Contacts:
Peter Jensen, Cascadia Wildlands, (541) 434-1463
Lindsey Hutchison, Willamette Riverkeeper
John Persell, Oregon Wild

Eugene, Oregon – 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. 

Of particular concern, the BLM failed to fully analyze the effects of logging and road construction activities on the threatened Upper Willamette River spring Chinook salmon. According to a 2011 analysis by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), these salmon are at a “very high risk” of extinction and logging units within the Big League Project directly abut the species’ critical habitat in the Calapooia River.

Due to impacts on Chinook salmon, the conservation groups also gave notice to the BLM and NMFS that the agencies are in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing to account for changed conditions in the Calapooia Watershed following the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire.

“It’s outrageous and completely unacceptable that the BLM and NMFS have not acted in accordance with bedrock environmental laws. The BLM’s pursuit of clearcut logging along the Calapooia puts the Upper Willamette River spring Chinook salmon’s already fragile habitat directly at risk,” said Lindsey Hutchison of Willamette Riverkeeper.

The groups claim that the changed conditions in the Calapooia Watershed make the BLM’s timber sale unlawful. Particularly, while most of the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire burned at a low or moderate severity, a significant portion experienced high or moderate soil burn severity. Fire-damaged soils have high rates of root mortality and increased rates of water runoff and erosion. The fire affected nearly 14,000 acres of the Calapooia Watershed, eliminating streamside vegetation, destabilizing streambanks, and elevating sediment in the river. Such changed conditions make the BLM’s reliance on NMFS’s 2018 Biological Opinion (BiOp) to support the Big League Project and associated timber sales unlawful. 

“Once again, the BLM is rushing to log without fully considering how their actions impact the larger landscape,” said Peter Jensen of Cascadia Wildlands. “Our forests and watersheds will pay the price, and vulnerable spotted owl and salmon populations will be pushed even closer to extinction.”

In the 2018 BiOp, NMFS recognized that the BLM’s logging program would affect designated critical habitat by raising stream temperatures, introducing sediment into streams, reducing large wood recruitment into streams, and altering peak and base flows of streams. The added effects of the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire compound the harm that will result from the logging and road work authorized for the Big League Project. By ignoring the cumulative impacts on Chinook salmon, the BLM risks severely degrading the species’ habitat in pursuit of timber volume.

“Public lands are some of the last places for imperiled wildlife and quality salmon habitat, where mature and old-growth forests can grow to help us fight climate change and make the landscape more resilient,” said John Persell of Oregon Wild. “The BLM is performing a lot of bureaucratic gymnastics to argue that turning these refuge forests into another series of clearcuts, surrounded by more clearcuts, is going to have ‘no significant impact.'”

The Upper Willamette River spring Chinook salmon are a genetically distinct group, well-adapted to the natural river flows and seasonal changes of the Willamette River and its tributaries. Logging can degrade its stream habitat by muddying waters, altering riverbed stability, and obstructing migration corridors. All of these changes harm the survival of these unique salmon. Efforts to protect their habitat and ensure clean water, stable riverbeds, and clear migration paths are crucial, as their populations have sharply declined, with counts of wild Upper Willamette River spring Chinook averaging less than 10,000 fish annually at Willamette Falls since 2010. Historically, the Upper Willamette River supported hundreds of thousands of spring Chinook salmon. In the 1920s, approximately 300,000 adult spring Chinook salmon were observed passing Willamette Falls.

Cascadia Wildlands is a 501c3 non-profit with over 12,000 members and supporters whose mission is to defend and restore Cascadia’s wild ecosystems in the forests, in the courts, and in the streets. We envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and vibrant communities sustained by the unique landscapes of the Cascadia bioregion. 

Willamette Riverkeeper is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1996 with thousands of members in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Willamette Riverkeeper focuses on protecting and restoring the resources of the Willamette River Basin in Oregon and works on programs and projects ranging from the Clean Water Act compliance and river education to Superfund cleanup and restoring habitat.

