The latest

Last month, 1000 Friends of Oregon and Save Helvetia hosted a community panel and discussion on “Oregon’s Tech: Where Could it Land?” at the stunning Ponzi Vineyards fireplace room in Washington County. We heard from panelists about the work of the Oregon Semiconductor Competitiveness Task Force, and problems and solutions around one of the Task Force’s focuses: industrial land availability and readiness. Panelists sparked a lively conversation about challenges and opportunities to position Oregon as a competitive state for investments in chip manufacturing, research, and development authorized under the federal CHIPS and Science Act 2022. 

In a great testament to citizen activism, farmers scored an important victory on the path to stopping a harmful land swap that would bring 163 acres of prime farmland into the Millersburg Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) in exchange for a 167.46-acre tract of industrially-zoned land that would be removed from the UGB.

For the past several years, 1000 Friends worked with partners across the state to urge the Land Conservation and Development Commission to adopt a set of streamlined land use policies to encourage more housing, especially more affordable housing, and more transportation options to create more equitable communities and address climate pollution. They’re under attack. Here’s the latest...

While we view litigation as a tool of last resort, it’s an activity that is core and critical to protecting our people and planet. To make sure we do this effectively, we recruit and support our talented and committed attorneys. It’s not often we write about the administrative improvements we make for our team, so we’re shining a light on one of these improvements now: our Land Use Lawyering Ladder.  The Land Use Lawyering Ladder achieves multiple goals to make sure we’re taking care of our attorneys and encouraging the land use attorneys of tomorrow to take up the cause...

Tell Washington County Commissioners to vote no on the Ordinance 882 proposal to extend Tile Flat Road which is part of a larger and more concerning plan to create a two-lane road in Washington County — a “de facto Westside Bypass” — that would enable commuters to speed through productive farmland and important habitat.

With your advocacy and support, our team has accomplished a lot this year. Read about it in our 2022 Annual Report.

We don’t need to compromise our principles and sacrifice farms and forestlands to development to confront the housing crisis. Read our op-ed, co-written with Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro and Community Alliance of Tenants, and published in the Oregonian on Sunday, December 4th.

By 2035, city planners estimate that Portland’s population will add more than 100,000 new households. Without strong housing policies in place, that growth will lead to an even larger homelessness crisis and threaten our farmland and natural areas through subdivision expansions. Here's what we're doing about it.


Since 2012, our innovative Land Use Leadership Initiative has graduated more than 200 Oregonians with the knowledge and skills to shape their local communities through effective land use planning. Now we've launched a LULI in Central Oregon, guiding 27 advocates to mastery on key issues like wildfire, drought, and housing through the lens of land use policy.

“With 1000 Friends of Oregon, I found a bigger tool to help save our land.” 1000 Friends Executive Director Sam Diaz sat down with outgoing chief philanthropy officer Sandy Wright to ask what drives her and what her next chapter might hold.