In 2017, Sy Adler and Jim Irvine interviewed Don Mazziotti, a key planner involved with Oregon's Statewide Planning Goal 10, which focuses on accommodating needed housing. Mazziotti's extensive career includes serving as Beaverton's Community and Economic Development Director, heading the Portland Development Commission, and acting as Portland's chief planner in the 1970s. He also held roles as Oregon's chief information officer and U.S. deputy assistant secretary of transportation.

This oral history is part of "People and the Land," a collaboration between the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development and Portland State University. Portland State University Special Collections provides digital access for personal, educational, and non-commercial use only. Commercial reproduction, distribution, or screening is prohibited.

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Join our "Women in the Workplace" 10-year anniversary panel event, celebrating a decade of progress and the path ahead for women in the workforce. We'll reflect on gains and setbacks across industries, looking forward to new opportunities.

Drawing from the 2024 "Women in the Workplace" report by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org, this discussion will analyze real-world data on equitable policies, talent pipelines, equal representation, and pay parity. Our panel, featuring Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Padmasree Warrior (Co-Founder & CEO, Fable), and moderator Alexis Krivkovich (McKinsey & Company), will share authentic experiences from the C-suite to entry-level roles.

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Western North Carolina faces unprecedented devastation from Hurricane Helene. Thousands are without basic services, and the body count is rising. Community support is vital as we navigate these challenges.

This disaster highlights the urgent need to address climate change, capitalism, and colonization for future generations. Please continue to support our GoFundMe, which aids underserved communities through mutual aid. Your donations and sharing mean everything to us.

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Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure through central Florida as he helps save threatened gopher tortoises from a new real estate development. Later, Jeff uncovers how gopher tortoises contribute to

Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure through central Florida as he helps save threatened gopher tortoises from a new real estate development. Later, Jeff uncovers how gopher tortoises contribute to Florida’s entire ecosystem by providing important habitat for many other species. To learn more about the wildlife featured in the episode, visit www.defenders.org/wildlifenation Video Transcript: Jeff Corwin: Our adventure begins in Central Florida, where an amazing species of reptile has lived for  millions of years. Jeff Corwin: So friends, right now, we're working with an incredible project, and it's all about rescuing these amazing creatures. This is the incredible, the iconic, gopher tortoise. Kent, I can't think of a more amazing symbol of old wild Florida than this, but today they're in serious trouble. Why are these tortoises disappearing? Kent Wimmer: Because of development pressures and land uses that don't protect their habitat. Jeff Corwin: In Florida, neighborhoods are popping up left and right. How many people move here every day? Kent Wimmer: 1,000 people a day. Jeff Corwin: To make room for people, means we lose habitat, and a species like this depends on a very specific type of habitat. Jeff Corwin: Gopher tortoises are expert diggers. Every year, they dig out several long tunnels deep underground, where they are protected from weather, fires, and predators.  And these master excavators play a critical role in Florida's entire ecosystem. Kent Wimmer: Gopher tortoises are one of nature's engineers. Over 360 species live in gopher tortoise burrows. They're one of the most important species we have in Florida. Jeff Corwin: We've got Kent from Defenders, and we have Carissa who is from Saving Florida's Gopher Tortoises. Carissa, these tunnels can go how many feet? Carissa Kent: In the center of the State, they'll go down to 25, 35 feet. They dig to the water table. Jeff Corwin: You're talking about 25 feet down. Carissa Kent: Correct. Jeff Corwin: I'm not talking length- Carissa Kent: Length. Jeff Corwin: ... just down. Carissa Kent: Just down. Jeff Corwin: This sandy type soil you find in Florida is ideal for tortoises. But, it's also ideal for homesteading,  real estate, and construction, isn't it? Carissa Kent: Correct. So the same places that tortoises want to live, humans want to live. So, there has to be a balance there somewhere. So we work on projects, unfortunately, that had an old permit system, where the developers are able to purchase a permit to bury them alive. Jeff Corwin: Under Florida regulations, many older gopher tortoise permits still allow developers to destroy their burrows and seal them underground beneath layers of concrete. And many other species that live in their burrows, can be routinely killed.   Jeff Corwin: This lot, which is home to gopher tortoises, is now going to be ripped up, torn down, and made room for a development, a neighborhood. That's where Carissa's group with partners like Defenders come in. We've come to this place, to get whatever tortoises are living here out of harm's way. Because if we don't, they'll be forever buried under a neighborhood of concrete. Carissa Kent: Correct. Jeff Corwin: All right. Shall we go save some tortoises? Carissa Kent: I'm ready. Kent Wimmer: Let's go. Jeff Corwin: Let's do it. Carissa Kent: Let's go. Carissa Kent: All right, found one guys. Kent Wimmer: Hey. Carissa Kent: All right. It's right here. Jeff Corwin: All right. Yep, I can see that. Kent Wimmer: Good job. Carissa Kent: Yeah, I see tracks and some nice little trails right there. So, we're hoping this is definitely  a gopher tortoise that's physically in here. Jeff Corwin: There could be dozen of critters down there, but there's only one way to find out, and we've  got some technology to do that, don't we Carissa? Carissa Kent: We sure do. Jeff Corwin: Carissa carefully feeds a small camera deep into the hole, to see if anyone is at home. Carissa: All right. It's curving to the left a little bit. And- Jeff Corwin: Look at that. A tortoise. Carissa Kent: There is our tortoise. Kent Wimmer: All right. Jeff Corwin: So, we've confirmed tortoise, what do we do? Carissa Kent: It's time to excavate. Jeff Corwin: All right, let's do it. Carissa Kent: All right, let's go. Kent Wimmer: All right. Jeff Corwin: In order to safely excavate the gopher tortoise, we rely on some heavy-duty industrial earth moving equipment to help clear away the top soil. Jeff Corwin: This is about being very, very gentle and approaching this hole as gingerly as possible, isn't it? Carissa Kent: Absolutely. Obviously, we're digging with very, very large machinery here, so our number one goal is not to hurt this tortoise. But we need this machine to get this tortoise out of the ground. So how we do that, is delicately. We've hit our character limit. Leave us a comment for the rest of the transcript.

