MVCC celebrates 50 years of advocacy

From small beginnings, the Methow Valley Citizens Council (MVCC) has persevered and grown for half a century in a changing landscape, effectively adapting to the most challenging issues of the day. Here’s a look back at the organization’s long history, and how it evolved into the vital organization it is today.

Beginnings

As early as the 1960s, the U.S. Forest Service was exploring possible locations for winter recreation development in Washington state. In 1970, the North Cascades Winter Sports Study identified Sandy Butte, a 6,000-foot mountain rising above Highway 20 near Early Winters Creek, as the most auspicious site for a new destination ski resort.

Mazama was the end of the road then, before the North Cascades Highway was completed in 1972; agriculture and logging were the Methow Valley’s primary industries. A new ski hill would have stimulated the local economy, bringing prosperity to some and rapid change to the entire community.

Differing opinions about the prospective development spurred creation of an advocacy group that would dramatically affect the way in which the Methow Valley developed and the lives and experiences of the valley’s inhabitants and visitors.

Seattle businessman and local landowner Doug Devin was an early proponent of the resort idea. With extensive experience in the ski industry, Devin “thought Sandy Butte would be a great place for a ski hill,” said his son Steve Devin.

Doug Devin loved to ski, loved the mountains, and was “in tune with the outdoors,” said Steve, who remembers family treks with Jack Wilson of Wilson Ranch and Jack’s Trail fame. With others, the senior Devin formed the Methow Valley Winter Sports Council to promote winter activities. Devin also promoted the ski hill, using his connections in the ski industry to solicit interest.

Not everyone who heard about the idea liked it. Local culture was different then, said Kathleen Hirschstein, who moved to the valley in 1976 and taught English at the junior high school.

“Everybody was poor,” she said. “Everybody worked hard to eat.”

After the North Cascades Highway opened, outsiders, many well-heeled, were finding their way in. While some long-time residents saw opportunity after decades of hard times, newcomers “saw the pristine beauty of the Methow that had not been degraded in any way,” said Hirschstein. From their perspective, a big ski resort was at odds with the nature and scale of the place.

First proposal

The idea of a destination ski hill gained immediacy when the Aspen Skiing Company entered the scene in 1974, proposing to develop the Early Winters Ski Resort on and around Sandy Butte.

Both proponents and opponents of the ski hill saw the potential for development to undermine what they all cared about — the natural environment, clean air and water, and unspoiled open space that had drawn many of them in the first place. Doug Devin and others in favor of the ski hill “didn’t want a bunch of subdivisions,” said Steve Devin; they recognized that rampant development would “ruin the product” they were seeking to create.

So while some valley residents focused on subdividing land for future sale, others joined forces to craft legal protections that would prevent overdevelopment in the upper valley.

The Methow Valley Land Use Advisory Committee formed in 1975 “to help the Okanogan County Regional Planning Commission establish goals, objectives and policies for the Upper Methow Valley on a variety of topics of concern to the citizens in the Methow Valley.”

Members represented business, real estate and agriculture. There were delegates from Mazama and the lower valley, as well as members at large and concerned citizens. Doug Devin served as chair. Vicky Welch, who would become a founding member of the Methow Valley Citizens Council, represented quality of life. By April of 1976, the committee had crafted the Methow Valley Plan, an addendum to the Okanogan County Comprehensive Plan.

The Methow Valley Plan was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners the same year, and established the policy framework for the landscape we see today — one in which commercial development and subdivision outside of towns are strictly limited. Zoning regulations based on the Methow Valley Plan were adopted in 1979, establishing development standards applicable within the boundaries of School District 350 — as far south as Gold Creek.

Land-use collaborations aside, ski-hill opponents continued fighting the large-scale development proposed by Aspen. In 1976, seven individuals formed MVCC “to maintain the rural quality of life and agricultural character of the Methow Valley and to keep the valley a wholesome place for family life,” according to the summer 2026 edition of MVCC’s magazine, Valley Voice.

MVCC’s founders were a varied lot, including Beulah LaMotte, an orchardist whose husband’s family grew apples near Carlton beginning in 1920 or so, as well as much more recent arrivals.

