February 27, 2014 — Earlier this week, neighboring landowners discovered a mudslide in the “experimental” Buck Rising clearcut logging project on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Douglas
County. The type of clearcutting used in the project has been the model for US Senator Ron Wyden’s plan to double logging levels on O&C lands in Western Oregon.
Press Release: Peer Review Questions Obama Proposal to Strip Protections for Wolves
February 7, 2014 — A scientific peer review released today greatly questions the science behind the Obama administration’s proposal to strip protections for gray wolves across nearly all of the lower 48 states. The report was initiated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agency that proposed the delisting, and should compel the administration to maintain protections for the species in much of the US where it is currently listed as an endangered species.
Groups Urge More Cautious Approach on Washington’s Wolf-kill Policy
February 6, 2014 — Twelve conservation organizations sent a letter to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife today raising concerns about the agency’s increasingly aggressive approach to killing endangered wolves and urged a more protective stance when it comes to the state’s fledgling wolf population. The groups, working together as the Washington Wolf Collaborative, are requesting that the department revise its protocol for lethal control of wolves involved in wolf-livestock conflicts. Specific requests include a greater emphasis on nonlethal measures to keep livestock away from wolves and ensuring that Washington’s wolf lethal control policy is at least as protective of wolves as policies in place for wolves in neighboring Oregon.
Settlement Protects Marbled Murrelet on Oregon State Forests, Cancels 28 Timber Sales
February 5, 2014 — Three conservation organizations secured a major victory today for Oregon’s coastal forests, reaching a settlement agreement with the state that cancels 28 timber sales in habitat for the threatened marbled murrelet on the Elliott, Clatsop and Tillamook state forests and improves future management practices to ensure the rare seabird is not harmed.
Roseburg BLM Clearcut Logging Plan Challenged
January 22, 2014 — Two conservation organizations filed a legal challenge today aimed at blocking a controversial plan to clearcut 100-year old trees on publicly-owned Bureau of Land Management lands in Douglas County. The White Castle logging project targets century old forest, including some trees over 150 years old, using a controversial logging method euphemistically referred to as “variable retention regeneration harvest.”
In Washington, Opposition Mounts to Notorious Federal Program’s Attempt to Grab Wolf-killing Powers
January 16, 2014 — Eight conservation groups representing tens of thousands of Washington residents filed official comments today opposing a controversial federal agency’s attempt to give itself authority to kill endangered wolves in the state. In December the U.S. Department of Agriculture/ APHIS Wildlife Services published a draft “environmental assessment” proposing to broaden its authority to assist the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife killing wolves in response to livestock depredations.
Wolverine killed by Idaho Trapper
January 14, 2014 — Fur trapping was one of the major reasons for exploration of Idaho and is still a legitimate wildlife management tool. Advances in trap design have resulted in more efficient traps capable of either catching and holding animals for later release or delivering a quick humane death. Despite all of the caution used to capture only targeted species, unintended species sometimes are caught. The Idaho Department of Fish & Game (IDFG) works with trappers to minimize non-target catches and pursue the best possible outcomes.
Press Release: Over 100,000 in Northwest Oppose Gray Wolf Delisting
December 17, 2013 — Demonstrating Americans’ broad opposition to the Obama administration’s plan to strip Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves, members of the Pacific Wolf Coalition submitted 101,416 comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today favoring continued wolf protections. The comments on behalf of the coalition’s members and supporters in the Pacific West join 1 million comments collected nationwide expressing Americans’ strong disapproval of the Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to remove federal protections from gray wolves across most of
the continental United States.
Nearly a Million Americans Speak Out Against Stripping Federal Protections From Wolves
December 17, 2013 — Approximately 750,000 Americans stated their opposition to the Obama administration’s proposal to strip endangered species protections from gray wolves in a comment period that closed today. This is the
largest number of comments ever submitted on a federal decision involving endangered species and reflects broad dissatisfaction with the Obama administration’s politically driven move to turn wolf management over to states across most of the lower 48.
Press Release: Logging Plan Threatens Proposed Crater Lake Wilderness
December 3, 2013 — Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild, represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, filed a legal challenge in Eugene today challenging the Umpqua National Forest’s proposed Loafer timber sale.