and recycling stations
- Install water lines in all public areas
- Provide adequate hand washing stations, drinking fountains, grey water disposal
- Prohibit pit toilets
- Provide adequate systems for fire and dust control
Camping
- Develop off-site OCF camping and parking
- Provide secure vehicle and tent camp sites
- Design campsites as cul-de-sacs to minimize through traffic and maintain main paths
- Encourage development of off-site public camping
- Encourage Leave-No-Trace camping
Habitat
- Restore neglected and abused habitats
- Enhance some habitats, e.g. Indian Creek
- Identify and protect existing habitat
Waterways
- Protect natural water quality
- Minimize human-caused erosion; let natural riverbank erosion occur
- Don’t interfere with wood (log jams) in creek and river
- Secure floatables to prevent flood transport
- Remove dimensional debris from the Fair site
- No “permanent” structures within 100 feet of Indian Creek or Long Tom River
- Design for views of the river from paths
- Maintain water truck access to river
- Monitor and document water quality of year-round watercourses and floodwaters
Vegetation
- Plant and promote native species, especially rare endemic plants
- Manage vegetation for safety, shade, and stilt walkers
- Increase shade structures, plant shade trees
- Enforce no-brush-cutting, no nails in trees
- Irrigate paths and meadows to promote turf but avoid causing oak root rot
- Designate, map and protect green zones identified and proposed by Fair family
- Make native plants and staff resources available for restoration projects
- Leave fallen wood in the largest possible pieces to maximize carbon sequestration
- Avoid soil disturbance to minimize loss of stored carbon
Paths
- Develop and maintain emergency access, egress
- Reduce overcrowding in public areas, camp sites
- Widen public paths
- Open new public areas
- Redesign food areas to minimize conflict with path traffic
- Provide dining commons in food booth areas
- Open fire breaks and parks in loops
- Enforce booth setback guidelines
- Develop new standards for booth design
- Avoid treated lumber
- Reduce vehicle use on paths
Wetlands Plan
Description
Wetlands are characterized by hydrology, vegetation, and soil types. Wetland hydrology includes flooding or high water tables that saturate the root zone for extended periods (e.g. a week or more). Wetland vegetation has adaptations that enable growth in standing water or anaerobic soil. Hydric soils result from extended periods of saturation and anoxia; they show characteristic coloration, texture, and chemistry.
OCF wetlands include Willamette Valley prairie wetlands, ash-slough sedge swamps, channel-associated wetlands, the old Indian Creek channel, sphagnum bogs, open water, and communities characterized by threatened and endangered species such as Willamette Valley bittercress.
Goals
- Enhanced Indian Creek wetlands and connections between the Long Tom River and the Unorganized Territory
- Increased biodiversity and populations of native wetland species
- Functional wetlands of all types represented on OCF property
- Public education of values and importance of wetlands
- Development of management system compatible with wetlands and operation of the Fair
- Production of native wetland plants in a nursery
- Enhanced structural and habitat heterogeneity
Implementation
- A detailed inventory of OCF wetlands should be taken. A management plan should be developed and followed by consistent monitoring.
- Management for these community types might be as follows:
- Willamette Valley prairie wetlands (e.g. Trotter’s field): Mow for safety first. Inventory desirable plant species and mow after seed set when possible. Save seed for distribution. Use controlled burns in selected areas to foster fire-dependent wetland plants.
- Ash-slough sedge (e.g. tree island west of Kermit’s Lot): Prohibit camping, minimize traffic.
- Open water (e.g. stream, river, beaver ponds): See Indian Creek, Long Tom River management plans.
- Sphagnum bog (e.g. near Indian Creek): Keep out! Prevent activity, enhance where possible or practical, inventory and mark with interpretive signage for protection.
- Old Indian Creek: Allow camping, but minimize fill, drainage, and other alterations.
- Channel-associated wetlands (e.g. abandoned river channel wetlands): Identify and protect wetland pockets.
- Threatened and endangered plant communities (e.g. Willamette Valley bittercress): Identify, protect, determine best management practices, and minimize alterations in the interim.
Zones:
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13
Long Tom River Plan
Description
The Long Tom River at OCF is a low gradient, meandering river with a deep, largely stable channel characterized by cut banks and point bars. Above OCF, it drains from the eastern slope of the Coast Range. The hydrology is driven largely by rainfall, seeps, and springs. Floods are common in the winter, while summer flows are low. The river carries fine suspended sediment year-round.
Water quality problems include elevated temperatures, and high levels of nitrate, suspended solids, and particulates. The Veneta sewage treatment facility, upgraded in 2000-2001, discharges into the river just upstream from OCF from November to May and onto pasture on the east side of the river during the summer.
Snags, stumps, logs, and finer woody debris can be found in the channel, sometimes forming jams that stretch from bank to bank. The amount of woody debris is low compared with historic loading as a result of logging in the watershed and frequent debris removal from the channel.
Debris provides important habitat for aquatic life, acting as shelter for fish, basking sites for turtles, substrate for invertebrates, and collector of fine organic material for decomposers. The woody material redirects the current, contributing to scour holes, pools, streamside erosion, and off-channel flooding.
Wildlife in the main stem and flood zones includes beavers, nutria, otters, amphibians, birds including waterfowl and kingfishers, reptiles including turtles and snakes, cutthroat trout and other fish. No anadromous fish use the river above Fern Ridge Dam. The river acts as a migration corridor for some species and a barrier to migration for others.
Problems
On both banks of the river, riparian vegetation is well developed but is compromised on the east bank by a history of cattle grazing and on sections of the west bank by OCF paths, booths, and vehicle trails. Loss of riparian vegetation can lead to increased erosion, decreased filtration of runoff, reduced wildlife habitat, warming of the water, and impairment of scenic values. Overgrown riparian areas provide hiding spots for people avoiding the sweep.
Point bars continue to grow as cut banks slump, dropping soil, shrubby vegetation, and trees into the channel. Erosion of the river bank can cause loss of path and booth space, and steep, undercut banks that may pose the danger to people on paths. Jams and spans may divert the channel, leading to channel relocation.
Goals
- Increased riparian vegetation
- Improved water quality
- Improved habitat for fish and wildlife
- Safe pedestrian paths and booths
- Minimized human caused erosion
- Access for OCF pump trucks
- Minimized opportunity for trespassers and sneakers
- Views of the river from paths
Implementation
- Work closely with Long Tom Watershed Council.
- Train staff and volunteers in watershed stewardship.
- Plan for channel shifts.
- Prohibit new construction within 100 feet of the river.
- Build no booths along the river bank.
- Relocate existing river bank booths away from the river.
- Minimize the removal of woody debris from the river.
- Take action to improve water quality.
- Enhance riparian vegetation.
- Minimize bank stabilization efforts to soft armoring where appropriate.
- Reduce booth and path-related erosion.
- Secure or remove potential human-made flotsam from the flood zone.
- Minimize vehicle traffic on the banks and in the river.
- Orient paths to preserve river views.
- Prohibit game hunting.
- Preserve access for water trucks employed in fire and dust control.
Zone:
9
Indian Creek Plan
Description
Indian Creek drains into OCF property from the northwest, diffused through broad wetlands, and from the west, largely in two constructed channels. It passes through OCF property in a constructed channel that extends from the western edge of OCF property, through beaver dams in the Unorganized Territory, under bridges, to the Long Tom River. Vegetation fills the channel.
Where the stream traverses the parking lots, there are no significant trees and no riparian vegetation except for the plants growing in the channel and enhancement project areas. Trees and shrubs grow in the riparian zone at the east and west ends of the channel.
Indian Creek provides important habitat for many species. It is a corridor connecting the Long Tom River with the Unorganized Territory and the forests and wetlands to the west and north of OCF property. The beaver ponds retain water throughout the summer, providing fish habitat and drinking water for many animals and supporting the growth of riparian plants, which serve as food and shelter for wildlife.
