08 mm 102714

Monday Mailing

Year 21 • Issue 08 27 October 2014 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Quote of the Week: “Like water, be gentle and strong. Be gentle enough to follow the natural paths of the earth, and strong enough to rise up and reshape the world.”

-- Brenda Peterson Oregon Fast Fact Dorris Ranch in Springfield became the first commercial filbert orchard in the state.

Buy Experiences, Not Things A Sprinkle of Compost Helps Rangeland Lock Up Carbon Tsunami of Money Floods Oregon GMO Labeling Campaign Multnomah County Seeks Volunteers to Help Revise Rural Transportation, Land Use Plan The Fight for Damascus: Land-Use Struggle Heads to Ballot Preservation of Wallowa Lake's East Moraine Moves Ahead With Public, Private Partnership USDA Releases New “Made in Rural America” Report for Oregon Defining A City By Its Professional Skill Set with Data From LinkedIn Public Access to Federal Sage-Grouse Workshop Criticized Healthy Cities Webinar

1. Buy Experiences, Not Things Forty-seven percent of the time, the average mind is wandering. It wanders about a third of the time while a person is reading, talking with other people, or taking care of children. It wanders 10 percent of the time, even, during sex. And that wandering, according to psychologist Matthew Killingsworth, is not good for well-being. A mind belongs in one place. During his training at Harvard, Killingsworth compiled those numbers and built a scientific case for every cliché about living in the moment. In a 2010 Science paper co-authored with psychology professor Daniel Gilbert, the two wrote that "a wandering mind is an unhappy mind."

For Killingsworth, happiness is in the content of moment-to-moment experiences. Nothing material is intrinsically valuable, except in whatever promise of happiness it carries. Satisfaction in owning a thing does not have to come during the moment it's acquired, of course. It can come as anticipation or nostalgic longing. Overall, though, the achievement of the human brain to contemplate events past and future at great, tedious length has, these psychologists believe, come at the expense of happiness. Minds tend to wander to dark, not whimsical, places. Unless that mind has something exciting to anticipate or sweet to remember.

To access the full story, click here.

2. A Sprinkle of Compost Helps Rangeland Lock Up Carbon A compost experiment that began seven years ago on a Marin County ranch has uncovered a disarmingly simple and benign way to remove carbon dioxide from the air, holding the potential to turn the vast rangeland of California and the world into a weapon against climate change.

The concept grew out of a unique Bay Area alignment of a biotech fortune, a world-class research institution and progressive-minded Marin ranchers. It has captured the attention of the White House, the Brown administration, the city of San Francisco, officials in Brazil and Page 1 of 5

China, and even House Republicans, who may not believe in climate change but like the idea that “carbon farming” could mean profits for ranchers.

Experiments on grazing lands in Marin County and the Sierra foothills of Yuba County by UC Berkeley bio-geochemist Whendee Silver showed that a one-time dusting of compost substantially boosted the soil’s carbon storage. The effect has persisted over six years, and Silver believes the carbon will remain stored for at least several decades.

To access the full story, click here.

3. Tsunami of Money Floods Oregon GMO Labeling Campaign In California in 2012, a proposal to label foods containing GMOs was defeated after opponents, headed by Monsanto, spent $46 million to supporters’ $9 million. Last year, opponents of labeling narrowly defeated a similar measure in Washington state, with supporters raising around $6 million and opponents ponying up more than $35 million million in a state with only about a quarter the population of California. Again, Monsanto was the largest single donor.

First, is it legal to hold board meetings by conference call?

Now the issue—and the tsunami of money—is pouring into Oregon, where Measure 92, sponsored

by Oregon GMO Right to Know, will be on the ballot this November. So far the spending hasn’t been as outsized as that in California and Washington, with supporters raising more than $4 million and opponents raising more than $7 million to date with the promise to spend more. And— surprise!—so far, Monsanto has been the biggest single donor, although the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents multiple donors, has given more.

But there are signs that this time might be different. Earlier this year, voters in a pair of rural Oregon counties considered to be fairly conservative banned GMO crops due to farmers’ concerns about non-GMO crops becoming contaminated by wind-borne GMOs. And both the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor support the labeling initiative.

To access the full story, click here.

4. Multnomah County Seeks Volunteers to Help Revise Rural Transportation, Land Use Plan Multnomah County is seeking members for a new committee that will help update two plans that guide the county’s rural transportation and land use decisions for the next two decades.

The county hopes to recruit 12 to 15 community members to the Comprehensive Plan Community Advisory Committee in time to begin the group’s work by January.

Over the next year, the committee will advise the county planning commission as its members work to craft updates to the existing comprehensive plan, which was created in 1977. The county board will have final say on the new plan.

This will be Multnomah County’s second recent major land use and transportation plan overhaul, joining the ongoing effort to update Sauvie Island’s rural plan to deal with the island’s growing popularity as a tourist destination.

To access the full story, click here.

Page 2 of 5

5. The Fight for Damascus: Land-Use Struggle Heads to Ballot What does a 1980s religious cult in Eastern Oregon have to do with the legal battles broiling 30 years later in Damascus?

More than you might expect.

Oregon land-use expert Ed Sullivan was an attorney for Rajneeshpuram, a theocratic city formed by the 2,000 followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in 1981. An odd moment in Oregon’s history, the city sprang up practically overnight on The Big Muddy Ranch near the Warm Springs Reservation. It lasted for four years before imploding socially and being dismantled by the state on the grounds that it was, as argued by then-Attorney General Dave Frohnmeyer, an “impermissible fusion of religion and government.”

