Tag: RARE AmeriCorps Program

A Year at Roseburg Public Library

Posted on August 6, 2024August 6, 2024 by kward2

Sala at Library

By Christian Sala

I am extremely grateful for the incredible opportunity to work at Roseburg Public Library for the past 11 months as their Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps member.

It feels like just yesterday when I vividly remember taking a guided tour of the library with Library Director Kris Wiley just before my first official day last September. I was brimming with excitement and passion as I eagerly anticipated the chance to positively impact the community and contribute meaningfully to the operations of the library.

Throughout my time, I sincerely hope that my unwavering enthusiasm and innovative ideas played a significant role in enhancing the library’s day-to-day functions and shaping its future endeavors, thereby making a tangible difference in the lives of our patrons.

Looking back on my time spent at the library, I realize it was a truly enriching and eye-opening experience. It provided me with invaluable insights into the inner workings of a community space so crucial to the local area.

Through direct observation and interaction, I witnessed the profound impact of the library’s services on the community. In particular, I gained a deep appreciation for the technology assistance many adults receive and early learning programs tailored to the needs of young library patrons. These programs play a vital role in shaping the community by providing essential educational resources and fostering a love for learning from an early age.

During my time at the library, I led four important projects that improved library services.

First, I conducted a thorough survey of library usage and organized two focus groups to collect valuable insights and feedback. This information will be important for developing the library’s second five-year strategic plan.

Second, I drafted a technology plan, which included researching and planning for the acquisition of 3D pens for the maker space, as well as creating innovative programs for young people.

Third, I coordinated programming for adults, which included teaching basic technology classes and providing one-on-one tech assistance. I also worked with respected authors and academics to organize engaging talks and events aimed at promoting community involvement and discussion.

Finally, I provided essential assistance to the Youth Services Librarian in coordinating and implementing various programs for young people, including the highly successful Summer Reading Program.

I am extremely grateful for the invaluable support and guidance provided by Wiley and Youth Services Librarian Aurora Ropp. Their unwavering encouragement and patience played a pivotal role in shaping my professional growth. The experiences and knowledge I acquired during my tenure have been nothing short of transformative. Their mentorship has not only bolstered my professional confidence but has deepened my understanding of the intricate dynamics between nonprofit organizations and local government.

As I get ready to start a Master of Business Administration program at the University of Oregon this fall, with a focus on finance and securities analysis, I aim to apply the knowledge and skills gained from my experience in the library to assist and counsel nonprofits, especially in dealing with limited finances. My goal is to keep supporting nonprofits in managing their finances effectively and helping them reach their objectives.

My last day at the library was July 27, coinciding with the library’s biggest annual event, Harry Potter Day, where two AmeriCorps peers volunteered alongside me.

Christian Sala was the outreach services lead at Roseburg Public Library.

This article first appeared on The News-Review and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Port facilities plan brings state support closer

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Ashley Adelman

By Edward Stratton, The Astorian

The Port of Astoria has completed a draft capital facilities plan, mapping out around $20 million in needed maintenance and looking to the future of operations while taking one step closer to more financial support from the state.

The Port finished a strategic plan in February laying out how the agency will get on stable footing financially. Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, paid for the creation of a capital facilities plan to prioritize projects, bringing on AmeriCorps intern Lydia Ivanovic to help Matt McGrath, the Port’s deputy director.

The capital facilities and strategic business plans will eventually be combined into an intergovernmental agreement providing accountability for how public money will be spent.

“We obviously, sitting here today, don’t have all the resources lined up in order to get everything done in the plan,” said Will Isom, Port’s executive director. “But having this IGA in place will open up supports for us and allow, specifically Shane (Jensen, the Port’s grant writer), to start really aggressively going after grant money, which will be an important piece of the financing puzzle.”

The facilities plan is a living document that could change with priorities and new opportunities. It encapsulates deferred maintenance projects, such as the cleanup of petroleum contamination leaking into the Columbia River between piers 2 and 3, the repair of the causeway leading out to the East Mooring Basin and the rehab of a slumping Pier 2 seawall where fishermen transfer their catch to processors.

