Wallowa Resources

Wallowa Resources empowers rural communities to create strong economies and healthy landscapes through land stewardship, education and job creation.

In Wallowa County, Sheepscot Creative engaged ranchers, farmers and foresters in an effort to give voice to the realities of rural life in contemporary America. Wallowa Resources’ model of economic stewardship touches its Eastern Oregon community in so many ways that it can be hard to describe succinctly. They needed tools that would help audiences understand how all the work fits together into one holistic and promising approach to revitalize rural communities. 

We’ve helped Wallowa Resources communicate the value of its efforts to a diverse set of rural and urban audiences. Our strategies addressed the concerns of stakeholders in communities across Northeast Oregon, as you’d expect, but also urban populations in Portland, San Francisco and Washington, DC—that’s where much of the organization’s fundraising and advocacy work takes place. 

To begin, staff workshops, stakeholder interviews, and a tour of Wallowa County yielded a strategic communications report. Next, we produced two brand videos and added more than 100 still photographs to WR’s collection. 

We produced a short, stirring video expressly for Wallowa Resources’ annual fundraiser, where most attendees would be familiar with the organization’s work and personnel. Production followed quickly on the heels of a four-day June visit, where we interviewed staff and partners on-site and on camera, and captured footage of the awe-inspiring landscapes they steward.

Wallowa Resources’ model of economic stewardship touches its Eastern Oregon community in so many ways that it can be hard to describe succinctly. They needed a video that would help audiences understand how all the work fits together into one holistic and promising approach to revitalize rural communities.

Finally, we were asked to create a visual representation of Wallowa County to show how WR’s work impacts the regional landscape, community and economy. Our challenge was to demonstrate the range of activities that occur across habitats, while ensuring that people on the land were clearly represented. Two master graphics were delivered as Adobe Illustrator files, each with sections of text to be adapted by staff for each use case. Five additional detailed illustrations call out individual components of the stewardship economy to introduce subject matter and frame discussions.