The channel floods and drains the parking lots and the Unorganized Territory, recharging the aquifer, retaining and desynchronizing floods, and providing the periodic disturbance that is important to the maintenance of healthy wetlands ecosystems. Mature cutthroat trout travel up the stream during floods to spawn from late Fall to late Spring, depending on flows. The cutthroat fry use the beaver ponds, other pools, and shaded reaches as rearing habitat. The few surviving young trout use seasonal high water to migrate up and down the creek to establish territories of their own.
In 2001, undersized culverts were replaced with countersunk, oval culverts. Portions of the north bank were excavated to form a broader, more meandering channel with a lower gradient bank. Shade trees were planted on the south bank. The linear, trapezoidal channel is simple in form and provides little habitat diversity compared to the stream’s original channel.
Problems
The absence of meanders, pools, and large woody debris impoverishes the biological community. Steep banks prevent the growth of many riparian plants that need extended periods of flooding and drying. Erosion on steep banks and around undersized culverts can lead to loss of path space and structural problems around bridges. Water flow virtually ceases during the summer, leaving few pools and little standing water in many reaches. Many plant species cannot grow in the heavy clay soil.
The lack of riparian trees in the reaches through the parking lots causes a number of problems. Sunlight reaching the water’s surface may cause excessively high temperatures. The creek provides neither an attractive pedestrian corridor between the parking lots and the Fair entrance gates nor a good wildlife corridor between the Long Tom River and the Unorganized Territory.
Exotic species, such as bullfrogs and reed canary grass, are invading the channel. Bullfrogs eat young western pond turtles (a species thought to be endangered) and most native frogs, amphibians, and reptiles. Reed canary grass chokes out native species while providing little benefit for wildlife.
Lane County riparian setback regulations require 100-foot setback from Class 1 streams. Federal and state wetland regulations limit earthmoving activities in wetlands.
Goals
- Improved habitat for fish and wildlife
- Naturalized channel and riparian zone
- Water quality protection
- Better connectivity between the Long Tom River and the Unorganized Territory
- Shaded pedestrian corridor between the parking lots and the Fair entrances
- Rest areas and lounge areas along stream banks
- Minimized human-caused erosion at crossings and stream banks
- Education and information for family and guests
Implementation
- Avoid building new crossings or structures on stream banks
- Increase the structural complexity of the channel by terracing, widening, and grading the banks, installing large woody debris, building pools and allowing beavers to build dams
- Plant riparian trees and shrubs
- Install nest boxes and bat boxes
- Control bullfrogs and reed canary grass
- Plant native vegetation
- Develop rest areas, pedestrian paths, and interpretive signs
Zone:
7
Wildlife Plan
Description
The OCF site includes wetlands, uplands, grasslands, forests, and riparian and aquatic areas that provide habitat for many transient and resident species of animals. Resident vertebrates range from bats to trout. Seasonal visitors include elk, bear, cougar, and numerous other species. Some 120 species of birds have been documented, including at least 40 species that breed on the site, some nesting at the time of the Fair. Aquatic species include beavers, otters, Pacific tree frogs, cutthroat trout, lampreys, red-legged frogs, western pond turtles, and other fish, reptiles, amphibians. Aquatic and terrestrial arthropods abound, including a few considered to be pests.
Problems
The sudden influx of thousands of OCF family members and the public can lead to displacement of wildlife and unwanted contact. Although animals will move away if they are able, nesting adults and young animals may be unable to flee. Nests may be disturbed. Young may be abandoned. Well-meaning but untrained people may cause further impacts by intervening or by damaging critical habitat.
Reverence for the land and the law (including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act) dictate that proactive measures should be taken to prevent impacts on wildlife. Disturbance to nesting animals and critical habitat must be avoided.
Feral cats and non-native species (e.g., bullfrogs, Asian carp) may prey on resident animals.
Insect management may require protection (e.g., pollinators), monitoring (e.g., emerald ash borer) or control (e.g., wasps).
Goals
- Minimized impact on birds and other wildlife on site.
- Healthy pollinator populations.
- Protected refuges for displaced wildlife and nesting animals.
- No feral or predatory domestic cats on site.
- Reduced pest insect populations.
- Collaborative relationship with wildlife rehabilitation groups and government agencies.
- Clear channels of communication with wildlife professionals and inventory specialists for information and research.
- Easy reporting system for wildlife issues.
- Database to record and share observations.
- Public education.
Implementation
- Protect wildlife from human impacts, especially nesting birds and animals with young.
- Maintain refuges for displaced wildlife.
- Mark and protect active nests and critical habitat.
- Protect and enhance areas of high conservation priority.
- Remove feral cats from the site and educate Fair family and public to prevent cat release on site.
- Call the wildlife team for guidance, help, and wildlife rescue. Do not move nests or young without involvement of the wildlife team.
- Develop and implement reporting systems.
- Develop stewardship culture among Fair family and other groups and agencies.
- Follow all applicable wildlife-related codes and standards.
- Increase capacity for volunteers to contribute to OCF's stewardship.
- Treat wet areas with Bti to reduce mosquito populations.
- Protect bee hives and remove wasp nests that are health hazards.
- Monitor for invasive species including gypsy moths and emerald ash borers.
- Plant pollinator strips.
- Create programs for the public that explain and promote OCF's stewardship.
- Document and share conservation successes.
- Install interpretive signage and develop participatory programs.
- Develop survey and monitoring programs, data curation, habitat restoration, and education or demonstration projects.
Zones
All
Vegetation Management Plan
Description
The site includes mixed hardwood and conifer forest, grassland, wetland and riparian zones, and path and stage area. Native vegetation (including rare or endangered plant species), exotic plants (some invasive or pest species), lichens, fungi, and algae inhabit the site. The Fair recognizes our stewardship obligation to preserve our section of the rapidly–disappearing Willamette Valley riparian forest and floodplain. The Fair site serves as an important wildlife refuge and corridor linking the Fern Ridge/West Eugene wetlands, the Long Tom watershed, and Coast Range habitats.
Nursery areas are used to propagate vine maple, bigleaf maple, red osier dogwood, alder, and other species for use on site. Alice’s Wonderland includes gardens, orchard, and a greenhouse.
Forest communities include areas dominated by oak overstory, ash-slough sedge stands, ash-dominated wetlands, black oak-fir-pine uplands, a cascara-wild pear stand, and a transition strip dominated by black cottonwoods.
Grasslands include post-cultivation native wet prairie (e.g., Trotter’s Field), foxtail-dominated areas (e.g., Crafts Lot), old pasture (e.g., Dead Lot), and fescue-dominated areas (e.g., Chela Mela Meadow).
Wetlands and riparian areas include zones of spirea, willow, and cattail (e.g., Indian Creek and south side of Miss Piggy’s Lot); grasses and forbs on white clay (Miss Piggy’s Lot); old channel wetlands; upland levees (Long Tom River); old Indian Creek channel; a sphagnum bog; Indian Creek constructed channel; beaver ponds; and beaver-flooded uplands.
Path/lawn areas can be categorized into those areas with more permeable and fertile soil (e.g., Main Stage, River Loop, Left Bank, Xavanadu, Dragon Plaza—McBee silty clay loam) and those with poorly drained soil (e.g., East 13th—Linslaw loam). Shaded areas and frequently-flooded areas occur over both good soil and poor soil.