The Port prioritized projects that improve safety and reduce environmental impact, McGrath said.

The plan also looks to the future of Port operations, including an expanded boatyard on Pier 3 and improved infrastructure for cruise ships stopping at Pier 1. Many of the projects focus on master plans to provide a cohesive strategy for developing the Port’s central waterfront and the Astoria Regional Airport.

“This is really meant not only to be a component of the strategic business plan, but to provide really a big benefit to Port staff, as to providing some institutional knowledge as far as what projects across Port property need to be done,” McGrath said. “This would have been a document that would have been tremendously helpful for me when I first came on, rather than having to kind of go around and figure out everything that needed to be done at the Port.”

Stephanie Prybyl, the ports manager for Business Oregon, said the capital facilities plan would help her organization as it goes to Salem seeking money for the Port.

Business Oregon has already loaned the Port around $20 million since 2001 for past projects, in addition to several infrastructure grants. But some of the financing went toward a boatworks cluster concept around Pier 3 that was largely scrapped after the arrival of lucrative log exports.

With the loss of logs, the Port has pivoted back toward an expanded boatyard on Pier 3. The strategy is one similar to the Port of Toledo, a coastal port upriver from Newport that parlayed a focus on its boatyard into millions of dollars in state grants.

In addition to getting help from the state, the Port hopes master planning on the central waterfront will attract urban renewal money from the city to help create a commercial district around the West Mooring Basin.

Isom sees much of the agency’s future in land development, with leases being the Port’s largest source of revenue.

Roseburg library launches Community Read Project

Posted on January 15, 2021October 25, 2021 by Ashley Adelman

by News Staff at KPIC 4

ROSEBURG, Ore. — Roseburg Public Library has been selected as one of 200 libraries to participate in Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that helps library workers better serve their small and rural communities.

The competitive award comes with a $3,000 grant that will help the library implement its first Roseburg Reads community book project in partnership with the Douglas Education Service District and Friends of the Roseburg Public Library.

The one community, one book format will support conversations about rural and generational poverty, housing instability, addiction and the barriers that keep children of hardship from realizing their potential. The library will use the memoir “rough house” by Oregon author Tina Ontiveros to frame the discussions.

Ontiveros was the first person in her family to go to college, earning a bachelor’s degree in literature and a master of fine arts degree in nonfiction writing. She teaches writing and literature at Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles. “rough house” explores her upbringing, particularly her relationship with her charming yet abusive father, Loyd, who spent the final years of his life in Douglas County. Published in September 2020 by Oregon State University Press, “rough house” was an October 2020 Indie Next Great Read and has been shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award.

RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) AmeriCorps Participant Katie Fischer will facilitate a discussion with the community about “rough house” on Thursday, April 29, 2021, at 6:30 p.m.; a conversation with Ontiveros on Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 6:30 p.m.; and a two-hour memoir writing workshop with Ontiveros on Thursday, May 13, 2021, at 6 p.m. All programs will be online and free and open to the public. Details, including log-in information, will be announced in March.

Several copies of “rough house” are available now, and many more copies have been ordered. Holds can be placed through the library’s online catalog at roseburg.biblionix.com. A limited number of copies will be available to those who are not eligible for a free Roseburg Public Library card.

Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).

Renewable energy gives economies a jump-start

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Ashley Adelman

by Lorrie Kaplan for the Ashland Tidings

Tired of hyper-partisanship and worried about the ability of Americans to communicate with each other across party lines? Concerned that half the country seems to deny climate change, while the other half sees a looming climate disaster?

A new independent film offers a glimmer of hope.

In October, nearly 80 Ashlanders enjoyed a Zoom screening of “Other Side of the Hill.” Produced by James Parker of Synchronous Pictures, it’s a beautiful and compassionate film that defies the narrative that conservative Eastern Oregon is ignoring climate change.

