AGENDA

The Harney County Wildfire Collaborative is a diverse group of partners working together to solve the complex issues around wildfire and make the sagebrush steppe landscapes in southeastern Oregon more resistant and resilient to wildfire. Since 2014, High Desert Partnership has convened and supported this group in coming to consensus on fire supression, prevention and restoration. This session will describe how the collaborative has formed and how it continues to work together today.

The Oregon RFPA model, the oldest in the nation, is over 60 years old. Join the volunteers running these nonprofits and ODF, providing administrative support, to explore the unique model, how they operate and how they’re funded.

Building rural community resilience through the Service Integration model. Service Integration is an organizing framework to address pressing issues at the local community level through effective communication and resource-sharing. Strong, functional relationships emerge from the process and can deepen community capacity to pivot toward disaster response/recovery if and when needed.

In August 2024, the Flat Fire burned over 23,000 acres and threatened the small town Sisters. Yet despite more than 820 homes within the fire perimeter, just five were lost. Then, this July, the Akawa Butte Fire once again threatened this frontier community, burning over 27,000 acres. And again, only two structures would burn. 

How did the town get so lucky? Certainly, a whole lot of luck; but also a lot of proactive planning, creative partnerships, and strong ties between local organizations and residents, all offering poignant lessons for other communities living at the wildland-urban interface. In this session, Sisters’ mayor and a local nonprofit director explore the policies, planning, and partnerships that helped save their town, and how those lessons are now shaping bold, collaborative approaches to community resilience.

Using a community-building lens to strengthen real-time resilience.

The La Pine Basin All-Lands Partnership (LPBALP) exists to enhance coordination of the La Pine Basin region’s fire resilience through strategic, cross-boundary wildfire risk reduction efforts. By fostering collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies, as well as NGOs and community representatives, LPBALP aims to maximize resources, align mitigation strategies, and improve wildfire resilience across the La Pine Basin.

We are in the middle of a loneliness epidemic, and that isolation weakens the social bonds that communities depend on to weather and recover from hard times. Drawing on neuroscience and social psychology, this session explores why humans are wired for connection, what breaks belonging down, and practical, science-backed ways individuals and communities can rebuild belonging. The result: communities that are stronger both during and after disruption.

Protecting farmland is essential to a resilient food system, but protecting land does not necessarily make it accessible or affordable to the farmers who need it. This presentation will explore how Community Land Trusts can create more affordable and secure pathways to farm while keeping land in agricultural production over the long term. Drawing on Oregon Agricultural Trust’s emerging land access work, we’ll consider how conservation and community-based ownership can work together to build a more resilient food system

Collective wisdom, lessons and a special message of hope from those most impacted.

What happens when decades of limited resources begin shaping not only what rural communities can afford, but what they believe is possible—and ultimately, how resilient they can become?

Oregon’s climate is changing, but many communities thrive in locations where the climate would be hazardous in Oregon. In this workshop/presentation, we’ll discuss how Oregon communities can adapt to grow and thrive into our climate future. This interactive session will build off of our partnership with South Willamette Solutions in Oakridge, Oregon, our work on the Oregon Cooling Needs Study, Infrastructure Climate Planning, and case studies and best practices. Activities include future climate adaptation scenario planning and demonstrations to empower participants to take action in their communities.

As Tribal Nations and Tribal communities advance stewardship approaches rooted in culture, community, and responsibility to future generations, young leaders are stepping forward to help shape the path ahead. In this panel, Tribal young adults and Elders will share perspectives on ecological restoration, cultural resource protection, community engagement, and the importance of passing values and stewardship traditions from one generation to the next. Panelists will discuss how intergenerational learning helps sustain Indigenous knowledge systems and strengthen resilient landscapes, fire-adapted communities, and healthy ecosystems while creating meaningful opportunities for emerging leaders to build skills, navigate challenges, and carry forward a shared vision for the future. Join us to hear how Tribal youth and Elders are advancing ecocultural stewardship that benefits Tribal and neighboring communities alike, fostering resilience for both people and place for generations to come.

When the Almeda Fire destroyed more than 2,600 homes in Southern Oregon, our community quickly learned that emergency response and long-term recovery are not the same thing.This presentation explores how unexpected partnerships, community trust, and meeting the most basic human needs became the foundation for resilience. Through powerful stories, practical examples, and lessons learned, attendees will discover how communities can build the relationships and systems that make recovery possible, long before disaster strikes.

Higher temperatures, drought, drier soils and vegetation, and reduced snowpack across the Pacific Northwest are resulting in longer wildfire seasons and an increase in the size, frequency, and intensity of wildfires. Farmers and ranchers, as land stewards, are uniquely vulnerable to wildfires. Wildfires occur naturally; nonetheless they can pose significant financial, human, and production-related risks for ranch operations. We will talk about what we’ve seen when it comes to farmer and community fire preparedness, and how we can improve future resilience.

Higher temperatures, drought, drier soils and vegetation, and reduced snowpack across the Pacific Northwest are resulting in longer wildfire seasons and an increase in the size, frequency, and intensity of wildfires. Farmers and ranchers, as land stewards, are uniquely vulnerable to wildfires. Wildfires occur naturally; nonetheless they can pose significant financial, human, and production-related risks for ranch operations. We will talk about what we’ve seen when it comes to farmer and community fire preparedness, and how we can improve future resilience.