Mike, thanks, will check into the moment connection.
Mo, FUNNY. but then of course, how to withstand an meteor impact... The Gorge isn't super seismic but we are only 60 miles from Portland, which has a lot of faults (earthquake faults). I did find that Oregon has strawbale in their building code so I will see what they recommend.
btw, our braces will be attached with metal brackets of some type...which should help with tension.
