Victory for Eugene Climate Goals!

February 9, 2021 — After three months of public pressure and countless hours of public testimony about the climate and health impacts of fracked gas, the City’s franchise negotiations with NW Natural last night hit an impasse. Members of the Fossil Free Eugene campaign hailed this new development as a victory, as the franchise agreement being discussed was set to lock the city into a ten-year contract in which the fracked gas corporation could use the City’s right of way to expand its infrastructure and capacity without restriction.

Wild and Scenic River Legislation Introduced

February 4, 2021 — On February 3, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley introduced the River Democracy Act, which will add 4,700 river miles in Oregon into the Wild and Scenic Rivers system. The proposal will permanently protect waterways across the state, from tributaries of the Snake River in northeast Oregon to unprotected creeks in the Siskiyou Mountains in southwest Oregon and dozens within the Oregon Coast Range and Cascade Mountains.

BLOG: A Week to Remember

by Bethany Cotton, Campaign Director What a wonderful week for Cascadia! TUESDAY On Tuesday, the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and 230-mile Pacific Connector pipeline was dealt what we hope is a fatal blow by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which – in a surprise but welcomed move – denied the … Continue reading BLOG: A Week to Remember

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Upholds Oregon’s Denial of Key Jordan Cove LNG Permit

January 19, 2021 — Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) upheld the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s denial of a key permit for the proposed Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline. The Jordan Cove LNG project cannot move forward without a Clean Water Act approval from the state of Oregon.

Western Wolf Coalition Challenges Nationwide Wolf Delisting

January 14, 2021 — The most recent data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its state partners show an estimated 4,400 wolves inhabit the western Great Lakes states, but only 108 wolves in Washington state (with only 20 outside of eastern Washington), 158 in Oregon (with only 16 outside of northeastern Oregon), and a scant 15 exist in California. Nevada, Utah, and Colorado have had a few wolf sightings over the past three years, but wolves remain functionally absent from their historical habitat in these states.

USFWS cuts northern spotted owl critical habitat by 42% in likely death sentence for species

January 13, 2021 — Today, with six days remaining in the Trump administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule eliminating 3.4 million acres of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl in Washington state, Oregon, and California. This decision comes one month after the Service announced that the species should be uplisted from threatened to endangered, but the agency is too busy to provide these desperately needed protections. The elimination of 42% of the endangered species’ critical habitat would likely result in extinction for the northern spotted owl in the U.S. This final rule results from a sweetheart settlement between the Trump administration and the timber industry.

The First Week of 2021 & What is to Come in Cascadia and Beyond

I’ve long described my commitment to conservation as a combination of love and outrage: profound love for the wild places and wildlife we work to protect and outrage at the destruction for which our fellow humans are responsible. On Wednesday, I felt that same combination. This time a deep and abiding love for the people … Continue reading The First Week of 2021 & What is to Come in Cascadia and Beyond

USFWS: Northern spotted owls are endangered, but we’re too busy to help

December 14, 2020 — Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a finding on the northern spotted owl’s listing status, spurred by a lawsuit filed last week by wildlife advocates. The finding states “reclassification of the northern spotted owl from a threatened species to an endangered species is warranted but precluded by higher priority actions to amend the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. We will develop a proposed rule to reclassify the northern spotted owl as our priorities allow.”

Lawsuit Filed to Protect Imperiled Wolverine

December 14, 2020 — Today, a coalition of wildlife advocates challenged the Trump Fish and Wildlife Service’s (the Service’s) decision to deny protections to imperiled wolverines under the Endangered Species Act. This is the second time the Service has prioritized politics over science for wolverines, which number about 300 in the contiguous U.S.

Time’s up: Feds missed deadlines for years, harming imperiled northern spotted owls

December 8, 2020 — Today, a group of wildlife advocates filed a complaint in federal district court against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) for falling to take multiple actions required by the Endangered Species Act to protect the northern spotted owl from extinction.