For Immediate Release
May 11, 2020

Contact
Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands Legal Director
(314) 482-3746, nick@cascwild.org

Legal Petition Seeks New Rules to Reduce Washington Wolf-killing

SEATTLE — Conservation groups petitioned the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission today for rules limiting when the state can kill endangered wolves for conflicts with livestock. The state has killed 31 wolves since 2012, relying on a protocol that skews heavily toward lethal and ineffective outcomes.

“Washington’s trigger-happy wolf program favors livestock owners and ignores sound science,” said Sophia Ressler, a Washington-based staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s a broken system. Enforceable rules would make wildlife officials accountable and give us a clear understanding of how and why they decide to kill wolves.”

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife currently uses its “Wolf-Livestock Interaction Protocol” to decide when to kill wolves. These rules are a product of the department’s negotiations with the Wolf Advisory Group (WAG), whose members are hand-picked by the department.

Today’s petition urges the wildlife commission to amend its rules to require that livestock producers use appropriate non-lethal deterrence methods to prevent conflict between livestock and wolves. The new rules would ensure that the state kills wolves only as a last resort.

The petition also proposes additional safeguards in areas where there have been repeated conflicts, such as in the Kettle River Range. Of the 31 wolves killed by the state since 2012, 26 were shot in the Kettle River Range on behalf of the same livestock operator. “Wolf pack after wolf pack has been slaughtered in the Kettle River Range, but wolves keep coming back,” said Ressler. “It’s a horrendous example of the futility of Washington’s wolf policies.”

According to the state’s recently released annual wolf report, a new pack has already established itself in the same area where the department killed the entire Old Profanity Territory pack in August of 2019 and where it wiped out the Sherman pack in 2017 and the Profanity Peak pack in 2016.

The petitioning groups do not agree with, or condone, killing Washington’s endangered wolves to protect livestock. “We chose to propose rules to work within the department’s flawed framework, but we hope their amendments strengthen the current management and stop the senseless slaughter of this state-endangered species,” Ressler said.

The commission has 60 days to respond to the petition for rulemaking. If it’s denied conservationists may appeal the decision to Gov. Jay Inslee, who has told the department that repeated killing of wolves in the same area is “simply unacceptable.” If the petition is granted, the commission would open a comment period to seek public input on the new rules.

“Putting in place enforceable guidelines for when the state uses public funds to kill wolves is simply a no-brainer,” said Nick Cady, legal director of Cascadia Wildlands. “This rule creates a reliable and predictable response from the agency that will work to reduce conflict surrounding the issue and guarantees wolves are not being killed at a rate that stagnates ongoing wolf recovery.”

Both the commission and the WAG have continued to meet on a virtual platform throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. The commission adopted new cougar-hunting regulations at its April meeting, and the WAG continued its discussions on potential updates for the wolf-livestock interaction protocol at a meeting on April 30.

“Washington is better than this wolf management mess,” said Samantha Bruegger, wildlife coexistence campaigner, WildEarth Guardians. “The Wolf Advisory Group isn’t improving wolf-livestock protocols, the Forest Service isn’t improving wolf-livestock protocols, and the grazing season has already begun. Meanwhile, stock growers are knocking on the door demanding to collar more wolves. This has to stop. It is time to manage wolves in a way that is reflective of Washington’s values and the best available science.”

“Livestock grazing on public lands can’t be a death sentence for Washington’s native wolves,” said Jocelyn Leroux, Washington and Montana director, Western Watersheds Project. “If commercial livestock use on Washington’s public lands is not compatible with healthy, native ecosystems, the burden should not be on native wildlife to adapt.”

Today’s petition was filed by Cascadia Wildlands, the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project, and WildEarth Guardians.

Cascadia Wildlands defends and restores 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.
Check us out at www.cascwild.org

The post Press Release: Legal Petition Filed to Regulate Washington Wolf-killing first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

On Tuesday, DSL issued a rejection of a request for Pembina to extend the agencies timeline, noting the Canadian fossil fuel corporation had still not provided adequate information after multiple extensions.