Oregon Wild represents 20,000 members and supporters who share our mission to protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife, and water as an enduring legacy. Our goal is to protect areas that remain intact while striving to restore areas that have been degraded.

The post Press Release: Conservation Groups Challenge BLM’s “Big League” Logging Project Due to Impacts on Imperiled Spring Chinook Salmon Habitat and Other Values first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contact:
Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands, (541) 434-1463
Doug Heiken, Oregon Wild

Federal Agency Plan Would Intensively Log Remaining Spotted Owl Reserves 

Eugene, OR — 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. 

Learn more about the N126 Project

“BLM has purposely hidden the specifics about this massive logging project from public review,” said John Mellgren, General Counsel at the Western Environmental Law Center. “Federal law demands the government fully disclose its plans and prepare a robust Environmental Impact Statement before proceeding with the logging contemplated by the BLM’s N126 project.” 

The agency’s proposed project authorizes commercial logging in areas that were designated as off-limits to commercial logging in the BLM’s governing 2016 management plan. 14,227 acres of Late-Successional Reserve (“LSR”) lands would be logged–nearly all of it commercially. The agency’s primary management objective for LSRs is to promote the development and maintenance of foraging habitat for the northern spotted owl, including creating and maintaining habitat to increase diversity and abundance of prey for the owl, regardless of whether owls are present.  

Additionally, over 2,000 acres of Riparian Reserves are slated for commercial logging. Akin to LSR purposes, Riparian Reserves’ primary management objectives are to contribute to the conservation and recovery of ESA-listed fish species and their habitats; maintain and restore natural channel dynamics, processes, and the proper functioning condition of riparian areas; and maintain water quality and streamflows to protect aquatic biodiversity and to provide quality water for recreation and drinking water sources.  

“Public trust in federal agencies is undermined when those agencies do not follow their own management plans developed via a public process,” said Nick Cady, Legal Director for Cascadia Wildlands. “The last remaining reserved areas should remain just that: protected for wildlife and fish from the commercial logging at the root of these iconic species’ decline.” 

The project also authorizes the addition of 50-90 miles of new roads to the already bloated public lands road network, and 300-420 miles of existing roads would be rebuilt or renovated. The plan is designed to generate 380 million board feet of lumber. 

“This project demonstrates that BLM’s narrow pursuit of timber makes them unable to see that logging harms many other public values we obtain from our public forests, such as clean water, fish and wildlife, recreation, and carbon storage,” said Doug Heiken, Conservation and Restoration Coordinator for Oregon Wild.  

The lawsuit alleges violations of the National Environmental Policy Act, including failure to take the requisite “hard look” and failure to conduct any site-specific analyses or prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, and that BLM’s failures to follow its own management plans violate the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild and hundreds of their members and supporters participated in the project development, submitting detailed public comments raising these concerns at every opportunity, but the agency failed to remedy the serious flaws in their decision, resulting in today’s lawsuit. 

The organizations are represented by attorneys from the Western Environmental Law Center and Cascadia Wildlands. 

Learn more about the N126 Project

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Eugene-based Cascadia Wildlands is a 501c3 non-profit with over 12,000 members and supporters whose mission is to defend and restore Cascadia’s wild ecosystems in the forests, in the courts, and in the streets. We envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and vibrant communities sustained by the unique landscapes of the Cascadia bioregion.   

The Western Environmental Law Center uses the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the western U.S. in the face of a changing climate. We envision a thriving, resilient western U.S., abundant with protected public lands and wildlife, powered by clean energy, and defended by communities rooted in an ethic of conservation. 

Oregon Wild works to protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife, and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations.

The post Press Release: Conservationists Challenge Logging Plan first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contact
Nick Cady, Legal Director, Cascadia Wildlands, 314.482.3746, nick@cascwild.org
Doug Heiken, Oregon Wild, 541-344-0675, dh@oregonwild.org 

Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild File Legal Challenge Against the Thurston Hills Timber Sale
Litigation comes as BLM refuses to alter timber sale despite Court rebuke for wildfire risk and logging proposed trail system

Springfield, OR | — 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.

