Today we're in Jefferson, Oregon facilitating the Learn by Doing Grant Writing Series, Project Evaluation and Organizational Site Visits, and we're in Hermiston delivering Pasos al Exito, Starting a Business at Home. Happy Thursday!

Do you have community building, natural resource or planning projects that you do not have resources to complete? The Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) Program might be your solution. The mission of the RARE Program is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions, through the assistance of trained graduate-level participants, from across the US. These AmeriCorps members live in and serve the communities for 11 months. RARE participants assist communities in the development and implementation of projects for achieving a sustainable natural resource base and improving rural economic conditions. The RARE program is now in its 18th year and over the years it placed more than 395 volunteers and served nearly every Oregon county.

Pre-Applications are due on April 13, 2012. For more information about RARE, including the benefits and the costs of the program, visit their web site. Pre-applications are available online as well. If you have any questions, please email: rare@uoregon.edu or call 541.346.2879

USDA Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced a new report that outlines a strategy and series of actions for management on 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands managed by the U.S. Forest Service. As part of the accelerated restoration strategy, $40 million for 20 forest and watershed restoration projects have been announced for the upcoming year. The funding includes ten new projects under the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) program, continued funding for the original ten projects selected under the CFLR program in 2010, and an additional $4.6 million to support other high priority restoration projects. The following new projects in Oregon are approved for funding in 2012: Southern Blues Restoration Coalition, Oregon - $2,500,000; Lakeview Stewardship Project, Oregon - $3,500,000. The Deschutes Skyline, Collaborative Forest Landscape project in Oregon was approved for funding in 2010 and will continue to receive funding in 2012.