Dear Friend, As I sit down to write this, smoke sits thick across Oregon as historic wildfires continue to burn, and the rain forecast for this week has not yet begun to fall. Less than a week from tonight, our Southern Oregon Land Use Leadership Initiative was set to meet (virtually, having already adapted to COVID) and discuss the subject of—you guessed it—forests and wildfire. That meeting has of course been postponed, as some of our LULI partners and participants are instead grappling with the loss of their homes and offices. Thousands of Oregonians are experiencing the same loss, and hundreds of thousands of acres remain ablaze. Governor Brown has declared a statewide State of Emergency for Oregon, and has requested, today, a Presidential Disaster Declaration as well. Over the last few days, I have been in touch with my colleagues from the Governor's Council on Wildfire Response, including Oregon's new Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple, who served on the council's land use subcommittee, which I chaired. While it is incumbent upon us to do everything in our power to prevent another wildfire season like this one, it is even more incumbent upon us in this moment to focus on community support for recovery, and that is what we are doing. In addition to the large-scale relief efforts underway through Red Cross and United Way, numerous local efforts have sprung up through our regional partners, like this one in Benton County. Two others are featured below, and we'll share more on our Facebook page as they arise. For farmers, the OSU Small Farms Program has put together this resource page. You might also take time today to take a look at the state's official wildfire resource page, and while you're there, be sure to visit this page where you can sign up for your county's official alert system. We'll be back in October with regular news of our full body of work around the state, including issue and ballot updates as we head into the election. Until then, be safe, be well, and thank you for being a Friend. For Oregon, 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. | |