In the early 90s, fierce division and acrimony prevailed in every corner of the natural resources management sector. Lines were drawn in the dirt, lawsuits were filed, and relationships between industry, environmentalist, and government were toxic. The battle was commonly portrayed as "Jobs vs. The Environment."

The conflict made national news when two prominent environmentalists, blamed for the loss of local timber jobs, were hung in effigy on Main Street of a small town in Wallowa County, Oregon. Amidst this crisis over how to manage natural resources, Sustainable Northwest was born.

In the beginning, we had no staff, no office, no funding ... only a small board and a vision that management of our magnificent forests and rangelands could create jobs, strengthen rural communities, and restore the environment. My first assignment was to help facilitate discussions in Wallowa about the county's future.

Most people quietly mocked the term "sustainability" and many were in disbelief when we  started talking about and practicing "collaboration" and "community-based" conservation. Slowly, over many months, people started to realize that jobs and the environment were not incompatible. 

Fifteen years later, communities across the region look to Wallowa County for examples of how to manage natural resources in ways that support the community, strengthen the local economy, and restore the environment. Groups like Wallowa Resources, an organization Sustainable Northwest helped create and fund, are seen as innovators, finding new approaches to conservation and sustainable development. 

We've come a long way from the days of hanging environmentalists in effigy. We still have a ways to go and even though the challenges remain formidable, I think we can accomplish as much in the next 15 years as we have in the past 15. I look forward to being a part of it.

(In celebration of our fifteen year, founding president Martin Goebel will share reflections and experiences periodically through this blog.)