Press Release: 2021 Worst Year for Oregon’s Wolf Population Growth Since Return


April 20, 2022 — Conservationists are concerned about the plateau of Oregon’s wolf population in 2021, largely resulting from poaching and agency killings. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) annual wolf population report, released late yesterday, shows Oregon’s wolf population grew by the lowest percentage (just over one percent) since wolves naturally returned to the state. The 2021 minimum population of 175 wolves increased by just two animals from the 2020 minimum count of 173.

Press Release: Oregon Department of Forestry Moves Flawed Endangered Species Plan Forward 


March 17, 2022 — The Oregon Department of Forestry and the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a draft environmental impact statement today for a habitat conservation plan that regulates logging on more than 600,000 acres of state forest in western Oregon.  

The plan would allow the department to continue to log and harm endangered species, including coho and Chinook salmon, northern spotted owls, marbled murrelets and others, for 70 years in exchange for some habitat protection.  

Press Release: Legal Victory Saves Threatened Old-growth Forest in Southern Oregon


March 11, 2022 — The Medford District Bureau of Land Management (BLM) “Lost Antelope” timber sale would have: Removed fire-resilient old-growth trees located in the “Wildland Urban Interface” and increased wildfire hazard to nearby ranches, farms and communities. Conducted “regeneration” and “gap creation” logging activities that resemble clearcutting. Resulted in the establishment of dense young even-age timber plantations that tend to burn at stand-replacing intensity.

Press Release: Victory for the Elliott State Forest!


March 3, 2022 — Today, the Oregon House of Representatives voted 50-8 to approve SB 1546 to create the Elliott State Research Forest and appropriate $121 million to decouple the 82,500-acre forest near Coos Bay from the Common School Fund (CSF). The vote follows the Oregon Senate’s approval of the legislation 22-4 on Tuesday.

Press Release: VICTORY! Wolves’ Endangered Species Status Restored


February 10, 2022 — Today, a federal court restored Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf after they were eliminated by the Trump administration in 2020. The ruling orders the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to resume recovery efforts for the imperiled species. Today’s decision redesignates the gray wolf as a species threatened with extinction in the lower 48 states with the exception of the Northern Rockies population (map), for which wolf protections were removed by Congress in 2011.

Press Release: Lawsuit filed challenging the BLM’s Archie Creek post-fire logging plans


February 8, 2022 — Today, Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild, and the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (KS Wild) filed suit challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Archie Creek post-fire logging plans. The agency plans to log mature and old-growth stands on public land along the North Umpqua River, including northern spotted owl habitat, protected streamside forests, and within old-growth reserves and Wild & Scenic River corridors in violation of environmental rules and the agency’s own management plans.

Hike Thurston Hills — Sat. April 23


* This event has been RESCHEDULED! *for Saturday April 23 Join Cascadia Wildlands and community members in the Thurston Hills near Springfield on Sat. April 23 at 9:30am for a community hike and celebration. The Thurston Hills Natural Area — a system of hiking and mountain biking trails maintained by Willamalane Park and Recreation — is … Continue reading Hike Thurston Hills — Sat. April 23

Press Release: Cascadia Wildlands Receives Historic $500,000 Grant


January 31, 2022 — Nonprofit conservation organization, Cascadia Wildlands, announced today it is the recent recipient of a $500,000 grant from the Evergreen Hill Education Fund, an advised fund of Oregon Community Foundation. The grant will be used to bolster the organization’s effectiveness toward protecting the region’s wildlands, waterways, species and climate, specifically through the addition of a multi-year legal fellow, a strategic communications position, increased office space, and other organizational enhancements.