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COLT News Digest for August 31, 2022

This summer been full and fun for us at COLT! Last week, we toured the Columbia Gorge with board president and Friends of the Columbia Gorge's Land Trust Director Dan Bell, visiting properties conserved by Friends of the Columbia Gorge, the Nature Conservancy in Oregon, and Columbia Land Trust. A week before that, we joined the team at Forest Park Conservancy to help with their effort to brush nearly 47 miles of trails this summer!

For us, the last few months have felt an important time to reconnect, and we've noticed our members are doing the same. We've been inspired by all the ways land trusts in Oregon have been engaging with their communities and bringing people together to protect the natural world.

Here are a few of highlights:

North Coast Land Conservancy launched a second year of the Tidepool Ambassador Program, a program where volunteers engage with the public to educate them about tidepools and connect them with nature.
Forest Park Conservancy threw a Wildwood Welcome Party, a 2-day bash with zine-making workshops, birding excursions, a Pride run, and basket weaving with Elder Celeste Whitewolf.
Oregon Agricultural Trust hit the road, traveling around the state to host 6 free workshops to work with farmers on succession planning and easements.
Greenbelt Land Trust brought back Music on the Land, an incredible celebration featuring live music and a performance by Oregon's poet laureate Anis Mojgani at Bald Hill Farm.
Columbia Land Trust hosted land managers, state and federal agency staff, and prescribed fire practitioners for a training on how to use prescribed fire as a land management tool.

-COLT Staff
Banner image: View from Rowena Crest during COLT's Gorge Tour this August.

CONFERENCE

CONNECT+ Conference is September 6-8!

It's not too late to register for the CONNECT+ Conference next week! This hybrid event allows attendees to enjoy the conference either in-person in Seaside, Oregon or virtually.

CONNECT+ will bring together local, state, and federal decision-makers, support organizations, professionals from Watershed Councils, Conservation Districts, Land Trusts, and others who are committed to conserving our state’s natural resources.

The CONNECT+ comprehensive conference will provide training focused on both the technical and administrative aspects of conservation implementation.

Presentations are developed for rural and urban conservation implementation, managerial and administrative function, policy, education and outreach activities, and more!

News & Resources

Members in the News

Meg Rutledge Named Next Executive Director of Columbia Land Trust (Columbia Land Trust)
Oregon groups get $11 million boost from feds to protect threatened species, support reforestation (Oregon Capital Chronicle, featuring Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District)
Janie Lowe wins Friends of the Columbia Gorge Award (Columbia Gorge News, featuring Friends of the Columbia Gorge)
Coalition of 22 advocacy groups ask Oregon to regulate dairy air pollution (Statesman Journal, featuring Friends of the Columbia Gorge)
NRCS Oregon and partners invest over $29 million in four new Regional Conservation Partnership Program projects (NRCS, featuring Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District)

Conservation News

A new mental health hotline for farmers and ranchers (High Country News)
How climate change is muting nature’s symphony (Grist)
Some governors are turning voluntary land conservation into a culture war item (NPR)
The flooding in Pakistan is a climate catastrophe with political roots (Vox)

Columbia River's salmon are at the core of ancient religion (AP News)
Conserving and Celebrating an Ancient Fish (Underscore News)
Cascade snowpack melts faster in burned areas, study says (OPB)
Wildfire kills Klamath fish: ‘Everything that’s in there is dead.’ (High Country News)

Have a news item to share?
Send K elsey an email!