Goals
- Shade
- Wildflowers
- Dust control
- Dense understory
- Barefoot-friendly path
- Control of sheet and drip erosion
- Comprehensive plant list with mapped sites
- Vegetation buffers between campsites and paths
- Healthy, diverse native plant/fungal/algal/lichen communities
- Full cycle of germination, growth, senescence, death, and decay
- Control of invasive non-natives
- Solar access in selected areas
- Carbon sequestration
Implementation
- Plant shade trees
- Plant wildflowers
- Protect what we have
- Prohibit brush cutting
- Revegetate bare ground
- Foster native vegetation
- Use controlled burns
- Remove hazardous limbs
- Foster oaks over conifers
- Leave large logs to decay in the biggest pieces possible to maximize carbon storage
- Plant understory vegetation
- Manage for wildlife habitat
- Leave organic debris and duff
- Propagate native plants and trees
- Enhance Indian Creek vegetation
- Add soil to paths where necessary
- Continue mowing the parking lots
- Schedule mowing to allow seed set of native plants
- Control invasive and undesirable plants
- Identify, designate, map, and protect green zones
- Perform regular plant inventories and maintain a database
- Redesign lofts and booths to minimize impact on vegetation
- Consider planting dense vegetation along the Long Tom River
- Implement upland forest management plan to maximize biodiversity
- Monitor and maintain solar access
- Minimize soil disturbance to reduce loss of stored carbon
- Thin conifers to reduce drought stress and maximize carbon uptake
- Monitor for invasive species including the gypsy moth and the emerald ash borer
- Propagate borer-resistant tree species including alder and red cedar
- Follow Oregon Department of Agriculture notifications for invasive species
Zones:
All
OCF Upland Forest Management Plan
Description
OCF upland forest area includes land along Chickadee Lane and the south side of DUG's Green, and the northern side of the winery, some 38 acres in extent. The vegetation is dominated by conifers. This area contains roads, archaeological sites, wetland inclusions, dwellings, gardens, parking lots, industrial zones, and gathering places.
Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine are the most numerous conifers; grand fir, western red cedar, and yew are present. Common hardwoods include bigleaf maple, ash, and madrone. Understory includes poison oak, blackberry, snowberry, hazelnut, sword fern, and many other species.
There are several springboard-cut stumps, indicating hand-saw logging before World War II. These trees were large and probably began life before the first Euro-American settlers arrived in the 1840s. Several well-decomposed, low-cut stumps indicate chain-saw logging soon after WW II; those trees probably germinated after Euro-American occupation began. Cut stumps of blowdown trees on Alice's indicated germination in the 1920s or 1930s. There are a few large firs that are evidently older, but most of the firs in the uplands (including dahinda's acres and Zenn Achers) are probably about the same age.
The General Land Office map of 1854 shows the area as "oak and fir openings," a landscape type now known as oak savanna. The area was probably burned frequently by Native Americans, leaving large, solitary oaks and firs scattered amid grasslands. Cessation of burning in the early 19th century led to the expansion of fir forests throughout the valley. Although much of this area has been farmed since the middle 19th century, a 1936 aerial photo shows dense coniferous cover on Alice's.
Goals
- Safety
- Removal of hazard trees
- Continued usability to support event and year-round use
- Protection of archaeological artifacts
- Plan for seven generations
- Park-like character in appropriate areas
- Camping
- Native species
- Local eradication of poison oak
- Wildlife habitat, including corridors
- Biodiversity
- Rich detritus layer
- Standing snags
- Mixed age, mixed species trees
- Multi-story canopy
- Green, no-entry zones
- Education
- Habitat restoration
- Inventory of existing stands
- Interpretive signs, nature trails
- Management of horticultural plantings
- Sustainable wood production
- Maximized carbon sequestration
- Thinning to promote climate resilience and carbon uptake
Management zones
The Hub
Goals:
- continued industrial and administrative use
- removal of non-native pines
- specialized camping (AAAA, Elders)
- community center support area
Implementation:
- develop comprehensive plan for site development before planting
- remove non-native pines
Zenn Achers
Goals:
Implementation:
- maintain grounds and plantings as is until comprehensive plan is developed
- thin where needed
dahinda's acres
Goals:
- continued current use for camping, showers
- protected green zones
- open understory in camping areas
- maintain tall, open forest feeling
Implementation:
- maintain tree species diversity by selective thinning
- minimize thinning of largest trees to keep understory open
- thin conifers to promote drought resistance and maximize carbon uptake and storage
Alice's house and garden
(includes forested edge along Chickadee, outbuildings, and storage areas; extends from the Chickadee driveway to the west edge of the garden)
Goals:
- continued use for gatherings and storage
- safety for individuals and events
- fire safe zone around buildings
- park-like setting around Alice's house
- healthy rhododendrons and other mature plantings
- well-maintained buildings and garden
implementation:
- thin to reduce fire hazard, shade over garden
- maintain south woods as wildlife corridor
- remove poison oak
- thin conifers to promote drought resistance and maximize carbon uptake and storage
West Alice's (west of garden)
Goals:
Implementation:
- minimize disturbance
- remove blackberries and foster native species
- no camping
Alice's conifer forest (east of Alice's Chickadee driveway and west of Chicken Creek)
Goals:
- camping
- increased biological diversity (structural and species diversity)
- sustainable wood harvest
Implementation:
- thin conifers
- plant native understory species
- protect designated green zones
- thin conifers to promote drought resistance and maximize carbon uptake and storage
Chicken Creek (between Alice's fir forest and the yurt)
Goals:
- hardwood-dominated community
- dense understory
- camping
Implementation:
- preserve and promote hardwoods
- remove conifers that shade hardwoods
- protect designated green zones
- thin conifers to promote drought resistance and maximize carbon uptake and storage
DUG's Green/Henderson Woods
Goals:
- maintain fire, pedestrian lane
- protection for giant fir
Implementation:
- minimize impact to heritage trees
- mow road, maintain fence
- thin conifers to promote drought resistance and maximize carbon uptake and storage
Warebarn
Goals:
- camping, housing, industrial use
- protection for heritage trees
Implementation:
- maintain fire safety
- thin conifers to promote drought resistance and maximize carbon uptake and storage
Archaeology Plan
Description
The Oregon Country Fair site has evidence of more than 10,000 years of pre-historic and historic use. Archaeological sites are located in all zones. Most of these archaeological features are important for their research potential. When taken as a whole, the OCF’s archaeology presents a rare collection of chapters in the human story.
Problems
- There is a poor understanding among the Fair Family about the nature and fragility of archaeological data.
- OCF sponsored activity must not disturb known archaeological sites. This problem is compounded by the ill-defined boundaries of the known sites.
- Normal Fair site activities may reveal previously unknown sites. While this increases our research potential, it expands the areas that cannot be disturbed.
- Unauthorized excavations (e.g., sweep hideouts, rogue fire pits, impromptu latrines, leveling ground surface for camping) disturb archaeological evidence.
Goals
Protection of archaeological sites by:
- Zero ground disturbance in known archaeological sites.
- Minimal intrusion into unknown areas.
- Educating the Family and Fair goers about the Fair’s archaeology.
- Providing planning assistance for Fair related construction activities.
Implementation
- Avoid excavation.
- Develop systems for monitoring necessary excavations to gain knowledge about the distribution of archaeological resources.
- Include archaeology in project planning and implementation.
- Monitor known archaeological sites.
- Perform non-invasive research (e.g., magnetometer, ground penetrating radar).
- Provide educational displays and demonstrations.
Corridors & Entries Plan
Five passages provide entry to and exit from OCF property:
- Maple Gate, off Highway 126, is the main entrance for autos driven by the public. It leads to the parking lots and to South Park Road, which is used only by Fair family vehicles and service vehicles.
- Bus Road, off Suttle Road, is used by automobiles and buses. It leads to Nansleez Road and Chasem Road.
- Aero Road, off Suttle Road, is the main access for service vehicles and the exit for buses during the Fair. It is the main access route during the off-season. It leads to Chickadee Lane and Nansleez Road.
- Chickadee Lane, off Aero Road, is used only by Fair family vehicles and service vehicles. It leads to the Yurt, WareBarn, Sauna, Figure 8, and Smile Road.
- Far Side access is from Territorial Highway across City of Veneta’s land. OCF shares the access road from Highway 126 with the City of Veneta; it is used only by service and emergency vehicles.