From large-scale solar and geothermal in Lakeview to innovative timber and wind energy operations in Wallowa County, the film shows how renewable energy projects are taking off in Eastern Oregon, providing skilled jobs and substantial county tax revenues — nearly $1 million to Lake County alone in 2020.

The screening was hosted by the Ashland Climate Action Project and Southern Oregon Climate Action Now, partnering with Local Innovation Works, Climate Reality Project-Southwestern Oregon Chapter, the Geos Institute, McCloud Watershed Council, Pollinator Project Rogue Valley, Rogue Community College Earth Club, Southern Oregon Pachamama Alliance, Sustainable Rogue Valley, and Sustainability at Southern Oregon University.

“Other Side of the Hill” was the inspiration of climate activists Julian Bell of Ashland, Deb Evans and Ron Schaaf of the Greensprings, and Tom Bowerman of Lane County. Bell recalls his own wake-up call moment.

“I went to Portland for the release of Naomi Klein’s book, “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate.” People at the event were saying that Eastern Oregon is the problem, that nothing is going on there.

“But Eastern Oregon is doing its part,” said Bell.

He decided it was important to help get the story out, especially after the 2019 state legislative session ended in a Republican walkout to block passage of “cap and invest” legislation.

Located just east of Klamath County, Lake County (population 7,879) is ideal territory for renewable projects. Much of the land is not suitable for grazing or agriculture. Solar resources and geothermal energy reserves are abundant. High-voltage power lines run through the county to connect Oregon and California, making it easy to upload power to the grid.

“The demise of the timber industry put us in major peril,” explains Nick Johnson, executive director of Lake County Resources Initiative, a nonprofit working to weave together economic and environmental prosperity for Lake County.

Today the county has 110 megawatts of solar generating capacity (enough to power more than 14,000 Oregon homes, according to industry experts). The county has approved additional projects that will more than double its capacity, and other projects are still in review. Lakeview produces far more renewable energy than the county consumes, and it is on track to offset all of its livestock methane emissions. Lake County Resources Initiative also assists homes, ranches, businesses, schools and other public buildings to reduce energy costs using rooftop solar — saving an estimated $9 million over a decade, according to LCRI.

According to Juliet Grable, a Greensprings-based writer who worked on the film, just because Eastern Oregonians “don’t talk about climate change in the same way doesn’t mean they don’t see it happening or that they don’t care about the environment or the planet.”

We all care about providing for our families.

“Everybody speaks the language of money, and we’ve had a lot of success by speaking that language,” says Johnson. “Renewable energy generates tax revenues for the county. We know that people also care about the ecological benefits. ”

Bell, Schaaf and Johnson believe that Oregonians can work together and are intrigued by the idea of an ongoing dialogue or partnership between Ashland and Lakeview.

“The time is now — right now. Because this is just the beginning of renewable energy development,” says Johnson.

“What we need are like-minded people,” Schaaf asserts. “Like-minded means you’re going to stay in the conversation. It means you want to help find a solution, not win an argument.”

In January, ACAP will host a second screening of “Other Side of the Hill” featuring a discussion on the art of collaborative conversation. Stay tuned for details or contact us to receive occasional emails about local climate action news and events. Check out the film trailer at othersideofthehillmovie.com.

Lorrie Kaplan is chair of the Ashland Climate Action Project of Southern Oregon Climate Action Now. She can be reached at ACAPSpotlight@socan.eco.

Originally published in The Ashland Tidings

Working behind the scenes on Sisters Vision project

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Ashley Adelman

By Sue Stafford

The 2018 Vision Project was undertaken to help provide clear, positive direction for the future of the community. What is happening to fulfill the vision crafted out of community input?

At a recent City Council workshop, Emme Shoup, the City’s Assistant Engagement and Program Coordinator, provided the first formal Vision Implementation Team (VIT) update.

