This is the web version of our October newsletter: a look back at the gathering, a million comments for the Roadless Rule, a Senate bill that needs a closer read, a new home for our gatherings, four videos that have inspired us, and an app for our volunteer portal. Want the next one in your inbox? Join the newsletter and we will send it to you every month.
Mixed Media Montage, Remembered
On Thursday, October 8, ECC founder Liz Fox led Mixed Media Montage at the South Beach Community Center in Newport, a hands-on evening of building small keepsakes from old photographs, matchboxes, tins, and found objects.
There is a shadow box of crowned cats and a bearded dragon, a Queen of Spades with a Boston terrier’s face, and a little tin that reads “inspiration will find you.” See the photos and read the recap. Missed September? Moss Webster taught us to make paper lanterns from pressed leaves, and you can see the September photos too.
Next up is Thursday, November 12. It will be a fun, low-stress doodling and drawing class, from 5 to 8 pm at the South Beach Community Center in Newport. Details and registration are coming soon, so watch our events page.
Over One Million Comments Said Keep the Roadless Rule
The public comment period on the plan to rescind the Roadless Rule closed on Tuesday, October 6. The organizations that worked on the campaign across the country, including the Sierra Club, report more than one million comments in all.
The Center for Western Priorities read about 370,000 of the comments posted to the federal docket and found that 99 percent opposed the repeal, according to Deseret News. If you wrote one, whether through our Action Center, a partner’s form, or because a neighbor nudged you, you are part of that number. Thank you.
Comments are the first step. Read what happens next, and what you can still do to help protect these forests in law. The one-million figure is the organizers’ combined count. The Federal Register docket shows fewer, because many campaign comments were submitted in bundles.
Tell Oregon’s Senators to Fix the Permitting Bill Before They Vote on It
On September 30, a bipartisan group of senators released a permitting bill. Parts of it are good, like making it easier to build the power lines that carry clean energy. Other parts reach well past energy and into the places and creatures we care about on this coast, including shorter windows for neighbors to challenge a federal permit in court, changes to how the Endangered Species Act weighs science, and power cables through national marine sanctuaries.
We could not find a public statement from Senator Wyden or Senator Merkley on how they will vote. This action asks both to say where they stand, and to vote no unless those sections are fixed. Senate leaders are not expected to bring the bill to the floor until after the November election, so there is time to be heard first. ECC is amplifying a toolkit from Ocean Defense Initiative and does not claim a partnership with them.
Our Monthly Gatherings Are Moving to the Samaritan Center for Health Education
Beginning in January 2027, our monthly gatherings will be held at the Samaritan Center for Health Education, 740 SW 9th Street in Newport. We still meet every second Thursday of the month from 5 to 8 pm, so the first one at the new space is Thursday, January 14.
Each month’s gathering will also be listed on Samaritan’s community calendar of events, in print, and in their email newsletter, which reaches hundreds of local residents. That puts our events in front of neighbors who have never heard of us.
Four Videos Worth Your Time
A few things that have inspired us lately.
Neah Bay: Restoring Ancestral Waters
From the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, 15 minutes. Makah Tribal fishermen have hunted these waters for thousands of years. Now a coalition of Tribal leaders and organizations is hauling out an abandoned 3,000-ton piece of highway bridge and old vessels so traditional foods can come back.
Discover the Hidden Worlds Under Everyday Docks
From Oregon Field Guide on OPB, 7 minutes. Luan Roberts explores the marine life living beneath Pacific Northwest docks and documents it for the Docktober bioblitz.
Wildwood, Official Trailer
From LAIKA Studios, 2 minutes. From the makers of Coraline, a young girl journeys into a hidden forest to rescue her brother. In theaters October 23.
The System Took Our Skills Once. It’s About to Do It Again.
From Project Paradise, 10 minutes. Mending a pair of jeans, salvaging firewood from a fallen tree, and asking whether the value of making something can be measured by its price.
The Volunteer Portal Is Now an App
Threadspore, where our teams share updates, sort out who is bringing what, and plan events, now has an app for iPhone and Android. It has everything the website does: team conversations, to-dos, events, files, photos, and polls. The website works exactly as before if you would rather keep using it.
Already have a Threadspore account? Open the app and tap Sign in. We email you a six-digit code, so there is no password to remember. New to the portal? Join the volunteer portal first, then download the app for iPhone or Android.
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Every month we send the news from the Collective: gathering photos, calls to action that take a few minutes, and what is coming up. Join the newsletter and it will arrive in your inbox.
