Protect Public Forests

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Blog: Loaf(er)ing around the North Umpqua

by Jaclyn Hise and Amanda Martino, Cascadia Wildlands summer legal interns      Our first overnight field excursion as summer interns was visiting the Loafer timber sale in the Umpqua National Forest in the southern Oregon Cascades near the Umpqua Hot Springs. The units to be logged span both sides of the North Umpqua River, … Read more

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 … Read more

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.

“The Future of Wilderness in Oregon,” a Community Forum on Feb. 4 in Eugene

“The Future of Wilderness in Oregon,” a Community Forum February 4, 2015, 6:30-8 pm • 110 Willamette Hall, University of Oregon Oregon has long been regarded as a state full of natural treasures with ample forests, rivers and mountains. We rely on Wilderness to provide clean drinking water, wildlife habitat, recreation and solitude. Wilderness is … Read more

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.

Finding Common Ground with the BLM at Rickreall Creek

By Rory Isbell, Cascadia Wildlands Legal Intern   More often than we prefer, those of us in the conservation world are at odds with our public lands agencies and managers.  We want them to protect and restore the watersheds in which we live, and keep intact those that have evaded development or resource extraction.  But … Read more

Observations from the BLM’s Buck Rising Timber Sale Field Tour

By Rory Isbell, Cascadia Wildlands Legal Intern   Fellow intern Rance and I recently joined Cascadia Wildlands’ Conservation Director Francis Eatherington on a public tour of the Buck Rising timber sale on BLM land east of Myrtle Creek, Oregon.  The tour was organized by the BLM Roseburg District office in order to demonstrate the results … Read more

Exploring Imperiled State Forest Land Near Walton

By Rance Shaw and Rory Isbell   Cascadia Wildlands recently participated in an exploratory hike of a potential timber sale on Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) land near Walton, Oregon.  Much of the forest stand is over 60 years in age, accompanied by dozens of legacy trees over 100 years old with diameters over 6 … Read more

Senator Wyden is Holding a Hearing on the O&C Lands Today: He Should be Hearing From You

On February 6, 2014 Oregon Senator Ron Wyden will be holding hearings on Senate Bill 1784.  Cascadia Wildlands is so concerned about elements of this bill that we sent our own Francis Eartherington and Nick Cady to Washington, DC to talk about to our elected officials about the dangers of this bill. Our concerns are laid … Read more

Roseburg BLM Clearcut Logging Plan Challenged

January 22, 2014 — Two conservation organizations filed a legal challenge today aimed at blocking a controversial plan to clearcut 100-year old trees on publicly-owned Bureau of Land Management lands in Douglas County. The White Castle logging project targets century old forest, including some trees over 150 years old, using a controversial logging method euphemistically referred to as “variable retention regeneration harvest.”