Following the January 2019 adoption of the Vision and Action Plan by the City Council and other key partner agencies, the VIT was formed in July 2019. Their purpose is to collaborate on Vision progress, identify and dissolve barriers, identify funding for project implementation, and annually update the Vision Action Plan to reflect completed projects, provide progress reports on those action items underway, and identify upcoming projects for the next year.

The foundation of the Vision Plan consists of four focus areas: Livable Sisters, Prosperous Sisters, Connected Sisters, and Resilient Sisters. Each focus area has five strategies identified to support the focus area. The rubber hits the road with implementation of the 114 (and counting) action items which are carried out through community-led action overseen by the VIT.

The easiest way to understand the process is to dissect the work supporting one of the four focus areas — Resilient Sisters. One of the key projects designed to support a Resilient Sisters is wildfire preparedness, which is a county-wide issue. Steps already taken or underway include the creation by Deschutes County, in March 2020, of the Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee (WMAC) which developed recommendations on three key issues related to updating the County’s wildfire hazard map, adopting new state wildfire-mitigation building standards, and developing and adopting new land-use standards.

Those recommendations, the result of nine committee meetings in 2019/20, were presented to the Oregon State Legislature. The results reflect the collaborative work of representatives from Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District, Deschutes County, City of Sisters, Knott Landfill, Deschutes County District Forester, Project Wildfire, WMAC, and DLCD.

The County was awarded a Department of Land Conservation and Development grant for active forest management education through community outreach, which is ongoing.

In addition to the fall and spring free yard debris pickups in Sisters, the County increased the number of fire-free yard debris disposal dates at the County landfills from two to nine days as a way to increase wildfire mitigation. In 2020, roughly twice as much yard debris was collected as in 2019.

As a result of Deschutes County’s participation in the 2020 Oregon Legislative session on the Governor’s Council on Wildfire Response, the City of Sisters, Deschutes County, and state agencies anticipate updates to city and county building and land-use codes to mitigate fire danger.

Wildfire preparedness is only one key project supporting a Resilient Sisters. The five strategy areas are: public safety; disaster preparedness; equity and affordability; health and wellness; and social services.

Three projects have been completed, one of which was creating, in the winter of 2019, an inventory of age specific facilities and programs in Sisters, which will inform several other projects.

There are 12 ongoing and upcoming projects identified to support creating a Resilient Sisters. One of those projects includes Deschutes County, with the City of Sisters, conducting a needs, opportunities, and barriers assessment with local healthcare providers in order to begin establishing a comprehensive urgent-care center in Sisters to accommodate growing population and increasing numbers of tourists (on hold due to COVID-19).

The second project is aimed at improving communications connectivity and infrastructure (broadband, internet) with special attention to underserved areas of Sisters Country. Projected in 2021, AT&T will determine the location for a communications tower.

The Vision Plan is more than a document created to sit on a shelf. It is intended to be an evolving road map, directing development of programs for the benefit of the residents of all of Sisters Country. Much of the information contained in the Vision Plan will inform the work on the current Comprehensive Plan update.

Originally published in The Nugget Newspaper

Everyday People: Intern hopes to help strengthen Port, local food system

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Ashley Adelman

By Edward Stratton

Port infrastructure planning and local food systems might not seem like the most connected subjects.

But Lydia Ivanovic, assigned to the North Coast through the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments fellowship program, hopes to strengthen both over the next year.

The postgraduate fellowship program, run by AmeriCorps and administered locally by the University of Oregon, provides rural communities around the U.S. planning and technical assistance to solve local issues.

Morgan Murray, another participant, recently helped Warrenton update a master plan to prioritize improvement of parklands and trails.

“There was a ton of community applications this year,” Ivanovic said of the program. “A lot of rural communities wanted to take advantage of getting a RARE fellow, kind of with the COVID impacts and just strengthening business development.”

Ivanovic is sponsored through the Columbia-Pacific Economic Development District, whose former director, Mary McArthur, helped the Port of Astoria create a strategic business plan for improving finances. Ivanovic is assigned part time with the Port, helping the agency crunch numbers and prioritize the improvement of assets.