After Aspen

Aspen withdrew from the Early Winters project in 1978; local project proponents formed Methow Recreation Inc. (MRI) to pursue development of the ski hill on Sandy Butte. Aspen went on to develop Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia.

Within the valley, controversy related to the ski hill and land use generated considerable tension among valley residents. Federal land management decisions during the period reduced timber sales, and the economic pinch generated strong feelings and backlash against MVCC.

As MRI and the Forest Service moved forward, MVCC became involved, advocating for limits on development that would preserve the environment. After the Forest Service moved to allow development on Sandy Butte, MVCC challenged the adequacy of the Forest Service’s Environmental Impact Statement, taking its case to federal district court, appealing an unfavorable ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and ultimately arguing against Early Winters in a case brought by the Forest Service in the U.S. Supreme Court in 1989.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, “both sides declared victory,” said David Bricklin, who represented MVCC. Although the press reported a win for the Forest Service, a close reading of the decision showed it to be more complex.

The Supreme Court considered only a single point in the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision — whether or not the National Environmental Policy Act required substantive or only procedural action. The Supreme Court overturned the lower court on that point, but left intact findings favorable to MVCC regarding air quality, effects of development on mule deer, and a requirement to consider alternatives to the Forest Service proposal. The lower court had also mandated a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement; that requirement was not challenged and remained in place.

By order of the Supreme Court, the case was remanded to the Ninth Circuit Court for settlement.

“Bricklin filed under the ‘Equal Access to Justice Act’ for compensation for attorneys’ fees and court costs,” said Isabelle Spohn, a Methow Valley resident who spent six months in Seattle training as a paralegal and working on the case. “The federal government had to pay for all of our attorneys’ fees and court costs,” she said. The award amounted to over $200,000.

“We were able to start our first office using [a portion of the settlement] … and Bricklin’s office staff (working for nothing until then) was finally paid in full,” Spohn said.

Milestones

Among other things, MVCC used the funds to hire Jason Smith as its first staff member in 1990. Smith worked for MVCC for about 10 years, said Spohn, and was succeeded by Ann George and then Teresa Allen.

“MVCC also employed Jeff Hardy … to work on the Community Education Project a little after Jason was hired,” Spohn said. MVCC held an environmental education conference attended by educators from throughout the state, she said.

Although the Supreme Court’s decision was not definitive, “the case was a huge milestone,” said Maggie Coon, one of MVCC’s founding members, who described it as “very empowering psychologically.” MVCC members understood that “if we kept at it, we could prevail.”

The case may also have contributed to Merrill Recreation’s withdrawal of plans to develop a ski resort in the Methow Valley. The Early Winters proposal “was abandoned because the case was remanded and that meant even more legal proceedings in the lower courts — which the developer couldn’t afford,” said Spohn. In addition, she said, “the cost of another Environmental Impact Study would have been substantial.”

Following foreclosure on private land that had been purchased for ski-area facilities at the base of Sandy Butte, the R. D. Merrill Company purchased the property in 1992. Building on its experience, MVCC teamed with Seattle-based Friends of the Methow (FOM) — a group “formed to bring political and financial resources to the effort,” said Coon — to negotiate for an environmentally-friendly resort suited to the valley.

Those negotiations resulted in agreement that the Merrill Company would not develop the land as a downhill ski resort, said Coon, while allowing a small planned development. MVCC president Jim Doran negotiated for funds to start an environmental center in the valley, said Spohn; those funds eventually became seed money for the Methow Conservancy, she said.

The agreement with Merrill also gave MVCC and FOM the right to challenge future plans and first right of refusal — the right to buy the land should Merrill decide to sell it.

Merrill began planning Arrowleaf, a year-round resort that would have included a golf course as well as hundreds of dwellings. Although Merrill took steps to make the development environmentally friendly, the potential impacts provoked challenges.

Lack of water rights proved to be Arrowleaf’s downfall. The Okanogan Wilderness League “learned in depth about the water rights that would be needed,” said Coon. The Wilderness League challenged Merrill and prevailed, she said; the Washington State Department of Ecology ruled that the developer did not have adequate water rights to support its plans.

