Blog Post

Strategies for Increasing Community Benefit from North Olympic Peninsula Forests

REDI Technical Assistance Award

In June 2019, NODC was one of 48 organizations across the US to receive a technical assistance award from the USDA Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) initiative. USDA is funding Rural Development Initiatives (RDI), based in Eugene, Oregon, to assist NODC in using the WealthWorks model to develop strategies for increasing community benefit from our region’s working forest lands. Strategies might include:
  • Value-adding of under-utilized species like native hardwoods.
  • Expanding production from non-industrial private landowners.
  • Developing community forests.
  • Thermal modification of wood products.
  • Support for entrepreneurship in the wood value-adding sector.
As part of the planning process, NODC has convened a series of small meetings with stakeholders. With the help of analysis from RDI, NODC will hold additional meetings with partners and stakeholders to narrow the focus of the work and develop a plan for next steps in support of selected strategies.

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Energy Futures Conference

By Amy Nash • 17 May, 2023
NODC partnered with PNNL and regional stakeholders, including local governments, tribal communities, public utilities, and economic development agencies, on an Energy Futures Conference for the North Olympic Peninsula.

Marine Renewable Energy

By Amy Nash • 17 May, 2023
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will explore the feasibility of Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) to increase grid resilience on the North Olympic Peninsula. As a partner on the project, NODC will build on previous regional planning processes for climate change adaptation, natural disaster resilience and energy to develop and lead a multi-criteria decision-making approach to engage communities and Tribes across the Peninsula in the project to identify needs and define important project metrics.

Regional Climate Action Planning for the North Olympic Peninsula

By Amy Nash • 09 Dec, 2021
In late 2020, NODC was awarded funding through the Puget Sound Partnership from the EPA's National Estuary Program for Phase 2: Municipal Level Climate Action Planning for the North Olympic Peninsula.
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