The holidays traditionally mark the beginning of the giving season, when we reflect on our gifts and extend a helping hand to the causes that matter most to us.
View the Future (VtF), a community nonprofit has been close to my heart since I became a founding member twenty years ago. As 2023 comes to a close, I would like to share my personal journey and the passion that drives the VtF mission.
My story begins in 1986 when my husband, Norman, and I fell in love with the Central Oregon Coast and bought 27+ acres bordering Cape Perpetua. Being from the Midwest we had to educate ourselves about the history of this area, including how to rehabilitate our property and restore the natural forest. Among other tasks, we removed a decades-old, massive, illegal garbage dump, cleaned up damage from a 1974 mudslide, and planted over 4,000 seedling trees.
We were committed to sharing our breathtaking views with others and to completing a section of the Oregon Coast Trail that stopped at our property. We donated almost a half mile of our property which eventually enabled the Siuslaw National Forest to complete the trail up to Cape Perpetua. Naming the trail “Amanda” was important to me as part of my focus was to learn the local Indigenous history. With the generosity of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, those truths were finally revealed and shared. To complete our personal journey, we placed our property in a very restrictive irrevocable conservation easement.
With the clearcut of the Yachats viewshed in 1988, the horrific Gender Creek slide of 1997, and slides of 1999, all originating from clear-cuts of the acreage east and northeast of my property, it became clear that the rehabilitation of my small acreage was not enough to protect the local watershed, creeks and forestlands south of the Yachats River.
View the Future was formed in 2003 to preserve and protect the local natural environment and continue advocating for cultural preservation. We started as a grassroots organization with good intentions but little experience. We ran into roadblocks as we worked with the previous four owners of Yachats Ridge to try to acquire this property for preservation. Along the way, we learned a great deal and grew into the robust and competent organization we are today with an outstanding board of directors, 15 outstanding volunteers, and a 5-year strategic plan in place that we are actualizing. I can proudly say we have made strides toward that vision to preserve what is now 950+ acres extending from the southeast viewshed to Cape Perpetua’s Scenic Area border. We have chosen the name “Yachats Ridge” to refer to this stunning property in anticipation of its acquisition.
We have built meaningful relationships with governmental agencies, organizations, and individuals who all support our work. From those relationships, we may now have a possible take-out owner who sees what we see in this property, not only the potential for recreation and scenic beauty but also the challenges of rehabilitation, environmental and cultural preservation, and more.
We have begun a fundraising campaign with two main goals to support the stewardship activities necessary to restore Yachats Ridge:
- To help support the take-out owner with the costs of land rehabilitation and ongoing stewardship since that type of funding is usually not part of the acquisition allocation.
- To hire a program manager to facilitate the development of the management plan and to direct outreach and funding efforts so that View the Future can continue preserving and enhancing the natural world that makes Yachats the stunning and beloved place it has been for so many people.
Your support this giving season will help us continue this vital journey. Your gift will directly impact our efforts to achieve a more welcoming outdoor world of watershed and wildlife protection and additionally, make our area a place for everyone to explore, appreciate, and cherish for future generations. We thank you for your consideration.
Attached is a short video created by View the Future volunteer Carl Meibergen showcasing Yachats Ridge. https://youtu.be/nbAqV0ytfi0
Joanne Kittel
December 2023