“It is outrageous that Pembina has withdrawn their application just a few days before the Department of State Lands was set to make a decision,” said Mike Graybill, Former Manager of the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve and resident of Coos County. “Again and again, we have seen this Canadian fossil fuel corporation not playing by the same rules any other company would have to for a project of this size.”

“I was one of hundreds who spoke out against this project at the Department of State Lands hearing in Klamath Falls because the proposed pipeline threatens our watersheds, forests, culture, ancestral homelands, burial sites and future,” said 17-year old member of the Klamath Tribes Ashia Wilson.

“Jordan Cove LNG would do tremendous harm to Oregon communities in the path of the pipeline, and they clearly did not meet the bar to get this permit,” said Stacey Detwiler of Rogue Riverkeeper. “This project is not consistent with the protection, conservation, or best use of Oregon’s waters. Director Vicki Walker and Oregon DSL created a fair public process, and now Pembina is backing out so that they don’t have to play by the rules.”

The Removal-Fill permit is a critical state permit needed by Pembina to build its proposed fracked gas export terminal, dredge millions of cubic feet of sediment out of Coos Bay for LNG tankers, and construct a pipeline through and under hundreds of waterways in Southern Oregon. The project cannot move forward without it.

Under Oregon law, DSL has the authority to deny permits for projects that are not consistent with the protection, conservation, or best use of Oregon’s waters and that unreasonably interfere with navigation, fishing, or public recreation.

Approximately 49,000 comments were submitted by impacted landowners, Tribal members and Governments, commercial fishermen, small business owners, health professionals, youth, and many more Oregonians concerned about the impacts the fossil fuel project would have on hundreds of waterways in southwest Oregon. Close to 3,000 rural Southern Oregon residents spoke out against the project at overflowing DSL hearings in Klamath County, Jackson County, Douglas County, and Coos County. In November, nearly 1,000 people rallied in opposition to Jordan Cove LNG at the state capitol building.

“Thousands of southern Oregonians showed up to hearings and submitted comments in opposition to this project,” said Hannah Sohl of Rogue Climate. “Pembina wasted more than two years of taxpayers’ time pushing for this state agency’s approval even though it was obvious the project could never meet the state standards that protect our fisheries, rural communities, and waterways.”

Other permitting processes, such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s certification under the Natural Gas Act, are still moving forward. However, the project cannot proceed without the Removal-Fill permit or the Clean Water Act permit that was denied by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in May 2019. Oregon DEQ denied the Clean Water Act Section 401 permit with over 200 pages of detailed findings that the massive LNG export terminal and pipeline could not demonstrate that they would meet Oregon’s clean water standards.

“If they have to withdraw an application like this after 15 years of outside companies trying to get approval, then it’s time for them to withdraw the project altogether.” Stacey McLaughlin, an impacted Douglas County landowner. “Leave Oregon farmers, fishermen, ranchers, and tribal members alone. It’s time for Pembina to cancel this project. Oregon doesn’t want this pipeline.”

Impacted landowners, tribal members, fishermen, climate advocates, and more will be hosting a Press Conference in response to this application withdrawal at 9:30AM on Tuesday, February 4th at the Department of State Lands building in Salem.

The post Jordan Cove Withdraws Removal Fill Application! first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Proposed Federal Wolf Delisting

Wolves are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the western two-thirds of Oregon and Washington and throughout California, but the Trump administration, specifically the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is proposing to remove these protections. The removal of federal protections will greatly hinder, if not altogether prevent, the successful spread of wolves across the West and will also certainly have affects at home. In Oregon for example, the removal of federal protections will likely mean the death of OR-7’s Rogue Pack near Crater Lake.

Cascadia Wildlands has been gathering voices from the public in opposition to the proposal and is preparing for another legal fight to uphold the scientific integrity of the ESA.

