Oregon Board of Forestry Grants Petition to Protect Coho Salmon from Private and State Logging

July 26, 2019 — Late Wednesday afternoon after hours of deliberation, the Oregon Board of Forestry voted 5-2 to accept a petition for rulemaking on coho salmon. The petition was brought by 22 different conservation and fishing groups under a rarely used portion of the Forest Practices Act which requires the Board to consider forest protections on private and state land when species are listed under state or federal endangered species acts. The Board is required to identify “resource sites” for listed species and subsequently develop rules to protect these species if threatened by state and private logging practices.

Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Votes to Weaken Oregon Wolf Plan

June 13, 2019 — On June 7, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, whose members are appointed by Governor Kate Brown, adopted revisions to the state’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. This plan is required to be updated every five years, but this latest update was over four years late given the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) efforts to remove wolves from the state list of threatened and endangered species. Although wolves in Oregon are slowly recovering from their extirpation in the 1940s, the updates to the plan dramatically increase the situations in which wolves can be killed both by ODFW and members of the public.

Press Release: Lane County Board of Commissioners Withdraws Membership from Extreme Timber Lobby Group

June 11, 2019 — Today, the Lane County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 to withdraw its membership from the Association of O&C Counties (AOCC), an extreme timber lobby group. Newly elected commissioner Heather Buch brought forward the motion to remove Lane County’s funding, totaling $79,444 for 2019-2020, and membership in the AOCC. Commissioner Jay Bozievich was the lone commissioner to oppose the withdrawal.

Press Release: Critical Jordan Cove LNG Permit Denied by Oregon

May 6, 2019 — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) today delivered a potentially fatal blow to the Jordan Cove LNG project and the Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline which has faced fierce opposition for more than a decade by a grassroots coalition of impacted landowners, anglers, small business owners, tribal members, health professionals, and many more Oregonians and Northern Californians.

Oregon Board of Forestry Petitioned to Develop Coho Salmon Protections

April 24, 2019 — Today, twenty conservation and fishing organizations delivered a rulemaking petition to the Oregon Board of Forestry requesting new rules to prevent logging-related harm to “resource sites” for coho salmon listed under the state and federal Endangered Species Act. Coho salmon, which are split into three evolutionarily significant units in Oregon, were first listed in Southern Oregon in 1997, and soon thereafter along the rest of the Oregon Coast in 1998. The Lower Columbia coho population was listed almost over a decade ago, in 2005.

Lawsuit Launched to Protect Rare Siskiyou Mountains Salamander

April 22, 2019 — Conservation groups today filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to respond to a 2018 petition for Endangered Species Act protection for the Siskiyou Mountains salamander.

Press Release: Community Members Mobilize for Public Lands Town Hall!

April 15, 2019 — On Thursday, April 18thfrom 6-8pm, bikers, conservation groups, students, and Springfield area locals will join in a discussion at Springfield City Hall about timber sales and local forest management.The Town Hall will feature panelistsfrom Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wildand Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology(FUSEE) discussing recreation, conservation and fire safety in Bureau of Land Management forests. The panel discussion will be followed by a moderated public forum in which community members will share and discuss concerns around local land management. The biker’s organization Climate Revolutions by Bikeis organizing a mass bike ride departing from the University of Oregon EMU at 5pm to participate in the Town Hall event.

Press Release: Oregon Gray Wolf Population Increases in 2018, State and Federal Threats Abound

April 8 2019 — Today, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that the gray wolf population increased by 10% to a minimum of 137 animals, and total packs increased from 12 to 16, from last year’s count.

FERC Releases Draft Environmental Review of Jordan Cove LNG Export Terminal and Pacific Connector Pipeline

March 29, 2019 — Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the twice-denied Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Export Terminal and Pacific Connector Pipeline proposed for southern Oregon, opening a public comment period that will close July 5th. Public hearings will be held in southern Oregon in June.

Press Release: Wolves Return to Lane and Douglas Counties!

March 21, 2019 — Today, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed gray wolf activity through track sightings and remote camera images in the Umpqua National Forest north of Highway 138. The Indigo wolves are using a large wild area that spans Lane and Douglas Counties and the Willamette and Umpqua watersheds.