As soon as Oregon state Sen. Fred Girod, R-Silverton, heard about the sale of one of the state’s most iconic waterfalls, which happens to be in his district, he knew he had to act fast.
A 40-acre parcel of land containing Abiqua Falls, a 92-foot waterfall just outside Silverton, was listed for sale last week by the Abbey Foundation of Oregon, a nonprofit organization that supports the nearby Mount Angel Abbey, which has owned the land for nearly a century.
While the abbey has long allowed public access to the waterfall, that access is not a condition of the sale. That didn’t sit right with Girod…