Pedestrian corridors from the parking lots include parking lot roads or Bus Road to Chasem Road, then to the Dragon Plaza. When exiting, auto passengers retrace their steps from the Dragon Gate to their autos.
Bus passengers walk from the Bus Stop to Bus Admissions. They exit through the Dragon Gate and wait in the Twilight Zone before crossing Auntie Em Bridge to the Bus Stop.
Waiting zones include Dragon Plaza, Twilight Zone, Bus Stop and the corridor leading to Bus Admissions. Dragon Plaza functions as a gathering and staging/meeting spot, a social zone, and a public service zone, where pack check, Alter Abled assistance, and other services for public and Fair family are offered. The other waiting zones are used primarily by bus passengers waiting for outgoing buses.
Problems
- There is not enough open space for the public.
- Shade along the corridors, especially to and from the parking lots, is not adequate.
- Security may be difficult to maintain in parking lots and along corridors.
- The walking distance from the distant parking lots to the entrances may be excessive.
- Pedestrians and vehicles occupy the same roads.
- Egress from the parking lots may be slow at times.
- There needs to be more effort devoted to developing a sense of growing anticipation along pedestrian paths.
Goals
- Joyful entrances and exits; both portals and lateral views from buses and cars should be attractive.
- Shady and inviting pedestrian corridors with rest areas.
- Accessible alter-abled parking.
- Building excitement and anticipation along pedestrian corridors.
- Quicker and easier travel between parking lots and Dragon Plaza.
- Paths for pedestrians only; roads for cars only.
- Expanded public space west of Dragon Gate.
- Securable control points and boundaries.
- Less traffic congestion on public roads.
- More and wider egress routes.
Implementation
- Enlarge and increase the numbers of entrances and exits at public highways.
- Landscape, decorate, and place interpretive signage at entries, exits, and along corridors.
- Enhance Indian Creek as a pedestrian path; provide rest areas, entertainment.
- Establish security points, perimeters; maintain long axial views, water barriers, brush barriers.
- Provide shuttle services to and from parking lots, satellite lots, neighborhood campgrounds.
- Increase the use of alternative transportation.
- Expand public area outside Dragon Gate.
- Discourage pedestrian traffic along Highway 126.
- Facilitate safe pedestrian traffic along Suttle Road.
- Remove or screen unsightly features such as recycling stations and work areas.
Zones:
1, 2, 5, 7, 10
Loops Plan
Description
The Dragon Plaza, paths, and spaces open to OCF guests who pay admission total approximately 14 acres. Paths vary in width. Some segments are covered with good turf; others are bare dirt. Many different path segments can be identified, each with specific problems and needs.
Facilities include stages, vault and portable toilets, hand washing facilities, drinking fountains, water outlets, recycling kiosks, info booths, Solutions booth, Pack Check booth, admissions gates, bridges, medical stations, parks and plazas, a public art/crafts demo booth, history booths, a general store, vendors’ booths, and a performer’s booth.
Problems
Problems include overcrowding, poor pedestrian flow at peak hours, congestion around performers and food booths, inadequate space for recycling facilities, narrowness of the path, inadequate parks and rest areas, long lines for overused toilets, drinking fountains and hand wash stations spaced too far apart, lack of shade in some areas, inadequate non-public access and service routes, public sneaking into non-public areas, scouring of the path and release of flotsam by floods. Structures that impede flood flow result in damaging erosion. Bank erosion consumes path and booth space.
Goals
- Aesthetically appealing and functional booths that minimize damage to the environment (e.g., shading, flood scour, drip erosion)
- Reduced congestion around entertainers, food booths, other bottlenecks
- Increased path width, public space
- Safe path, especially around the river
- Distributed medical services
- Dust-free, barefoot-friendly path
- Reduced vehicle traffic in loops
- Better emergency exits and service roads
- Paths maintained for service vehicle access
- More space for facilities and services of all types
- More benches, parks, shady areas
- Minimized flood flow blockage
- Clear exits and transitions
- More stages, entertainment and educational areas, and interpretive signage
- Participatory, interactive features
- Reduced illegal camping, after-hours presence of unauthorized persons
- Inventory erosion problem areas
Implementation
- Follow the OCF Booth Construction and Maintenance Manual guidelines for all construction projects
- Increase open space between booths for firebreaks and parks
- Move booths back or relocate them to increase path width and reduce crowding
- Enforce booth setback guidelines for all remodeling and new construction
- Provide off-path line space for food booths, and off-path counter space for crafts booths
- Develop new standards for booth design
- Develop new public spaces, including new loops, mini-stages, and multipurpose stage
- Develop off-path entertainer’s parks, move stages so audiences don’t crowd paths
- Build low berms where appropriate and fences that block the view of stages from paths
- Promote and enforce wandering performer guidelines
- Site and orient stages to minimize sound conflicts; consider sound corridors
- Improve fencing, reduce exfiltration of public into non-public areas; use hidden wire fencing and brush barriers where appropriate
- Install more drinking fountains, toilets, hand wash stations, recycling kiosks, and other facilities
- Add showers and misting stations
- Increase the use of carts and low-impact motor vehicles while decreasing the number of cars and trucks on the paths
- Remove or modify flood-zone structures that impede flow or cause scour.
- Maintain paths for access by emergency and service vehicles
- Do regular post-Fair mapping, surveying, and traffic-flow analysis
- Encourage path watering for dust control
- Identify, map, and describe path segments, develop specific management plans for each segment
- Install more benches
- Plant trees
- Develop non-public emergency and service access and exit routes—wide enough for a Gator, with straight lines of sight for security—to critical points on the path, food booth clusters, medical stations, and backstage sites
- Develop emergency exits for public spaces; exits should be inconspicuous until needed, then obvious when opened
- Design for flood flow
- Barricade or fence dangerous sections of river bank
- Survey and monitor river bank erosion
- Remove structures from undercut river banks
- Re-route paths away from high erosion river bank areas
- Design and mark exits and transitions for easy identification
- Provide more areas for entertainment and education and install interpretive signage
- Develop participatory activities for the public
Design criteria for new public spaces
- Paths should be at minimum 20 feet wide
- Provide vistas of the Long Tom River, Indian Creek, wetlands, green zones
- Paths should curve to minimize lines of sight, provide a feeling of intimate spaces
- Make fences invisible but effective
- Provide off-path performers’ parks and rest stations
- Allow no two paths to be visible from one another through the woods
- Minimize acoustic conflict between performers’ sites
- Develop variety in path width, orientation, openness
- Build in shaded areas; plant trees for future shade
- Put booths in clusters of related products and services
- Provide dining areas and hand wash stations near food booth clusters
- Develop food booth line areas off paths
- Crafts booths should be walk-in or with lateral counters to keep browsers off the path
- Use water features, natural barriers to direct pedestrian traffic, prevent trespass
- Install drinking fountains, toilets, handwash stations, recycling kiosks
Zones:
1
Campground Plan
Description
Camping occurs primarily on the eastern one-third of the OCF site, on both sides of the river. Availability of services and road access varies widely.
Campsite types include vehicle camping, mixed tent/vehicle camping, tent-only camping, and behind-booth camping. Affinity groups occupy some sites; mixed groups without common affiliations occupy others.
Camping is prohibited in Maui, Waui, Da Woods (west), Unorganized Territory, Henderson Woods, vest pocket “wildernesses” in dahinda’s acres, in perimeter buffer zones and in designated green zones.
Problems include not enough campsites, overcrowding, damage to vegetation, inadequate facilities (such as toilets and potable water), and lack of quiet camping areas.
