A history of fire suppression, growth in the wildland-urban interface, and changing climate conditions, have created a fire regime in central Oregon that is growing in severity and intensity, putting more people and structures at risk and requiring a greater percentage of state and federal agency budgets to manage fires....
The passage of Measure 37 in 2004 was met with a great deal of controversy as a number of voters claimed the implications of the Measure did not represent their intentions for supporting the legislation. Namely, significant opposition was aimed towards the Measure 37 claim which offered landowners financial compensation...
Due to the current cultural paradigm that incorporates the desire to be environmentally friendly and mitigate rising fuel costs, arguments about the cost of public transit systems, ridership rates, and methods to increase use are frequent topics of public policy concern. In response to these cultural and economic concerns, the...
This study uses the Health Impact Assessment approach to determine the health impacts of allowing accessory dwelling units in Benton County, Oregon. A literature review presents the health benefits of accessory dwelling units in urban areas and identifies the potential negative health effects in rural areas. Five accessory dwelling units...
Oregon, much like the nation, has historically had a paradoxical relationship to migration. Oregon is famous for the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Oregon Trail. It is, and always has been, greatly affected and inspired by interstate migration yet each successive generation has been less than welcoming to further...
The hazards-of-place model of vulnerability to environmental hazards posits that vulnerability has biophysical and social components. While biophysical characteristics are important in predicting locations of elevated wildfire risk, the social characteristics of human communities may help us predict locations of elevated wildfire impacts. We examine the relationship between biophysical and...
In 2011, a study by Freeman and Wornell uncovered that social service providers in Klamath County believed Native American children experiencing maltreatment might be slipping through the cracks. In an effort to find out how to better serve these children and their families, the current study involved interviews with 11...
This study uses multiple regression analysis of a survey of Oregon residents to determine what factors influence an individual’s support for salmon recovery policies in Oregon. Salmon today face a variety of threats, most notably from the ‘four H’s’ (habitat degradation, hydroelectric dams, harvest practices, and hatcheries). Using the social...
Net energy metering (NEM), the diffusion of residential photovoltaics (PV), and the smart grid transition are three accelerants of change that impact the rate of transitory change in the electric power grid system. Institutional relationships that underpin the old central station model now appear to be fracturing under the weight...
Declining population is a major concern for rural communities. In many places, out-migration has led to a loss of key services. This essay investigates the role of services, as well as labor markets, natural amenities, distance to urban areas, and community size, in determining net migration rates for small Oregon...