Jean Opheim traces her roots in Oregon back more than a century, to the days when her great grandparents traversed the Oregon Trail to stake their claim in the Pacific Northwest. Now, she says, thanks to Measure 37, the beautiful countryside she's called home for four decades is in danger of becoming a suburban tract home nightmare.

When asked how she feels about the real impact of Measure 37 on her beloved rural home, "If restrictions aren't placed on Measure 37 soon, we'll have one septic tank supplying the next well out here!"

Jean Opheim and her son live on 240 hilly acres outside McMinnville. There, they raise cattle and sell timber from time to time. When Measure 37 appeared on the ballot, she supported it. At last, she could do something with the 37 acres she owned nearby that were lying unused. After 37 passed, she filed for permission to build one home on the farmland, and got the green light. She put a mobile home on it and sold the land to her neighbor, who wanted to move into a smaller living space so his son could take over his farm and live in the family home.

"That worked out well," she says. "Their family can stay together now. The son moved his family into the main house and took over management of the farm. The father moved into the smaller place so he could be close by and help out."

But then Jean began to hear about the unintended consequences of Measure 37. Landholders like herself were subdividing their property and creating suburban sprawl across important farm and forests. "I guess if I wanted to, I could put 240 houses or more on my land," she says. "But why would I want to ruin it like that? We need to preserve our farmland, not put houses all over it!"

That's why she's supporting Measure 49 — to put some reasonable limits on a law that threatens to rob future Oregonians of the qualities that drew her great grandparents here so many years ago.

"I thought Measure 37 was about letting people like me put a house or two on our property," Jean says indignantly. "I didn't think it was about building a new city here in the country!"