Owners vs. Caretakers

LO citizens: I encourage all of you over the next few days/weeks to take some time to reflect upon the kind of individuals and community you desire to be.  Do you want to be proud owners of the land you live on and see this land as possession for selfish gain without thinking about how the decisions you make affect others, the world and future generations?  Or do you want to be seen as caretakers and see everything around you as a gift, not deserved but given out of grace from the Great Creator and passed down to us through the ages? Human beings need quiet spaces to be nurtured by nature that has been untouched by human hands in order to continue to be in touch with the One who started it all and by that Creator’s mercy and grace continues to sustain us on this earth.

I feel incredibly privileged to have had grandparents, John and Marjorie Emery, who lived all their days on this earth with caretaker hearts.  Although on paper they owned land, they never felt like that entitled them to do whatever they wanted with that land.  They saw it as a gift to be taken care of very thoughtfully for the sake of the creation, vegetation and creatures that were there LONG before any of us.  My Grandparents could have sold the Cooke’s Butte property to take care of themselves in their retirement and use that money for their own purposes.  Instead, they decided to deed that land to the City of Lake Oswego and all its citizens, trusting that it would forever be preserved as a “sacred place” for all of creation to enjoy together.  However, we recently witnessed history repeat itself, against my grandparent’s and the the community’s wishes for Cook’s Butte, with a third attempt to place a significant telecommunications facility on this land. We are pilgrims on this earth, just passing by……what kind of footprint do you as a community want to leave on this earth?

A group of LO citizens are circulating an initiative petition to qualify a measure for the November 2020 ballot so that all 27,000+ LO voters have an opportunity to vote on protecting LO natural parks and limit development that is inconsistent with maintaining them as natural habitats. To qualify, they need 4,365 LO registered voters to sign this official petition. They have already collected almost 50% of the signatures required, BUT time is short to meet the qualification window and every voting resident signature matters. LO citizens have an opportunity to make a positive contribution to your local community’s future for these special lands, home to abundant wildlife, this year. 

I encourage you to sign the petition to protect ALL LO natural parks, not just Cook’s Butte, to take care of them in a way that would forever enhance and respect what is there and never to do anything that would destroy the beautiful creation that is here for our health and enjoyment.  These spaces are quickly disappearing on earth. May LO be a community that stands up for what is right and good above desires for personal gain and influence. 

Please sign and mail your petition today: https://www.loveloparks.org/petition

Suzanne Emery
Granddaughter of Marjorie & John Emery