Restructuring of land and community in the remote rural west: the case of Wallowa County, Oregon

401 Pages·2011·4.57 MB·English

by  Jesse Abrams

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF

Jesse B. Abrams for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Resources presented
on April 7, 2011.
Title: Restructuring of Land and Community in the Remote Rural West: The Case of
Wallowa County, Oregon

Abstract approved:

___________________________________________________________________
John C. Bliss

Since at least the 1970s, rural areas in the western United States, as elsewhere across
the country and world, have been subject to social, economic, and political forces that
have resulted in novel demographic and land tenure trends when compared to previous
decades. Collectively, these processes of restructuring have created material effects in
the form of diversifying patterns of land ownership, use, and economic relations and at
the same time have precipitated social conflict regarding the legitimacy of various
claims on rural space. In this case study, I examine in detail the manifestation of these
interrelated material and symbolic dynamics within one particular community,
Wallowa County, Oregon, as it experiences a wave of new rural landowners and
associated changes in land access and use. I pay particular attention to the categories
of “amenity-oriented” and “production-oriented” landowners, as well as year-round
and seasonally-resident landowners, because these categories are situated at the center
of local discourse regarding land tenure and use dynamics. Methods for this study
include key informant interviews with 70 individuals, a mail-administered survey of
209 Wallowa County landowners, review of secondary data sources, and direct
observation as a member of the Wallowa County community. This case study includes
a land tenure and use history of Wallowa County, a review of pertinent quantitative
land ownership and use data, and analyses of the symbolic (discursive), material (land
use), and political dimensions of restructuring in Wallowa County. I discuss ways in
which observed patterns of land tenure and use reflect complex influences, based
ultimately in class, culture, livelihood, and associated identities and environmental
ideologies. I pay particular attention to the contradictory nature of narratives of land
ownership, rurality, and nonhuman nature and the ways in which these affect land uses
and land use politics. I close with a series of recommendations for rural communities
experiencing amenity-driven property turnover.
© Copyright by Jesse B. Abrams
April 7, 2011
All Rights Reserved
Restructuring of Land and Community in the Remote Rural West: The Case of
Wallowa County, Oregon

by
Jesse B. Abrams

A DISSERTATION

submitted to

Oregon State University

in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the
degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Presented April 7, 2011
Commencement June 2011
Doctor of Philosophy dissertation of Jesse B. Abrams presented on April 7, 2011

APPROVED:

_____________________________________________________________________
Major Professor, representing Forest Resources

_____________________________________________________________________
Head of the Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management

_____________________________________________________________________
Dean of the Graduate School

I understand that my dissertation will become part of the permanent collection of
Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my
dissertation to any reader upon request.