Goals
- Adequate area for camping
- Reduced damage to vegetation
- Adequate facilities within 200 feet of each campsite
- Affiliation-group and neighborhood-style campsites
- Safe, secure campsites
- Adequate emergency access
Implementation
Health and safety
- Develop and maintain emergency access and evacuation routes
- Designate campground hosts wherever camping occurs
- Provide adequate facilities: water, toilets, recycling, gray water disposal, bike racks, fire safety
- Reduce overcrowding
- Install campground addresses with signs
- Maintain alter abled accessibility at specific sites
- Use the Hub, Zenn Acres and Alice’s for special needs camping
Security
- Provide secure vehicle camping
- Design campsites as cul-de-sacs to minimize traffic
- Encourage development of off-site public camping
Environment
- Minimize damage to vegetation
- Pack it in, pack it out
- Discourage vehicle camping
- Untie vegetation before leaving
- Encourage leave-no-trace camping
- Maintain green zones between sites
- Replant from approved plant list
- Prohibit camping in critical habitat
- Camp in authorized campgrounds only
- Develop fire pan or common area in each campsite cluster
- Do not remove duff or downed wood
- Do not use cedar chips, hay for mulch, bedding
- Remove straw after event
Campground type
- Crew neighborhood/affinity groups
- Non-aligned camps
- Teen camp
- Quiet camp
- Alter abled
- Elder camp
- Vehicle-accessible and roadless camps
Location
- Shady areas where possible
- Out of view of public, neighbors, highway
- Booth camping behind booths
- Expand camping to adjacent properties
Zones:
1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11
Roads Plan
Roads on site range from gravel-surfaced, all-season roads to temporary corridors laid out through the parking lots. Vehicles include carts, bicycles, motorcycles, golf carts, automobiles, trucks, service vehicles, city buses, and charter buses. Uses include bus routes, access to booths and campsites, emergency services, facilities services, and pedestrian and vehicle access for the public and Fair family. Bridges include five culvert crossings, one timber bridge, and one temporary bridge.
Goals
- Unobstructed emergency access to all public and camping areas
- Safe passage for pedestrians
- Maintenance of wildlife corridor, and enhanced habitat, along Indian Creek
- Efficient operation of traffic flow, entrance and egress
- Offsite parking and shuttle service
- Efficient parking for public and Family
- Convenient parking and access for alter abled and senior citizens
- Off-loop access for food booths
Implementation
- Maintain existing roads as required
- Limit development of roads except where absolutely necessary
- Abandon some roads
- Add vehicle exit(s) from parking lots (e.g. at Dead Lot)
- Develop additional access through neighboring property from Suttle Road to WareBarn
- Build pedestrian paths separate from vehicle roads, add shade if possible
- Develop rest areas for pedestrians between parking lots and Dragon Plaza
- Improve pedestrian safety at Cabal Crossing
- Use wood chips as temporary fill where use of gravel is not indicated.
- Use geotextile under gravel.
- Employ shuttle buses throughout parking lots, to and from offsite lots and campgrounds
- Develop off-loop paths for servicing food booths, providing emergency access and egress
Detailed descriptions
Roads
Aero Road serves as the year-round entrance from Suttle Road, where there is a paved apron, to Chickadee Lane, and as a seasonal route to and from Nansleez Road. It crosses Nansleez Road, Cabal Crossing, and Chasem Road before joining Middle Parking Road. It is a public road between Suttle Road and Chickadee Lane. It is used for bus and car exit during the Fair. Surfaced with gravel, it is an all-season road except during floods. It is two-lane in part and one-lane in part. Problems include occasional pedestrian use, brush intrusion, height and width clearance, one-lane width from the gate to Nansleez, a route that is not straight enough for ease of bus passage, and a possible need for a culvert at the old Indian Creek channel. Regular maintenance is required.
Bus Road is an event entrance from Suttle Road (with a gated entry) for pedestrians, public vehicles, buses, staff and booth traffic, and service traffic, but has little use off-season. It serves as the main entrance for heavy equipment and a bus exit if necessary. It is two-lane, gravelled, and all-season to Nansleez Road. It crosses John Wayne Bridge (two-lane width) and tees at Chasem Road. Regular maintenance is required.
Chasem Road is a seasonal, unsurfaced road that parallels, and is on the south side of, Indian Creek between the northwest corner of Trotter’s Field and Refer Bridge. It is spot filled with three-quarter minus rock. It is used for vehicle and pedestrian traffic between the parking lots and the Dragon Plaza/Castle Gate. It needs occasional grading and spot maintenance. In the future, it may be re-routed to accommodate Indian Creek enhancement. It should not be graveled.
Chickadee Lane is a public road from Aero Road to the OCF back gate. It provides access to Zenn Acres, the Hub, Marshall’s Landing, dahinda’s acres camping, the yurt, and the WareBarn area. It is graded, two lane, graveled, and, except during high floods, all-weather. It is the main off-season access to the OCF site. It should be maintained by regular grading and gravelling as required.
Cord Road, now impassible, extends along the west side of OCF property from Suttle Road to the Dead Lot. It has been cut and graded but is now overgrown, bisected by beaver ponds and channels, and unsuitable for vehicles. It is used by security patrols. It should not be maintained or developed but should be allowed to revert to nature.
South Park Road (formerly Fire Road), on the southeast side of OCF property, extends from Maple Gate/Back Lot to the eastern side of Craft Lot. Its surface is graded (but rutted) dirt. It provides seasonal access to East Parking Road, Craft Lot, Left Bank, and the water truck fill-up. It is used by campers, the Peach Truck, security, emergency vehicles, and service vehicles. Parking by campers’ vehicles constricts the road and may pose problems for large vehicles. It should be graded and provided with turnouts, and brush clearance should be maintained, to provide access for water truck fill-up, Left Bank service vehicles, and emergency vehicles. No gravel should be applied. Wood chips may be used to fill mudholes.
Green Bus Road/Snivel Lane/Smile Road connects the Bus Stop with the WareBarn area. It provides all-season access (except during floods) to the recycling dock, Main Camp, dahinda’s acres camping, and the WareBarn. Green Bus and Snivel are graveled; Smile Road is dirt-surfaced and rather rough. Pedestrians, service vehicles, and emergency vehicles use the road. One-way with turnouts. Needs periodic grading and graveling (especially Snivel Lane) and may require a culvert at the old Indian Creek channel. Hub Hill Road joins Snivel Lane and The Hub. It should be maintained for all-season access to the Main Camp area (except for floods).
Henderson Road is a minimal road between Aero Road and Bus Road. It is poorly graded, has little clearance, is not suitable for vehicle traffic, and is used for occasional pedestrian traffic, security, and emergency access only. It is in an area of archaeological interest. No digging or development should be allowed. It should be mowed and brush should be trimmed
Maple Lane is the main public entrance to the parking lots during the event. It runs from Highway 126, at Maple Gate, to Chasem Road, where it becomes South Trotter Road. It is graveled for approximately 20% of its length. Problems arise when the ground is wet, and traffic must be rerouted to skirt mudholes. The underlying earth is largely hydric (wetland) soil. Maintenance includes light grading of the dirt surface. Low priority for improvement.
Moz Road provides pedestrian (primarily entertainers) and service access from the WareBarn area to Main Stage and Whitebird. It is one lane, graded, and graveled, and often wet where it crosses the old Indian Creek channel. Maintenance includes periodic gravel supplementation, grading, and brush pruning. No additional development is indicated.
Nansleez Road extends from Bus Road to the Bus Stop and Green Bus Road. It is graveled and all-weather (except during floods). During the public hours of the event, it is used by buses and emergency vehicles only. Regular maintenance (grading and rock application) is required. It is a high priority for improvement, especially at its intersection with Aero Road. It may be widened to allow two-way bus traffic.
Parking lot roads (West Parking Road, West Trotter’s Field Road, Middle Parking Road, Craft Loop) are used for access to parking lots. They are rutted, grass-surfaced seasonal roads that should be graded occasionally but should not be developed further.
Far Side Roads Two roads provide access to the Far Side. Line Drive is a leased seasonal access road crossing City of Veneta property from Territorial. The Road Not Taken from Highway 126 is owned by OCF and the City of Veneta and used only for emergency and service vehicles.
