Our comments to DLCD on the Wildfire Adapted Communities Recommendations

As a first step to address wildfire risk and hazards, the 2021 legislature passed Senate Bill 762, a comprehensive wildfire preparedness and resiliency bill. Under the bill, the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) was tasked with developing recommendations for changes to Oregon’s land use planning rules to make our communities safer from wildfire and adjust Oregon’s land use planning system to the reality of climate change-fueled wildfires. This summer, Rogue Advocates’ Land Use Program Manager, Devin Kesner, participated in a stakeholder group to provide input on DLCD’s recommendations. Rogue Advocates is urging limitations on new development on steep slopes and areas designated as extreme and high hazard and/or within the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), among other measures. Read DLCD’s draft recommendations here, and find our full comments below!
Related Stories

Floating Solar on a Rogue Valley Reservoir: Oregon’s First, and What It Means
On a clear morning in early May, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley stood at the edge of a Medford Irrigation District reservoir in Central Point and watched the sun hit 1,776 solar panels. Not on a roof, not on a fence-line in the high desert, but floating on water that’s been pushing through Rogue Valley irrigation […]

The Advocate: Rogue Advocates Newsletter (Sept 2022)
Subscribe Past Issues As we know all too well in the Rogue Valley, Oregon has faced devastating losses to human life and property from wildfires that have been severely exacerbated by climate change. The Rum Creek Fire is the latest reminder of the devastating risks posed by wildfires in our region. The fire threatens over […]

Rogue Advocates Wins Appeal Preventing the Urbanization of Forest Land in Extreme Fire Risk Area
News Coverage KDRV, Josephine County zoning change reversed by State Board, published on June 10, 2022 KTVL, Advocacy groups win land-use appeal against private developer in Merlin, published on June 15, 2022 Press Release Grants Pass, OR, June 8, 2022—The Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) ruled in favor of Rogue Advocates and 1000 Friends […]