by Gabe Scott, Cascadia Wildlands House Counsel Ready for some good news? Last week our partners at Eyak Preservation Council announced that the major part of Alaska’s Bering River Coalfield, and the old-growth forest on top of it, has been permanently protected! Several things about this historic victory make it especially sweet. Ecologically it protects … Continue reading Reflections on the Enormous Victory in Northern Cascadia and Coming Full Circle
Tongass Groundtruth Expedition: 2016
Photos by Jacob Ritley, Cascadia Wildlands’ Tongass Groundtruth Expedition, 2016. Thanks to LUSH Foundation for their generous support. Southeast Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago is made up of thousands of islands large and small. Small boats and floatplanes are the dominant modes of transportation. Old-growth clearcutting is ongoing this summer on the Big Thorne timber sale, Prince of … Continue reading Tongass Groundtruth Expedition: 2016
Lawsuit Challenges Alaska Road Project from Ketchikan to Shelter Cove
April 14, 2016 — Five environmental groups sued the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today in the federal district court at Anchorage to force supplemental analysis on the environmental consequences of the Ketchikan-to-Shelter-Cove road project on Revillagigedo Island in southeastern Alaska. The project is out for bids, which are due today.
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Effort to Overturn Tongass National Forest Protections
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear a last‐ditch effort by the State of Alaska to exempt America’s largest national forest from a national rule protecting undeveloped, road‐free national forest areas from logging and road construction. The State sought to overturn a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that kept the Roadless Area Conservation Rule in effect in the vast Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. The Ninth Circuit agreed with a federal District Court in Alaska that the Bush administration improperly exempted the Tongass from that landmark conservation measure.
FDA Approves Frankenfish, Cascadians Resist
By Gabe Scott, Alaska Legal Director CORDOVA, AK— Frankenfish may be coming to a store near you, but not if we can help it. Last week's decision by the Food & Drug Administration to approve Genetically Engineered Salmon for sale in the United States is hugely important. There are a lot of moving … Continue reading FDA Approves Frankenfish, Cascadians Resist
Cascadia’s Northern Reaches: Small Victories Piling Up in South-central Alaska
by Gabe Scott Small victories have been piling up in Alaska. It’s starting to feel like spring (see Alexander Archipelago wolf pups at right from last spring). Thanks to all of you who helped with the Cordova oil spill response port campaign. This little deepwater port project is a lynchpin to development on … Continue reading Cascadia’s Northern Reaches: Small Victories Piling Up in South-central Alaska
Delusions of grandeur on the Tongass
By Gabe Scott, Alaska Field Director CORDOVA, AK—Big plans are in the works on Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the nation’s largest. It seems everyone has some grand scheme in mind for the largest remaining old-growth forest in the country. The Forest Service is planning huge new timber sales, which they say will bridge the gap … Continue reading Delusions of grandeur on the Tongass
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 … Continue reading Crony Capitalism on the Tongass
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 … Continue reading Suction Dredging…Sucks