Press Release: Conservation Groups Challenge BLM’s “Big League” Logging Project Due to Impacts on Imperiled Spring Chinook Salmon Habitat and Other Values

November 7, 2023 — Today, conservation organizations Willamette Riverkeeper, Cascadia Wildlands, and Oregon Wild filed suit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), challenging the agency’s authorization of the approximately 4,600-acre Big League Project in the Calapooia and Mohawk River Watersheds northeast of Eugene. According to the groups’ complaint, the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to take the required “hard look” at the impacts that the Big League Project would have on a host of environmental values, including spotted owl habitat, carbon storage, stream flows, and water quality. Specifically, this project plans to clearcut the last and best older forest stands in the Calapooia and Mohawk River Watersheds.

WildCATs field checking the Windy Peak Unit in the N126 timber sale (photo by Anupam Katkar).

Press Release: Conservationists Challenge Logging Plan

May 26, 2022 — Late yesterday, Oregon-based conservation organizations Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild challenged the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Siuslaw Field Office’s plan to log public lands west of Eugene across seven watersheds. The agency’s “N126 Late Successional Reserve Landscape Plan Project” is one of the largest logging proposals on public lands in Oregon in decades. The targeted forests are home to at least three federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed species: northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, and Oregon Coast coho salmon, along with the red tree vole, which is currently a candidate for ESA listing. The agency failed entirely to consider impacts to these species, amongst other errors.

Press Release: Legal Action Taken to Halt Thurston Hills Logging in Springfield, OR

August 17, 2020 — In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rejected administrative protests and decided to move forward with the Thurston Hills timber sale despite widespread opposition to the project. Last year on September 19th 2019, Oregon’s federal District Court rejected the Thurston Hills timber sale due to BLM’s failure to disclose increased wildfire danger for nearby communities and residents, and the BLM’s failure to designate and protect trails in this newly designated recreation area. In response to the court order, BLM made no changes to the project and quickly reissued another decision, a response typical of the Trump administration which ignores the rule of law and attempts to circumvent environmental rules and public process.

Press Release: Oregonians Demand Rehearing of Pipeline Project Approval

April 20, 2020 — Today, the Klamath Tribes, impacted landowners, and over 25 public interest organizations submitted a joint request for rehearing to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on its decision to conditionally approve the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline. The broad coalition’s rehearing request challenges FERC’s imbalanced and inadequate review of the Jordan Cove LNG proposal.

Washington Targeting Three Wolf Packs for Killing

by Nick Cady, Legal Director On November 7, 2018, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) authorized the killing of wolves in the Smackout pack in Stevens County and ordered the complete elimination of the Togo pack in Ferry County. Department staff are still actively trying to kill the last adult and pup in … Continue reading Washington Targeting Three Wolf Packs for Killing

Federal Timber Sale Challenges

Below is a sample of some of our recent timber sale challenges. We will update this list periodically! Lower Grave Timber Sale: The Lower Grave timber sale is a Medford District Bureau of Land Management sale targeting old-growth forests near the Rogue River in southern Oregon. The sale targets old-growth forests inhabited by the northern … Continue reading Federal Timber Sale Challenges

Cascadia Lawsuit Challenges Wolf Killing in Washington!

September 25, 2017 — Two conservation groups filed a lawsuit today seeking to stop the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and its director, James Unsworth, from killing any more state-endangered wolves.

Protecting our Federal Forests

Cascadia Wildlands first grew out of a movement to protect old-growth forests on our federal forest lands outside of Eugene, Oregon. These efforts that began nearly 20 years ago continue to be the bread and butter of our organization and the backbone for the protection of clean water, recreation, imperiled species, and threatened ecosystems in … Continue reading Protecting our Federal Forests

BLM Signs Devastating New Management Plan for Oregon’s Forests!

by Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands Legal Director On August 5, the Bureau of Land Management signed a new management plan for western Oregon. Cascadia Wildlands and our conservation allies protested the initial draft of this plan, but the BLM's decision yesterday largely ignored all our points of contention. From a broad perspective, the plan will … Continue reading BLM Signs Devastating New Management Plan for Oregon’s Forests!