SALEM, Oregon—The Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission will convene April 21-22 for a virtual meeting.

On April 21 commissioners will hold a work session from 1-3 p.m. on operations, rulemaking and best practices.

On April 22, commissioners will convene an executive session at 8:30 a.m. virtually to discuss acquisition priorities and opportunities, and potential litigation. The Executive Session will be held pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(e) and (h) and is closed to the public.

A business meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. virtually and will be open to the public. All public commission meetings are streamed live to YouTube at https://bit.ly/oprdlive.

Anyone may attend or listen to the business meeting; instructions on how to listen will be posted on the commission web page prior to the meeting. The business meeting includes time for informal public comment not related to items on the agenda.

Registration is required to speak during the informal public comment portion. Register online at https://bit.ly/registerapr2026commission. The deadline to register to speak at the meeting virtually is 5 p.m., Apr. 20. Time per speaker is limited to three minutes. Please submit written public comments by 5 p.m. April 20 to ccomment@oprd.oregon.gov">OPRCcomment@oprd.oregon.gov.

The full agenda and supporting documents are posted on the commission web page. Notable requests:

• Request to approve grant recommendations for the following:
  • Recreational Trail Program
  • Land and Water Conservation Fund
• Request to approve construction contracts for Silver Falls North Gateway Visitor Center.
• Consideration of a petition to open rulemaking regarding extra vehicle fees for motorhomes. The public is invited to comment on whether rules should be changed to allow visitors with a motorhome to bring one additional vehicle at no charge. Currently fees are only waived if the vehicle is towed in along with the motorhome.
• Request to approve adoption of proposed amendment to rules regarding operations of unmanned aircraft systems in state parks and along the ocean shore.
• Request to open rules for proposed changes to public works procurement and land and water conservation fund grants.

Anyone needing special accommodations to attend the meeting should contact Denise Warburton, commission assistant, at least three days in advance at burton@oprd.oregon.gov">denise.warburton@oprd.oregon.gov or 503-779-9729.

The Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission promotes outdoor recreation and heritage by establishing policies, adopting rules and setting the budget for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The seven members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Oregon Senate. They serve four-year terms and meet several times a year at locations across the state.

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SALEM, Oregon – Oregon Heritage is pleased to announce that internationally recognized cultural heritage leader Monica Rhodes will deliver a keynote address on April 29^th at the upcoming Oregon Heritage Conference, inviting attendees to explore how preservation must evolve to meet the challenges of the future.

Rhodes, Founder of Rhodes Heritage Group, is widely known for advancing new approaches to cultural preservation at the intersection of people, place, and capital. Her work has influenced national policy, expanded access to preservation practice, and engaged millions in reimagining how history shapes the future.

Her keynote, “The Next Assignment: Why the Future Will Ask More of Us,” will challenge attendees to reconsider traditional approaches to preservation in an era shaped by artificial intelligence, climate instability, and growing public demand for complete storytelling. “We are entering unfamiliar futurescapes where the past is unstable, contested, and uncertain,” Rhodes notes.

A Rome Prize Fellow and Harvard Loeb Fellow, Rhodes has advised the White House on cultural heritage policy and serves on the board of the International Council on Monuments and Sites. Her work has been featured in national media outlets including The Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, This Old House, and Architectural Digest.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from Rhodes and engage with forward-looking ideas that connect historic preservation to civic innovation, community voice, and long-term resilience. Registration for the conference is now open. Registration is available to see Monica Rhodes only or to attend other conference sessions as well. To learn more and register to attend, visit Oregon Heritage Conference 2026.

SALEM, Oregon— At their February meeting, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission approved the final 2026 Oregon Recreational Trails Plan, which outlines trends and issues, creates priorities for grant funding and recommends actions to improve trails on public land in Oregon over the next 10 years.

To support implementation of the Trails Plan, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department also developed a new technical resources website for recreation and trail planning: https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/BWT/Pages/Technical-Resources-for-Recreation-Planning.aspx

“We appreciate the time and energy trail users and partners have put into helping us develop the next trails plan, which will guide investments to make our trails even better in the future,” said Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s Statewide Trails Planner Jessica Horning.

“Each year, more than 80% of Oregonians use trails across the state, generating over $890 million in spending at local businesses and contributing to Oregon’s overall economy.”

The Oregon Recreational Trails Plan covers non-motorized trails (hiking, biking, equestrian), motorized ATV trails, snowmobile trails, and non-motorized boating and water trails. It helps provide guidance to not only Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, but to federal, state and local agencies as well as private sector partners.

Information for the plan came from multiple sources including statewide surveys of trail users and recreation providers conducted in October 2024 and April 2025, multiple focus groups with specific user groups, workshops at the 2024 and 2025 Oregon Outdoor Recreation Summit, and the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), which is published every five years.

With commission approval of the 2026 Plan, State Parks staff will update Recreational Trails Program and ATV Grant criteria to be consistent with the plan. Updated grant criteria will be applied to both grant program’s next solicitations in Fall 2026.

For questions about the draft Oregon Trails Plan, please visit our website or contact OPRD Statewide Trails Planner Jessica Horning at .horning@oprd.oregon.gov" target="_blank">Jessica.r.horning@oprd.oregon.gov.