Funds to Enhance Water Quality Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced on July 8 that the U.S. Bureau of reclamation is awarding $299,973 to the Crooked River Water Quality Partnership, in collaboration with the Deschutes River Conservancy. The funding will help develop projects to reduce nutrient pollution in the watershed, enhancing water quality, […]
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Posted inOpinion
On E-Bikes in the Forest, Data Brings Clarity
Who are we to say who belongs and who doesn’t, when the data shows little extra trail maintenance and minimal user conflicts?
In recent years, e-bikes have exploded onto the cycling scene. Parents use them to commute with their kids. People with more limited mobility embrace them as a way to get outside on two wheels. And around the country, an increasing number of trail-network managers have begun to allow limited types of them, even on singletrack […]
Posted inOpinion
Oregon Enacted Laws Around Homeless Camp Removals in 2023. After the Grants Pass Decision, Will They Be Enough?
Are we destined to listen to endless diatribes about criminalization versus compassion during this election season?
There’s plenty to be concerned about with the recent Supreme Court decision that upholds a ban on camping in Grants Pass, Oregon. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision, saying that laws criminalizing sleeping in public places are not in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s cruel and unusual punishment protections. The case […]
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Comment Period Opens for Proposal Allowing E-bikes on Select Trails The Deschutes National Forest is seeking input on a proposed project that would allow class 1, pedal-assist e-bikes on existing, select trails and paved paths located near Bend, Sisters and Sunriver. The Forest Service is considering the use of e-bikes on select trails to create […]
Posted inOpinion
Oregon Water Use Is Moving In the Right Direction
We’d love to see Oregon’s historical water-rights laws to be more closely examined altogether, and the “use it or lose it” approach be swapped for a more conservationist one.
There’s a reason we devote an issue each year to water. Not only is it the most basic of human needs, but the issues around it only continue to grow. In recent years, the farmers who actually grow crops in the region have suffered from shortages of irrigation water. A longstanding drought — which has […]
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Bend Approved Tree Code Changes On June 20, the Bend City Council approved amendments to City codes that regulate how and when trees can be removed in new developments. The updated codes will require developers to plant new trees on-site or make a payment in lieu of preservation if a certain percentage of trees are […]
Posted inOpinion
Public Lands Rule: A New Era for American Land Management
We may not see the effects of this change for quite some time, but we’re betting our grandchildren will thank us
You may not have heard much about it, but a massive change just happened on public lands — one that might begin to reverse a trend of over-extraction and land degradation in the United States. Our grandchildren may one day thank us. On June 10, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management put its Public Lands […]
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New Grant Supports Oregon Foster Care Students The State Board of Education approved a Foster Care Student Success Pilot Grant last week, aiming to improve educational outcomes for students in the state foster care system. The grant was in accordance with House Bill 4084, which passed in March and required the Oregon Department of Education […]
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OHA Supports LGBTQIA2S+ People with Summer Resources The Oregon Health Authority is reaffirming its commitment to its LGBTQIA2S+ youth by sharing resources to promote their well-being, safety, security and inclusion. Since 2022, OHA has highlighted resources available to LGBTQIA2S+ youth every summer. OHA lists national resources like The Trevor Project, which promotes suicide prevention and […]
Posted inOpinion
A Lot is Riding on Drug Deflection. As It Gets Going, We Have Questions.
On drug treatment, let’s hope this time we’re sharing a success story
Over the past several years, Oregon has gotten a great deal of attention for its attempt at drug decriminalization, which was plagued by a shortage of treatment beds, no real “teeth” to push people into treatment and the surge of fentanyl that saw our state having the highest rate of increase in fentanyl overdose deaths […]