Painted Sky program gets grant

JOHN DAY — The Juniper Arts Council has received a $4,085 grant from the Oregon Arts Commission, the state agency announced.

The nonprofit will use the money to support the Painted Sky Center for the Arts’ World Tour Summer 2022, a program that includes arts-focused summer camps and free community events that celebrate different cultures from around the globe.

The funds will be used to pay for art supplies, provide arts instruction and cover other event-related costs.

Fire prevention effort gets funding

JOHN DAY — The Grant County Soil and Water Conservation District has been selected to receive state funding for a large-scale project to reduce wildfire fuels on forest and rangeland.

The Upper John Day Valley Landscape Resiliency Project was one of nine projects around the state chosen to receive a share of $20 million in state grant money to treat 156,000 acres at risk of catastrophic wildfire. The projects will also bring in more than $15 million in matching funds from federal, state, private and in-kind investments.

The Grant County Soil and Water Conservation District is proposing to treat 30,000 acres east of John Day. The district had requested a $2.3 million state grant tied to $1.8 million in matching funds.

Comment opens on burn rule

SALEM — The Oregon Department of Forestry is seeking public comment on a proposed change to rules governing prescribed burns in the state. The change is intended to clarify an existing rule, the department said in a news release.

The amended rules clarify that a person may conduct a prescribed burn across land ownership boundaries if the person obtains the proper permit. The amendment also clarifies that a person may obtain a permit if they demonstrate to the department that they have obtained permission from everyone whose lands would be affected by the proposed burn.

Written comments must be received by 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, and should be addressed to Tim Holschbach, deputy chief of policy and planning for the department’s Protection from Fire Division.

Comments may be emailed to sb762.rulemaking@odf.oregon.gov or mailed to Oregon Department of Forestry, Attn: Tim Holschbach, 2600 State St., Bldg. D, Salem, OR 97310.

Detailed information on the rulemaking effort can be found online at https://tinyurl.com/3yv4xhhd.

Blue Mountain Eagle