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Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure in his home state of Massachusetts. Jeff returns to his roots to help conservationists save a collection of iconic New England wildlife, including an owl ready

Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure in his home state of Massachusetts. Jeff returns to his roots to help conservationists save a collection of iconic New England wildlife, including an owl ready to be released. To learn more about the wildlife featured in the episode, visit www.defenders.org/wildlifenation Video Transcript: Jeff Corwin: Today, we're in my home state of Massachusetts and we're heading to the New England Wildlife Center. The center provides veterinary care to sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife from raccoons to opossums to owls, squirrels, and hawks. The dedicated staff put a lot of time and caring to rehabilitating each animal that comes through their doors. Jeff Corwin: For me, what I love about New England, specifically Massachusetts is that, Lindsay, when it comes to nature, there's so many surprises. I don't think a lot of people give New England the credit it deserves when it comes to amazing wildlife and habitat. Dr. Lindsay Rosa: They don't, Jeff and in fact, growing up here, I always thought it was wonderful I didn't have to go far across the country to a national park to see wildlife. I had bear and bobcat in my backyard.  Jeff Corwin: This is Lindsay Rosa. She's the senior conservation officer with Defenders of Wildlife, and I'm bringing her to one of my most favorite wildlife conservation centers on the planet. It is called the New England Wildlife Center. And I have worked with the New England Wildlife Center since I was about 13 or 14 years old and it has been such a joy for me to watch them grow and thrive. And their success is largely the result of the challenges that they face. Why are we having so many challenges in protecting species today? Dr. Lindsay Rosa:  The more that we continue to grow and spread from cities like Boston, the more we're encroaching into these habitats, which is why conservation comes in so many shapes and sizes and colors now from protecting a plot of land for species to doing some of the great rehabilitation work that's going on at the center. Jeff Corwin: Well, speaking of great rehabilitation work, I think you're going to love what these folks are doing. They're good friends of mine. It's going to be an amazing experience. You ready?  Dr. Lindsay Rosa: I'm ready.  Jeff Corwin: All right, let's go do it. Zachary Mertz: This guy came in about three weeks ago. He was really debilitated, just pretty dazed, stumbling from side to side, which are all hallmarks of lead poisoning.  Jeff Corwin: Did it eat the lead or was it shot?  Zachary Mertz: Very often it's trying to get a meal at the bottom of a pond, at the bottom of a lake and they accidentally eat a fishing sinker, accidentally eat an old shotgun shell. Gregory Mertz: When lead goes in the body, it circulates in the blood and it attaches to the different nerve endings  and as a result causes neurological disease.  Jeff Corwin: Lead poisoning from pollution or contamination, but especially from shotgun shell shot that has lead has had a powerful impact in wildlife, hasn't it? Dr. Lindsay Rosa:  Yeah. In fact, Jeff millions of birds every year are poisoned with lead and it's a big problem to the point that, various countries and states are now taking action and we've noticed changes and even recovery. Jeff Corwin:  So the good news is there are viable alternatives-  Dr. Lindsay Rosa: There are.  Jeff Corwin: ... that work. So what do we need to do today?  Gregory Mertz: What we want to do is get that lead to release. So we add something called calcium EDTA, and that is fairly reactive with lead itself. It will pick it up and allow it to be washed out of the body. Jeff Corwin: In order to continue the healing process the swan gets an injection of calcium EDTA. Swans, they are incredibly resilient. They can survive a dose of lead poisoning that would kill a human being, which is kind of amazing. Jeff Corwin: And finally, after making a full recovery, the swan is released back into the same lake where it was found. We've had an incredible time helping out at the New England Wildlife Center. There's one final animal ready to be released back into the wild, this beautiful barn owl. Lindsay, Greg and I are releasing it into a protected habitat. Jeff Corwin:  Lindsay, why do you think a moment like this is important?  Dr. Lindsay Rosa: This habitat as well as most across the nation, we share it with our wildlife neighbors and really we have to be mindful about what we're doing. We know that lead and rodenticide are poisonous. We all have to keep our wildlife neighbors safe.  Jeff Corwin: You can't protect what you do not love, and you'll never love it if you don't get to meet it and that's why we go in these journeys. So are you ready, Lindsay, to do this? Dr. Lindsay Rosa: I'm ready, Jeff. Jeff Corwin: 3, 2, 1. Oh, there it goes... We hit our character limit. Leave us a comment for the rest of the transcript!

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Cree Elder A.J. Felix delivered a powerful "Wake Up" song and teachings at The Turtle Lodge on March 19, 2020, for the launch of "Wahbanung - The Resurgence of a People." His message called for spiritual awakening, urging listeners to address community challenges like children's suffering, disunity, and lack of sharing or prayer.

Elder Felix offered four vital teachings: pray sincerely, even with tears, as the spirit world listens; avoid buying luck or success, which can bring harm; and once grounded in prayer, remain humble, sharing blessings with those in need. This path leads to success and peace.

Learn more at www.turtlelodge.org or The Turtle Lodge on Facebook.

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Palm oil production is destroying orangutan forest homes, like Rang-tan's, and threatening Indigenous Peoples. This ingredient, found in products from major brands, leads to irreversible habitat loss and species extinction if unchecked.

Act now to protect these vital ecosystems. Sign the petition to end dirty palm oil and help save Rang-tan's future. Sign the petition here.

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