Dustin Rymph

Email: dustinrymph@gmail.com
Title: Outreach Coordinator
Organization: Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative
Community: Oakridge
Population: 3,300
County Served: Lane

Meet Dustin Rymph (he/him/his):

Dustin received his MS in Conflict Resolution with a Land Use Specialization from the University of Oregon in 2021. After graduating from the University of Nebraska with a Poli Sci degree in 2011, he spent the ensuing years working in Nebraska as a prairie ecologist, horticulturalist, market farmer, high school debate coach, and doing other odd jobs. His spare time is spent writing and playing music, foraging for wild plants, hiking with his partner, experimenting with fermentation, gardening, and hanging out with his Chihuahua.

Community and Organization:

Oakridge, Oregon is a town in the Cascade Foothills that was historically built around the timber products industry. It is surrounded by the Willamette National Forest, and has been central in the “Timber Wars” controversies regarding forest management in Eastern Oregon. The Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative was formed to deal with multiple aspects of forest management to find collaborative, community-rooted solutions that address the needs of stakeholders at all levels.

Project:

Dustin is primarily focused on helping greater Oakridge become a Fire Adapted community, including implementing Firewise requirements and strengthening interagency fire mitigation collaboration. He also facilitates the Recreation Committee, which is currently working on various connector trails and balancing use impacts with tourism promotion in local subwatersheds. Finally, he facilitates general outreach between partners and provides general collaborative support capacity.