Watch the BRAND West initiative workshop with Governor Tina Kotek | WGA hosts webinar on prescribed fire | WGA publishes two new episodes of its Out West podcast

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek discusses housing strategies at the BRAND West initiative workshop in Bend

This week, Governor Tina Kotek hosted the second workshop of the Building Resilient and Affordable New Developments in the West (BRAND West) initiative in Bend, Oregon – one of the fastest-growing cities in the West.

“We don’t have enough housing,” Governor Kotek said. “That affects our economy, it affects our health, it affects who we are as a state, but I know that we can get more housing built… We believe in a future where people will have the housing they need, and Oregon is on a great path. I think in the next year or two we’re going to see all the work we’ve done over the last nine years really bloom.”

In particular, she highlighted the efforts of local government leaders and community partners in Bend as a model for proactive housing strategies that effectively balance growth with sustainability.

She also touted the success of legislative measures like middle housing initiatives and urban growth expansions, while calling for streamlined federal funding processes and increased investment in affordable housing infrastructure.

As part of the workshop, regional housing experts also participated in panel discussions about low-income housing initiatives, pathways to homeownership, modular housing, aligning land use planning with environmental considerations, as well as planning and development challenges in rural communities.

View photos and watch recordings from all of the workshop sessions on WGA’s website.

WGA hosts webinar with CDC, DOI, EPA, and USDA to help align land management and public health goals related to prescribed fire

The Western Governors’ Association convened officials this week (Jan. 13) from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to discuss the lessons learned from these prescribed fire exercises and help future communities better align public health considerations with prescribed fire.

“Scaling up prescribed fire is a must for our success in the future,” added Jeff Marsolais, the Associate Deputy Chief for State, Private, and Tribal Forestry at the U.S. Forest Service. “So as public servants, we all share the responsibility of activating around this and continuing to partner at scales we haven’t even imagined yet.”

Watch here.

Decarbonizing the West podcast episode

The initiative explored a wide range of engineered decarbonization and natural sequestration strategies – everything from direct air capture and carbon credit markets to climate-smart agriculture and biofuel – all of which present enormous opportunities for western states.

In this episode of Out West, WGA policy advisor Abby Pelsmaeker speaks with some of the country’s leading decarbonization experts about how these strategies have evolved in recent years and their prospects for the future.

Listen here.

To learn more about these decarbonization strategies, including federal policy recommendations for advancing the industry, check out the Decarbonizing the West initiative report on WGA’s website.

New episode of Out West explores the new community navigators program at the U.S. Forest Service

In this episode of Out West, Jonah Seifer, a Senior Policy Advisor at WGA speaks with Meryl Harrell, the Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They discuss the department’s newly formed community navigators program and how it can help disseminate funds more equitably and efficiently.

Jonah also speaks with Jonathan Bruno and Therese Ryley from Coalitions and Collaboratives, one of USDA’s partners charged with enacting the community navigators program on the ground.

Listen here.

Best of the West: 9 Western Governors give State of the State addresses; Governor Bob Ferguson inaugurated; NM mental health; restoring waterways; AZ semiconductor facility; and western water projects

2024: Continuing the bipartisan legacy of Western Governors

2024 marked the 40th anniversary of the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) and while it provided a great opportunity to reflect on past successes, Western Governors remained laser-focused on the challenges of today.

Relive some of the best moments from the past year at WGA in our new 2024 recap blog. Highlights include fireside chats with Judy Woodruff, the release of the Decarbonizing the West initiative report, and key policy victories in Congress.

SAVE THE DATE:

WGA’s 2025 Annual Meeting, June 23-25, Santa Fe, New Mexico