07 mm 102014

Monday Mailing

Year 21 • Issue 07 20 October 2014 1. EPA Report Covers Stormwater Management Practices for Vacant Lots and Brownfields 2. Threatened Species Found at Salem Hospital Site 3. Journeying Oregon’s New Marine Reserves by Bike: Cape Falcon (Part 1 of 5) 4. Community Heart & Soul™ Field Guide – Free Download 5. Mobilizing Community Partnerships in Rural Communities: Strategies and Techniques 6. New NACo Report: Digital Coast: Tools to Promote County Resilience 7. Ambre Coal Dispute Heats Up 8. Heating The City, One Neighborhood At a Time 9. Teaching Financial Literacy to Farmers – A NIFTI Webinar 10. 3 Ways That Turning Parking Spots Into Parklets Helps Businesses 11. Funding Opportunities.

Quote of the Week: Always remember that the future comes one day at a time. ~Dean Acheson

Oregon Fast Fact: The John Day River has more miles of scenic waterway than any river in the United States. The river's total length is 281 miles.

1. EPA Report Covers Stormwater Management Practices for Vacant Lots and Brownfields This EPA report presents information to assist communities, developers, and other stakeholders in determining the appropriateness of implementing stormwater management practices that promote infiltration at vacant parcels and brownfield sites. The new guide walks decision-makers through a series of questions to determine whether infiltration or other stormwater management approaches are appropriate for a specific brownfield property. Strategies for reducing or eliminating these risks can include removing contaminated soil or waste materials, treating soils on site, placing a cap or barrier over contaminated areas, bioremediation, or monitored natural attenuation.

To access the full report, click here.

2. Threatened Species Found at Salem Hospital Site A Willamette University student and several local educators are concerned that the “clear cutting” development of the Salem Hospital property where the School for the Blind was may predict the end of two species of native wildlife in Salem’s city core.

Maya Kaup, a sophomore Biology student is studying the Western Grey Squirrel population in the Salem area. The Western Grey Squirrel, which evolved to reside here millions of years ago, is rapidly losing ground to the Eastern Grey Squirrel, a competitive species introduced by humans in 1919, as well as by human-caused loss of habitat To access the full story, click here.

3. Journeying Oregon’s New Marine Reserves by Bike: Cape Falcon (Part 1 of 5) The first of Oregon’s five newly designated marine reserves we encounter as we cycle south from the Washington border does not yet

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exist, except on planning maps. The Cape Falcon Marine Reserve is slated to come into being on the first day of 2016.

We try to survey the site from a pullout high on Highway 101. The two-lane route has left the ocean’s side to surmount the two rocky promontories off of which the reserve will lie, Cape Falcon and Neahkahnie Mountain, and after winding twice upward through a Sitka spruce forest, it briefly touches the cliff edge. The pullout gives us an immeasurable view over the Pacific Ocean, matte blue in the late afternoon. Far below, the rollers look deceptively gentle as they come to break on the mountain’s trunk. The mountainside blocks the view to the north. To the south a sandy beach arcing into the distance divides ocean from forest. On its margin the town of Manzanita is tucked into the greenery.

From this perch, it is impossible without local knowledge or a map to tell where the reserve will be.

After all, marine reserves are invisible from above. The ocean stretches opaque, hiding the habitat to be protected. After the reserve’s official implementation, the vista will remain unchanged.

To access the full story, click here.

4. Community Heart & Soul™ Field Guide This Field Guide spells out a step-by-step process on how to inspire residents to shape the future of their communities, based on what matters most to them.

Whether you are a city planner, elected official, or a resident concerned about your town’s future, I hope you will take a moment to download the Field Guide and start the conversation about strengthening the social, cultural and economic vibrancy of your town.

To access your free copy of the Community Heart & Soul™ Field Guide, click here.

5. Mobilizing Community Partnerships in Rural Communities: Strategies and Techniques This Report describes how rural communities can develop and maintain organizational and community partnerships with local health departments, community health centers, healthcare organizations, offices of rural health, hospitals, and non-profit organizations.

To access the report, click here.

6. New NACo Report: Digital Coast: Tools to Promote County Resilience The National Association of Counties’ new report, Digital Coast: Tools to Promote County Resilience, provides an overview of Digital Coast, a suite of tools that can be used to analyze and communicate about coastal natural resource management issues. Digital Coast, developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center, offers powerful tools to assist users in accessing data on coastal vulnerability, simulating projections of impacts, creating visualizations of potential future scenarios, and more. The report goes in-depth on specific Digital Coast tools that address needs related to natural resource management and habitat restoration, land use and planning, and outreach and communication. It closes with an exploration of emerging trends and public policy initiatives in coastal communities and next steps for counties interested in putting Digital Coast tools into action.

To access the report, click here.

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7. Ambre Coal Dispute Heats Up Australia-based Ambre Energy and its Boardman landlord, the Port of Morrow, are pressing ahead with appeals to the Oregon Department of State Lands to reverse its decision to reject a key permit for the $242 million Morrow Pacific coal network on the Columbia River.

The department previously rejected a permit the project needs to construct a barge-loading facility in Boardman at the port. That decision triggered appeals from Ambre, the port and the state of Wyoming.

The department dealt appeal a blow last week when said Wyoming lacks standing. The separate appeals by Ambre and the port will be joined and heard by an administrative law judge, who will recommend if the state agency erred in its original decision.

