Press Release: BLM Attempting to Clearcut Thurston Hills Again Despite Fire Risk to Springfield
May 18, 2020 — In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) made a final decision to move forward with the Thurston Hills timber sale today despite widespread opposition to the project. With 79th Street in Springfield on one side and newly constructed trails on the other, this BLM parcel is the closest federal public 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 middle-aged forest immediately adjacent to Willamalane’s recently opened 655-acre Thurston Hills Natural Area.
FIELD REPORT / BLOG: In the Forest in the Age of COVID-19
By Gabe Scott Cascadia Wildlands In-house Counsel We’ve been keeping our eyes on the forests during the Pandemic. The crisis and response is revealing hidden priorities, shifting alliances, and revealing inequities. The public land agencies, the Forest Service and BLM, and the State governments, have been closing recreation, canceling restoration, and moving forward with logging … Read more
Press Release: Lawsuit Launched to Protect North Oregon Coast Red Tree Vole
April 14, 2020 — Conservation groups filed a notice today of their intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to protect the imperiled North Oregon Coast population of red tree voles under the Endangered Species Act.
Federal Appeals Court Blocks Mt. Hood Logging
April 3, 2020 — Cascadia Wildlands and our allies Bark and Oregon Wild prevailed before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today federal court in a long-running legal battle over the Crystal Clear logging project on the eastern slopes of Mount Hood. The logging project encompassed nearly 12,000 acres of public land in the Mount Hood National Forest, and included almost 3000 acres of logging of mature and old-growth forests along with plans to build or re-open 36 miles of roads.
Cascadia Wildlands and Allies Challenge Enormous North Landscape Timber Sale
November 20, 2019 — Cascadia Wildlands, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Oregon Wild, and Soda Mountain Wilderness Council have filed suit to stop a 9,000-acre timber project in Southern Oregon that will allow logging in threatened spotted owl habitat contrary to federal laws. The project will occur next to the treasured Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, further degrading surrounding forests.
Umpqua Sweets Chronicles Vol 4 – Community
by Gabe Scott, In-house Counsel November 5, 2019 It is a lot of fun to be part of a movement. A phenomenal community of people have been coming together in the forests of the BLM’s Umpqua Sweets timber project. This past weekend I joined a group of Roseburg locals for a hike organized by Instagram artist … Read more
Oregon Board of Forestry Grants Petition to Protect Coho Salmon from Private and State Logging
July 26, 2019 — Late Wednesday afternoon after hours of deliberation, the Oregon Board of Forestry voted 5-2 to accept a petition for rulemaking on coho salmon. The petition was brought by 22 different conservation and fishing groups under a rarely used portion of the Forest Practices Act which requires the Board to consider forest protections on private and state land when species are listed under state or federal endangered species acts. The Board is required to identify “resource sites” for listed species and subsequently develop rules to protect these species if threatened by state and private logging practices.
Legal Victory: Lower Grave Timber Sale Halted
Old-Growth Timber Sale Above Rogue River Deemed Illegal Federal Judge Finds BLM Failed to Consider Approach to Reducing Fire Threat On the evening of July 2, Oregon Federal District Judge Michael McShane issued a legal order effectively halting the “Lower Graves” old-growth timber sale proposed above the popular lower Rogue River in the Grants Pass … Read more
Oregon Board of Forestry Petitioned to Develop Coho Salmon Protections
April 24, 2019 — Today, twenty conservation and fishing organizations delivered a rulemaking petition to the Oregon Board of Forestry requesting new rules to prevent logging-related harm to “resource sites” for coho salmon listed under the state and federal Endangered Species Act. Coho salmon, which are split into three evolutionarily significant units in Oregon, were first listed in Southern Oregon in 1997, and soon thereafter along the rest of the Oregon Coast in 1998. The Lower Columbia coho population was listed almost over a decade ago, in 2005.
Lawsuit Launched to Protect Rare Siskiyou Mountains Salamander
April 22, 2019 — Conservation groups today filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to respond to a 2018 petition for Endangered Species Act protection for the Siskiyou Mountains salamander.
Thurston Hills Timber Sale Challenged!
February 19, 2019 — Today, Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild filed a lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plans to clearcut 100 acres of public forest on the edge of Springfield and directly adjacent to Willamalane’s recently opened 665-acre Thurston Hills Natural Area. In their complaint, the conservation organizations and residents who live adjacent to the proposed clearcutting cite increased fire hazards and threats to recreation from the logging.
