February/March 1982 RAIN Page 19 Native Americans called it "Okanogan"—the rendezvous, a place for the gathering of the tribes. Okanogan County, Washington remains a rendezvous for new pioneers, alternative culture people and progressive young professionals seeking solid ground away from the shifting sand of urban America. Individually, they are working to build lives self-sufficient in the basic necessities. Collectively, they have organized against the depredation of developers and for a locally controlled energy and economic future based on renewable resources. Now representing a significant portion of the county's 33,000 population, they have become a political force recognized even by the conservative Okanogan business and political establishment. I. Knowing the land Each of the three bioregions represented in Okanogan County has its own distinct territory and landforms, making for striking diversity in a small area. The Cascades region is shaped like a thick horseshoe, the open end pointing south. Glaciated, Alpine ridges break far above the treeline along the horseshoe's western and northern sections. Smaller, but still considerable, pine-capped mountains climb to the ridges and extend the length of the horseshoe. The region is administered by the U.S. Forest Service, the northern part as wilderness, the remainder as land that sees frequent logging. The dry regions are two river valleys and surrounding buttes and promontories poking into the high country. The rivers are important watercourses from the mountains to the Columbia River, the county's southern boundary. The Methow River Valley resembles a thumb pushed into the open center of the Cascades horseshoe. The Okanogan River Valley is a finger running east of the Cascades region. Lower than surrounding mountains which catch most moisture that makes it past the Cascade Crest, the valleys are grassland and sagebrush country where the majority of the county's people live. About 9,000 dwell in the twin Okanogan Valley communities of Omak and Okanogan, the region's largest urban area. Omak focuses on trade. Okanogan, the county seat, has most government offices. In the Methow Valley, though ranching remains important, recreation-related businesses have grown with the opening of the first highway over the North Cascades. Still, apple orchards are the county's major source of income. Most are located in the warmer Okanogan Valley. They line the valley, drawing irrigation water from the river and mountain streams. Much of the Washington state crop comes from here, and packing sheds are a major local employer. The fall harvest provides work for alternative culture people and increasing numbers of Mexican migrants. The apple economy, prosperous in recent years, is not without problems. For the most part, it is a chemical-intensive monoculture heavily dependent on foreign markets. Massive new plantings of the past decade threaten overproduction and falling prices by the mid-1980s unless new markets are found. But the real economic problem right now is the,home building depression which has crashed the demand for Icxal wood products. Mills in both valleys have been mostly idle in recent months, contributing to an official county unemployment rate of 23 percent. People are hurting, but self-sufficient traditions of cutting your own firewood and growing your own food are helping many get by. Rising out of the Okanogan Vajley is the eastern region of the county, the Okanogan Highlands, relatively gentle mountains covered with grass at lower elevations and pine trees higher up. They resemble the Appalachians more than the sharp peaks to the west. Northern sections of the highlands are divided evenly between Forest Service land and other ownerships. Large cattle ranches used to dominate this area, but economic pressures have caused many subdivisions into 40-acre parcels. The southern portion of the highlands is part of the Colville Indian Reservation, now home to 3,000 members of 11 bands that once ranged across the inland Northwest. The modern Colvilles have created innovative social programs and fought landmark court battles over control of reservation land and water. The Colvilles are embarked on a new venture that has caused controversy in the tribe; an open pit copper-molybdenum mine planned for Mount Tolman near the center of the reservation. The tribal council last year approved a mining lease with AMAX Inc. Many younger and traditional tribal members remain opposed, though the mine also has many tribal supporters. A number of Colvilles are divided in their own souls, desiring the billions of dollars and hundreds of jobs the mine could give the tribe, and at the same time fearing it's impact on their land and culture. For now, the Mount Tolman mine remains in limbo, development delayed by the national recession. At the southeast corner of Okanogan County is its most famous landmark, the Grand Coulee Dam. The world's largest power plant, it remains an imposing monument to a past era of gargantuan construction projects. It also ended some of the Colville's best salmon runs. They have not forgotten. II. The newcomers One social worker who moved to the Okanogan many years ago said that when she first came, "There were no young people here." In those days, most young adults native to the county had left for the glittering attractions of the city. Those left behind were mostly older: ranchers and mountain people who held to the stubborn and sometimes ornery independence of the West; shopkeepers; loggers; mill workers; Native Americans; and multitudes of orchardists, many of whom were the children of Arkie and Okie migrants who came here in the 1930s seeking apple work. Those groups still represent the majority of the population. But a new element has been added, young adults with urban roots. They reflect at least four cultural styles. One style is fairly affluent. Its adherents tend to live in the Methow Valley, drawn there by spectacular scenery, sunny weather and recreational possibilities of the Cascades. These factors make the Methow prime habitat for migrating Californians as well as the Among the new settlers there are many links of friendship and common effort. most expensive land in the county. Many of these newcomers retain California connections, still earning their money there and making the Methow a second home. This group tends to be aware of recent trends in "new age" psychology and philosophy. A second style is basic alternative culture. Members of this group generally make simple livings from small-scale agriculture and orchard work. Many have new names like "Treebeard," "Morning- star," and "Buffalo." Some trace their alternative roots to Haight- Ashbury in the summer of love. The alternative people devote themselves mainly to building small homesteads and raising children. Most have some form of earth-centered spiritual practice. Concentrating in the Okanogan Highlands and remaining somewhat isolated from the county's mainstream, they are building their own cultural institutions. Among these are an irregularly issued alternative newspaper, a co-op store in the north Okanogan Valley town of Tonasket, a series of annual gatherings including spring and fall barter fairs, and several formal communities in the highlands. Those groups range from tightly-knit communes to loose confederations of families. A third style is represented by progressive young professionals: teachers, journalists, social workers, attorneys, ministers, adminis-
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