Don’t Oregon’s land use planning laws and zoning restrictions protect land?

In 1973, Governor Tom McCall made a famous speech to the Oregon Legislature that set off a decade of new environmental protections, including a statewide land use policy and standards for planning and zoning for all cities and counties.

While Oregon's land use laws still provide communities with the tools to grow wisely, they do not always guarantee that our best lands will remain intact for future generations; they are subject to the tides of political change. Citizen-led land Trusts, can identify the most important and valuable lands in a region and work with communities and landowners to permanently protect them.