As the official state nut since 1989, hazelnuts are a locally treasured and exponentially valuable Oregon crop expected to double in production outputs through 2025. Since 2015, the industry has experienced a boom, with the number of orchards growing by 50 percent with nearly 1,000 hazelnut farms in Oregon totaling 80,000 acres. More than half … Read more
In March 2018, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-141) appropriated $1 billion in supplemental discretionary funding in the form of Federal Aviation Administration airport grants to be available through September 30, 2020. In September 2018, the Oregon Department of Aviation submitted a request to the Joint Emergency Board to apply for this grant … Read more
Pursuant to Senate Bill 256 (2017), Oregon Solutions is facilitating the Willamette Falls Locks Commission (WFLC). Senate Bill 256 established the commission to advise state, local, and regional government agencies on development and implementation of a plan for repair, reopening, operation, and maintenance of the Willamette Falls navigation canal and locks. The commission may recommend … Read more
Local climate and topography make the area around Oakridge, Oregon, prone to wintertime temperature inversions, low wind speeds and poor atmospheric dispersion that translate into poor air quality during the winter months, when many residents use wood stoves as their primary source of heat. Poor air quality disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable in the community … Read more
The Oregon Solutions project brought together a team of public, private, and civic partners to work toward innovative solutions to assist residents, owners, and renters who are living in mobile homes in parks in substandard conditions or who face being evicted as a result of redevelopment pressures. The collaborative aimed to create a social service … Read more
The 2016 Willamette Falls Navigation Canal and Locks Task Force was established through Senate Bill 131 of 2015 (PDF). Note that a subsequent project flowed from the task force’s work in 2018. You can learn about that project at our webpage for the 2018 Willamette Falls Locks Commission. The 2016 Willamette Falls Navigation Canal and … Read more
Lane County was on the brink of a healthcare crisis. A shortage of primary care physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners had been documented in a variety of reports by the Oregon Health Authority. In addition, large numbers of primary care workers in Lane County retired and the Trillium Community Health Plan CCO, reported about … Read more
The communities and universities in the South Willamette Valley, led by Corvallis and Eugene, with seed funding from the State of Oregon, banded together to create a vision and plan for a system that addresses the specific economic development needs of the region. This plan was called the Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network, or RAIN. … Read more
New leadership within the Department of Agriculture, the US Forest Service, and the Willamette National Forest has brought with it new approaches to community engagement and collaboration. Meg Mitchell was appointed as Superintendent of the Willamette National Forest in August of 2009 and Cindy Glick was appointed as the Sweet Home District Ranger in March, … Read more
The Oregon Garden Foundation, with help from a grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, established a Sustainable Plant Research and Outreach Center (SPROut). SPROut is a partnership between the Oregon Garden Foundation, the Institute for Natural Resources, Oregon State University, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and a number of other public and private institutions. … Read more