1. On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at 6:00 p.m., the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition and the Northwest Environmental Defense Center will host a webinar entitled “Beyond the High Water Mark: A Call for Floodplain Management Reform to Ensure Compliance with Federal Law and Bolster Community Resilience to Flooding and Climate Change.” You can sign up for this free webinar at oregonshores.org/?post_type=event&p=51628&preview=true
In light of recent “atmospheric rivers,” as well as the choices cities and counties must make as to which of three proposed levels of FEMA codes regarding floodplains to adopt, this webinar will be particularly relevant.
This presentation will go over the history of Northwest Environmental Defense Center et. al. v. Federal Emergency Management Agency which is the driving factor in Oregon communities moving to update their floodplain management codes. There will be a discussion of why adequate updates are necessary to ensure that local communities, developers, the State, and FEMA comply with federal law as they participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. Also, there will be talk about how protecting floodplain habitat necessarily allows building more resilient communities that are better able to withstand ever-increasing flooding events.
This webinar will provide local governments with a background on the history and reasoning for these reforms, as well as grassroots perspectives on the opportunities and implications posed by each pathway. This analysis will help to elevate and promote science-based decision making that will promote climate resilience and be responsive to various obligations under the Endangered Species Act and National Flood Insurance Program.
Leading the discussion will be Mary Stites, the Staff Attorney at the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, a Portland-based non-profit seeking to protect and preserve the natural resources of the Pacific Northwest. After graduating from Lewis & Clark Law School, Mary joined the NEDC team and assisted in a range of matters, including efforts to enforce the Clean Water Act, protect endangered species, and stop the siting of harmful industrial activities in sensitive locations.
2. NCCWP Astoria Chapter News: We will be holding our monthly meeting this coming Wednesday, December 17, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Due to holiday events, the meeting will not take place at KALA, our usual venue. Instead, it will take place at Necessary Magic, 333 10th Street in Astoria.
At the monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 13, starting at 4:00 p.m., we will discuss talking points for the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Forest Management Plan (FMP). This meeting will take place in Astoria at KALA. Besides being an in-person meeting, it can be attended virtually. (Chili and beverages will be available for purchase at the event.) A week later, the in-person meeting of ODF regarding the FMP (where testimony may be presented) will take place on Tuesday, January 20, at 5:30 p.m. at the Tillamook ODF offices, 5005 3rd St.
3. “Save Our Wetlands” Update: LUBA No. 2025-069 Nedonna Development v. City of Rockaway Beach
Regarding the above-mentioned case, you can watch the oral arguments that will be presented before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) on Tuesday, January 13, at 10:45 am. Oral arguments will be streamed on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@landuseboardofappeals8802/streams.
Here’s some background about the case. The Rockaway Beach City Council voted unanimously to reverse its prior approvals for a 28-lot Planned Unit Development in Nedonna Beach. The applicant, Nedonna Development LLC, has chosen to appeal that decision to LUBA. The intervenors in the case, the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition and North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection, will be represented by the Crag Law Center.
4. Learn about the new Interactive FERNS Pesticide Application Map that Beyond Toxics has created.
Pesticide applications are done on forestland all across Oregon. Beyond Toxics has long offered support and resources to those affected by pesticide drift, but there has been a lack of transparency and accessibility of historical pesticide records. Their first-of-its-kind interactive map shows pesticide applications on Oregon forestland from 2014-2024, using data from the Forestry Electronic Registry Notification System (FERNS) obtained from the Oregon Department of Forestry. They partnered with the InfoGraphics Lab at the University of Oregon to create a tool that can filter for particular types of chemicals, methods of application, date range of applications, and more. The interactive map is on their website: www.beyondtoxics.org/work/pesticides-and-communities/pesticide-map/ Beyond Toxics is committed to updating the data points, once they are available, as more people interact with it.
If you missed the webinar on December 9 about Beyond Toxics’ new FERNS Pesticide Application webmap, a recording of it can be found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UnJRO763ggM. Please feel free to share widely.
5. Here’s an article worth reading: “The Science Shows Glyphosate Must be Banned.”
regenerationinternational.org/2025/12/04/the-science-shows-glyphosate-must-be-banned/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic%2Fclimate Thankyou Ernie Niemi.
This month, North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection would like to thank the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, Beyond Toxics, the Wild Salmon Center, and the Crag Law Center for working with us. NCCWP wants no more logging and pesticide use in community drinking water sources regardless of who owns the land, and it wants an end to pesticide applications near where people live, work, and recreate. Safe drinking water and clean air are part of the public trust that we all are entitled to have.
Please help North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection safeguard and restore our drinking watersheds.
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