Events & Webinars

Pease refer to individual organizations for updates on the status of events
🖥 = Virtual event

August 31: Gorge on Tap! (Friends of the Columbia Gorge)
September 6-8: Connect+ Conference (Oregon Conservation Education and Assistance Network)
September 10: East Moraine Community Forest Celebration (Wallowa Land Trust)
September 10: Guiding More Good Conference (Nonprofit Association of Oregon)
September 11: Intertidal Exploration (McKenzie River Trust)
September 13 & 15: Climate Adaptation and Tribal Forest Protection Act Webinars (NIACS & GLIFWC)
September 16: Willow Springs Preserve Restoration Tour (Deschutes Land Trust)
September 24: National Public Lands Day with Free Lunch! (Forest Park Conservancy)
September 24: Mulkey Ridge Thinning and Restoration Tour (Greenbelt Land Trust)
September 24: Trout Tour at the Confluence (Wallowa Land Trust)
September 25: Salmon Spawning Tour at Finn Rock Reach (McKenzie River Trust)
September 29: Prineville Open House (Deschutes Land Trust)
October 6: Sipping for Salmon: A Conservation Benefit Beer & Chat (Blue Mountain Land Trust)

Upcoming Grants & Funding Deadlines

Please check with each funding entity for the most up-to-date information

Athletic Brewing Co: Two For The Trails Grant
The Healy Foundation: Youth + Environment + Community; letters of interest accepted year-round
NOAA Fisheries: Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants; applications due September 6
USDA: On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials for Federal fiscal year; applications due September 22
NRCS: Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP); applications due September 23
NOAA Fisheries: Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities; applications due September 30
Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund; applications due September 30
USFWS: Candidate Species Conservation Fund; applications due September 30
USFWS: Coastal Program Grant; applications due September 30
EPA: Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program; applications due October 4
ODFW: Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund; applications due October 7
NOAA: Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Habitat Protection and Restoration Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; applications due October 14
OWEB: OAHP: Conservation Management Plan; applications due October 31
OWEB: OAHP: Working Land Conservation Covenant and Easement; applications due October 31

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program Grant Application is Now Open

The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) is accepting applications for two Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program (OAHP) grant offerings:

Working Land Conservation Covenant & Easements
Conservation Management Plans

These grants are supported by General Funds from the Oregon Legislature and available Statewide. The grant cycle deadline for OAHP grant offerings is 5 p.m. on October 31, 2022. Learn more and apply.

SURVEY

LTA's Land Trust Salaries and Benefits Survey

You’re invited to participate in the 2022 Land Trust Salaries and Benefits survey, the only comprehensive source of staff compensation data exclusively for the land trust community.

Like most nonprofit organizations, land trusts have faced unprecedented challenges over the past few years in hiring and retaining their staff. By completing this survey, you are:

Helping your land trust and other land trusts in your state and region make decisions about how to best compensate hard-working staff.
Creating an important reference point for individuals seeking to change careers or negotiate their own salaries.
Providing data so we can all spot trends at the national and regional levels.

Take the Survey

Conservation Jobs

Clackamas Soil & Water Conservation District is hiring a Conservation Investments Coordinator (Beavercreek, OR) Applications due August 31
Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department is hiring 5 Natural Resource Specialists (Across Oregon) Applications due August 31
McKenzie River Trust is hiring aWatershed Restoration Specialist (Eugene, OR) Applications due September 2
Oregon Agricultural Trust is hiring a Farmland Program Director/Manager (Remote—OR) Applications due September 6
Oregon Agricultural Trust is hiring an Education Director (Remote—OR) Applications due September 6
Friends of the Columbia Gorge is hiring a Conservation Director (Portland or the Gorge) Applications due September 7
North Coast Land Conservancy is hiring a Marine Program Coordinator (Seaside, OR) Applications due September 12
McKenzie River Trust is hiring a Conservation Transactions Manager (Eugene, OR) Applications due September 14
Inland NW Land Conservancy is hiring a Donor Relations Specialist (Spokane, WA) Applications due September 20
Columbia Land Trust is hiring a Coast and Estuary Natural Area Manager (Vancouver, WA or Astoria, OR) Applications due September 25
Trout Unlimited is hiring a Klamath River Project Coordinator (Southern Oregon) Open until filled
Deschutes Land Trust is hiring a Development Director (Bend, OR) Open until filled

See All Jobs

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