Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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Oregon is pursuing an aggressive climate plan to switch to renewable energy sources, but it faces one often overlooked issue: enough high-voltage power lines to facilitate the transition. An Oregon law requires utilities to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040. However, the Northwest's aging transmission lines will need a reboot to ensure wind and solar resources on the east side of the Cascades make their way west. Emily Moore, director of climate and energy at the Sightline Institute,...
EUGENE: Next Tuesday, the Lane County Planning Commission will get to hear the public’s ideas on how they would like Blue River to look as it rebuilds. A proposed amendment to the county’s land use code could trim back what opponents have called the current language’s excessive right-of-way setbacks. The Public Works Division developed the proposal after talking to local property owners. A problem was initially identified when plans to reconstruct the O’Brien Library after the Holiday Farm Fire. It was learned the new structure could not meet s...
WASHINGTON, D.C:"It is no longer a matter of if a wildfire will threaten many western communities in these landscapes, it is a matter of when," according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The need to invest more and to move quickly is apparent," he added in announcing the addition of more than $490 million to 11 key landscapes across the western United States last week. The money has been earmarked for national forest lands, including the restoration "of resilient old-growth forest...
The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is encouraging Oregonians to report their home internet speed data or lack of internet service as part of Faster Internet Oregon’s internet speed test and broadband mapping survey. Officials say the data will help secure infrastructure funding and ensure it is allocated so every Oregon resident has access to fast, affordable internet service. The bipartisan broadband infrastructure funding bills developed by Congress are distributing billions to the s...
The Oregon Legislature will be considering a number of recommendations for changes related to the statewide wildfire risk map during the 2023 session, some of which would substantively change the map itself. Following conversations last week with the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire Programs Advisory Council, the state has decided to postpone the release of an updated draft of the map, which was planned for March 2023. “As we’ve been working with Oregon State University on tec...
A long-term Pacific Northwest study of landslides, clear-cutting timber and building roads shows that a forest's management history has a greater impact on how often landslides occur and how severe they are compared to how much water is coursing through a watershed. Findings of the research, led by associate forest engineering associate professor Catalina Segura and graduate student Arianna Goodman of the Oregon State University College of Forestry, were published in the journal Earth Surface...
The Oregon Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) is asking the public to share their safety concerns and experiences on the McKenzie Highway, - whether people drive, walk or bike. Those experiences will be on the agenda for an ODOT open house scheduled for Saturday, February 4th, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at McKenzie Fire & Rescue's Leaburg Training Center at 42870 McKenzie Highway. ODOT and Lane County officials said they are working on a safety study because of the number and severity of crashes...
A new interactive “story map” has developed by the Willamette National Forest to showcase projects designed to reduce risks in areas impacted by the 2020 wildfires. Officials say data from the 2020 Fire Affected Road Risk Reduction Project’s “will be recorded and updated directly on the site for the public to stay informed of the latest updates. Although the 2020 fires impacted other public and private lands, this project is centered on Forest Service lands as one piece of the overall fire re...
People's cultural worldviews play a part in how they respond to wildfire risk, and should be taken into account in efforts to get homeowners to engage in pre-fire mitigation efforts such as adjusting landscaping and preparing an evacuation plan, an Oregon State University study found. The study tapped into participants' cultural worldviews and perception of risk to help predict which communication strategies work best to convince different types of people. "There's going to have to be multiple...
FINN ROCK: Outlines for developing recovery plans were key to many conversations as people circulated around the McKenzie High School gymnasium this weekend. Set up around the room were representatives from a wide array of organizations - from Lane County's planning staff to the student-led McKenzie Rebuilds group or the fire districts to the Clearwater Partners. "I like to compare the efforts back in the 70s to what you are all doing today, in the McKenzie Valley," said Cliff Richardson in his...
More than 40% of Oregon adults say the state’s forests are over logged, but most also believe that harvesting timber is part of maintaining healthy forests, according to a recent survey. In November, the nonprofit, nonpartisan group Oregon Values and Beliefs Center sent an online survey to residents statewide to learn about their attitudes toward logging and the health of state forests. More than 1,550 people responded. They were asked about their “gut feelings” toward logging in Oregon, and whe...
Douglas-fir trees will likely experience more stress from drier air as the climate changes than they will from less rain, computer modeling by Oregon State University scientists shows. The research is important because Douglas-fir are widespread throughout the Pacific Northwest, an iconic species with ecological, cultural, and economic significance, and learning how the trees respond to drought is crucial for understanding forest sensitivity to a shifting climate. Douglas-fir grow in a range...
An audit of community colleges in Oregon has implications for the state's legislative session, which started this week. The report from the Secretary of State's Audit Division in December pointed to the need for a greater role from the commission overseeing higher education. Ben Cannon, executive director of the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission, said there have been some modest gains in completion or transfer numbers over the past decade. Although overall numbers hover around...