Merrill withdrew from the project and, in December 1999, offered the bulk of the land, and the water rights it did own, to MVCC and FOM.

That offer “paved the way for purchase by the Trust for Public Land,” said Coon. The Trust bought the land, created large parcels protected by conservation easements, and sold to buyers willing to accept the restrictions. Merrill retained and developed the area that now encompasses Wilson Ranch and the Freestone Inn.

The dawn of the 21st century saw MVCC firmly established as both watchdog and advocate — responding to proposals it saw as threats to community and environment while working proactively to craft standards that would protect those assets.

Evolution

While working on, and eventually challenging, the Arrowleaf development, a handful of MVCC volunteers remained actively involved in local planning and land-use, continuing to advocate for adequate environmental protections.

That work continued through a period of a decade or more when the council was without staff. Opposition to a lower-valley powerline was the focus early in that period; work related to the Okanogan County Comprehensive Plan followed.

During the second decade of the 21st century, the council began developing in new ways, hiring additional staff, defining program areas, and honing expertise. That expertise has become an enduring strength, allowing the organization to respond quickly when new issues arise.

“What MVCC has done since the ’70s is develop an in-depth expertise in rules that govern land use” such as shorelines and critical areas regulations, said Coon, who returned to the valley in 2009 after some 20 years away, and joined MVCC’s board in 2012. “You have to understand the nitty-gritty.”

Vicky Welch and Isabelle Spohn “were just masterful at being able to understand and figure out how to comment” on county proposals, she said, describing the work as “invisible, unglamorous, [and] critical.”

That tedious low-key work supported ongoing efforts to influence the nature and pace of change in the Methow Valley. MVCC was involved in controversial, high-profile challenges to the Okanogan County Comprehensive Plan, a proposed lower-valley powerline, and the opening of county roads to ATVs.

The organization also worked to ensure adequate protection for shorelines and critical areas and was involved in other issues related to land use and natural resources, including open space taxation, water adequacy, noxious weeds, salmon, grazing, and forest health.

Lorah Super (then Waters) moved to the Methow Valley in 2001 “because there was such a thing as the MVCC.” She became involved and remembers “four-hour meetings each month, sharing ideas and information.” Although Super did not remain continuously involved with the organization, she stayed engaged in planning and conservation work, and was hired as MVCC’s Director of Operations and Communications in 2014.

Coon had recently resumed involvement with MVCC and “breathed life into organization,” Super said; board member Peter Morgan was advocating for increased structure — “a central nervous system.” The council embarked on a period of organizational development, creating operational systems to support its mission and laying plans to hire an executive director.

Following founding member Vicky Welch’s death in 2013, MVCC established the Vicky Adcock Welch internship; in 2015 intern Raechel Youngberg “figured out how to launch [us] into the digital world and stay relevant online,” said Super.

The plan to hire an executive director was a move toward sustainability, as Coon and Super realized the organization had become too dependent on them, said Super. Brian de Place was hired to lead the council in 2016, the year of MVCC’s 40th anniversary. De Place worked to solidify and fine-tune the organization’s structure as well as leading ongoing land use and conservation work.

Minbashian comes aboard

Following de Place’s departure in 2016, MVCC hired Jasmine Minbashian, a proven coalition builder, as its second executive director in 2018.

The choice to hire Minbashian reflected “a real interest in the organization and the board of really shaping MVCC in a way that was focused on what it is that we want to propel — the values that we cherish rather than being in opposition,” said Coon. “When we interviewed Jasmine, we recognized in her that same gene,” she said.

MVCC’s board realized that the issues facing the valley were too complex for a single organization to address. The council saw itself in a collaborative role — “leading, but not front and center,” said Coon. “You can’t get the job done unless you have all the relevant players on board.”

Minbashian brought both skill and a deep commitment to listening and relationship-building to her tenure with MVCC. Starting with values held in common — love of this place, caring about neighbors, a desire to keep the characteristics that make the valley special intact — offers “tremendous potential for richer conversation,” she said.

