Our organizations pushed back against this logging project for several years, highlighting the significant harm it would cause to fish and wildlife (including Mt. Hood’s tiny population of gray wolves), its negative effects on carbon sequestration and climate change, and the reality that logging older, larger, and more fire resistant trees would likely increase the risk of destructive forest fires. Much of the hard work was done by volunteer field-checkers, stressing the importance and need for conservation organizations to get folks out in the woods to evaluate what truly is being proposed.

If you are interested in field-checking timber sales with Cascadia Wildlands, check out the Cascadia Action Team or WildCAT!

In the ruling, the Court acknowledged that although the Forest Service’ purported purpose of the project was to “reduce the risk of wildfires and promote safe fire-suppression activities,” that the mature forest logging would potentially not accomplish this goal, but actually make the wildfire problem worse. There is a considerable amount of science surrounding the relationship between logging and fire hazard, and the Forest Service was cherry-picking science or in some cases misapplying it in order to justify logging mature and old-growth forests.

This is a big win for our public forests and for all the Oregonians that enjoy Mt. Hood! Thank you to all of our members and supporters who fight tirelessly for our wild public places.

Again, consider signing up to volunteer and help us protect these cherished places or please donate to Cascadia Wildlands and contribute to these efforts!

The Court’s ruling can be found here.

The post Federal Appeals Court Blocks Mt. Hood Logging first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contact:
Josh Laughlin, Cascadia Wildlands, 541-844-8182

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed today that a recently documented pair of wolves on the Warm Springs Reservation in Wasco County had at least two pups this year. The White River Pack pups are the first documented in the northern Oregon Cascades since wolves were exterminated from the state nearly 70 years ago.

“Today, we let out a huge howl knowing that a wolf pack is rightly back on the landscape around iconic Mt. Hood after the species was systematically exterminated decades ago,” said Josh Laughlin, Executive Director of Cascadia Wildlands. “The news is also a stark reminder that we need to ensure strong state and federal protections remain in place for recovering wolves so they can continue to re-occupy their historic territories across Oregon.”

In June, the Trump administration indicated that it plans to issue a proposal to reclassify wolves under the federal Endangered Species Act by the end of the year. All indications point to the US Fish and Wildlife Services removing key protections for wolves across the United States, making it easier to kill the recovering species.

In Oregon, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is years overdue to revise its Wolf Plan, which guides recovery in the state. Anti-wolf forces are working to weaken protections for gray wolves in this process. Cascadia Wildlands will be present at a stakeholder meeting for the Wolf Plan revision this Thursday in the The Dalles encouraging enforceable protections for wolves as they continue toward recovery.

Per Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife count, a minimum of 124 wolves across 12 packs were documented at the end of 2017.

(White River Pack pups photo courtesy of the Wildlife Department BNR – Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs.)

The post Press Release: Wolf Pups Documented Near Iconic Mt. Hood first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.