Bridges
Auntie Em Bridge links the Bus Stop with the Bus Waiting area. It is used by pedestrians and occasionally by vehicles. It has an oval, countersunk culvert with square-cut ends (installed in 2001) that is 24 feet long, nine feet wide, with approximately four foot clearance above the substrate infill. The roadway, covered with gravel mixed with sandy soil, is approximately 19 feet wide. This bridge should be inspected and maintained yearly.
Cabal Crossing connects Aero Road with Middle Parking Road. Its oval, countersunk culvert, installed in 2001, has square-cut ends and is 39 feet long and nine feet wide, with approximately four foot clearance above the substrate infill. The two-lane gravel surface is 25 feet wide and is used by vehicles and pedestrians. It should be inspected and maintained yearly.
Jill’s Crossing is an arched-deck truss timber bridge built in 1991 between the Left Bank and Strawberry Lane. It is used only by pedestrians. Its length is 44 feet, its deck is 14 feet wide (with 18-foot beams and center extensions to 30 foot width) and 15 feet above the channel bottom. It was rebuilt in 2003. It should be inspected, cleaned, and maintained regularly. Off-season weather protection is strongly advised to reduce decay of the untreated timbers.
John Wayne Bridge (Bus Road) has an oval, countersunk culvert, installed in 2001, with square-cut ends, a length of 45 feet and a width of nine feet, with approximately three feet of clearance above the substrate infill. The two-lane gravel surface is 25 feet wide. It is used by pedestrians, emergency vehicles, service vehicles, and autos. It is the main Indian Creek crossing for heavy equipment. It should be inspected and maintained yearly.
Refer Bridge (Green Bus Road) has an oval, countersunk culvert, installed in 2001, with square-cut ends, a length of 32 feet and a width of nine feet, with approximately four feet of clearance above the substrate infill. The roadway is 19 feet wide and covered with soil. It is used primarily by pedestrians. This bridge often experiences erosion during floods. It should be inspected and maintained yearly.
Volunteer Bridge is a culvert crossing between Strawberry Lane and the Left Bank, used primarily by foot traffic. It has a countersunk six-foot diameter culvert with diagonally cut ends. Its grass/dirt surface is 18 feet wide, 10 feet above the stream bottom. The channel is about 33 feet wide. The sides of the bridge and the ends of the culvert are protected by gabions and riprap. It should be inspected yearly and the surface should be kept graded and grass-covered for pedestrian traffic. Damage in 2014 mandates replacement.
Temporary bridges: A temporary crossing between Pike Street and the Far Side is installed and removed each year. A second pedestrian bridge should be installed to the Far Side. A permanent, vehicle-capable bridge may be useful.
Zones:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11
Security/Land Use Plan
Description
Security land uses and concerns include lines of sight; corridors, roads, and paths; fences and barriers, both permanent and temporary, made of wood, wire, brush, and waterways; and structures, including observation posts and the Dragon tower, backpack check, communications center, and security stations.
Goals
- Controlled access for pedestrians and vehicles
- Emergency access routes
- Controllable perimeters
- Guideline enforcement
- Observation towers
- Neighborhood protection
- Long axial views
- Effective sweep
Implementation
- Create open lines of sight along perimeters, fences.
- Build effective fences and barriers.
- Prevent passage across Indian Creek, Long Tom River.
- Keep up staffing with Fair expansion.
- Develop neighborhood-style camping.
- Build cooperative relationships with neighbors, agencies, municipalities.
- Supplement security with communications technology.
- Locate security posts and camps at potential trouble spots.
- Build temporary or permanent towers at appropriate locations.
- Develop attractive exit paths and destinations for post-sweep.
- Create and maintain emergency access routes.
Zones:
all
Communications Plan
Description
The OCF communications system includes three subsystems: telephones, pagers, and radios.
The telephone system includes seven incoming lines for OCF use and two leased lines for pay phones. One pay phone is located near the Dragon Plaza and one is near Entertainment Camp. The OCF use system includes a central exchange in the WareBarn, buried and above-ground cables throughout the Figure Eight and Left Bank, and 72 extensions.
The pagers include a 100-watt portable mobile transmitter, 125 pagers in stock, a base antenna, and a 35-foot tower on the WareBarn.
The radio system includes a 60-watt repeater in the WareBarn, 40 OCF-owned hand-held UHF radios, rented UHF hand-helds, and a few mobile radios.
Goals
- Secure, reliable communications between all parts of the Fair.
Implementation
- Install repeaters in high radio-use areas, including White Bird and Traffic.
- Replace aging, unreliable equipment as necessary.
- Replace damaged underground lines with overhead cables.
Zones:
1, 5
Fire/Land Use Plan
Description
Infrastructure relevant to fire control and suppression includes the OCF water system; all roads, paths, and trails throughout the site, including access paths in non-public areas; four Fire Crew campsites, Alice's, Far Side, the Yurt, and Crafts Lot; four dedicated fire suppression trucks; three small Gator-mounted slip-in tanks units, one slip-in tank that may be carried by a pickup truck and one reserve water tender.
Fire hazards include unattended candles, campfires, cooking fires, and accidental and intentional fires in public spaces, open fields, parking lots, woods (with and without camping), structures, fuel depots, and the industrial zone around the WareBarn.
Fire breaks include roads, trails, streams, open areas, wetlands, and constructed fire breaks.
Problems
- Problems include poor access in some areas, excessive crowding in public spaces, the lack of emergency access and egress routes, too many parked cars, rough roads that slow emergency vehicles, illegal camping, excessive camping density, and a general lack of education about fire prevention.
Goals
- Education for fire safety and prevention
- Fire safety in all campgrounds and booths
- Water lines in all public spaces with hose connections available
- Emergency access and exit routes
- No uncontrolled, unplanned fires
- Adequate assets for emergency response
- Clear communication plan
Implementation
- Implement proactive fire prevention
- Educate the Fair family and guests about fire safety
- Provide fire-response training to Fair family
- Add water lines as public spaces are expanded
- Provide more fire suppression equipment in campgrounds
- Design, build, and maintain emergency routes
- Install fire breaks in loops and other potential trouble spots
- Work with rural, county, and state fire officials
- Encourage the use of fire pans instead of fire pits
- Trim overhanging vegetation from campfire areas
- Discourage tiki torches
Zones:
all
Electrical Power Plan
Description
The OCF electrical system includes 120/240-volt single-phase power from the grid, a 1.7 KW solar panel array tied to the grid, seasonally-installed solar power systems, portable gasoline and diesel generators, and power carts.
The Ware House 120/240-volt system includes an underground high-voltage line to a transformer and a 300-amp panel near Wolden Pond. From that meter panel and its sub-panels, underground lines go to Main Stage (200-amp panel), the caretaker’s Yurt (200-amp panel), Chillville (100-amp panel), and the pumphouse (200-amp panel). From the pumphouse, lines go to the Ware house (200-amp panel) and the Sauna (100-amp supply breaker). The Ware House panel supplies the communications center and offices.
The Hub has 120/240 volt single-phase power supplied by a transformer on the north side of Chickadee Lane. Its 200-amp main panel feeds several sub-panels, supplying electricity to the building and systems, an air compressor and walk-in cooler, the canvas yurt, and outbuildings. A bypass system for a generator is installed. The wiring and supply breaker to the yurt are rated at 150 amps.
Zenn Acres has 120/240 volt single-phase power supplied by a transformer on the north side of Chickadee Lane. It includes a 200-amp main panel and a sub-panel in the well house.
Alice’s Wonderland is supplied with 120/240 volt single-phase by an overhead cable from a transformer on a pole to the northwest of the house. Its 200-amp main panel supplies sub-panels in the well house and the Cow Palace, where power carts are recharged.
