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Working Landscapes
Responsible utilization and management of natural resources is a critical component of society's ability to exist and prosper. Working landscapes successfully balance economic, social, and ecological priorities. In rural places, working landscapes are often the primary source of jobs and income.
In a world of modern conveniences and industrial production it's easy to lose sight of how inseparable people are from the environment. Our supply of food, fiber, building materials, clean air, water, and open space is dependent on well managed working landscapes.
But working landscapes are in decline in the West. Challenging rural economics, encroachment of new development, and increased demand for environmental preservation and wilderness expansion are just a few of the pressures that threaten working landscapes.
We believe in a balanced, community-based approach to land conservation. By partnering with landowners, communities, and diverse interests, Sustainable Northwest is protecting and sustaining working landscapes for current and future generations.
Stories of Working Landscapes
- Inaba Produce Farms
- Lon Inaba explains the history of the Yakima Valley farm and continuation of family values: nurturing the workers, the crops and the insects that pollinate.
- Locati Farms - Walla Walla Sweet Onions
- From a small seed business to a 500 acre semi-organic farm, Michael Locati protects the legacy of the Walla Walla Valley’s onion.
- Paradise Fibers
- With her family, Kate Painter followed her dream to a simpler life on a sheep farm and created a successful business that supports fiber arts around the world.
News
- RVCC partners deliver testimony regarding the treatment of forest workers
- Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition partners, Cassandra Moseley, Ecosystem Workforce Program and Denise Smith, Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters deliver congressional testimony regarding the treatment of forest workers.
- Klamath Tribes Build Partnership to Develop Biomass Facility
- The Klamath Tribes announce plans to develop a biomass cogeneration facility in the upper Klamath Basin to advance renewable energy, forest restoration, and local community development.
- SNW Board Chair wins 2008 Kerr Award from High Desert Museum
- Jane O’Keeffe honored for sustainable economic and natural resource management.