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Bates Champions Waterways

      DR. ALAN BATES State Senator, District 3  Ashland, Jacksonville, Medford, Phoenix, Talent    Deputy Majority Leader Co-chair, Human Services Joint Subcommittee Member, Joint Ways & Means        News Release   February 11, 2013   CONTACT:      Jeff Scroggin (503) 986-1703 or  sen.alanbates@state.or.us   Bates stands up for Southern Oregon … Read more

Blog: Lawyers, Guns and Money

  By Nick Cady, Legal Director   Over the past year Cascadia Wildlands has effectively doubled our organization’s legal capacity through the generous support of our members and foundations. Gabe Scott is back in our Alaska Field office, armed with a law degree, and our Eugene office has its first-ever full-time staff attorney. We want … Read more

Crony Capitalism on the Tongass

by Gabe Scott Where is the Tea Party when we need them? I’ve been spending a lot of time lately with two thick Environmental Impact Statements — for the Tonka Timber Sale, and the Big Thorne Timber Sale — out of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. These fellas are a blast from the past, a nostalgic … Read more

“You Keep Those Damn [Franken]Fish Out Of My Waters”

By Gabriel Scott I’ve read some poorly crafted Environmental Assessments in my time, and seen more than a few ill-considered decisions, but this one might just take the cake. Over the holidays the veterinarians at the Food and Drug Administration decided to approve an application to grow and sell genetically engineered salmon, a King/ Atlantic … Read more

Alaska’s ignorance-based fishery management

By Gabe Scott Alaska King Salmon are facing a crisis. The last several years have seen drastic declines in returning King Salmon runs, costing commercial fishermen millions, closing popular sport fisheries, and leaving subsistence fish camps in the villages empty. Something is wrong, but what? That was the topic of a science symposium, put together … Read more

WDFW and the Wedge Pack—Not a Class Act

By Bob Ferris People who teach in a classroom understand that the game is won or lost and the tone set extremely early in the process.  Setting and communicating clear boundaries and expectations on that first day of class can help head off problems and save a lot time and energy on corrective actions.  By … Read more

General Response to Joe Greene

[Editor's note: When the New 49er's griped about the bias of scientists involved in the public advisory committee for suction dredging in California, the State eventually acquiesced allowed the New 49ers to invite two people with science degrees from their camp.  They selected Joe Greene and Claudia Wise retired EPA scientists from Oregon and current … Read more

Dredging Up The Truth

By Bob Ferris   With every complicated, science-based issue we seem to tackle, from climate change to wolves and from forestry to diesel particulates, there seems to be a handful of slide-rule era-educated, contrarian scientists who pull themselves up from the depths of retirement to confuse the issue.  These self-proclaimed mavens generally have some credentials, but not the … Read more

Of Wolf Experts and “Wolf Experts”

By Bob Ferris When I was in graduate school we learned an awful lot in our core areas of expertise.  But we also spent time talking about scientific ethics and acceptable practices.  Part of those discussions dealt with issues relating to research and publications such as why a certain person should be identified as a … Read more

Suction Dredging…Sucks

By Bob Ferris   My access point to my career in the conservation field came originally from fish.  I caught my first trout on the Eel River in northern California while my family was on their way to visit the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle.  As we were on our way north, my mother grudgingly … Read more

Coos Bay Gas Pipeline Puts Much at Risk–Get Engaged

by Gabe Scott   Last week’s massive refinery fire in Richmond, California should serve as a wake-up call. Not that we needed another to remind us of a basic fact: oil and gas infrastructure is dangerous. When things go wrong, they go very wrong, very quickly.   Add this to the list of reasons why the … Read more