The southern side of East Lake fizzes, as if a thousand tiny fish were blowing bubbles below the surface: pip-pip-pip-pip-pip. It’s the sound of sulfuric gases rising from deep beneath the lake—a sign of powerful underground forces.

East Lake is tucked behind an ancient cinder cone in the Newberry Crater National Volcanic Monument amid Central Oregon’s pine forests and high desert. At 6,400 feet above sea level, it’s one of the highest lakes in Oregon, and it’s a quiet place, with few sounds besides the occasional splash of a trout or kokanee salmon. Many a visitor has soothed aching muscles where the volcanic hot water mixes with the colder water from the lake.

The area has other attractions as well. Wild ducks, bald eagles, osprey, elk, black bear, mule deer, and even the elusive pine marten call the area home. To maintain the area’s tranquility, boats are required to stay below 10 miles per hour; on a warm autumn day, just three or four bob in more than a thousand acres of water.

Newberry Crater has always been a peaceful place, with just a few campsites, plus the small summer-only East Lake resort that’s been around since 1915. True, the area is known for its great fishing, and has attracted anglers from as far away as Maine, Florida, Germany, and even Zimbabwe. And its unique geological features and rich natural beauty earned it national monument status in 1990. But until recently the place has seemed like a well-kept secret.

Until Measure 37.

East Lake is now the focal point of one of Oregon’s biggest Measure 37 claims. A private landowner, James Miller, who holds 157 forested acres inside the National Monument (which includes shoreline along the west side of East Lake) filed a $203 million claim for loss of use under the measure. Because the government couldn’t pay up, the landowner now has approval to build a pumice mine, a geothermal plant, and as many as 150 vacation homes on the property. Geologists hired by the landowner will soon begin looking at where to tap the geothermal energy.

Locals and fishermen fear the big developments. So does David Jones, who owns East Lake Resort. He voted for Measure 37 back in 2004 and now its ramifications are staring directly back at him. The private land slated for development is in plain view directly across the lake from his small resort.

“I thought it was a good measure,” Jones says. “I do think that there is some place for some type of Measure 37. But I was one of the many people who voted for Measure 37 and thought it would be a good deal for Oregon.”

Like Jones, many who come to fish here don’t understand how Measure 37 could have helped cause the proposed development.

Old-timer Kermit Huck is among them. The fishing is so good here, Huck and his wife, who live in Glendale, California, have been coming to the lake for 35 years. Huck keeps his boat docked just below the resort. The couple arrives at the end of June every year and stays until October. Huck wasn’t aware of Measure 37 or why the private landowner wants to develop the plant, mine, or vacation homes. But he doesn’t think a big development has any place in the national monument.

“This investment that we have in these wild areas can’t be replaced,” he says. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Fisherman Barry Wood just learned to fly fish four years ago on East Lake. Every year since then, he’s come back to spend the summer. One year, he brought his grandchildren to the lake to fish, and his youngest granddaughter caught a brown trout nearly three feet long. The fish was so heavy it broke the line and got away underneath the boat.

“That’s the biggest fish I’ve seen in here--and the 3-year-old got it. We call it the East Lake Monster.”

A California resident, Wood knows nothing about Measure 37, but does know a lot about natural resource prospecting. Before he retired, he worked in the Middle East as an oil and gas engineer.

“I’m all for developing our own resources to get our own energy,” he says. “We’ve got to do something. However, I’d hate to see a big electric generating plant over there across the lake. It seems a shame to ruin a beautiful spot.”

Indeed, it was the setting that drew Bend residents Kathy and David Jones here. For years, the couple had dreamed of owning a lakeside resort in Central Oregon. In April 2006, the opportunity presented itself, and they purchased East Lake Resort—a collection of 16 rental cabins, RV park, tackle shop, and café—from its previous owners. They employ about a dozen people and enjoyed such good business this summer that they’re thinking of putting in some yurts next year to handle more overnight guests. But both believe that a pumice mine and a geothermal plant would be bad for business.

“My bottom line is that I don’t want anything that’s going to interfere with the wildlife and the pristine look up here,” says Kathy Jones. “I would hate the vacation homes.”

David first came to the lake when he was eight years old and he connects with the natural features of the place. He especially dislikes the idea of the pumice mine since it could disrupt water runoff and change the ecology of the lake. The area along the privately-owned shoreline is prime kokanee spawning area. Jones is also concerned that the prevailing winds blow from across the lake right into East Lake Resort.

“This is a unique piece of property,” he says. “It’s un-replaceable.”