by Gabe Scott, In-house Counsel
November 5, 2019
It is a lot of fun to be part of a movement.
A phenomenal community of people have been coming together in the forests of the BLM’s Umpqua Sweets timber project.
This past weekend I joined a group of Roseburg locals for a hike organized by Instagram artist and backwoods explorer Chris MacKenzie through some of the old-growth groves in Umpqua Sweets units. Chris has a knack for finding the big trees. He sniffed out this big lady alongside the river.
The four kids along for the hike definitely added to the spirit!
One great thing about kids is their perspective is so free and open, they notice things that adults never would. Like the fact that the base of this ancient big leaf maple is large enough to house two.
You don’t have to be a kid to have fun in the forest. 
I learned a new flower and made a new friend on this hike.
Another long-time champion of Oregon’s forests, Steve Cole, has recently put together some incredible online education tools about the Umpqua’s forests. His online visual teaching tool, the “Umpqua LSOG Project,” gives historic perspective on the forests of the Umpqua.
A great photographer and skilled with satellite maps, Cole recently applied his talents to Umpqua Sweets project. Check out the drone footage from his fieldchecking trip this fall. Wow!
Cole also found even more old-growth in the riverside unit, and caves and a spire in the Eye of God rock arch unit.
The backwoods of the Umpqua are like a true love: the closer and longer you look, the more beautiful they become in your eyes.
P.S. If you haven’t already, weigh in with your concerns to BLM HERE.
Catch up with the series, and stay tuned!
Umpqua Chronicles Vol 1: Down by the Riverside