Land Use & Open Space Conservation

Last November, Portland Metro voted for the first time not to expand its boundary. It wasn’t much of a surprise; people want to live near downtown, not on the fringes, and the Metro area has plenty of developable land. But you could also say it was a vote to preserve the essence of Portland by protecting what it was not willing to risk: the pristine Willamette Valley land that surrounded it.

Following a 10-hour hearing Thursday at the North Tahoe Event Center, the Placer County Planning Commission voted 4-2 to recommend the Village at Squaw Valley Specific Plan for approval, to move ahead with the 94-acre proposed redevelopment project for the resort and to certify the plan’s final environmental impact report. ... Sierra Watch Attorney Isaac Silverman, who was in attendance for the meeting’s duration, said he was surprised by the outcome because he’d met with Roccucci and Johnson prior to the meeting.

Switzer Fellow and Colorado State University Professor Maria Fernández-Giménez has received the Order of the Polar Star from the government of Mongolia, the highest civilian honor the country presents to foreign nationals. Fernández-Giménez was selected due to her long-standing commitment to researching Mongolia’s extensive rangelands and how natural and human communities are adapting to ecological and economic change.

Gov. David Ige today announced his nominations for the Board of Education and the Land Use Commission. The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate. The governor also reappointed Commissioner Jonathan Scheuer, whose current term expires on June 30th. Read more

We are pleased to share that Tom Robinson will join the Open Space Council as Director of Conservation, Science, and Innovation. He will start February 16. We set out looking for an experienced, strategic, collaborative, and engaging professional. And we are confident that we found that person.

A regional collaboration of resource agencies learned today that it will receive an $8 million grant to protect agricultural lands and ecosystems for drought and climate resiliency.