Now a teacher at several university law schools and a city attorney for three cities, Sullivan says the experience made the Oregon Legislature re-examine its incorporation laws and make them more strict.

In 1983, ORS 197.175 was implemented, requiring cities to pass a comprehensive land-use plan within four years — a deadline Damascus blew through six years ago. Lawmakers also implemented a requirement (ORS 221.035) in 1989 that any potential must city complete an economic feasibility study.

To access the full story, click here.

6. Preservation of Wallowa Lake's East Moraine Moves Ahead With Public, Private Partnership An effort is underway in northeastern Oregon to preserve a prominent piece of scenery at one of the state's premier outdoor recreation areas, the east moraine that hugs Wallowa Lake.

The idea of protecting the glacial deposit dates to the adoption of the county land use plan in the 1970s.

But it's gotten fresh impetus in recent months with an alliance of public and private interests, an endorsement from the local Chamber of Commerce board and an invitation to apply for federal funds to help with the purchase, the La Grande Observer reports.

"Approximately 700,000 people each year visit Wallowa County and businesses throughout the county use photographs of that viewshed in their marketing," said Kathleen Ackley of the Wallowa Land Trust.

The moraine rises about 900 feet above the lake. It is largely undeveloped and is in private hands, about 1,800 acres in a family trust. It's used for grazing and timber. Public access is allowed for hiking and horseback riding.

To access the full story, click here.

7. USDA Releases New “Made in Rural America” Report for Oregon On behalf of the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) commitment to strengthening rural economies, USDA Rural Development Oregon State Director Vicki Walker announced new data highlighting USDA investments in rural Oregon. This data summarizes specific USDA investments in rural Oregon’s businesses, manufacturing, energy, water and other infrastructure development. It Page 3 of 5

also outlines how USDA is helping rural Oregon attract businesses and families by investing in housing and broadband. This information is part of USDA’s national "Made in Rural America" report illustrating the impact of USDA investments in rural America.

"Supporting our rural communities benefits all Oregonians" said Walker. "USDA has made dedicated investments in manufacturing, energy and small businesses in rural Oregon. At the same time, we are bringing reliable services like water, housing and broadband to make these same communities attract and retain a talented workforce. This data shows that the entrepreneurial spirit is vigorous and strong in rural Oregon."

In Oregon, USDA has made investments to help 396 rural businesses thrive and grow, including $277.7 million in rural manufacturing investments alone. Rural manufacturing supports 26,184 jobs in Oregon. In addition, USDA has helped 16,493 families purchase or repair homes and has invested $135.1 million to support efficient water support, treatment and storage facilities, and wastewater treatment systems. This investment has improved the health of thousands of rural Oregon who now have access to clean water and reliable sanitation.

The new report also highlights a newly announced USDA Rural Development grant to Sustainable Northwest to help create rural jobs and restore ecosystems by expanding commercial markets for Western Juniper. This grant continues a series of USDA Rural Development investments with Sustainable Northwest to create economic opportunity while addressing environmental concerns in the Northwest’s Dry Forest Zone.

More information is available at www.usda.gov/opportunity.

The “Made in Rural America” report reflects USDA’s efforts to strengthen the "four pillars" of a new economy in rural America by developing a robust bio-based economy; promoting exports and production agriculture fueled by increased productivity and research; encouraging conservation including land management, stewardship and outdoor recreational opportunities; and building a strong local and regional food system to harness entrepreneurial innovation and help small and medium-sized family farms succeed in rural America.

8. Defining A City By Its Professional Skill Set with Data From LinkedIn By their very design and origins, cities have always been linked closely to opportunity. In addition to providing concentrated access to a more diverse set of cultural, culinary, and educational options, cities also attract and nurture clusters of workers with complementary and contrasting skills. For workers considering a move, the professional attributes of a city can matter just as much as the attributes of a particular company or opportunity.

Some professionals considering their next career move may be interested in an area that has a rich ecosystem of talent in their specialty. Others might want to find places where they’d stand out and offer a unique capability and point of view. Businesses evaluating a new location, or a new talent pool to tap, also pay close attention to where those pockets of talents lie.

To access the full story, click here.

9. Public Access to Federal Sage-Grouse Workshop Criticized A meeting next week in Fort Collins about the greater sage-grouse has drawn fire from several western representatives who want to know why public attendance is limited while regulators focus on possible land use issues.

Page 4 of 5

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey are conducting a workshop Wednesday and Thursday to discuss scientific questions about bird populations. Interior Department officials say the panel includes government agencies, tribes, industry and local conservation organizations.

The department says people who were invited to attend were drafted with help from wildlife agencies so they could focus on scientific issues.

To access the full story, click here.

10. Healthy Cities Webinar Thu, Oct 30, 2014 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM PDT The environment that we construct affects both humans and our natural world in myriad ways.

There is a pressing need to create healthy places and to reduce the health threats inherent in places already built. However, there has been little awareness of the adverse effects of what we have constructed-or the positive benefits of well-designed built environments.

Join SSF and the American Public Health Association on October 30th in a rare opportunity to listen in on a conversation between two of the thought leaders in public health and urban planning and design -- UCLA Professor Richard Jackson co-author of Urban Sprawl and Public Health and coeditor of Making Healthy Places; and Tim Beatley of the University of Virginia and author of Biophilic Cities and Blue Urbanism plus several other books on urban and environmental planning.

The session will be moderated by Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association, which is co-producing the webinar.

To register for this webinar, click here.

Page 5 of 5