SB 762 Wildfire Adapted Communities Outreach

In 2021, state legislators passed Oregon’s first comprehensive wildfire preparedness and resiliency bill (Senate Bill 762) to address heightened wildfire risk. As part of this bill, the legislature tasked the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) with developing community-driven recommendations to address wildfire risks in state and local land use planning programs. The DLCD hired Consor to develop and implement a multifaceted, statewide community outreach and engagement strategy to gather a wide array of input.

Our role involved promoting, coordinating, and facilitating several virtual statewide community listening sessions, a series of stakeholder committee meetings, and a bilingual focus group, in addition to a statewide survey and virtual open house. These efforts broadened participation, engaged vulnerable and underrepresented Oregonians, and created multiple opportunities for meaningful public involvement, while also educating community members on local and statewide wildfire planning efforts in the process. Findings from the community engagement process were used by DLCD to develop recommendations for the Oregon legislature.