Rather than focusing on points of disagreement, Minbashian favored approaching conversations with curiosity, being clear and respectful, and “looking for those solutions that can stand the test of time.”

In 2018, there were indicators of overarching changes in both natural and social systems. The Carlton Complex and Okanogan Complex fires had ushered in a new awareness of climate change; property values were increasing and development pressure mounting. Okanogan County was making decisions about comprehensive planning and zoning that would “shape the future for decades,” said Minbashian. “A lot of people found the processes hard to be engaged in.”

“We had the sense that things were changing but we didn’t know to what extent,” Minbashian said. MVCC knew that it had to expand its reach and strengthen its capacity to engage — not just with current supporters, but also “everybody with a stake in the future.”

Clean air and dark skies are two realms of change into which MVCC expanded under Minbashian’s leadership. Describing MVCC as “a place to incubate community-driven ideas and projects,” she said both programs were “born of citizen engagement;” both had approached the council for support.

Minbashian oversaw development of the Methow Valley Climate Action Plan, and MVCC was able to provide a long-term home for both Clean Air Methow and the Methow Dark Sky Coalition.

Another of MVCC’s outstanding achievements, the permanent protection of 340,079 acres of federal land from industrial mining, was also completed during Minbashian’s tenure. MVCC’s Methow Headwaters Campaign was initiated in 2014, in response to proposals for test drilling as a precursor to possible development of an industrial copper mine in the upper valley. By that time, “we had learned a lot about activism [and the] value of working in collaboration with multiple organizations,” said Coon.

With MVCC as the local lead and support from individuals, businesses, and local, state, and national organizations, the campaign won bipartisan backing. The five-year campaign culminated with congressional approval of the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, an omnibus bill that addressed lands in many states. Sen. Maria Cantwell played a crucial role, Coon said; both Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Dan Newhouse also supported the effort.

MVCC today

Jasmine Minbashian resigned in 2025, and staff member Mary Yglesia served as interim executive director until MVCC’s directors hired Rebekah Phillips to fill the position early this year.

A few months in, Phillips sees advocacy as MVCC’s role — one that’s been there from the beginning, and that the organization embraces now.

“That’s what this valley needs; that’s what the county needs,” said Phillips. It’s a role that includes expanding what advocacy is, she said — for instance, to include education, and to respond to changes in politics and policy.

Working within the current community and political framework is crucial for MVCC, Phillips said.

“Are we willing to push the line, be emotionally disruptive? Yes,” she said.

But MVCC won’t cross that line into illegal activity. The organization’s work is grounded in respect for partners and current government leadership. MVCC recognizes that interest groups come to the table with “various toolkits” and can “move the needle together,” said Phillips.

MVCC’s logo is a red-tailed hawk, and the organization describes itself as “‘watching like a hawk’ for actions that degrade the natural environment and advocating for progressive planning.”

MVCC’s past and present leaders elaborated on that role. To watch like a hawk includes “the readiness to act decisively and swiftly, like the Red-Tailed Hawk,” said Maggie Coon.

To current board chair Tom Jones, it includes “looking out for threats and rallying voices to prevent harm before it happens whenever possible.”

Rebekah Phillips explained further, noting that an upcoming project with young artists has encouraged her to “think of how many ways there are to be an advocate” and recognize that the watching can include “just being a witness to your environment and your community — witnessing the tension and exposing it.”

It also means paying attention to what’s witnessed and figuring out how “to play the longer game, effect an outcome.”

That facet of watching like a hawk extends to “building partnerships [and] relationships,” she said. MVCC may be called to “distill the complexities of an issue” for greater understanding, recognizing nuance in the dilemmas facing the valley.

“As long as we are pulling people together [and] finding a way forward together,” she said, “we are doing our job.”

Staying relevant and sustainable

“A small community organization cannot be everything to everyone,” said Minbashian.

Over the course of 50 years, MVCC has achieved stability as an organization and “identified a unique niche of advocacy, where our expertise can matter most,” she said.

Staying sustainable has meant making choices about where and how to use that expertise, said Super. The council has learned to leverage its resources by engaging with others, helping to problem-solve, and contributing expertise and subject matter knowledge, she said.