A transformer is installed on an elevated pad north of the Main Camp Kitchen. The buried high-voltage line that carries electricity between this transformer and the grid follows Snivel Lane and connects to an underground line at Chickadee Lane west of the Hub. This transformer feeds a 200-amp meter panel that supplies electricity to the Kitchen, Main Camp, Fair Central, the Recycling Dock, Traffic Camp, the Registration booth, and the Dragon. It receives electricity from the solar installation via a buried cable that crosses Auntie Em bridge.
Temporary solar- and/or battery-powered systems include battery carts, the Solar Roller (an alternative energy demonstration trailer), and PA systems at Shady Grove stage, Blue Moon stage, Kesey Stage, Stage Left, Hoarse Chorale stage, Chez Ray stage, spoken word stages, and Daredevil Stage. Solar recharging stations for food vendors’ batteries are located at Shady Grove, Blue Moon and Energy Park solar installations. A cell phone charging station is set up at Energy Park. Temporary solar installations and vehicles may be found at other locations.
Goals
- Adequate power delivered safely.
- Maximized use of renewables, minimized use of commercial power.
- Ambience of the Fair maintained.
- Maximized energy efficiency.
- Solar access maintained where appropriate.
- Annual net electrical production exceeding consumption.
- Alternative energy production visible to the public.
Implementation
- All permanent electrical systems should comply with code. All temporary electrical systems should be installed to code where practical and in a safe manner with proper overcurrent devices in all cases
- Replace diesel powered generators for reefer trucks with grid electricity.
- Size the inverted solar array to allow OCF production to exceed consumption over the course of a year.
- Use solar/battery/inverter power at communications facilities, shitters, stages other than Main Stage, and other sites where it is appropriate.
- Install charging stations at Hub Yurt for elders and AAAA campers and at the entrance for electric vehicles.
Zones:
1, 5, 11
Water Plan
Water use at OCF includes drinking water, showers, hand washing, Main Camp kitchen uses, recycling cleanup, food booth uses, dust control, fire suppression, irrigation, and domestic use. The OCF water system includes three water lines, five wells, a concrete reservoir, three pump/well houses, water trucks, hand powered hose carts, temporary reservoirs, drinking fountains, hand wash stations, and staff showers. Separate from the OCF system is the Sauna system, which includes a reservoir, water lines, showers, and tubs.
Water lines include distribution systems for potable water and non-potable water. Potable water lines, some 13,000 feet in length, extend from the concrete reservoir (Wolden Pond) to the well head at the Water Tower near the WareBarn to Main Stage plaza, then tee in both directions to span the entire Figure Eight and Left Bank paths. A separate potable water line from The Hub supplies Main Camp. The lines vary from 2.5 inches to 1.5 inches in diameter and have outlets on 75- to 100-foot spacing. Spur lines extend from the Figure 8 to the original Child Care, Main Camp and upper river loop. Wally's Way, Chela Mela Meadow, and Crafts Lot are served by a loop.
During the Fair, this system carries water from the reservoir, which is supplied with EWEB water transported in a tanker truck. At other times, this system is supplied from the well under the Water Tower and is used for irrigation. A separate two-inch water line for non-potable water, installed in 1995, extends some 2,500 feet from the well head at the Water Tower down Smile Road and Snivel Lane to the Recycling Dock and Nansleez Road, then out to the Pole Star Plaza. It includes outlets every 50 to 200 feet. It is supplied from the well. This line can be extended up Nansleez Road, to the parking lots, and/or to the Left Bank. This line operates throughout the Fair as shower water and fire control.
Reservoirs include Wolden Pond, a 16,000-gallon cast concrete reservoir with an eight-stage submersible pump, and a 1,200-gallon food-grade plastic reservoir that supplies well water to Energy Park showers. Approximately (100) 50-gallon food grade plastic water barrels supply water for outlying campsites, horses, and a few locations within the Figure 8. There are also approximately (70) 55-gallon steel barrels used for dust control within the Fair.
There are also at least 35 food booths that have elevated plastic reservoirs ranging from 250 to 500 gallons. Most of these reservoirs are gravity systems with quick connect fittings used to fill them from the water carts. The remaining food booths use 55 gallon barrels or smaller.
A water line is used to fill Wolden Pond and the Sauna reservoir from tanker trucks, parked at a location near the Art Barn, thus avoiding the heavily peopled Ware Barn plaza. This infrastructure includes about 700 feet of 3-inch diameter line buried shallow from the north property line across the lawn behind the Ware Barn and across Chickadee and into Wolden Pond.
Drinking fountains, hand wash stations, and main camp showers are supplied by the potable water system. Drinking fountains are distributed throughout the public areas of the Fair with one located near the Water Tower. Hand wash stations, with one to six outlets, are found near toilets and in porta-pot areas. Hand powered hose carts circulate through Fair every morning and evening and fill dust barrels and food booth reservoirs.
The well under the Water Tower, near the Ware Barn, is capable of delivering 50 gallons per minute and is approximately 125 feet deep. The water contains nitrates at levels that exceed drinking water standards; it is used for irrigation, dust and fire control, and domestic use at the Yurt and Ware Barn, where it is filtered through a reverse osmosis filter for potable water.
Zenn Acres has a 160-foot deep well. The water is very hard; it contains sulfur and iron but no nitrates. It has a 3/4 horsepower pump and produces about 8 gallons per minute. This water is used to supply shower water and handwash water for the Zenn Acres campground.
Alice's Wonderland has soft water (with a little iron but no sulfur or nitrates) from a 60-foot deep well. The 1.5-horsepower pump delivers 20 gallons per minute. This well supplies the screen house kitchen and Alice's campground with drinking water and handwash water and irrigation water for the garden.
The Hub has moderately hard water with iron from a 80-foot deep well. The 1.0-horsepower pump delivers 20 gallons per minute. This well supplies the Main Camp Kitchen for cooking and dishwashing, Marshall's Landing campground with drinking water, showers for the Hub, and handwash for the offices and barns at the Hub. Crew Services also uses this water for their coolers and drinks.
DUG's Green, acquired in Spring of 2013, has a household well that provides potable water. Depth of well, power of pump, and flow rate have yet to be determined.
Goals
- Adequate supplies of safe potable water, readily available, for public and Fair family.
- Quick access for water to fight fires.
- Irrigation for paths and plantings.
- Bottle filling stations at every drinking fountain.
- Handwash stations at each toilet location.
- Water conservation.
- On-site gray water disposal.
- Adequate water and facilities for washing reusables.
Implementation
- Install and maintain handwashing stations at every toilet site.
- Supply potable water to sites within 200 feet of every campsite.
- Use oversize mains when installing new water lines to accommodate future developments.
- Conform to all applicable building codes and standards.
- Increase storage capacity to supply water needs for 24 hours without resupply; add another reservoir.
- Plumb all public areas with potable water lines.
- Install drinking fountains on a maximum spacing of 500 feet in public areas.
- Develop on-site gray water disposal, demonstration projects.
Zones:
1, 4, 5, 11
Recycling/Land Use Plan
Description
The mission of the Recycling Crew is to lead the effort to minimize the waste impact of OCF, to work with other Fair organizations to reduce materials used and left behind, to educate Fair family and the public about reducing our impact, and to dispose of material left behind in the most environmentally responsible way.
Land use facilities include
- A dock where recyclables are processed and sorted (near Bus Road)
- Parking facilities for a fleet of vehicles
- Areas for overflow waste processing, barrel storage, and cardboard and compost processing and storage
- Durables processing areas (durables cleaning is hindered by grey water disposal problems)
- Collection kiosk locations in public paths and outlying areas
Goals
- Minimized generation of waste
- Maximized recycling
- Engagement of Fair family and the public in efforts to reduce waste
- Maintenance of a "Front of the Fair" presence for educating Fair family and the public
- Expansion of durable food ware program
- Improved grey water treatment
- Growth of services to match the growth of the Fair
Implementation
- Educate Fair family and the public about waste reduction and recycling
- Add durables inventory and improve grey water treatment facilities
- Maintain the visibility of the front of the fair presence
- Work with the Archaeology, LUMP, and Path Planning committees to site new services and facilities
Zones:
1,5
Zone Descriptions
Zone 1: Public Space
- Description: Paths, meadows, stages, parks, booths, Dragon Plaza, and other areas open to the public (excluding parking lots and roads).
