Sustainable Northwest was designed to confront these challenges by constructively promoting stewardship and conservation of natural resources and compatible economic development in communities of the region. At the same time we work to improve the public and policymakers' understanding and adoption of sustainability as fundamental to the future of the Pacific Northwest. In the Summer 1994, Articles of Incorporation were submitted and approved by the State of Oregon. Strategy Our Board has requested that the staff focus its prospecting and project design efforts primarily in the inter-mountain region that coincides with the interior Columbia River basin. These so-called eastside ecosystems are now being studied and discussed with the urgency that the westside Cascade and Coast range forests were a few years ago.
Recent reports indicate that forest and watershed health has deteriorated alarmingly.
Diminished resources are costing communities jobs, and the resulting tensions are eroding peoples' trust in each other and in government. The result is a climate of acrimony, resentment, polarization, and decision-making immobility. Meanwhile, nationally and globally significant biological resources are declining to dangerously low levels. The situation is one of extremes in which blame is cast about wantonly and there is a high level of mistrust. To accomplish its mission, Sustainable Northwest's diverse and influential Board of Directors, staff and advisors rely upon constructive, cooperative engagement of all stakeholders, and promotion of a common base of understanding and purpose.