_____________________________________________________________________
Jesse B. Abrams, Author
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I relied on many people across all corners of the state of Oregon (and beyond) to make
this work a success, and they all deserve more thanks than I can possibly give here.
First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my major professor, John Bliss, for
unending mentorship and support, challenging me on my assumptions, helping me to
improve my writing, and offering his humor, generosity, musical skills, and, on one
occasion, his bike throughout my graduate career. I am also eternally grateful for the
support of the rest of my committee: Hannah Gosnell, Kate MacTavish, Paul
Doescher, and Bill Lunch. I received support, assistance, and camaraderie from too
many people in Wallowa County to name, but here’s a feeble attempt: thanks to Randy
Wortman, Dawn Smith, Harold Black, Lance Bailey, Dana Roberts, Anne Melville,
and Jackie Parker for helping me access public information at the county courthouse;
thanks to Ben Boswell, Gwen Trice, Rod Childers, Bud Birkmaier, Janie and Doug
Tippett, Mark Porter, Mike Hayward, Bruce Dunn, Diane Snyder, Cory Carman, Dave
Flynn, Jean Pekarek, James Monteith, Phyllis Johnson, Joe McCormack, and the
Natural Resource Advisory Committee for feedback on my research and for their help
connecting me to local information and resources. Thanks to friends that helped me
feel at home in Wallowa County: the Thursday night Hydrant karaoke crowd, Nancy
Knoble, Julia Lakes, Elsbeth Otto, Lynne Price, Bill Coates, and especially Wynne
Auld. A special thanks to Don Harker for support, feedback, and remaining interested
in my work even when it wasn’t that interesting. A huge thanks to Mary Ann Burrows
for her support, enthusiasm, and delicious huckleberry pie. And I am extremely
grateful for the support of Wallowa Resources and Wallowa Mountain Institute,
especially Nils Christoffersen, Jim Henson, and Holly Akenson, as well as the rest of
the WR staff. A huge thank you to all the Wallowa County residents and landowners
who responded to interview requests, filled out surveys, and showed up at community
forums—I truly appreciate your time, thoughtfulness, and generosity. I was also lucky
enough to have the support and encouragement of fellow graduate students, including
Aaron Thiel, Chris Miwa, Laura Dlugolecki, Shiloh Sundstrom, Melanie Stidham,
Chris Dunn, Garrett Meigs, Cassie Hebel, Jonathan Thompson, Todd Flournoy, and
the social theory club: Erin Kelly, Kas Guillozet, Jim Duncan, Sera Janson, and
Lauren Redmore. Big thanks to Emily Comfort for being supportive the whole way.
Big thanks to Emily Jane Davis for challenging me to be smarter than I’m inclined to
be. A major league thanks goes to Gary Breed, without whom I may never have
finished my dissertation. Many thanks to David Zahler for assistance and advice.
Thanks to Roger Hammer for use of the data and imagery in figure 3.2. I sincerely
thank the entities that have provided financial support to my research and graduate
program: The Starker Family Foundation; the Rural Studies Program at Oregon State
University; the Saubert Family Fellowship and Dorothy Hoener Fellowship through
Oregon State University’s College of Forestry; Oregon Lottery Scholarship; Wallowa
Resources; and the Ford Foundation’s Community Forestry and Environmental
Research Partnerships. And thank you to everyone else who helped along the way.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Chapter 1. Introduction: Wallowa County, Oregon as a case of rural restructuring ...... 1
The setting .................................................................................................................. 4
Wallowa County in context ..................................................................................... 12
Framework for a case study of Wallowa County ..................................................... 31
Methodology ............................................................................................................ 35
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 45
Chapter 2. Land tenure and use history of Wallowa County ....................................... 47
Land tenure and use among the Nez Perce .............................................................. 48
Changes in Nez Perce land use with colonization ................................................... 61
Early EuroAmerican land tenure and use ................................................................ 83
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 127
Chapter 3. The contemporary context: exploring patterns of demographic and land
ownership change ....................................................................................................... 131
Who is moving to Wallowa County? ..................................................................... 132
Who owns Wallowa County? ................................................................................ 136
A typology of Wallowa County landowners ......................................................... 157
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 168
Chapter 4. Mythologies and markets: exploring the tensions over rural land ........... 171
Constructing reality ................................................................................................ 172
Constructing rurality .............................................................................................. 176
Constructing Wallowa County ............................................................................... 186
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 211
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)

Page
Chapter 5. Exploring land use in contemporary Wallowa County ............................ 214
Theoretical background ......................................................................................... 215
Land use patterns in a restructuring Wallowa County ........................................... 233
Learning ................................................................................................................. 258
The role of incentives in driving land use .............................................................. 271
Changing land uses among producers .................................................................... 276
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 279
Chapter 6. The politics of marginality: discourses of development in Wallowa
County. ....................................................................................................................... 283
Policy background ................................................................................................. 284
Governance, rural restructuring, and property rights ............................................. 287
The politics of marginality in Wallowa County .................................................... 290
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 299
Chapter 7. Conclusion: reconstructing theory and exploring community responses
to restructuring ........................................................................................................... 302
Individual / household scale ................................................................................... 303
A proposed model of nonindustrial landowner behavior ....................................... 308
Community scale ................................................................................................... 313
Recommendations in brief ..................................................................................... 324
Closing thoughts and questions for further consideration ..................................... 329
Bibliography............................................................................................................... 333
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... 362