The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages over 2.6 million acres of public forests in western Oregon and has recently undertaken efforts to revise all of its forest plans. These plans aim to dramatically increase timber harvests by 60% and ressurect the archaic practices of clearcutting older forests. The draft of the proposed plan … Continue reading Last Chance to Comment on BLM’s Western Oregon Plan Revision
Lawsuit Launched to Protect Northwest Prairie Bird Species
August 5, 2015 — Four conservation groups filed a formal notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today seeking to strengthen protections for the streaked horned lark, which has lost 98 percent its grassland habitat. The lawsuit will challenge an October 2013 decision by the agency to protect the lark as “threatened” rather than the more protective “endangered” status and to exempt all agriculture, chemical spraying, and airport activities from the prohibitions of the Endangered Species Act regardless of whether they harm the lark.
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: The Abuse of “Ecological Forestry” on our Public Lands in Western Oregon
By Nick Cady, Legal Director The conservation community in the Northwest was incredibly excited by Cascadia’s legal victory over the White Castle timber sale. Not just because of the couple hundred acres of old growth forest that were saved from clearcutting, but because of the potentially important precedent the case set concerning logging old … Continue reading Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: The Abuse of “Ecological Forestry” on our Public Lands in Western Oregon
Cascadia Halts Huge Public Lands Clearcutting Outside Eugene
March 23, 2015 — Public opposition and a legal challenge from Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild has prompted the Eugene Bureau of Land Management to place on hold its plans to clearcut 259 acres of public lands just outside of Springfield, Oregon near Shotgun Creek. The “Second Show” timber sale would have been the largest clearcut on federal lands in Lane County in 20 years.
Cascadia Wildlands Defeats White Castle Clearcutting in Court
March 17, 2015 — A US District Court judge has ruled in favor of conservation groups Oregon Wild and Cascadia Wildlands in their legal challenge of a controversial clearcut logging project on public lands in Douglas County. At stake in the case was the Bureau of Land Management’s “White Castle” logging project which proposed clearcutting 160 aces of 100-year old trees using a controversial methodology developed by Drs. Jerry Franklin and Norm Johnson referred to as “variable retention regeneration harvest” sometimes referred to as “eco-forestry.” In her ruling, Judge Ann Aiken found that the BLM’s environmental review fell far short of fully considering the full range of harm that could result from clearcutting.
Cascadia Challenges BLM Clearcutting Just Northeast of Eugene
January 15, 2015 — Conservation organizations filed a lawsuit today challenging the largest clearcut approved on federal land in Lane County in twenty years. The Second Show timber sale proposes 259 acres of public lands clearcutting and is located on public Bureau of Land Management lands just outside of Springfield, Oregon near Shotgun Creek. Clearcutting will have significant impacts to the watershed, which is already degraded, and will impact a popular recreation area.
Annual Bear Cub Orphaning Hangs on Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Vote
October 8, 2014 — Cascadia Wildlands and a coalition of conservation groups are urging Gov. John Kitzhaber and the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to reject the “Siskiyou Plus” proposal to expand springtime black bear hunting in southwest Oregon, during a time in which mother bears are nursing dependent cubs. The coalition of local and national conservation groups sent letters in advance of the commission vote.
A Trip to Washington DC
By Francis Eatherington During the week of June 16, representatives of Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild, and KS Wild traveled to Washington DC to discuss two bills, one from Senator Wyden and one from Representative DeFazio. Both mandate an increase of logging on western Oregon BLM lands. We had over 21 meetings with agency staff, senators … Continue reading A Trip to Washington DC
The Un-BEAR-able “Siskiyou Plus Bear Hunt”
By Rance Shaw The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Commission has proposed an additional bear hunt in the Southwest Region. The “Siskiyou Plus Bear Hunt” would make available 250 black bear tags in addition to the 4,400 normally issued for this region during the spring hunting season, which runs from April 1 – … Continue reading The Un-BEAR-able “Siskiyou Plus Bear Hunt”
OR-7 and Wanda are Parents!!
By Bob Ferris We are very, very pleased as new parents to announce that OR-7 (Journey) and his mate actually do have pups this year. This is so, so exciting and makes it even more important to contact the California Fish and Game Commission regarding state Endangered Species Act listing of gray wolves because now … Continue reading OR-7 and Wanda are Parents!!