January 30, 2013 — Conservation groups today filed an administrative challenge to the proposed clearcutting of more than 100 acres of mature forests and spotted owl critical habitat on public lands near Canyonville. The White Castle Timber sale is part of the Roseburg Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Secretarial Pilot project, promoted by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar as a way of restoring the forest and increasing timber harvest on federal forest lands.
Press Release: Conservation Groups Challenge Crater Lake-Area Logging
January 2, 2013 — Conservationists today filed a Notice of Intent to challenge an old-growth logging sale on the doorstep of iconic Crater Lake National Park. The Umpqua National Forest is offering the sale as part of a massive proposal to log forests bordering the park, including some of the state’s most popular recreation areas around Lemolo and Diamond Lakes. Conservationists are expressing concern the Forest Service is violating laws designed to protect rare and vulnerable wildlife which also call the area home.
Press Release: Anniversary of OR-7’s Arrival in California Inspires New Wolf Alliance
December 21, 2012 — Twenty-five wildlife conservation, education and protection organizations in California, Oregon and Washington today announced the formation of an alliance committed to recovering wolves across the region. The Pacific Wolf Coalition envisions populations of wolves restored across their historic habitats in numbers that will allow them to re-establish their critical role in nature and ensure their long-term survival. The announcement of the Pacific Wolf Coalition coincides with the one-year anniversary of the first wolf, OR-7, in California in nearly 90 years.
Massive Coalition Calls on President Obama to Nominate Rep. Raúl Grijalva as Interior Secretary
December 10, 2013 — In a letter sent today, a broad coalition of 238 conservation, Hispanic, recreation, animal welfare, religious, labor, youth, business and women’s groups urged President Barack Obama to nominate Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) as the next interior secretary when that position opens. Grijalva is currently ranking member of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, and a leading Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.
Court Halts Clearcutting in Murrelet Habitat on Oregon State Forests
November 27, 2012 — A federal court judge has halted 11 timber sales and all logging activities in occupied marbled murrelet sites in the Tillamook, Clatsop and Elliott state forests. The ruling stops logging in murrelet habitat until the resolution of a case filed by Cascadia Wildlands, the Center for Biological Diversity and Portland Audubon Society asserting that the state’s logging practices are harming the federally protected seabird in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Press Release: Oregon Suspends Clearcutting in the Elliott State Forest
November 14, 2012 — After a lawsuit by conservation groups, the State of Oregon has suspended logging of 914 acres of old-growth forest on the Elliott State Forest that is habitat for the threatened marbled murrelet. Previously, ten timber sales were suspended in response to the lawsuit filed in July by Cascadia Wildlands, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Audubon Society of Portland. The suit asserts that the state is harming the rare seabird by logging its nesting habitat in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
Press Release: Lawsuit Filed to Protect Threatened North Oregon Coast Red Tree Vole
September 26, 2012 — Three conservation organizations filed a legal challenge today to halt the controversial Rickard Creek timber sale on Salem Bureau of Land Management lands southwest of Corvallis, Oregon. Cascadia Wildlands, the Center for Biological Diversity and Benton Forest Coalition assert the BLM failed to protect habitat for the threatened red tree vole in violation of the Northwest Forest Plan and National Forest Management Act. The timber sale would clearcut 92 acres and thin 19 acres of mature forests in the Marys River watershed.
Press Release: Washington State Resumes Hunt for Wolves With Aim to Destroy Wedge Pack
September 5, 2012 — Following two depredations last week, the state of Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife ended its brief wolf-hunting reprieve and is again gunning to kill up to four wolves in the Wedge pack, with the aim of potentially breaking up the pack.
Press Release: Washington Wolves Get Temporary Reprieve From Kill Order
August 30, 2012 — Following more than a week of pressure from conservation groups and thousands of members of the public, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has temporarily called off the killing of up to four wolves in the Wedge pack in the northeastern part of the state.
State of Washington Urged to Halt Wolf Killing: Evidence Lacking That Wedge Wolf Pack Is Responsible for Livestock Loss
August 24, 2012 — Seven conservation organizations sent a letter today calling on Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and state agencies to rescind an order to kill four wolves in the Wedge wolf pack in northeastern Washington. The kill order comes just two weeks after the state killed another wolf-pack member. State agents have been dispatched and are currently in the field tracking down the wolves to kill.