by Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands Legal Director On August 5, the Bureau of Land Management signed a new management plan for western Oregon. Cascadia Wildlands and our conservation allies protested the initial draft of this plan, but the BLM's decision yesterday largely ignored all our points of contention. From a broad perspective, the plan will … Continue reading BLM Signs Devastating New Management Plan for Oregon’s Forests!
Greater Protections Sought for Marbled Murrelets in Oregon
June 21, 2016 — Conservation groups submitted petitions today asking the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the Oregon Board of Forestry to take new measures to better identify and protect important forest areas for protected marbled murrelets. The petition to ODFW requests that the agency “uplist” the marbled murrelet to “endangered” status under the Oregon Endangered Species Act (OESA). The petition to the Board of Forestry asks the agency to identify and protect important forest sites critical to the species’ survival.
Oregon Court of Appeals Set to Rule on Plan to Sell off Elliott State Forest
June 14, 2016 — The Oregon Court of Appeals is set to decide the legality of a 788-acre timber sale on the Elliott State Forest following a court hearing last Friday. The lawsuit, brought by Cascadia Wildlands, Audubon Society of Portland, and Center for Biological Diversity, argues that the Oregon Department of State Lands violated the law when it sold the East Hakki Ridge parcel in 2014 to Seneca Jones Timber Company. The case could have a significant bearing on the state’s plan to sell off the rest of this public forest by casting significant uncertainty to its legality.
Cascadia Wildlands and Conservation Allies Challenge BLM Forest Plans in Oregon
May 16, 2016 — Today, Earthjustice and the Western Environmental Law Center, on behalf of 22 conservation and fishing groups, filed a formal protest with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) objecting to its proposed management plans for western Oregon. The BLM plan eliminates protections for streamside forests, increases clearcutting, and removes 2.6 million acres of these federally managed public forests from the 1994 Clinton Northwest Forest Plan.
Explore the Elliott State Forest with Cascadia Wildlands
We’ll be offering a couple of public hikes into the Elliott State Forest the spring/summer of 2016. The Elliott State Forest is between Reedsport and Coos Bay, and goes as far east as Loon Lake. About half of the Elliott has never been logged before, with big trees that grew back from an 1868 fire, providing … Continue reading Explore the Elliott State Forest with Cascadia Wildlands
Lawsuit Challenges Alaska Road Project from Ketchikan to Shelter Cove
April 14, 2016 — Five environmental groups sued the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today in the federal district court at Anchorage to force supplemental analysis on the environmental consequences of the Ketchikan-to-Shelter-Cove road project on Revillagigedo Island in southeastern Alaska. The project is out for bids, which are due today.
Press Release: BLM to Weaken Environmental Protections in Western Oregon
April 12, 2016 — The Bureau of Land Management today released new plans that will guide recreation, wildlife habitat protection, water quality, and logging on 2.6 million acres of federal forests in western Oregon. Home to salmon and ancient forests, these public lands also provide drinking water for nearly 1.8 million Oregonians. If made final, the Proposed Resource Management Plan would weaken key protections of the Northwest Forest Plan that has guided management and ecosystem restoration on these forests for the past two decades.
Letter Sent to Prospectors Interested in Acquiring Elliott State Forest
by Robin Meacher, Cascadia Wildlands' Wildlands Campaign Director The Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) continues to forge ahead with the sale of the 93,000-acre Elliott State Forest located east of Coos Bay. While conservation groups, school children, recreationists and hunters and anglers continue to enjoy the Elliott for the host of opportunities it … Continue reading Letter Sent to Prospectors Interested in Acquiring Elliott State Forest
Blog: Jordan Cove LNG knocked to its knees
by Francis Eatherington, Cascadia Wildlands Umpqua Regional Advisor Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) denied the Jordan Cove Project. We were shocked as FERC is known as the rubber-stamping government agency that approves fossil fuel projects at any cost. Even the promoter of Jordan Cove, Canadian-based Veresen Inc., said it was “shocked … Continue reading Blog: Jordan Cove LNG knocked to its knees
Stand Up for Public Lands!
In the midst of the ridiculous scene unfolding at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, bigger, darker, and more intelligent forces are working to give away our public lands. Our public lands, our National Forests, our Wildlife Refuges, our National Parks, our Wild and Scenic Rivers, these are cherished and revered places across the Northwest. They … Continue reading Stand Up for Public Lands!