There’s a financial component to sustainability, too. The loss of federal funding for clean air and climate action work has been “a big blow,” said Super. Certain other funding opportunities are “drying up,” as well, she said.

The organization has been looking at “other funding models that are more sustainable,” she said, in order to maintain its commitments and “capacity to be responsive.”

Partnering with national groups and using discretion in deciding where to invest energy are strategies that have worked well, and donors have remained supportive, Super said. Retaining the capacity to “be nimble … so when issues come to us they don’t derail us” is an important component of sustainability, she said.

“The pressures facing the community and the landscape [are] not going away,” said Minbashian. Factors like climate change, an escalating fire regime, shifts in agricultural systems and markets, and changes in hydrology and water supply are “all converging,” she said.

“It’s more important than ever that MVCC help people understand, participate, and hold government accountable to the long-term public interest,” Minbashian said.

MVCC has a role in helping the community understand its history and “really lean into shaping the future,” Minbashian said. That means, among other things, a commitment to understanding and honoring diverse perspectives.

“MVCC has a long history of supporting smarter planning and growth by pushing back against damaging policies at the state and county level and advocating for measures that protect the natural environment, rural character, cultural values, and quality of life,” said Jones. “MVCC’s goal is to ensure that all relevant voices are at the decision-making table, including tribal, youth and Latino voices.”

Working “in partnership with the Methow people and the Indigenous community,” has become a priority for MVCC, said Minbashian. The council’s board of directors now includes four members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation; several other Tribal representatives serve on the organization’s sounding board, a group that helps make connections and deepen understanding.

Tribal members have the “longest, deepest relationship with the land,” said Minbashian; Tribal sovereignty is an important consideration, and Tribal involvement “really needs to be upfront; [Tribal] perspectives help frame the whole process.”

MVCC’s board also has plans for “a youth-led leadership group so we can hear the concerns identified by youth,” said Jones. “This builds on our existing youth involvement in our legislative policy work, teaching the Climate Club course at Liberty Bell High School, and our [annual] Red-Tailed Hawk Award given to a person who is training the next generation of environmental leaders.”

The council is likely to seek out other voices, as well. Phillips is laying the groundwork for a new strategic plan that will help refine the organization’s priorities, she said. Agriculture, housing, and municipalities are among the sectors MVCC may consider as board and staff work “to assess the priorities [we’re] uniquely suited to tackling” and evaluate the council’s capacity to do justice to them.

The next 50 years

“This valley deserves this kind of organization,” said Super. “When people come here, they sense there is something different.”

While it’s a community that is “not afraid of a good argument,” residents of all stripes are “genuinely concerned with the long-term well-being of this place,” Super said.

That genuine concern is reflected in the evolution of both MVCC and the community at large.

“We’ve all gotten better at working together, defining roles,” Super said, while acknowledging that “it gets controversial and uncomfortable.”

The council stands ready to navigate the discomfort. “MVCC’s objective is to serve as a convener of coalitions with the goal of building a common vision rather than working at cross purposes,” said Jones. “It is important for MVCC to advocate in ways that bring people together, foster important conversations, and strengthen community.”

“Our future in the valley is challenging but hopeful,” Jones said, naming climate change as the biggest obstacle confronting the Methow.

“The reasons to be optimistic are many,” he said; they include “an excellent Climate Action Plan” and a community that is “resourceful, vigilant and resilient with a strong environmental ethic.”

In addition, said Jones, “we are training the next generation of environmental leaders and … countries around the world are making a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. MVCC remains committed to our history of conservation, and with our community’s support, will succeed in protecting our valley’s natural resources for future generations to enjoy.”

From the beginning, said Phillips, MVCC’s leaders have brought with them “a spirit of adventure, of caring for your home, that has never died.” That’s something that “MVCC has nurtured, and inspired others to nurture too.”

It’s that lasting spirit that has sustained MVCC for the last 50 years and positioned the organization for another half century, or more, of advocacy and leadership in the Methow Valley.

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AN ORGANIZATIONAL TIMELINE

1969 After forming the Methow Valley Winter Sports Council, part-time Mazama resident, businessman and ski instructor Doug Devin meets with the U.S. Forest Service to indicate interest in developing a ski resort at Sandy Butte.

