Southern Oregon is known for its natural beauty and resources. The salmon fishing, abundant wildlife, and green open spaces are just a few of the things that attract visitors and new residents alike. As our population continues to grow, communities are looking for ways to develop the necessary infrastructure to accommodate that growth, while at the same time preserving the resources that make our region so unique and livable.

With funding from the National Academies Transportation Research Board (TRB), the Rogue Valley Council of Governments (RVCOG), in collaboration with federal, state, county, non-governmental, and private partners, created maps (with an accompanying data library) that identify ecologically-important areas (nodes), linkages between these areas, areas of high archeological potential, and potential conflicts with planned transportation projects. The information is available for the entire Bear Creek watershed and the Metropolitan Planning area, and can be scaled down to smaller areas of the valley.

The goal of the effort was to develop a tool to assist planners in balancing the Rogue Valley’s environmental, economic, regulatory, and infrastructure needs. By simultaneously addressing these sometimes conflicting needs, the conservation tool could serve to streamline the permitting and review process, strengthen relationships among entities and advocacy groups, and deliver a project that effectively addresses community needs from a social, environmental, legal, and fiscal perspective.

We have all heard of or experienced the dreaded last-minute project modifications and design fixes that cost the project (and the taxpayers) more money and time than originally planned. Situations like this can result in greater public mistrust of public entities, hard feelings among agencies, and additional stress on already overworked planning staff. The use of this tool early in the planning stages will add value to the planning process, contribute to project design competence, and head off some of those last-minute surprises that can translate into costly modifications. The tool can also be used at the project design phase.

1.   Maps

2.   Data Library

Link to a list of files in the Data Library (Excel)

3.   Report and Project Background Information

Link to the Draft Report