“There is simply no rational reason to log this area. It is already sensitive to wildfire, and it is a designated recreation area, specifically set aside for the proposed trails. The trail building is not tied to the logging in any way, the BLM should just build these trails now,” said Nick Cady, Legal Director of Cascadia Wildlands. 

“Parts of this forest have never been logged and they deserve to be protected.” said Doug Heiken of Oregon Wild. “Proceeding with the Thurston Hills project, in defiance of a court order, is an extension of the Trump administration’s contempt for the rule of law, and disregard for anyone that is not a campaign donor or political crony.”

With 79th Street in Springfield on one side and newly constructed trails on the other, this BLM parcel is among the the closest federal forest land to the Springfield-Eugene urban area and an invaluable recreation area for local residents. The timber sale would result in extensive “regeneration harvest” (all but clear-cutting) of 109 acres of forest immediately adjacent to Willamalane’s recently opened 655-acre Thurston Hills Natural Area and near numerous residences who access their homes along the same road where logging will occur. 

“As a 20-year resident of Thurston Hills, I deeply oppose the Thurston Hills timber sale primarily due to the associated wildfire dangers,” said Ronna Frank, who lives on 71st Street blocks from the proposed logging. “My friends and neighbors tried to raise these issues to the BLM, and they said it was our problem and completely dismissed us. I could not believe it. These forests have been our backyards for decades.” 

“The lack of notice is troubling,” said Amy Sherwood, a Thurston Hills resident and small business owner. “Throughout this entire process, the BLM and Seneca have shown a detached indifference for the rights and concerns of landowners and community members.”

This project will increase wildfire danger to the adjoining Springfield residences, and convert the area into a permanent commercial tree farm for repeated logging. Not only is this project a threat to community safety, but would also have dramatic impacts on recreation. The BLM has designated areas for trails, but plans to log directly over them, likely preventing the area from becoming the regional running and mountain biking destination that was envisioned and planned for by the cities of Springfield and Eugene.  

“Mountain biking trails near Eugene and Springfield are pretty limited. We were really excited to get new, natural single-track trails through mature forests in Thurston Hills, it allows us to get some really fun riding in on a weekday or weekend. ” said Ian Petersen, local mountain biker and owner of Map Your Adventure. “My business is making maps of popular, regional climbs, rides, and runs. Mature forests slow erosion during the rainy months and provide shade when it’s hot. If the area is logged, the trails will have to be graveled to stop erosion in the winter, and the sun will fry riders like a couple eggs come summer. Gravel trails are much less fun to ride than the dirt trails that are currently in Thurston. No one will be excited about more hot, gravel logging roads through stump fields, plenty of that already over in Bend.”

Many public officials have voiced their opposition to this project, including Lane County Commissioners Joe Berney, and Pete Sorenson.

“I oppose the Thurston Hills timber sale as it stands because it puts community members at increased risk of wildfire unnecessarily,” said Sorenson in a statement. “This is the closest federal land to the Eugene/Springfield area and as such should be preserved for community resilience and recreation, not cut down for timber revenue.” 

Learn about Thurston Hills timber sale here.
Read more about the previous campaign here. Find photographs of the sale here. Read the BLM’s EA here. Read the decision here.

Cascadia Wildlands is a Eugene-based nonprofit working to defend and restore Cascadia’s wild ecosystems in the forests, in the courts, and in the streets.

Oregon Wild works to protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations.

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The battle to save this public land continues!
Read the legal complaint here.

The post Press Release: Legal Action Taken to Halt Thurston Hills Logging in Springfield, OR first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contact
Gabe Scott, 541.434.1463, gscott@cascwild.org
| Originally posted by Allie Rosenbluth, Rouge Climate, 541-816-2240, allie@rogueclimate.org |

Oregonians Unite to Demand Rehearing on Jordan Cove LNG Federal Approval
The Klamath Tribes, affected landowners, and public interest organizations request rehearing on fracked gas export terminal and pipeline in southern Oregon.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — 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.

