Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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On Earth Day in 2022, President Joe Biden stood among cherry blossoms and towering Douglas firs in a Seattle park to declare the importance of big, old trees. “There used to be a hell of a lot more forests like this,” he said, calling them “our planet’s lungs” and extolling their power to fight climate change. The amount of carbon trees suck out of the air increases dramatically with age, making older trees especially important. These trees are also rare: Less than 10% of forests in the lower...
Interest in nuclear energy as a solution to “dirty” sources of power is growing, including a proposal in the Northwest. However, some critics said it could divert attention from more practical renewable energy solutions. Amazon has signed an agreement with X-energy to build new nuclear technology, known as small modular reactors, to meet the company’s growing energy needs. The aim is to build the reactors at the Hanford nuclear site along the Columbia River. Kelly Campbell, policy direc...
RAINBOW: Road rage, combined with a rock fight and a tire stabbing, ended with a pickup rolling over into a ditch near milepost 39 of the McKenzie Highway last Friday. Emergency responders were alerted to the incident by a 911 call around 1 p.m. requesting a medical response to a male bleeding from his head. According to Oregon State Police reports, one individual had struck another during a fight. “During the altercation, a tire was also slashed with a knife,” according to OSP Captain Kyle Ken...
Efforts to promote “spectacular views of mountains, lakes, waterfalls, creeks, and rivers” along Forest Service Road 19 paid off last Wednesday when the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission approved designating the route as the Aufderheide Scenic Bikeway. Starting in 2009, Oregon was the first state to develop a statewide Scenic Bikeway Program. The new route now includes 18 designated bicycle travel zones that have been picked to showcase areas of the state’s “breathtaking landscapes, cultura...
Last week, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) released a list of manmade structures it considers critical to fish passage. Updated every five years, the draft priority list identifies the 605 barriers considered critical to fish passage based on the amount of habitat quality and quantity blocked, the current levels of fish passage, and the number of species being blocked. Several structures within the McKenzie River basin made the list, including dams, culverts, and other infrastructure that impede the migration of native fish li...
Concert at VMCC will fill you with “Holiday Spirit.” Oregon Children’s Choir Director, Jennifer Searl, will lead a group of talented youth in selections of traditional and new seasonal works at Vida McKenzie Community Center from 7 to 9p.m. on Friday, December 13th. The choir will be joined by teacher, musician, actor - and McKenzie resident - Larry Brown who will perform short and timely readings guaranteed to cause you to smile and reflect. Bring the whole family! Cookies and hot/cold drinks w...
Layers of volcanic rock in eastern Oregon, the Willamette Valley and the Columbia Basin have created fertile soil for farming and ranching, but in the future it could provide fruitful ground for a whole other industry designed to fight climate change. Oregon’s state geologist is pitching a novel idea of using the region’s rocky basalt layer—born of lava that flowed millions of years ago from cracks in the Earth’s crust—as a bank for storing planet-warming carbon dioxide. Ruarri Day-Stirr...
Oregon’s new chief state economist estimates it will have about $37.8 billion available to spend in the next two-year budget cycle after reworking how the state calculates its economic forecast. The state’s also on track to pay out a $1.8 billion kicker to taxpayers in 2026. However, new chief economist Carl Riccadonna, a former Wall Street analyst hired in September, is changing the way Oregon models its expected revenue with an eye toward more accurate forecasts that reduce the amount ret...
The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public input on a proposed amendment to the land management plans guiding national forests within the Northwest Forest Plan area, which spans Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. The draft Environmental Impact Statement published this week in the Federal Register initiated a 120-day comment period for the public to share input on how these forests will be managed for decades. “Much has changed in society and science since the Northwest Forest Plan was created nearly 30 years ago,” said Jacque Buc...
In my job, I run across many screaming statistics about solid waste, pollution, and climate change that sometimes make me stop and say, “Yikes.” Just in time for the holidays, I ran across these statistics from the nonprofit ReFED regarding Thanksgiving food waste. • Last year, ReFED estimated that Americans would waste 312 million pounds of food during Thanksgiving. This figure would have produced an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to driving a car 73,109 times around the Earth’s equator...
“When the library burned, even the angels folded their wings and sulked.” Those words from a poem read by John Witte reflected the impact the loss of the O’Brien Memorial Library made. Yet, similar to “words flying off like seeds” in the flames of the Holiday Farm Fire, he noted, hope can “take root in the ashes, sprouting new trees, new leaves, new books.” The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd that packed the library Saturday afternoon echoed the feeling of rebirth. All were there to celebrate the...
People interested in building new houses and looking forward to welcoming new neighbors were drawn to a spot of open ground last Friday. The site, at the corner of Rose and McCauley Streets in Blue River, is expected to affect community rebuilding positively. Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Rose Street project, McKenzie Community Land Trust (MCLT) executive director Brandi Ferguson saluted the area’s “can-do spirit.” Talking to a crowd of well-wishers in a gentle rainfall, she t...