The Port, in desperate need of help to fix aging infrastructure, has a working agreement with Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, to prioritize and plan out improvements before hopefully getting more state grants and financing.

The other half of Ivanovic’s job is working with regional farmers, the North Coast Food Web in Astoria, Food Roots in Tillamook and Visit Tillamook Coast on strengthening agritourism and the pipelines that get local food from farmers to consumers.

“It’s about showcasing those local farmers, allowing them to build out their business, really focusing on the diversification from that business side, the empowerment of local supply chains — so really honing in on those local products and getting them out to market,” she said.

A Long Island native, Ivanovic graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts in 2019 with a bachelor’s in economics and experience working on campus food network initiatives. She joined the fellowship program, first being assigned for the last year as rural tourism coordinator for Discover Klamath in southern Oregon.

After a year in Klamath Falls, “I just wanted to explore a totally new angle to what development could look like,” she said. “And this opportunity was so directly focused on economic development and resiliency, so seeing that direct connection with my bachelor’s degree.”

By the end of her time on the North Coast, Ivanovic hopes to have helped the Port finish a facilities improvement plan acceptable to the state and responsive to community and environmental concerns.

Her goals with food systems and agritourism are more nebulous, but based around strengthening the business plans of farmers and groups like the North Coast Food Web and connecting them with local markets. While local farmers have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and the loss of sales to restaurants, she said, they have adapted through increasing direct-to-consumer deliveries and online markets.

“There’s definitely less wholesale action, but I think communities are stepping up and … demanding more local products in their lives,” she said. “There’s been a response to fill that gap.”

Originally published in the Astorian

What do you want Sisters to look like in 20 years?

Posted on October 20, 2020December 4, 2020 by Ashley Adelman

SISTERS — As the city launches the update of Sisters’ Comprehensive Plan, C4C in partnership with the city invites residents to help shape that plan and share thoughts about local growth. Join a collaborative discussion with city leaders during the next Let’s Talk!—set for 6-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19 (via Zoom video-conference).

One will get to hear from and speak with City of Sisters Community Development staff members:

Scott Woodford, Community Development Director
Nicole Mardell, Principal Planner; and
Emme Shoup, Community Engagement Assistant

The Comprehensive Plan update process will establish a set of goals and policies that guide how Sisters will grow and develop during the next 20 years. Issues such as housing needs and economic opportunities will be among those addressed.

Residents’ input is critical; and this Let’s Talk! is among the first opportunities one will have to share one’s thoughts. (The City will offer various opportunities to provide input over the next several months.)

On Oct. 19 city planners also will offer valuable information about local growth and the Comprehensive Plan update. Register at: https://citizens4community.com/events/2020/10/9/lets-talk-invites-you-to-share-your-opinions-on-growth

Originally published in The Nugget Newspaper

Cottage Grove to begin Local Foods, Local Places virtual workshop

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Ashley Adelman

The City of Cottage Grove invites the community to participate in its Local Foods, Local Places Workshop being held virtually Nov. 5 and 6.

Cottage Grove was one of 16 communities selected from across the nation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Local Foods, Local Places program in 2020 to help revitalize Main Street and the surrounding community through food systems and place-making initiatives.

Registration for the upcoming workshop is free and will be a two-day brainstorming session, leading to a plan of action for better integrating local foods systems into Cottage Grove’s economic recovery.

The city is asking farmers, producers, growers, restaurant owners, entrepreneurs, business owners, tourist organizations, non-profits, local government officials, etc. — all of whom have a stake in the local food system’s future — to help.

With an overarching theme of building a resilient local/regional food system, four topics have been identified by the Local Food, Local Places steering committee:

• Identify strategies to support and enhance existing commercial kitchen and food incubator spaces.

• Improve food security and public health in Cottage Grove.

