The State of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is creating a historic new park in Eastern Oregon.  Cottonwood Canyon State Park is located in Sherman and Gilliam counties along prime John Day River frontage.  The John Day River is the longest free flowing river in the Pacific Northwest and a focal salmon restoration opportunity.  The [...]

Increased housing development and recreational use in the small town of Mosier, located within the Columbia River Gorge, has put additional pressure on local infrastructure, including the quaint downtown. Since 1990, the town has almost doubled in size to 460 people. Residents and visitors alike want a safe, attractive, and functional downtown. In 2008, an [...]

The Oregon Sustainability Board designated seven Sustainable Schools projects, including the Prairie City Sustainable School project. Prairie City School, a K-12 facility located in rural Grant County has undertaken a sustainable beautification effort in combination with a larger community revitalization effort in Prairie City. In a rural community such as Prairie City, the local school [...]

The Christmas Valley Back-scatter site consists of 2,622 acres of BLM land withdrawn for use by the U.S. Air Force to provide national security information during the cold war. The site was made obsolete by satellite technology, and was scheduled to return to BLM management in September 2009. It is surrounded by thousands of additional [...]

Beginning in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a combination of wildfire fuel accumulation, droughts, and extreme weather conditions caused wildfire in Central Oregon to strike with more destructive power than in decades past.  At the same time, the region began experiencing rapid rural development, putting more people and property in the path of wildfire [...]

This project demonstrated the ability of the Oregon Solutions process to expedite permitting requirements by addressing possible opposition early on and was accomplished in partnership between several farmers in Sherman County, Northwest Wind, several state and federal agencies, the Audubon Society and BPA.

With a grant from the State Library, Sherman County in 1996 became the last county in Oregon to develop a public library. For the prior decade, the public library and its patrons shared space with the library collection and students of Sherman Junior Senior High School in the county seat of Moro.  It was a [...]

A number of organizations, local officials, and state and federal agencies worked together to explore opportunities with the significant fossil beds near Fossil. The specific projects associated with this effort include: the conversion of the Fossil High School into a paleontological visitor’s center educational programming around sustainable ranching and stream restoration on the Pine Creek [...]

The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Wasco County Historical Museum, located in The Dalles, serves as the official interpretive center for the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area. The spectacular facility on Crates Point overlooking the river provides exhibits that highlight the natural beauty, geologic history, and rich heritage of the area. At the request of [...]