The joint rehearing request, filed by Sierra Club on behalf of organizations including Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations and League of Women Voters chapters in the four impacted counties, asks FERC to withdraw its approval of Jordan Cove LNG and redo its environmental, public convenience and necessity, and public interest analyses of the project. The rehearing request argues that the project is not in the public interest because of significant adverse effects to public health and safety, Tribal resources, private property rights, the environment, and the climate.

“Today, as always, the mission of the Klamath Tribes is to protect, preserve, and enhance the spiritual, cultural, and physical values and resources of the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin Peoples by maintaining the customs and heritage of our ancestors,” said Chairman of the Klamath Tribes, Don Gentry. “The Klamath Tribes have resolved that all of its cultural resources are sacred, and are opposed to the many actions planned with the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline (PCGP) that will destroy or otherwise impact the sacred cultural resources. ”

This March, FERC approved Jordan Cove LNG with the condition that the project must qualify for critical permits from the state of Oregon, three of which have already been denied or withdrawn, before construction can begin. FERC made this determination as the country was adapting to address the global public health crisis of COVID-19, adding the threat of eminent domain and major pipeline and terminal construction to communities sheltering in place in southern Oregon. However, the FERC conditional approval does allow Pembina, the Canadian fossil fuel corporation behind Jordan Cove LNG, to start the process of seizing  private property of Oregon landowners against their wishes through eminent domain.

“It is unconscionable that a for-profit corporation can exercise eminent domain against Oregon landowners for a pipeline already denied multiple times by our own state government,” said Stacey McLaughlin, an impacted landowner in Douglas County. “The taking of our property so a Canadian fossil fuel corporation can export its gas to Asia makes a mockery of our Constitutional rights. Every American should be alarmed by this threat to our liberty.”

“Pembina has been unable to secure any of the necessary state permits to build in Oregon because there’s no getting around the fact that this project would pose an unacceptable threat to Oregon’s communities and waterways and is clearly not in the public interest. It’s disappointing that FERC failed to recognize this, and we urge them to reconsider this misguided decision,” said Sierra Club Senior Attorney Nathan Matthews. “Regardless, FERC’s approval does nothing to change the fact that this fracked gas export terminal has no path forward and will never be built.”

“Jordan Cove LNG would harm recreation, our local fishing industry and the health of the bay, in addition to threatening the safety of thousands in Coos County,” said Jody McAffree of Coos County organization Citizens for Renewables. “Over 15 years Jordan Cove LNG has not moved forward because people who live and work in the impacted communities have challenged the ill-conceived project at every turn. Now we’re taking our fight to the federal level and won’t stop until the project is gone for good.”

Last week, Jordan Cove LNG submitted its own rehearing request regarding FERC’s approval of their own project. The company is asking FERC to reconsider conditions including authorization from the State of Oregon under the Coastal Zone Management Act and compliance with the Traditional Cultural Property that protects cultural resources of Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw in Coos Bay.

“By challenging their own approval, Jordan Cove LNG is showing that they cannot meet Oregon standards and that they need the rules changed in order to move their project forward,” said Allie Rosenbluth, Campaigns Director of Rogue Climate. “The State of Oregon, and communities across the region, have already made it clear that there’s no getting around these rules for this project that would cause irreparable harm to clean water, the climate, and coastal communities. It’s time for Pembina to give up and withdraw this project immediately.”

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The opposition to the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline consists of impacted landowners, Tribal members, commercial fishermen, youth, health professionals, and community leaders from four impacted southern Oregon counties and regional allies. We seek to protect our health and safety, resources, and way of life by ensuring that this harmful project is never built.