• Increase the involvement of Cottage Grove’s underrepresented/immigrant populations (e.g. youth, BIPOC representatives) in local food and place-making initiatives.

• Build stronger supply chain connections for farmers and food producers with both local and regional markets.

There will be time in the sessions to discuss and refine the topics if necessary.

Participants will brainstorm potential actions or next steps necessary to advance each goal and there will be breakout rooms to detail the actions selected by participants as highest priority for each goal.

The workshop will consist of a series of seven virtual sessions leading up to the completion of a draft community action plan framed around the community goals for this technical assistance process.

For full details and to register, visit bit.ly/LFLPCottageGrove. For more information, contact City Planner Amanda Ferguson at 541-942-3340.

Library programming gathers STEAM

Posted on October 12, 2020 by Ashley Adelman

by Aurora Oberg and Kris Wiley

Roseburg Public Library’s youth programming this fall focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) through a Library Services and Technology Act grant provided by the State Library of Oregon.

Youth Services Librarian Aurora Oberg and Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Participant Katie Fischer developed a project to purchase equipment and supplies for hands-on learning opportunities that provide a sustainable, long-term source of STEAM education for youth from kindergarten through high school graduation.

The project’s centerpiece is a 12-week course that follows the nationally recognized Girls Who Code curriculum, and grant funding paid for laptop computers so each student can practice the concepts taught by Aurora, Katie and volunteer Jenn, who is Director of Engineering at her firm.

Each Thursday, 10 students come to the socially distanced coding class at the library. They begin each session by learning about a woman in the technology field, ranging from Ada Lovelace — the mother of computer programming — to women such as Simone Giertz, who has fun with robots. Highlighting women who work in technology demonstrates to students the variety of career opportunities that involve computer programming and illustrates the diversity of people in tech fields.

After learning about a new person, the adult leaders read and talk about the coding concept for the week. Students are introduced to new vocabulary and talk about how the concept already is used in their daily life. After all that talking, they get to use the computer and put what they learned into practice following a Scratch tutorial that furthers their understanding of the concepts.

Scratch is a system that interacts like puzzle pieces that can be manipulated easily and is an accessible introduction to coding languages.

As the students try things on their own, the leaders help as needed and view the students’ progress on the week’s coding lesson. It is a great time to encourage students in what they have done on their own, as well as see how complex they can develop their program in the allotted time.

The coding students learn at the library fundamental skills that can be scaled up to create things we use every day. Coding is the basic language that gives a machine its instructions. Checking the weather on a smartphone is an app created through coding. Opening a web browser to shop online uses coding. Setting a coffeepot to brew automatically in the morning uses coding.

Later in the fall, students in the class will experiment with STEAM manipulatives such as Ozobots, which are small robots they will learn to program, thereby adding skills to their knowledge base.

Finally, all school-age children are eligible to receive grab-and-go STEAM kits with accompanying Facebook videos that introduce concepts such as weather and simple machines. Aurora will announce the availability of grab-and-go kits on the library’s Facebook page (@roseburglibrary) throughout the fall.

The library has four goals for the project: providing access to library services, materials and information resources; using technology to increase interest in STEAM education and allow students to connect with STEAM in an engaging, creative and experiential learning environment; developing information literacy skills that prepare students for long-term educational and occupational success; and fostering lifelong learning by creating an encouraging environment that forges a connection to the library as an educational resource.

We have had great success with the coding classes so far and anticipate offering future sessions that allow more students to engage with coding and STEAM at the library.

Aurora Oberg is the Youth Services Librarian at Roseburg Public Library. She can be reached at aoberg@cityofroseburg.org or 541-492-7054.

Kris Wiley is the director of the Roseburg Public Library. She can be reached at kwiley@cityofroseburg.org or 541-492-7051.

