Summary of State Actions to Support Local Progress

This page provides an overview of the actions Oregon is taking to support adaptation efforts at the local level which includes providing funding and technical support to local governments and the private sector.

Biodiversity

To achieve the 2010 Framework’s goals related to preserving and enhancing habitats, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) Wildlife Habitat Conservation and Management Program incentivizes landowners to voluntarily agree to preserve and enhance habitats on private lands, including wetlands, riparian areas, and forests. Through the program, ODFW offers landowners a property tax incentive to provide wildlife habitat instead of, or in addition to, using the land for other purposes, like farming or growing timber. The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board also partners with communities and private landowners, offering multiple grants to help restore, monitor, and acquire land to enhance native habitats.

Coasts

To guide and coordinate land-use planning throughout the state, Oregon set 19 Statewide Planning Goals (beginning in 1973) that, under state law, must be considered in local comprehensive plans and ordinances. Two of the state’s planning goals, goal 17 for coastal shorelands (effective August 20, 1999) and goal 18 for beaches and dunes (effective March 31, 1988), require local governments to avoid or minimize the impacts of development and coastal hazards, such as sea-level rise and coastal erosion, on these resources. While goals 17 and 18 preceded the 2010 Framework, they can provide an existing pathway to address many of the Framework’s goals, like mitigating the effects of sea-level rise and shoreline erosion in coastal areas and protecting natural coastal features, at the local level. To help local governments better plan for future climate change and other coastal impacts, the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries completed coastal erosion and hazard maps for several communities and the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development created a model ordinance for local governments to establish coastal overlay hazard districts (which can be adopted by local governments to limit development in chronic coastal hazard areas subject to erosion and flooding).

Forestry

Recognizing that climate change will increase the risk of wildfires in urban and suburban areas as a result of higher temperatures and changes in precipitation, the state legislature revised the Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Act (Oregon Senate Bill 360) in 2017. The act requires property owners to minimize wildlife risks by removing excess vegetation around homes and structures. In addition, every county and many communities that live in the urban-wildland interface across Oregon have developed Community Wildfire Protection Plans under the federal Healthy Forest Restoration Act to receive priority funding from the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management for hazardous fuels reduction projects. Community Wildfire Protection Plans identify and prioritize areas for hazardous fuels reduction treatments and recommend measures that homeowners and communities can take to protect at-risk areas and critical infrastructure and also reduce the ignitability of structures.

Public Health

The Oregon Climate and Health Resilience Plan provides recommendations for state and local health authorities, shifting to an “all-hazards” approach rather than addressing individual risks. The plan can serve as a guide for local health departments and tribal officials as they develop or update their climate adaptation plans to align with the public-health needs identified in the 2010 Framework. The plan is accompanied by videos demonstrating resilience strategies that are already being implemented across the state. The videos also encourage individuals to get involved with their communities’ efforts to prepare for climate change, another need identified by the Framework.

Water

In March 2015, the state published the second edition of the Water Management and Conservation Plan: A Guidebook for Oregon Municipal Water Suppliers, which provides guidance on how local governments can plan for increasing risks of drought and effects on water supply. To facilitate water conservation, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program, offers grants to acquire water rights from irrigators and other property owners to benefit species and habitat and improve water quality in a potentially drier climate, as reflected in the 2010 Framework’s goals for the Biodiversity and Water sectors.

(Research last updated: June 25, 2018).