oregon

Tillamook County, located on Oregon’s northern coast, is home to a concentration of dairy operations and with them, plenty of cow manure. Advances in the renewable energy industry have proven that an abundance of livestock waste is opportunity for sustainable economic development through domestic energy production.

When most people think of Orlando, Florida, they envision exciting theme parks, Cinderella’s castle and a mouse with big ears.  But when USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Orlando on February 24^th, it was with a different vision in mind.

During a recent visit to Oregon, USDA’s Director for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Max Finberg, visited the Food Innovation Center in Portland, where researchers are helping producers get local edibles on the shelf.

The Food Innovation Center (FIC), an experiment station administered jointly by Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Agriculture, works extensively with USDA to help agricultural producers and food businesses get local foods to market. To make this possible, the FIC conducts a variety of studies related to product development, packaging, shelf life, consumer acceptance, economic feasibility and product marketing.

Last week, USDA Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager made a brief, but impactful visit to Oregon joining USDA Rural Development State Director Vicki Walker to announce program support and celebrate milestones in rural economic development with local communities.

The U.S. Forest Service recently announced grants totaling $52.2 million for 18 conservation and working lands projects across the U.S. this year.  The landscapes are some of the country’s most beautiful spaces and will now be protected for future generations to enjoy.

Since 1990, the Forest Legacy Program has protected more than 2.2 million acres through public-private partnership using federal and leveraged funds of more than $562 million. We work with private landowners, states and conservation groups to promote sustainable, working forests.

The Northwest Region of the Forest Service has named Joel Starr of Philomath, Ore., as their volunteer of the year.  The honor is bestowed upon those individuals who contribute outstanding service to public lands. Starr has worked on a variety of volunteer projects for the Willamette, Deschutes, Siuslaw and Mt. Hood national forests. His contributions to public lands in western Oregon span over 10 years.

The Forest Service is known for developing partnerships to get the greatest good out of scarce fiscal resources. On the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest one of the partners is four-legged.

The ponderosa pine is fairly easy to identify. The orange-hued checked bark is well known to westerners.

What might not be as well known though is that these native trees can grow to sizes rivaling giant redwoods.

Oregon Wild works on wilderness protection, listing of indicator species, and protecting old-growth stands through legislative and administrates campaigns. They interact with the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service agencies located in Oregon to reduce the old-growth logged and increase the amount restored. In the past, they have been at odds with the agencies, but now, in some instances, they are seen partners.

“I’m originally from Michigan, where I grew up a ‘nature geek,’ wandering around the woods and countryside,” Chandra Le Gue, Old-Growth Campaign Coordinator for Oregon Wild explained. “From this experience, I gained a love for nature. I was really amazed at the natural beauty of Oregon when I moved here for my graduate studies. I fell in love with the forests and landscapes. Oregon Wild’s mission matched my ideology on the importance of these areas….and I have been with the organization now for six and a half years.”

Working collaboratively, the Fremont-Winema National Forest, Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust, Oregon Department of Fish, and Wildlife and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department are completing a restoration project designed to improve redband trout spawning and rearing habitat on the Lower Williamson River in south central Oregon.