Who Wants to Bet the Farm on This Tired Old Horse?


By Bob Ferris   As a wildlife biologist who has spent most of his professional career working with critters, I have to admit that I am fairly new to forestry issues. Moreover, the O&C issue is a particularly gnarly one.     But I can read graphs and have spent a long time interpreting and … Continue reading Who Wants to Bet the Farm on This Tired Old Horse?

BLM: Make Up Your Mind on Brush


By Francis Eartherington   When BLM logs our public lands, they determine how logging is done by using a “prescription.” The prescription might be thinning, or it might be clearcutting, or it could be hardwood conversion (e.g., clearcutting alder stands) or density management (thinning in a messier way), or something called Variable Retention Harvest (clearcutting … Continue reading BLM: Make Up Your Mind on Brush

Press Release: Sensitive Wildlife Habitat and Drinking Water Supply Protected Above McKenzie


March 27, 2013 — United States District Court Judge Anne Aiken has found that the United States Forest Service broke the law in seeking to carry out the
controversial Goose logging sale near McKenzie Bridge, Oregon, without a detailed analysis of potential environmental damage.  This logging sale has drawn intense opposition from local residents and landowners concerned about harm to wildlife and nearby streams.  Represented by the Western Environmental Law Center,  the conservation organizations Oregon Wild and Cascadia Wildlands filed a legal challenge against the planned logging in 2012.

Crony Capitalism on the Tongass


by Gabe Scott Where is the Tea Party when we need them? I’ve been spending a lot of time lately with two thick Environmental Impact Statements — for the Tonka Timber Sale, and the Big Thorne Timber Sale — out of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. These fellas are a blast from the past, a nostalgic … Continue reading Crony Capitalism on the Tongass

Press Release: Conservation Groups Challenge Crater Lake-Area Logging


January 2, 2013 — Conservationists today filed a Notice of Intent to challenge an old-growth logging sale on the doorstep of iconic Crater Lake National Park. The Umpqua National Forest is offering the sale as part of a massive proposal to log forests bordering the park, including some of the state’s most popular recreation areas around Lemolo and Diamond Lakes. Conservationists are expressing concern the Forest Service is violating laws designed to protect rare and vulnerable wildlife which also call the area home.