1972 North Cascades Highway opens to the public, increasing access to the Methow. Land prices in Mazama soar, along with tourism and land speculation.

1974 Aspen Ski Corporation purchases 1,200 acres at the base of Sandy Butte, believing it could be a highly profitable ski resort; feasibility studies begin.

1975 A broad coalition of community members meet in response to rumors of recreational development at Sandy Butte, now called the Early Winters Ski Resort.

1976 Methow Valley Citizens Council forms as an organization, submitting comments on the Forest Service Draft Environmental Impact Statement which considers Sandy Butte for a Ski Area.

1976 MVCC members become involved in the Methow Valley Plan. The Methow Valley Addendum to the Okanogan County Comprehensive Plan is adopted.

1978 After Aspen abandons the project, Methow Recreation Inc. (MRI) forms and applies for a Special Use Permit on Sandy Butte to pursue the ski resort development.

1979 MVCC and supporting community members successfully advocate for the development of the Methow Review District, a protective zoning code forbidding strip development and requiring a 5-acre minimum lot size in the valley (20 acres in the uplands). The Review District is later adopted.

1984 The Forest Service signs a Record of Decision to issue a permit for up to 8,200 skiers on 3,900 acres of public land on Sandy Butte. MRI plans to develop 1,200 acres of private land at the base of the hill into a ski village.

1985 MVCC enters into talks with Hosey and Associates, contracted with MRI, about acceptable development scenarios for the ski village. These talks soon break down over the size of the resort. Anti-MVCC signs appear throughout the valley protesting MVCC’s obstructionist tactics.

1985 MVCC appeals the adequacy of the Early Winters EIS to Federal District Court. After they are ruled against, MVCC attorney David Bricklin files a complaint with the Ninth Circuit Court (1986). 

1987 The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules in favor of MVCC.

1988 Forest Service appeals the Ninth Circuit decision on Early Winters to the U.S. Supreme Court 

1989 David Bricklin and his legal team argue at the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite not ruling in MVCC’s favor, the court leaves the majority of the Ninth Circuit decision in place on the inadequacy of the EIS, an ultimate victory for MVCC.

1992 The Early Winters project is dissolved, resulting in the land’s foreclosure and sale at public auction to R.D. Merrill, the sole bidder, for $830,000.

1992 MVCC and the Western Washington-based Friends of the Methow challenge Okanagan County’s new Zoning Ordinance in Superior Court.

1993 MVCC and Friends of the Methow sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with R.D. Merrill allowing the smaller Wilson Ranch Planned Development.

1995 R.D. Merrill changes plans and pursues a Planned Destination Resort (PDR), that includes a golf course and up to 689 housing units.

1999 The Washington Supreme Court upholds a ruling in favor of Okanogan Wilderness League and co-plaintiff Aaron Burkhart, allowing only three of Merrill’s five proposed water rights changes for the Arrowleaf project. The Department of Ecology then determines the project lacks sufficient water rights to proceed, and Merrill abandons the development plans.

2000 Merrill agrees to relinquish questionable water rights associated with the Arrowleaf property paving the way for a conservation buyout arranged by the Trust for Public Land.

2014 A Canadian mining company proposes exploratory drilling on Flagg Mountain above Mazama as a first step toward a potential open-pit copper mine.

2016 MVCC helps launch the Methow Headwaters Campaign, backed by hundreds of local businesses and organizations supporting a permanent mining withdrawal. Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray introduce the Methow Headwaters Protection Act to protect 340,000 acres of National Forest from large-scale mining.

2018 Rep. Dan Newhouse urges federal agencies to pursue a 20-year mineral withdrawal in the Methow headwaters.

2019 As part of a public lands package led by Senator Maria Cantwell, 340,079 acres in the Methow Headwaters are permanently protected from new mineral exploration and mining.

2019 MVCC fully absorbed Clean Air Methow.

2021 Climate Action Plan launched.

2022 MVCC appeals Okanogan County’s Comprehensive Plan.

Adapted from MVCC website