Comments are due on May 14 to oppose the removal of wolves from the federal Endangered Species Act. Take action today and tell the Fish and Wildlife Service to maintain protections!

Cascadia Wildlands is also partnering with numerous conservation organizations on a rally in Portland on May 6 at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service building. If you are able, please attend, you can see more details and sign up here!

Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan Revisions

In the midst of collapsing federal protections, the state of Oregon is also currently trying to weaken its Wolf Conservation and Management Plan and dramatically expand the situations in which wolves can be killed. The state is proposing to deputize members of the public so those individuals can hunt and trap wolves and keep the pelts for themselves. This lethal control focus comes at the expense of the plan’s prior concentration on preventing conflict between wolves and livestock through proactive, non-lethal measures. Details of the plan can be found here.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will address these proposed changes to the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan on June 7 in Salem. There is an open public comment period, and we will show up in force to the hearing.

Make your voice heard here and let the Fish and Wildlife Commission know that you oppose weakening Oregon’s wolf protections!

Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission

You may have also seen that Governor Kate Brown has recently appointed 2 individuals, including a trophy hunter and a timber industry representative, to the Fish and Wildlife Commission that will certainly attempt to weaken protections for a host of native species at the state level. The last thing that our state needs is Commission members that will further unbalance our fish and wildlife policy in the state.

The Senate is set to vote on these candidates on May 8th, and we need Oregonians to contact their Senators as soon as possible and urge them to vote no on James Nash (a trophy hunter) and Mark Labhart (a timber industry representative). Please also voice your support for Mary Wahl and Jill Zarnowitz that will bring balanced, science-based perspectives to the Commission.

Oregonians take action now and urge your Senator to vote to restore balance to the Fish and Wildlife Commssion!

Cascadia Wildlands will continue to face these threats head on, and we just prevailed in a legal challenge in California, upholding protections for wolves there. As always your resolute support on this issue has been critical, thank you, and check into the website for regular updates on these efforts.

The post Wolves Under Assault on Multiple Fronts, Your Help Needed! first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contact:
Josh Laughlin, Executive Director, 541.844.8182

State Land Board Votes Unanimously to Ditch Elliott State Forest Privatization Proposal, Advance Public Ownership Solution

In a 3-0 vote today, the Oregon State Land Board, made up of Governor Kate Brown, Treasurer Tobias Read and Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, terminated the protocol that led to the timber industry proposal to privatize the 82,500-acre Elliott State Forest in the Oregon Coast Range.

The Land Board also voted to advance a proposal to keep Oregon’s first state forest in public ownership, which would require legislating $100 million in bonding revenue to decouple environmentally sensitive areas of the Elliott from the Common School Fund. The public ownership plan would also require the completion of a multi-species Habitat Conservation Plan for the remainder of the forest, which would outline forest management activity and endangered species protections.

Today’s decision came after intense public opposition to the Elliott State Forest privatization proposal over the past few years, which would have led to restricted public access, old-growth forest clearcutting, and reduced stream-side protections for wild salmon.

Here are statements from Josh Laughlin, Cascadia Wildlands Executive Director, who attended and testified at today’s hearing:

“There has been a tidal wave of Oregonian support to keep the Elliott public that couldn’t be held back. The Land Board’s decisive action today was visionary, and we look forward to working in the months ahead to create a lasting forest plan that benefits clean water, imperiled salmon and wildlife habitat, and future generations of Oregonians.”

“At a time when there is tremendous nationwide pressure to privatize public lands, today’s Land Board vote to keep the Elliott State Forest public shows incredible leadership and foresight. This decision will be remembered decades down the road as one that deeply benefited clean water, wild salmon, old-growth forests and school kids.”

“Today’s vote is a reminder that we no longer need to choose between supporting school children or our environment. We can have both, and we are going to build off the momentum to ensure lasting environmental protections are built into the Elliott State Forest plan.”

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The post Battle for the Elliott State Forest Won! Land Board Votes to Keep Forest Public! first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.