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Oregon lawmakers approve money to buy an iconic waterfall listed on Redfin

https://apnews.com/article/oregon-waterfall-for-sale-lawmakers-996de63462d49ec3ad9bee1629fb9488
44•surprisetalk•1h ago

Comments

toomuchtodo•1h ago
https://www.redfin.com/OR/Scotts-Mills/Abiqua-Falls-Lot-400-...

Seems like reasonable use of public dollars (~$2.1M) to protect and preserve a public good as public land.

UncleOxidant•53m ago
"Street View" LoL.
toomuchtodo•42m ago
https://maps.app.goo.gl/btpxqpNopb79DxBz7

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ddRk8RUzBfEd47ya7

UncleOxidant•28m ago
Yeah, it's a bit of a hike from the nearest street.
zamadatix•11m ago
Google Stream View
Aboutplants•29m ago
Really stunning piece of land. Glad it’s able to be protected
2OEH8eoCRo0•1h ago
Very cool visible basalt
jjulius•29m ago
... how is a comment observing the really cool basalt rock formations in the photo being downvoted? Most HN readers are (I'd assume) nerds, are we not allowed to nerd out about geography?
chowells•29m ago
A lot of the Cascade range is basalt, and you don't need to cut down very far to expose it. A result is that most waterways in Oregon have revealed a lot of basalt around them, at least in the mountains.
SBNakta•40m ago
It feels like it's back where it belongs.
cucumber3732842•39m ago
> Its owner, a nonprofit that supports a community of Benedictine monks, put it on the market earlier this year.

>The foundation put the property up for open auction in early February, meaning there was no minimum or maximum bid, she said. It accepted the offer the state made under the bill that passed.

>The listing worried fans of the natural wonder. But at the tail end of the legislative session this month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers stepped in and approved $2.1 million to buy the falls and its surrounding land.

Zero chance this wasn't arranged in some capacity off record.

Aboutplants•30m ago
One of the rare times where I’m probably kind of ok with it
wing-_-nuts•25m ago
Drat! I was going to buy this and put the entrance to my secret lair behind the waterfall. I would have gotten away with it too if not for those darn kids!
hadlock•14m ago
Probably they had been trying to sell it to the state for months/years/decades, and nothing had happened, so they escalated. Here in California in east bay there are thousands of acres of land around Mt. Diablo that are held by a non profit trust because the state/parks department is too lazy to aquire it/don't have funds to manage it. The privately owned/managed land around Mt. Diablo is roughly equal in size to the state park it surrounds.
bombcar•8m ago
This kind of thing exists in many places in the USA for many reasons (tax relief, government stupidity or inability or lack of funds, etc).

Sometimes the government is forbidden from buying land but nothing stops an individual or charity.

BeetleB•39m ago
I just want to remind everyone: Washington, Idaho and Oregon are terrible places to live.

In 2 of these states, it just rains all the time. You never ever want to visit these waterfalls, because you're perennially living in a waterfall. The local population is always depressed/suicidal. The only Oregonian of note got in trouble for that whole Nancy Kerrigan fiasco. And Washington is under the grip of Bezos and Gates. If you think Windows is bad ...

And Idaho, is, well, Idaho. There's a reason people doubt its existence.[1] It's because there is absolutely nothing of note there.

Texas is great! Lots of land. Number 1 in green energy. Go there.

[1] https://www.facebook.com/groups/221739400799965/posts/302745...

jmcqk6•34m ago
Yep, this is sooo true. Washington and Oregon are especially terrible. I tell you what, you're going to be sitting in traffic in Seattle just as much as you do in LA. And it's all very expensive. Texas is a much better decision.
Aboutplants•29m ago
Have you seen Texas city traffic lately?
BeetleB•26m ago
Have you visited Seattle in rush hour?

I kid you not when I say it took over 20 minutes for me to drive one block to get on to the freeway. There was no accident or other problem.

I go to LA often. Seattle is way worse.

petcat•33m ago
Yes everyone should stay away from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho! Terrible places to live! California is a dream compared to those hell-holes.
BeetleB•25m ago
Indeed! No one made a song with the title "Washington Dreamin". Same with Oregon and Idaho.
yoyohello13•21m ago
Is this a meme? I've never heard it before.
wing-_-nuts•21m ago
That I don't get about the PNW is the property prices of places hours away from any economic center that pays well enough to justify them. Are that many people still working remote for FAANG that those prices can be justified?
aliasxneo•14m ago
I guess the OP has never experienced any part of eastern Oregon or Washington.