Oregon Consensus is assisting policy and executive leadership, and two technical work groups of the Bonneville Power Administration, US Bureau of Reclamation, and US Army Corps of Engineers and their cooperating agencies to develop an environmental impact statement for Columbia River System Operations, due for completion in 2020. Photo: Tony Webster, Wikimedia Commons
This collaborative is discussing opportunities for increased collaboration and improved communication to improve fire prevention, suppression, and restoration. Agreements have been reached on suppression, and the team is implementing wildfire prevention and restoration strategies in several high-risk locations. These pilot projects will provide valuable information for partners in understanding and managing fire risk across Eastern … Read more
The Oregon Board of Forestry has directed the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to move forward with development of a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for timber harvest and overall management of state forest lands in western Oregon. The effort is aimed at ensuring programmatic compliance with the Endangered Species Act, related ODF planning and management … Read more
Since October 2017, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has been hosting meetings with local governments, recycling collectors, recycling processors, and industry representatives to address short-term responses to China’s 2018 ban on the import of certain recyclables from the United States. In May 2018, DEQ launched a longer-term planning process with a convening of these … Read more
In December 2018, the State Land Board directed the Department of State Lands to work collaboratively with Oregon State University to develop a proposed plan for transforming the Elliott State Forest into a research forest, while meeting the Land Board’s vision and direction for the forest. In response, DSL established the Elliott State Research Forest … Read more
Northwest Regional Newborn Screening (NWRNBS) is a program of the Oregon Health Authority’s Oregon State Public Health Laboratory. NWRNBS has formed an advisory board to assist with the modernization of the program. The advisory board is setting protocol and criteria for adding or removing conditions from the screening panel, and providing overall strategic advice to … Read more
Oregon’s natural resource agency leadership began a process to engage communities, experts, and interest groups to examine the Governor’s 100-Year Water Vision. The water vision was drafted as a starting place and an invitation to stakeholders, agencies, and tribes to help shape a long-term vision and plan for strategic investments in Oregon’s water and water … Read more
In response to a request from the Water Environment Services of Clackamas County, OC is undertaking an assessment of the potential opportunity for a collaborative agreement-seeking process to address issues related to governance of wastewater infrastructure in Clackamas County.
An estuarine research project is being conducted by PSU faculty from the Environmental Science and Management Department and others with funding from Oregon Sea Grant. The project, captioned “Linkages between forestry practices and Oregon’s estuarine shellfish,” seeks to clarify connections between forest management regimes and contaminants in estuarine shellfish to inform future forestry policy discussion. … Read more
The Sage-Grouse Conservation Partnership (SageCon) is an unprecedented collaborative effort among federal, state, and private stakeholders to address landscape-scale threats to greater sage-grouse while acknowledging rural economic and community interests across eastern Oregon’s sagebrush range. Resulting from the SageCon process, the 2015 Oregon Sage-Grouse Action Plan details voluntary and state-regulated conservation measures to preserve habitat … Read more
OC is working with local landowners, non-governmental organizations, and federal and state agencies to design and implement a collaborative effort to combat invasive carp and preserve important bird habitats throughout the Harney Basin in southeast Oregon. Initial goals of the project are to improve the health of wetlands under the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge’s comprehensive … Read more