Artist rendering of Nyssa Rail Reload Facility Courtesy of Malheur County Economic Development.

At 1000 Friends of Oregon, we know that agriculture is critical to our future and that farmland is protected for good reason: farmers are pillars of our economy. That is especially true in Malheur County, where agriculture, coupled with other natural resource work like forestry, fishing, and hunting supply over 15 percent of...

Since 2012, 1000 Friends' Land Use Leadership Initiative (LULI) has equipped advocates and activists with the tools they need to knowledgably engage with issues in their communities. Dozens of alumni have graduated from six cohorts in the Metro area around Portland. Thanks to the generosity of multiple partners, this fall we began the first ever non-Metro cohort in the Rogue Valley of Jackson and Josephine counties.

The Rogue Valley, like much of the state, is facing numerous land use challenges. In response to the housing affordability crisis that has plagued communities nation-wide, many southern Oregon cities are revising older housing policies....

As Americans, we begin September with Labor Day, in celebration of all working people in our great nation. Especially in Oregon, the hard-working traditions of ranching, agriculture, and forestry are still very much a part of our identity and our economy. Oregon’s prosperity is dependent on the labor provided, year in and year out, by thousands of immigrant Oregonians who, like generations before, came here in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Responsible land use in Oregon would not be possible without the active and open participation of immigrant families; indeed, the state of Oregon would not exist at all.

This is why,...