Central Oregon LandWatch is out to do environmental good as if chased by the devil. But like anyone chased by the devil, LandWatch doesn’t particularly seem to care what gets in the way — even common sense.

Lee and Joyce Garcia got on LandWatch’s bad side. The Garcias have owned about 9 acres of land near Powell Butte since 1995.

There is some good farmland near Powell Butte. That Garcia property is not it. It has not been used historically for either crops or grazing. The soil quality is poor. There is no irrigation. Bringing in water would mean the Garcias would have to acquire irrigation rights and find some way to bring the water across a road.

In 2017 the Garcias asked permission from Crook County to put a nonfarm dwelling on the property, even though it is designated as farmland. The county concluded it met the standard because the property very clearly was “generally unsuitable for farm use.”

LandWatch challenged that decision. Among other arguments, LandWatch argued that the county should have considered if the property could be used in conjunction with other surrounding farmland to make it suitable for farm use. LandWatch has long been concerned about fragmentation of farmland.

The Oregon Court of Appeals described what LandWatch was after: LandWatch argued “that the county was required to consider whether ‘the property [could] reasonably be used in conjunction with or managed as part of the surrounding farmland.’ And, according to LandWatch, the only conclusion that the record supported under that assessment was that the property could be used in that manner. As a result, LandWatch contended, the county’s decision that the property was generally unsuitable for farm use was not supported by substantial evidence.”

That standard would seem to violate common sense and present an undue burden, especially since the Garcia’s land isn’t good for farming. The Oregon Court of The Appeals Court dismissed that LandWatch argument. It now seems likely that after providing some more proof about soil quality and other issues, the Garcias will be able to build.