"It would be a disservice for Lacey Joy not to win this award," said the first person to vote for her. Many, many more followed up on that sentiment, citing things like: "Working tirelessly to build a sustainable infrastructure of support for families," "Finding funding for a child center that will open in March," "Her work with the food pantry and the McKenzie school is wonderful," "Prepping not only food boxes but Christmas gifts, for community youth in need," "Chair of the McKenzie Valley...
Unmatched dedication to the community, kids, and rebuilding were among the qualities cited by people who picked Cliff Richardson as the Man of the Year. "Cliff has been a key player in the Locals Helping Locals group," was the way one voter explained his choice, adding that, "Cliff helped put together the plan for Sulutaaq to make the big donations to community organizations." His involvement with the McKenzie Track's board was cited as being instrumental in helping create a very successful...
Jon and Jerri Jo Payne of the Leaburg Store received the most votes in this year's balloting. One gave them praise for "having been very successful at converting the sleepy little stop in Leaburg into a thriving store." Others said they appreciated things like an ever expanding selection of food including fresh breads, fruits and vegetables, while also featuring "quick to go meals." There were plenty of mentions about things to eat - including fresh sourdough and whole wheat breads, locally...
EUGENE: Green could be the color to describe some of the reasoning behind the Eugene Water & Electric Board commissioner’s decision to decommission the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project. The pigment, often used in reference to clean energy production, was pitted against ongoing impacts to the environment. But it was the amount of greenbacks involved - $117 to $230 per megawatt hour (to bring the generators back into full service) versus $33 MWh to buy power from the BPA - that helped assure a u...
WALTERVILLE: A vehicle versus pedestrian accident took the life of a Springfield man early last Thursday night. The Oregon State Police responded to a vehicle versus pedestrian crash on Hwy. 126E, near milepost 14.2, at approximately 6:09 p.m. on January 5th. Police said their preliminary investigation indicated a pedestrian, 50-year-old Brandon Philes of Springfield, was walking on the eastbound fog line of the McKenzie Hwy., near the intersection with Latta Lane, when he was struck by an eastbound Subaru Outback, operated by Frank King III...
Where did Americans move over the last decade? The top migration destinations include the Pacific Northwest, parts of the Southwest Texas, Florida, and a large swath of the Southeast In contrast, people tended to move away from places in the Midwest, the Great Plains, and along the Mississippi River. Those sort of moves are expected to continue as extreme weather events, including heat waves, hurricanes, and wildfires continue. The predictions are part of a 10-year examination of trends in human...
Oregon continues to face new and enduring hazards related to climate change, but opportunities for adaptation and mitigation are also expanding, the latest assessment released today by the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute indicates. “In general, the qualitative climate projections haven’t changed appreciably,” said Erica Fleishman, director of the institute, which is housed at Oregon State University and is charged with producing the biennial assessment. “It is becoming hotter and an...
The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) warns cryptocurrency investors to do their homework before giving any money to a crypto trading platform. Many crypto trading apps or websites are really just fake platforms set up by scammers to take investor money and give nothing in return. Investors are promised huge returns in a short amount of time and will see account balances increase rapidly, but will not be able to withdraw funds without having to deposit more money in “withdrawal fees” or “taxes.” The scammer will continue extorti...
The Pacific Northwest Regional Forester has withdrawn a January 2021 Record of Decision that authorized the Flat Country Project near McKenzie Bridge. Officials say they will review aspects of the project including the conservation of mature and old-growth forests and carbon stewardship. The action means will not go forward at this time. The action came after Regional Forester Glenn Casamassa formed an interdisciplinary review team to review the Willamette National Forest’s Flat Country p...
Log buyers are actively looking for wood right now and while prices aren’t where they were last winter, they are certainly good and on par with past years. Prices are likely seeing a dip from last year because housing interest rates are up quite a bit and home buying is less attractive. That being said, winter is usually a difficult time for small landowners to access their trees for harvesting anyway, but if you are set up for it, it can prove to be beneficial as inventories are typically l...
Some trees that normally live for more than a thousand years may be facing an end-of-life crisis. That was part of the warning on December 14th from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in announcing the agency was designating the whitebark pine as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Over the last two decades, more than a quarter of the trees have been killed by white pine blister disease, climate change, wildfires, and voracious beetles. “As a keystone species of the W...
The Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund (OCRF) granted $997,929 in 2022 to support projects. The money was earmaked for projects that protect and enhance the species and habitats while also creating new opportunities for wildlife watching, urban conservation, community science, and other wildlife-associated recreation - as well as drought preparedness and wildfire research. Since the formation of the OCRF three years ago, 91 projects have been funded through competitive requests for proposals. Officials say those projects have spanned the...
