A Childhood Memory

My childhood home, the JH Ranch, has been around much longer than the publicized date of 1978. It came into being in 1940 with the purchase of 500 acres of treed land, a small meadow, an old red ranch house held together with square nails, and no indoor plumbing by J.D. “Proc” Proctor and his partner Harry (thus JH Ranch)!

My father had a dream which developed over the years to share what he referred to as “God’s Country” with fishing and hunting enthusiasts and to build a first class restaurant to be enjoyed by everyone. We celebrated many special events with Scott Valley and Siskiyou County families.

For any of you that that think the expansion of the JH Ranch will not have an effect on you, please reconsider. If this expansion is approved an organization that has ignored occupancy warnings by the County for years will be allowed to have up to 1600 people onsite, a population larger than both Etna and Ft. Jones combined. To cry “constitutional rights” in a land use case is ludicrous. Every business in Scott Valley and Siskiyou County abides by these rules and I am not sure why the current owners of the JH Ranch feel that these regulations do not apply to them! Every state, county and city has planning committees which are responsible for maintaining the quality and extent of development within their jurisdictions.

This area is well known for hunting, fishing and camping. Access is by a small narrow road, and while the “experts” say that over 400 cars an hour will not cause an issue, the people who live on this road have a different story to tell. The destruction that comes with this size of a constantly changing number of people can only be imagined. The quiet mountain trails will be overwhelmed, hunting and fishing would become compromised and the traffic will severely impact everyone up the French Creek and Miners Creek roads in addition to creating considerable more traffic on Hwy 3.

It saddens me greatly to see this area lose what made it so special in the first place. If you have not been up French Creek Road, take a drive and look at what is at stake, then use your voice, exert your voice and write a letter or attend the Siskiyou County Planning Commission meeting. This large of an operation has a place, but not in a tiny, rural glen nestled high in the Salmon Mountains!