Jan Boucot voted for Measure 37 because she thought it was for the little guy. Pretty quickly, she realized it was a mistake. "I voted for Measure 37 because I understood it was for families to provide for immediate family members. Little did I know it was going to benefit people who chose to take a timber property that doesn't even have a home on it and convert it to subdivisions," says Jan.

Jan lives in Linn County — outside Lebanon — which she believes a lot of people forget about. "People in Oregon may not think about us and Measure 37, but we’ve got good land here that's for farming, timber and scenic views for tourism," explains Boucot.

Jan and her husband Pete, live on about 44 acres of productive farmland on which they raise angora goats for their wool, grow grass seed, hay and a variety of produce, some of which they sell to local restaurants. Their house dates to the 1880's. Their land is bordered by one of the 31 Measure 37 claims filed by Timber Services Inc.

The company has filed Measure 37 claims in order to change the use of about 4,000 acres of forests it owns in Linn County outside the county’s urban growth boundary. The claim demands the right to develop housing subdivisions for 800 homes. Jan and Pete oppose it.

The couple says that Timber Services Inc. logged the nearby property in 1992. In public documents, the company contends that, because reforestation of the land amounts to marginal at best, it is most suitable for development.

Jan disagrees. She says some trees are now about 18 feet tall and that the land should remain in timber use as a natural resource and to provide homes for the quail, wild turkeys, deer, elk and other species found in and around the property.

Jan knows that elsewhere in the state similar forests and farmlands are on track for development through the loopholes of Measure 37.

Subdivisions are not good neighbors for farms, says Boucot. And we cannot return to the natural state of our area once we’ve poured cement, altered drainage, and used up the ground water needed for our farm production. Increased traffic around wildlife and farm equipment operating next to a neighborhood both pose public safety concerns.

Measure 37 goes too far, says Boucot. It has opened the door to massive development and sacrifices some of our most valuable land, "which in Linn County is our biggest asset," she says.

"We ought to preserve it for future generations, which is what Measure 49 let's us do," says Jan.