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Oregon is blessed with some of the world’s best farm land. Agriculture in Oregon provides tens of thousands of jobs and healthy, locally grown food for scores of farmers markets, restaurants, and local grocery stores. Our products are also exported nationwide and around the world, providing a boost to the state economy.

Managing urban growth makes our cities and towns more livable, reduces air and water pollution, increases our transportation options, and helps prevent sprawl from gobbling up valuable farm and forest land.

Building livable communities and protecting farm land go hand in hand.

The Portland region, lead by Metro, has been a leader in providing compact urban development, mixed-use communities, and transportation alternatives. But the region, and Metro, must do a better job to meet the new challenges of the future. Global climate change and the skyrocketing cost and decreased supply of fossil fuels highlight the need for stronger and innovative tools to protect farm land and manage growth.

The Opportunity

The 2007 Legislature gave the Portland region a valuable new tool to shape our future: the ability to designate urban and rural reserves. Metro and the counties of Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington will jointly designate which land will be protected and which land will be developed in the future. The new urban and rural reserves could be a significant improvement to the existing system of urban growth boundary expansions onto farms and forest lands, but only if we all participate in the decision making.

We have a unique and critical opportunity to shape the future of our region for generations. If done correctly, the decisions on urban and rural reserves will:

• Protect our most valuable farm land from future development;
• Ensure that future growth will create vibrant communities and greater opportunities to walk, bike, and take transit for our transportation needs;
• Help the region reduce our contribution to global climate change.

The Decision: How Citizens Will Make the Difference

Metro and the three counties will make their decisions on rural and urban reserves by the end of 2009. 1000 Friends of Oregon will organize a campaign coalition of organizations and individuals to ensure that the best agricultural and natural resource lands are protected and that urbanization is planned for areas where it makes the most sense to grow.

Additionally, we will push to ensure that reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fighting global warming is a part of every discussion and decision.

Additional Information about the Policy Idea

What is your current strategy for moving this idea forward? What is the general timeline?

A Reserves Steering Committee will lead the technical and public processes between approximately February 2008 and spring 2009. A regional agreement on reserves is scheduled for spring 2009. That agreement will describe the areas to be designated as urban and rural reserves. Metro will then designate urban reserves, and the counties (Wash., Clack., & Mult.) will designate rural reserves in fall 2009. 1000 Friends of Oregon will be involved in shaping this process throughout.

Based on the list of prizes that are available for the winner of this contest, what prizes would you select and how would you put them to use?

If "Protect our Best Farm and Forest Land" won, 1000 Friends of Oregon would gladly bask in the glory of one 50 day prize package and two 25 day prize packages. Specifically we would work hard alongside our volunteers to encourage Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties to designate strong protections for farm and forest land under the rural reserve program. We would also promote sensible urban development by advocating Metro regional government's designation of urban growth areas that are in the least possible conflict with natural resource needs. We would spend lots of time on the phone and talking with Oregonians about the importance of compact urban form, protection of agricultural resources, and the need to plan both carefully during the rural and urban reserve decision making time line.

Voters in the Progressive Policy Battle Royale commit either money or volunteer time to whichever ideas they support. To which 501c3 organization will such monetary donations go and how will they be used? How will you be able to put volunteers to use and what kinds of tasks will they perform?

• 1000 Friends of Oregon
• Volunteers working to protect our best farm and forest land can expect to spend time organizing events, writing, calling, and talking with elected officials and other Oregonians about our rich agricultural land, vibrant communities and ways to use the designation of reserves (rural and urban) to enhance them both.

Information about the Presenting Organization

1000 Friends of Oregon works with Oregonians to enhance our quality of life by:
• building livable urban and rural communities
• protecting family farms and forests and
• conserving natural and scenic areas.