Press Release: Lawsuit Launched Against Road Reopening in Oregon’s Tillamook State Forest


May 8, 2023 — The Center for Biological Diversity and Cascadia Wildlands filed a notice of intent today to sue the Federal Emergency Management Agency for funding the reopening of Cook Creek Road in the Oregon Coast Range.

BLOG: Legal Interns Set Sights on the Murrelet


By Elie Steinberg & Marty Farrell, 2021 Summer Legal Interns In a time where billionaires set their sights toward the stars (or rather, just outside of earth’s atmosphere), we set our sights closer to home, towards the mossy branches of Oregon’s coastal mature and old-growth forests. On the branches of these forests, the marbled murrelet, … Continue reading BLOG: Legal Interns Set Sights on the Murrelet

VICTORY! Marbled Murrelet Gains Increased Protections in Oregon


July 9, 2021 — The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission today approved a petition filed by five conservation groups to give marbled murrelets more protection by reclassifying them from threatened to endangered under the state’s Endangered Species Act. The 4-3 decision comes two years after an Oregon judge ruled that the commission had violated state law by denying the petition without explanation in 2018.

Legal Victory for Marbled Murrelets in Oregon!


August 7, 2019 — An Oregon judge has issued a decision concluding the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission violated Oregon law in denying a petition filed by five conservation groups demanding the commission uplist the murrelet from threatened to endangered under the Oregon Endangered Species Act.

Murrelet Get Their Days in Court–Words From the Courtroom Part 1


By Gabriel Scott, Cascadia Wildlands Staff Attorney It may not be the trial of the century, but Monday saw the start of the trial of a lifetime for some cryptic, secretive seabirds nesting in the Elliot State Forest. The case is Cascadia Wildlands v. Scott Timber Company, and it is taking place this week in judge … Continue reading Murrelet Get Their Days in Court–Words From the Courtroom Part 1

Press Release: Lawsuit Filed Challenging Oregon’s Failure to Protect Murrelets


August 2, 2018 — Five conservation groups filed a lawsuit today against the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Commission for failing to uplist the marbled murrelet from threatened to endangered under the Oregon Endangered Species Act.

When Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife Commission Lost its Marbles


by Mari Galloway and Renee Seacor After our first week on the job at Cascadia Wildlands, we took a road-trip to Baker City to attend the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (“ODFW”) Commission hearing. With caffeinated beverages in hand, we left early in the morning so we could site-see along the way. We took … Continue reading When Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife Commission Lost its Marbles

Press Release: Marbled Murrelet Listed as Endangered in Oregon


February 9, 2018 — Responding to a petition from conservation groups, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted today to change the status of marbled murrelets from threatened to endangered under the Oregon Endangered Species Act.

Court Halts Logging of Elliott State Forest Tract Sold to Timber Company


December 20, 2016 — A U.S. District Court in Eugene has issued a preliminary ruling preventing Scott Timber from clearcutting a parcel of the Elliott State Forest purchased from the state of Oregon. The court found that the proposed logging of the Benson Ridge parcel by the subsidiary of Roseburg Forest Products raised serious questions over the potential harm threatened marbled murrelets, in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act.  

Oregon Board of Forestry Reverses Course, Will Develop Murrelet Protections


December 1, 2016 — The Oregon Board of Forestry has reversed its prior decision to deny a petition from conservation groups that called for the identification and protection of marbled murrelet sites on state and private forest lands. The Board is now coordinating with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and other state land owning agencies to identify and protect important old-growth forest areas for the seabird threatened with extinction.