Mission
To empower rural communities to create strong economies and healthy landscapes through land stewardship, education, and job creation.
Participants
Wallowa Resources works with a broad coalition of interests, and has a fluid network of partners. They work with local businesses, farmers and ranchers, forestry contractors, conservation groups, local schools, colleges and universities, and state and federal agencies.
Structure & Funding
Wallowa Resources has an Advisory Committee, a Board, and a staff. The Advisory Committee is responsible for strategic planning, program development, fundraising, and organizational development and is more geographically diverse than the Board. The Board is comprised of fifteen members who all live in Wallowa County. They have diverse backgrounds and represent a range of stakeholders in the region. Finally, Wallowa Resources has a staff of 15 to help carry out their numerous programs.
Wallowa Resources is funded by foundation grants, donations, and occasionally county, state, and federal grants. |
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Catalyzing Event
In 1996, due to changes in national forest management, the sawmills in Wallowa County shut down and 20% of the workforce lost their jobs overnight. In the back room of a bakery, a group of local citizens came together to create a new community organization to deal with this abrupt economic downturn. That group eventually received some funding from the county, and evolved into what is today Wallowa Resources.
Keys to SuccessDuring his evening keynote address at the Future West workshop in fall 2016, Nils Christofferson, executive director of Wallowa Resources, urged those in attendance to think hard and take action to rebuild the social contract for conservation and more broadly for land and community stewardship. He spoke about the tremendous latent investment potential in the human and natural resource assets of rural communities—potential that can be put to work doing restoration, and maintaining good stewardship of our public lands and, more broadly, our working landscapes.
Nils spoke about maintaining good working relationships with key members of local government and land management agencies who understand their vision and are willing to collaborate. He impressed upon the workshop attendees the willingness of people in Wallowa County to engage with the vision and mission of Wallowa Resources and the local heritage of working landscapes. Lastly, he described taking part in the community holistically: raising a family and becoming a soccer coach, a school board member, and a deacon in the local church--demonstrating his commitment and care for the landscape he calls home. Greatest ChallengesEarly on, Wallowa Resources struggled to gain the trust of an economically depressed county. Some locals resented the degree of outside influence they represented, and didn’t see them as part of the community. Now, they face the challenge of integrating a diverse scope of work into one cohesive goal that sustains the character, landscapes, and economy of Wallowa County.
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Wallowa Resources' Keys to Collaboration
- Be inclusive. All stakeholders are asked to participate and to be involved. Meetings are open and all information and decisions are publicly available.
- Build consensus. Up front consensus on shared Stewardship Principles maintains collaboration support through the process.
- Shared risk & reward. All stakeholders are willing to step outside the confines of their self-interest to identify opportunities which generate meaningful benefits to all parties.
- Timely project implementation. Involvement of nonprofit organizations, like us, allows projects to occur quickly due to their role in sourcing grants and contracting work to local businesses
- Adaptive management. Strategies allow on-the-ground work to change if needed as new knowledge and techniques arise
Scope of Work
Jobs and business: With their for-profit subsidiary, Wallowa Resources Community Solutions, Inc., Wallowa Resources has helped launch nine local businesses in renewable energy, small-diameter logging, and other industries. When a business or landowner has an idea, Wallowa Resources acts as a consultant to help them with the finances, resources, and logistics of their project. Programs in this area include:
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Energy: The Renewable Energy Program at Wallowa Resources Community Solutions, Inc. offers independent assessment and development services for small scale renewable energy. They provide technical assistance to those generally underserved by giant energy project conglomerates. Their programs in this area include:
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Education: Wallowa Resources offers a variety of learning opportunities for adults and children, including youth programs, community seminars, workshops and vocational training, college courses, and research. The educational work supports and is informed by all of the other programs of Wallowa Resources.
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Stewardship: Wallowa Resources' stewardship work seeks to unite the land, community, and economy through husbandry, conservation, and sustainable forestry, ranching and agriculture practices. So far, their stewardship work has included:
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