To access the full story, click here.

8. Heating The City, One Neighborhood At a Time When lit soft green or red, the five metal fingers forming something like a giant hand next to a bridge here look like just another wacky piece of public art in Vancouver.

But those “fingers” are actually exhaust pipes. And they’re part of a bold experiment to change the way energy is delivered in this city.

The pipes shoot out from a building under the bridge. Inside occurs a remarkable recycling of energy. Heat is captured from a nearby neighborhood’s wastewater — sewage is actually quite warm from the runoff of hot showers and such. That captured energy is used to heat up clean water, which is sent back through a different set of underground pipes to the area’s 1,100 condos, shops and community center To access the full story, click here.

9. Teaching Financial Literacy to Farmers – A NIFTI Webinar Join the National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (NIFTI) on Nov. 18th, from 1-2:30 PM ET to learn tools and best practices for teaching financial literacy to beginning farmers. Our presenters are Julia Shanks - Julia Shanks Food Consulting, and Gary Matteson – Farm Credit Council. The webinar will focus on practical strategies for teaching farmers how to manage the financial health of their businesses.

To register for this webinar, click here.

10. 3 Ways That Turning Parking Spots Into Parklets Helps Businesses How you feel about parklets—street-parking spaces converted into temporary gathering spots— depends in large part on how you get around the city. If you walk or take a bike, and generally prefer a more human scale to the urban environment, you probably love these little plazas and sitting places.

If you drive and spend much of your life in the endless Costanzian battle that is finding a parking spot, you probably don't.

Those positions aren't likely to budge anytime soon. So the real tiebreaking question, at least in terms of public opinion, is how businesses themselves feel about repurposing their storefront parking spots for pedestrians. If Chicago retailers are any indication, get ready for the parklets.

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Chicago started allowing businesses to create parklets called People Spots a few years ago. Nine emerged across the city: two in Andersonville, four in Lake View, one in the downtown Loop, and two in Bronzeville. This past summer, the local Metropolitan Planning Council evaluated the business impact of these spots by recording a full day's activity at each and interviewing parklet users and retailer owners alike.

To access the full story, click here.

11. Funding Opportunities National Environmental Education Foundation Requests Applications for Capacity-Building Grants <http://e.foundationcenter.org/a/hBUQVYFB8ixfdB89FXIAACSSkLZ/rfpb22> - DEADLINE: October 30, 2014 Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to nonprofits working to improve and promote the responsible use of a public land or water site anywhere in the United States....

CHS Foundation Grants <http://www.raconline.org/funding/3258/?utm_source=racupdate&utm_medium=email&utm_ca mpaign=update101514> - Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.

Awards funding for projects and programs related to rural youth leadership, rural cooperative education, community leadership development, and farm and agriculture safety.

Wells Fargo and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Accepting Applications for Community Grants <http://e.foundationcenter.org/a/hBUQVYFB8ixfdB89FXIAACSSkLZ/rfpb29> DEADLINE: December 10, 2014 Grants of up to $100,000 will be awarded in support of highly visible projects that link economic development and community well-being to the stewardship and health of the environment....

Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries Accepting School Library Grant Applications <http://e.foundationcenter.org/a/hBUOC3RB8ixfdB888w6AACSSki5/rfpb29> - DEADLINE: December 15, 2014 Grants of up to $7,000 will be awarded to help libraries expand, update, and diversify their book collections at schools where 85 percent or more students qualify for free or reduced lunches....

Technical Assistance and Training Grant for Rural Waste Systems <http://www.raconline.org/funding/2497/?utm_source=racupdate&utm_medium=email&utm_ca mpaign=update101514> - Application deadline: Dec 31, 2014 Grants for organizations that assist communities with water or wastewater operations through technical assistance and/or training.

Sponsor: USDA Rural Development Agricultural Safety Grants <http://www.raconline.org/funding/3676/?utm_source=racupdate&utm_medium=email&utm_ca mpaign=update101514> - Application deadline: Jan 7, 2015 Awards funding to local- or regionallevel agricultural health and safety intervention projects. Sponsor: Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America Innovations for Healthy Living - Improving Minority Health and Eliminating Health Disparities <http://www.raconline.org/funding/3675/?utm_source=racupdate&utm_medium=email&utm_ca mpaign=update101514> - Letter of Intent (Optional): Dec 27, 2014, Application deadline: Jan 27, 2015 Awards funding to small business concerns (SBCs) to develop a product, process, or service for commercialization that would result in the reduction of disparities in healthcare access and health outcomes. Sponsor: National Institutes of Health

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Middle School Students Invited to Submit Entries for Christopher Columbus Awards <http://e.foundationcenter.org/a/hBUOC3RB8ixfdB888w6AACSSki5/rfpb19> - DEADLINE: February 2, 2015 The program challenges students in grades six to eight to identify a problem in their community and apply the scientific method to create an innovative solution to that problem....

Foundation of the National Student Nurses' Association Accepting Applications for Leadership Grant <http://e.foundationcenter.org/a/hBUOC3RB8ixfdB888w6AACSSki5/rfpb21> DEADLINE: February 13, 2015 A grant of up to $2,500 will be awarded to a nursing program in support of programs that foster the development of leadership skills in nursing students....

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