November 1, 2010: Cascadia Wildlands staff visits with the Governor, asking him to protect the Elliott State Forest.
October 29, 2010: Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) announces they will ditch the 1995 Habitat Conservation Plan, and asks for public comments on a different method to log in and around endangered species on the Elliott. The new plan fails to mention the IMST finding that ODF's plan harms salmon. For more background information, see below.
October 15, 2010: An independent multidisciplinary science (IMST) team released their findings on the adequacy of the new proposed HCP to protect endangered salmon species on the Elliott. They found the proposed new plan to log more could harm fish because it would result in increased stream temperatures, decreased in-stream structure (like logs), and increased landslides from clearcutting above streams.
September 30, 2010: Cascadia Wildlands receives a Memorandum from the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) concerning their carbon footprint for their activities on the Elliott in FY 2011. ODF claims that clearcutting 644 acres of mature forests in one year on the Elliott, would release "only" 78,000 metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Clearcutting the richest carbon sink in the world means that even ODF’s low estimation of carbon released still contributes significantly to global warming. 78,000 metric tons of carbon is equivalent to 21,050 people driving their cars 10,000 miles.
May 12, 2010: Cascadia Wildlands reviews ODF's 2011 sale plan to clearcut another 644 acres of mature, older forests in the Elliott. Our analysis determined the Oregon Department of Forestry would release 154,000 metric tons of global warming carbon into the atmosphere in this one-year’s logging. Our review also found that ODF was not fully protecting endangered species, including marbled murrelets, spotted owls, and salmon.