The post Press Release: Oregonians Demand Rehearing of Pipeline Project Approval first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

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 the Old Profanity Territory pack. This is the most intensive level of wolf-killing we have seen from the WDFW to date amidst a budding recovery program with approximately 150 wolves in the entire state.

Aside from the high levels of mortality being inflicted upon Washington’s low wolf population, most of these kill orders have been at the behest of a single rancher in Washington, one whom is a vehement and prominent anti-wolf voice. Since 2012, the state of Washington has spent hundreds of thousands of tax-payer dollars to kill 21 wolves, and 17 of these have been to support this single livestock operation.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife generally does a thorough job of encouraging the implementation of non-lethal techniques to prevent wolf-livestock conflicts before they begin. But the problematic producer that has requested the killing of these 17 wolves has adamantly refused to implement preventative techniques and has actively grazed cattle in known wolf territories and in close proximity to wolf dens.

We have been able to demonstrate in Washington and Oregon that a strong emphasis on non-lethal techniques designed to prevent wolf-livestock conflict works, and works really well. But if Washington continues to kill wolves at the behest of bad actors, there is no incentive for livestock producers to get on board with the prevention program. The livestock producer has wolves killed with tax-payer dollars and then is further compensated with public dollars for any cattle lost or injured. The system in Washington is fundamentally flawed.

The people of Washington overwhelming support the recovery of wolves, and the state’s current approach is hindering that recovery. Change is necessary now. That is why Cascadia Wildlands and the Center for Biological Diversity are challenging the legality of these kill orders in court. This has been an uphill battle, but one that needs to occur.

Help Cascadia Wildlands give wolves a fighting chance in Washington! Donate today.

The post Washington Targeting Three Wolf Packs for Killing first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

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 spotted owl and red tree voles. Oral argument will be held on October 26, 2018 at the federal courthouse in Medford, Oregon. Find out more information on the sale here.

Quartz Timber Sale:

The Quartz timber sale is an Umpqua National Forest logging project that targets mature and old-growth forests roughly 20 miles southeast of Cottage Grove. These forests are home to a thriving population of red tree voles, an old-growth related species sensitive to logging. Oral argument was held in federal district court in Eugene on October 5, 2018 over a preliminary injunction to halt the older portions of the sale from moving forward. Find out more info on the legal challenge here, and more information on field checking efforts for red tree voles here!

Loafer Timber Sale:

The Loafer timber sale is an Umpqua National Forest logging project approximately 60 miles east of Roseburg. The sale targeted mature forests within the proposed wilderness areas surrounding Crater Lake National Park and targeted areas adjoining the popular Umpqua Hot Springs. Cascadia and our allies prevailed before the district court in this challenge and ultimately settled the dispute, allowing the less controversial, younger area logging to move forward while protecting the older, never-before-logged forests.

The post Federal Timber Sale Challenges first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Lawsuit Challenges Washington Wolf-killing Protocol

Injunction Sought Against Further Killings After State Nearly Wipes Out Three Packs for One Livestock Owner

OLYMPIA, Wash.— 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.

Today’s suit, filed on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and Cascadia Wildlands, asserts that the agency’s killing of wolves from the Smackout and Sherman packs in northeastern Washington relied upon a faulty protocol and failed to undergo required environmental analysis. The suit was filed in Superior Court of Washington for Thurston County.

“We can’t sit by and watch Washington wildlife officials kill more wolves from the state’s small and recovering wolf population,” said Amaroq Weiss, the Center’s West Coast wolf advocate. “Washingtonians overwhelmingly want wolves recovered, not killed. The Department of Fish and Wildlife needs to listen to public opinion and consider the dire environmental costs of killing more wolves.”

In June of this year, Fish and Wildlife officials adopted a revised “wolf-livestock interaction protocol” for determining when to kill wolves in response to livestock conflicts. The protocol provided for the state to kill wolves more quickly than in prior years. As the lawsuit notes, the protocol was adopted without any public input or environmental review, in violation of the state’s Environmental Policy and Administrative Procedure Acts.