- Current uses: Public participation at the Fair, off-hours and off-season use by Fair Family and guests, event camping.
- Future uses: Continue current use. Expand public areas, increase path width, develop more parks and fire breaks, improve shade and turf coverage, reduce dust, remove booths from river banks, develop emergency exits.
- Constraints: Manage for the annual event. Reduce erosion and flood-carried flotsam. Special Use Permit allows but limits off-season activities.
- Soils: 73 Linslaw, 79 McBee
Zone 2: Parking Lots
- Description: All parking lots open to public and staff vehicles.
- Current uses: Parking and unauthorized camping for public and staff, hay production, wetland habitat, roads, pedestrian corridors.
- Future uses: Parking, off-season recreational activities including camping in SCOF lot, wetland and creek enhancement, public space.
- Constraints: Maintain adequate parking for the event. Avoid draining existing wetlands.
- Soils: 73 Linslaw, 79 McBee
Zone 3: Event Camping, South Woods
- Description: Oak/ash/maple/conifer woods south and west of Craft Lot, south and east of Chela Mela Meadow.
- Current uses: Staff and booth seasonal camping, buffer zones, horse corrals, access roads, pocket wetlands.
- Future uses: Camping, infrastructure support, public paths and stages off Chela Mela Meadow, habitat conservation, access roads for services, booths, stages.
- Constraints: Proximity to highway may cause acoustic conflicts with stages. Road access must be maintained. Staff camping may move but booth camping should continue. Wetlands and habitat should be preserved. No off-season camping.
- Soils: 79 McBee
Zone 4: Event Camping, Old Indian Creek Channel
- Description: Traffic camp, Recycling camp, parts of dahinda’s acres and Zenn Achers, The Hub, Energy Park camping, Moz Road, Child Care, sauna and staff camping in old creek channel.
- Current uses: Seasonal camping for staff and booth members, wetlands, non-public paths and access roads and wildlife habitat.
- Future uses: Camping, public paths, services, habitat. Off-season camping only on property zoned RR-5.
- Soils: 73 Linslaw
Zone 5: WareBarn and Yurt
- Description: Includes uplands around permanent structures.
- Current uses: Caretaker’s residence, storage, year-round work areas, site office, electrical distribution, communications hut, seasonal camping, water storage and distribution, emergency and service access.
- Future uses: Continue current uses.
- Constraints: Seasonal floods block road access. Roads must be maintained for heavy vehicles, truck access, year-round staff access.
- Soils: 128B Veneta
Zone 6: Ash Woods
- Description: South woods west of Zone 3, Maui, Waui, and Henderson Woods.
- Current uses: Wildlife habitat, buffers, limited camping. Recycling near Bus Road.
- Future uses: Maintain current uses. Minimize impact on habitat. Enhance appearance along Bus Road. Off season nature walks.
- Constraints: Good wildlife, native plant habitat. Traffic noise from highway. Seasonal floods.
- Soils: 73 Linslaw, 79 McBee
Zone 7: Indian Creek
- Description: Constructed channel between Unorganized Territory and Long Tom River.
- Current uses: Wildlife habitat, water barrier, aesthetics and education.
- Future uses: Enhanced habitat and wildlife corridor, pedestrian route, rest and play areas.
- Constraints: Jurisdictional wetland, fish-bearing stream, seasonal floods,bridges need maintenance.
- Soils: 73 Linslaw
Zone 8: Unorganized Territory
- Description: Wetlands and uplands on west end of OCF property.
- Current and furture uses: Wildlife habitat. Stay out!
- Constraints: Wet area, beaver ponds, seasonal floods.
- Soils: 73 Linslaw, 98 Noti
Zone 9: Long Tom River
- Description: River, banks, natural levees, and riparian areas.
- Current uses: Water barrier, aesthetics, wildlife habitat.
- Future uses: Continue present use.
- Constraints: Erosion, channel meandering, floods, undercut banks.
- Soils: 79 McBee
Zone 10: Far Side
- Description: Sixty-two acres on the east bank of the Long Tom River. Mixed species riparian forest, wetlands, hay fields.
- Current uses: Wildlife habitat, seasonal OCF camping.
- Future uses: Staff and booth camping, wetland enhancement, wildlife habitat, greenway.
- Constraints: Zoning restricts uses. River crossings must be temporary. Seasonal floods. Campers’ vehicle access through the City of Veneta’s property.
- Soils: 79 McBee
Zone 11: Chickadee Lane
- Description: Twenty-eight acres dominated by coniferous forests, with pocket wetlands, along Chickadee Lane, including Alice’s Wonderland, DUG's Green, and the upland parts of Zenn Achers, The Hub, and dahinda’s acres. Includes residences, outbuildings, driveways, parking areas, wells, and gardens.
- Current uses: Year-round and seasonal camping for Fair family and guests, wetlands and wildlife habitat, service roads, storage, kitchen garden, meeting space, Culture Jam, potable and irrigation water, vehicle parking, work zone, environmental education.
- Future uses: Continue current uses; community center, off-season performance venue, expanded storage and work space, selective wood harvest, up to 25 events per year for 100 or fewer people.
- Constraints: Zoning restricts certain uses. Not included in OCF non-conforming use permit, cannot be used for public space as part of the Fair. Low areas flood. Forest needs management.
- Soils: 128B Veneta
Zone 12: Mauldin Marsh
- Description: Twenty-four acres west of and contiguous to the Unorganized Territory. Historically grazed by cattle. Recovering wetlands dominated by herbaceous plants, includes a few shrubs and trees and numerous woody saplings. Crossed by channelized tributaries of Indian Creek.
- Current and future uses: Wildlife habitat, wetland forest recovery and restoration.
- Constraints: Wet area with seasonal flooding. Needs management to promote native vegetation.
- Soils: 134 Wapato
Zone 13: Reserve Zone
- Description: Eleven acres west of Ridiculous Road. A fragmented landscape including seasonal flood channels, a hay field, woodlands, and a seasonal marsh. Historically grazed by cattle. Separated from the Outasite Lot by Ridiculous Road and a fence.
- Current uses: Haying.
- Future uses: Habitat restoration, camping, other uses.
- Constraints: Seasonal floods, wetlands.
- Soils: 79 McBee, 134 Wapato
Zone 14: Outer Limits Winery
- Description: Fifty-three acres of south-sloping land bordering on Highway 126 to the south, OCF Zone 13 (Reserve Zone) to the east, and neighboring properties to the north and west. Accessed by Vineyard Lane from Suttle Road and Winery Road from Highway 126 and an unimproved road from the Reserve Zone. The site includes approximately 15 acres of ash-dominated wetlands to the south, 17 acres of coniferous forest to the north, 1.5 acres of decrepit wine grapes, and grassland. Soils include Veneta loam, Salkum silt loam, Wapato silty clay loam and Linslaw loam. Buildings include a 1118-square foot house built in 1950, a 4410-square foot winery building with 24-foot eaves, a 888-square foot metal barn with 11-foot eaves and other outbuildings. Electrical service includes several 200-amp panels at the buildings and along the northern edge of the property.
- Current uses: Parking.
- Future uses: To be determined. Vineyard special use permit may allow public and Fair family events and gatherings.
- Constraints: Rural Comprehensive Plan zone is E40, exclusive farm use. Grape vines are infested with phylloxera.
- Soils: 73 Linslaw, 79 McBee, 98 Noti, 120B Salkum, 128B Veneta, 134 Wapato