Rep. DeFazio, FEMA, the United Way and UO align to support fire victims

Posted on October 7, 2020October 27, 2020 by Ashley Adelman

By Matthew Denis

On a foggy Saturday morning, Rep. Peter DeFazio, Federal Emergency Management Administration administrator Pete Gaynor, University of Oregon chief resilience officer André Le Duc and a United Way spokesperson promised an ongoing partnership in response to unprecedented September wildfires.

“The response has been phenomenal so far,” DeFazio said. “The president signed a dispensation declaration on Air Force One within 24 hours of the fires taking off.”

Still, with more than 7,000 people displaced, 431 residences and 24 non-residential buildings burned and Oregon estimating an excess of $622 million in debris cleanup and $1 billion in total disaster costs, local communities need more help than FEMA has promised, he said.

As chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has jurisdiction over FEMA, DeFazio is in the unique position of overseeing FEMA’s disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. The congressman is pushing FEMA to fund not only the minimum 75% deigned for disaster recovery, but an additional 15%.

He said devastated communities have nothing left to contribute.

“You see places like Blue River, they don’t have anything left and they certainly don’t have any money to put their entire town back together,” DeFazio said.

Such a request isn’t unprecedented.

FEMA has authorized a 100% federal share in 22 disasters under the Trump administration and a minimum 90% federal share in 23 additional disasters.

Six of these encompass Western wildfires, two of which are still spreading in northern California: the Glass Fire in Sonoma wine country that has burned 62,360 acres and the deadly Zogg Fire, which has claimed four lives, blazing through 56,305 acres in Shasta and Tehama counties, according to Cal Fire.

This aligns with FEMA’s long record of contributing an increased share toward serious disasters, authorizing a minimum 90% federal share on 173 occasions since 2004, 98 of which received a 100% federal share.

DeFazio was in Eugene after a midnight flight from Washington, D.C., and was headed to Medford and then to Clackamas County.

“The best way to mitigate this is to get in ahead of time. There are over 40 federal agencies that are part of this recovery,” DeFazio said. “We have to get in quickly to save hazardous waste sites from contaminating Eugene water.”

Next steps to help

The McKenzie River is Eugene-Springfield’s primary water supply. Providing water safety through cleaning burned sites will be a critical first step in disaster recovery, DeFazio said.

Also among the most immediate concerns will be locking down adequate housing for fire evacuees.

“We can’t keep these people in hotels for 18 months,” DeFazio said.

Despite $40 billion of FEMA’s $51.7 billion 2020 budget already committed to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, FEMA administrator Gaynor said the agency is actually in great financial shape to help with the 45 natural catastrophes across the United States this year.

Congress appropriated an extra $19.7 billion in disaster relief.

“Our focus is on suffering a minimal loss of life and then enabling recovery,” Gaynor said.

In addition to federal efforts, the United Way of Lane County highlighted its third round of relief with $150,000 to be distributed to seven local organizations helping wildfire victims.

The University of Oregon also pledged 31 college students who will work with Americorps to help with recovery, with seven individuals focused specifically on economic recovery to fire-damaged regions and a direct response to COVID-19.

“We will identify needs and use community-driven opportunities and resources to direct and enact a response plan that focuses on economic resilience,” UO Resource Assistance for Rural Environments program director Titus Tomlinson said.

Funds for the UO program actually began with $2.1 billion in preparedness grants, seed funding from FEMA to create a disaster resiliency program.
André Le Duc, chief resilience officer at the University of Oregon, participates in a briefing Saturday.

“Our philosophy is always to turn a dime into a dollar,” chief resilience officer Le Duc said. “We estimate that every one dollar that you put towards mitigation results in five to six dollars in growth.”

This investment falls under the Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience Institute for Policy Research and Engagement in its School of Planning, Public Policy and Management.

“We use it to build,” Le Duc said. “If we use it early and we use it to plan, the better the outcome for the state of Oregon.”

The impact of these collaborative efforts amidst a bitterly partisan federal environment was not lost on DeFazio.

“We’ve had great bipartisan support,” DeFazio said. “Natural disasters don’t discriminate by political party.”

Originally published in the Register Guard