“Reasonable minds can differ on when we should and should not be killing wolves, and whether the killing of the wolves in these two packs was justified,” said Nick Cady, legal director for Cascadia Wildlands. “But there is no question that we should be fully analyzing the efficacy of these actions, welcoming public and scientific input, and be able to hold the state accountable. This is a state agency spending taxpayer dollars.”

The department has since relied on the protocol to order killing of wolves from two packs, with two wolves from the Smackout pack and one wolf from the Sherman pack killed to date. At the time of the Sherman pack kill order, only two wolves could be confirmed as comprising the pack, one of which the department has now killed. The department has temporarily paused killing wolves from both packs, but will resume if there are more livestock losses.

Overall, since 2012, the state has killed 18 state-endangered wolves, nearly 16 percent of the state’s current confirmed population of 115 wolves. Fifteen of the wolves killed since 2012 were killed on behalf of the same livestock owner; those kills have now led to the near eradication of three entire wolf packs, including the Profanity Peak pack last year, and the Wedge pack in 2012. The rancher in question has been a vocal opponent of wolf recovery and has historically refused to implement meaningful nonlethal measures designed to protect his livestock from wolves.

Washington’s wolves were driven to extinction in the early 1900s by a government-sponsored eradication program on behalf of the livestock industry. The animals began to return from neighboring Idaho and British Columbia in the early 2000s, and their population has grown to 20 confirmed packs as of the end of 2016.

But wolf recovery in Washington is still a work in progress. Wolves remain absent from large areas of the state and although the population has been growing, it remains small and vulnerable. Given the continued endangered status of wolves, the state and livestock operators should stick to nonlethal methods as the sole means for reducing loss of livestock to wolves.

“We appreciate that many livestock owners already are using nonlethal methods, said Weiss, “since the science shows such methods are more effective anyway.”

Plaintiffs are represented in the case by attorneys from the law firm Lane Powell.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.5 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. Recognizing the ecological importance of wolves, bears and other carnivores, the Center uses science-based advocacy to defend these magnificent animals from persecution, exploitation and extinction. Find out more about our Carnivore Conservation campaign here.

Cascadia Wildlands educates, agitates, and inspires a movement to protect and restore Cascadia’s wild ecosystems. We envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, and vibrant communities sustained by the unique landscapes of the Cascadia bioregion.

The post Cascadia Lawsuit Challenges Wolf Killing in Washington! first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

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 increase logging levels on federal BLM lands by 37 percent.  These public lands were originally designed to serve as a refuge and protective zone for imperiled forest species, clean water, carbon storage in an effort to counter-balance the industrial clearcutting and pesticide spraying occurring on intermixed private forest lands.  There is no question that this plan deeply compromises our landscape's ability to adapt to ongoing climate change and other disturbances like large-scale fires.  

For over the past 20 years, these public forests had been managed under the Northwest Forest Plan, a deal brokered by the Clinton administration to end the timber wars in Oregon. The Northwest Forest Plan was not perfect, but it strived to achieve balance and protect critical resources and generally took a precautionary approach to various unknowns.  

The BLM's new plan dramatically reduces almost every protection in the Northwest Forest Plan.  Specifically, the plan eliminates stream side buffers, eliminates surveys and buffers for imperiled or uncommon species, disregards climate change and carbon storage, and opens up mature and old-growth forest to archaic cleacrcutting practices. The plan completely ignores the contribution of these public lands to Oregon's booming outdoor industry which is valued at over 10 billion dollars a year.  The fishing industry is particularly worried given the potential impacts to Oregon's waterways.

These public forest are our homes, our playgrounds, our sanctuaries.  These efforts to strip our forests away from us will not stand.  Cascadia Wildlands is part of a broad coalition of conservation, recreation, and fishing groups in staunch opposition to this plan, and we are devoted to protecting these majestic lands. There will be news of our challenge soon.

The post BLM Signs Devastating New Management Plan for Oregon’s Forests! first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.