“To be resilient to climate change and to minimize climate change, you need healthy soil,” said Lauren Hallett, an associate professor of environmental studies and biology at the UO’s College of Arts and Sciences. For the past five years, Hallett and her colleague Marissa Lane-Massee, a research assistant at the UO and fourth-generation hazelnut farmer, have worked together to create cover crop seed mixes that keep agricultural soils cooler during increasingly hotter seasons without inter...
It’s time to lace up your skates for an all-ages skate party at the Bob Keefer Center, 250 S 32nd St. in Springfield. Bring your roller skates, in-line skates, and rollerblades, or rent them at the 2-hour event for $3 worth of skating in style with a live DJ, lights, decorations, and more. Registration is not required. Learn more at willamalane.org/skate The Skate Party can accommodate up to 200 people at one time. Willamalane has limited skates in various sizes available for rent for $...
Oregon is one step closer to using a state forest to help capture and store more planet-warming greenhouse gases, and to fight climate change and earn money through the carbon market. Leaders at the Department of State Lands signed a development agreement Thursday to enter all of the nearly 83,000-acre Elliott State Forest near Coos Bay into the voluntary carbon market for 40 years. The project will be managed by the carbon brokerage and development company Anew Climate, with offices in...
Oregon school districts are projected to pay $670 million more to the state’s public employee pension program over the next two years, potentially wiping out all increases to school funding proposed by Gov. Tina Kotek. The increased tab, more than 10% for some districts, follows lagging returns in investments of the Public Employees Retirement system and could affect teaching and learning in some schools. “Next year’s sharp jumps in PERS rates will take significant money away from class...
Honoring the important traditions of “our grandmas, grandpaws, aunties, and uncles” was all called to mind as people gathered in Blue River last Sunday. “The things of the traditional world when we recall those days,” added Dietz Peters, “are especially important so when our kids get older, they can pass it on to their kids and grandkids.” Deitz, himself an elder of the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde, was speaking to a group of about three dozen people interested in restoring s...
Only 38% of homes have been rebuilt four years after a destructive wildfire, while property values and the cost of rebuilding have risen 40%. In addition to the 517 lost homes, the number of people living along a 60-mile stretch of Hwy. 126 from McKenzie Bridge to Springfield has also dropped off. “Since the Holiday Farm Fire, the McKenzie River Ranger District has had difficulty filling vacant positions. The reason most often heard from prospective applicants when they decline a position is t...
In a significant election for Oregon House District 12 and Lane County governance, voters turned out to resolve races and measures that highlight the area’s evolving political landscape. From redistricting reform to charter amendments and recall efforts, Lane County residents faced choices reflecting regional and state concerns around transparency, governance, and community values. The state representative race and various ballot measures brought two distinct visions for the area’s future to...
Some of the ideas floated at a joint Lane County Parks and Oregon State Marine Board community meeting are starting to take shape at the Forest Glen Boat Landing in Blue River. Last week, the Parks Department announced that people dropping by to answer nature's call or get ready to launch their drift boat no longer had to hold it, thanks to $45,000 in improvements, including installing new modular vault toilets funded by Parks funds and a FEMA grant. Officials say the next phase of improvements...
When the Astoria City Council got the results of a forest inventory in the Bear Creek Watershed about a decade ago, councilors learned the city was in possession of far more valuable trees, and timber, than they had realized. In light of the news, some members of the council in northwest Oregon wanted to boost timber harvests and revenue for city services and infrastructure. The 3,700-acres of forests that protect the city’s main drinking water source have been logged semi-regularly for decades,...
EUGENE: Last Tuesday, the Lane County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the Blue River Complete Community Plan and zoning amendments that expand the community’s boundaries to include the Blue River Park. The amendments were developed to allow higher density development near bus stops and schools and flex use designations within the community’s boundaries. Details of their approval mean that owners of one-acre residential properties can build two homes—as well as an Acces...
The Blue River Work and Cleanup Day held last Sunday, November 3, was a rousing success. What started out as a your standard rainy and chilly November morning evolved into a warmer and appreciated sun-teasing day highlighted with much good work accomplished by the cheerful volunteers who answered the call from sponsor McKenzie Locals Helping Locals. The volunteer work crew represented the entire length of the McKenzie River Valley and included Antony Able, Melanie Brite, Mark Bruce, Don Dowe,...
Winners in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s 2025 Waterfowl, Upland Game Bird, and Habitat Conservation stamp art contests have been announced. This year’s winning artwork will be featured on collector stamps and other promotional items supporting the state's wildlife and habitat conservation efforts. First place in the Waterfowl Stamp category depicting a ring-necked duck went to Jeffrey Klinefelter of Etna Green, Ind. Buck Spencer of Junction City claimed first place for the Upl...
The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) has released a guidance document for school districts, outlining research, recommendations, and three model policies to limit or restrict cell phone use in classrooms. The guidance aims to help school districts update their current policies on the use of cell phones and other mobile devices and increase student learning, well-being, and belonging. “We will be challenged to help students achieve their educational goals, like reading and math skills, if stu...
