A Center for the Community
In 2007, just as Wallow Resources was outgrowing our former location, the Wallowa Memorial Hospital generously donated its old 59,000-square-foot building to our organization.
We have since made significant renovations, including increasing the building's solar capacity and upgrading the interior lighting. Combined, these improvements reduced electricity costs by 50 percent. We also made substantial roof repairs and upgrades, modified the biomass heating system, and added a 30-ton silo for wood pellet storage to improve reliability.
MANY benefits
Collectively, these improvements have reduced annual operating costs by around $50,000, and allowed the Doug McDaniel Stewardship Center to live up to its name as a community hub. We are now able to offer low-cost rental space that brings vital services under one roof. In addition to the majority of Wallowa Resources’ staff members, the Stewardship Center is home to numerous local organizations focused on rural economic development, environmental stewardship, youth services, education, and community services.
The Stewardship Center currently serves 23 tenants:
10 Non-profits
7 For-profits
3 Federal agencies
3 State agencies
Having these community organizations all under one roof has countless benefits. In Board Chair, Mike Hayward’s, words:
“It brings the people that we work with, the farmers and ranchers and timberland owners, into that connection, too. You can’t put a dollar value on that, but it’s a very large component of allowing us to do what we do.”
The Stewardship Center also serves as a gathering place for many more, with two conference rooms available to the community.
Doug McDaniel
In 2019, we renamed the Stewardship Center to honor Doug McDaniel, an original founding Board Member of Wallowa Resources.
“McDaniel played such a pivotal role in developing good land stewardship policy and community-based solutions for Wallowa Resources, and Wallowa Resources in turn has become a national model for other rural communities facing similar issues. We are excited to rename our building, and carry forward his legacy.”
Doug McDaniel was instrumental in making the Stewardship Center a success. Born and raised in Wallowa County, he advanced land stewardship, and made a positive impact on animal husbandry and forest and range management. In the 1990s, the sawmills closed and Wallowa County faced a dire economic crisis. McDaniel was keen to find solutions for the community he loved.
“I believed that everyone’s goals were closer than most people believed…I believed if we got the working people – the foresters, loggers, ranchers, recreationalists and environmentalists – together, they would develop a relationship built on trust and get the work done.” —Doug McDaniel
McDaniel brought this philosophy to the back room of Cloud 9 Bakery in Enterprise, where various community members were meeting to try to find ways to move forward. From those meetings, Wallowa Resources was born.
One of McDaniel’s most notable accomplishments was the national award-winning Wallowa River Restoration Project. Working with Wallowa Resources and other partners, he and his wife, Gail Hammack, restored a half-mile section of the Wallowa River near Lostine. Steelhead (and later, Chinook salmon) have spawned annually in the newly constructed channel since the spring of 2006, just a year after the initial phase of restoration was completed.
With Thanks to Our Supporters
Oregon Department of Energy (RED grant)
USDA (REAP grant)
The Wallowa County community
JayZee Lumber staff presenting the new Doug McDaniel Stewardship Center sign, made by local artist Steve Arment from salvaged lumber from an old mill in Enterprise.
