It's a new day, Friend. With the first month of 2021 already more than halfway over, the real possibilities for the year are finally settling into place. Here at 1000 Friends of Oregon, we're eagerly awaiting the start of the legislative long session, now just a few days away. There, we'll be working to advance a suite of bills related to wildfire, housing, transportation, agriculture, and more extensive and equitable public access to local land use processes (otherwise known as Goal 1 of Oregon's land use planning program). If you're a member of our Farmer Advisory Committee (FAC) or any of our regional Affiliates, keep an eye out for an invitation to attend our February 4th online legislative preview. If you're not already involved with our FAC or Affiliates, now would be a great time to get started. This weekend, we're also kicking off our first-ever Willamette Valley Land Use Leadership Initiative (LULI), and next weekend, we'll be kicking off a Portland Metro LULI as well. That means, for the next six months, we'll be busy creating more than 50 new land use leaders for Oregon. Congratulations to the incoming classes, and thank you to all of our program partners and sponsors! From now until March, we are also accepting applications for our one-of-a-kind paid Gerhardt Internship. For more than 35 years, this unique, hands-on experience has helped to kick-start dozens of careers in land use planning, public service, and more. It's also helped us to create some of our signature publications, including our recent farmland protection report, our current wildfire report, and our soon-to-be-released ranching report — keep an eye out for that one in February. As always, all of this is made possible thanks to the generosity of our members and subscribers. Thank you for all you do for Oregon, and thank you for being a Friend!  Executive Director P.S. Please note that our offices remain closed while my staff and I remain fully accessible by phone and email from our home offices. Please feel free to contact us at any time. |
