Press Release: FEMA Pulls Oregon Logging Road Funding In Response to Lawsuit


July 18, 2023 — In response to a lawsuit Monday by the Center for Biological Diversity and Cascadia Wildlands, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has pulled its authorization of federal disaster relief funding to rebuild Cook Creek Road. The road would have been used for logging in Oregon’s Tillamook State Forest.

Press Release: Lawsuit Challenges FEMA-Funded Logging Road in Oregon’s Coast Range


July 17, 2023 — The Center for Biological Diversity and Cascadia Wildlands sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for authorizing federal disaster relief funding to rebuild Cook Creek Road, a logging road in Oregon’s Tillamook State Forest.

Press Release: Lawsuit Launched Against Road Reopening in Oregon’s Tillamook State Forest


May 8, 2023 — The Center for Biological Diversity and Cascadia Wildlands filed a notice of intent today to sue the Federal Emergency Management Agency for funding the reopening of Cook Creek Road in the Oregon Coast Range.

Press Release: Eugene Earth Day rally calls for forest protection, Biden to keep promises


April 22, 2023 — Hundreds of concerned community members gathered Eugene, Oregon on Earth Day for a rally and demonstration in support of a proposed new national rule to protect mature and old-growth trees and forests on federally managed public lands. As thousands of acres of forests on public lands are threatened to be logged, members of the public were joined by Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis and Eugene City Councilmember Matt Keating to urge federal agencies to protect mature and old-growth forests as a cornerstone of U.S. climate policy.

Press Release: Federal Agencies Release Joint Report on Mature and Old-Growth Forests


April 20, 2023 — On April 20, 2023, the two federal agencies charged with overseeing federally-managed public forests in the US released a much-anticipated report defining, identifying, and producing an initial inventory of mature and old-growth forests. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) inventory, which will continue to expand, identified more than 32 million acres of old-growth and around 80 million acres of mature forest across 200 types of forests.

Press Release: Cascadia Wildlands Statement on Oregon’s 2022 Minimum Gray Wolf Population Count


April 18, 2023 — Today, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) released its annual report of the minimum 2022 gray wolf population and pack count for the state, which shows a continuing pattern of very low growth. The 178 wolves documented in 2022 is only an increase of three wolves over year-end 2021 numbers, while the number of wolf packs increased from 21 to 24. The state’s minimum wolf population only grew by two wolves in 2021, from 173 to 175 wolves. The stagnant population numbers are a cause for great concern in a state with significant suitable –  yet unoccupied –  wolf habitat. Removal of state Endangered Species Act protections was predicated on an assumed steady population increase, an assumption that has proven false since 2020.

Press Release: Legal Challenge to BLM’s Late Successional Reserve Logging Scheme


April, 10, 2023 — Today a coalition of conservation organizations filed a legal complaint challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) “Integrated Vegetation Management” (IVM) program that would aggressively log forest stands located within Late Successional Reserves, areas purportedly set aside for forest conservation. In particular, IVM authorizes so-called “gap creation” and “open seral” logging prescriptions within mature and old-growth forests that are fire-resilient and provide important habitat at-risk wildlife species.

Press Release: Legal Agreement Will Bring New Protections From Logging to Oregon Coast Coho Salmon


March 23, 2023 — Resolving multiyear litigation over the harms of logging to coho salmon, conservation groups reached an agreement today with the Oregon Department of Forestry to greatly expand stream buffers across more than half a million acres of the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests.

Press Release: Eugene becomes first city in Oregon to phase out gas in new construction as electrification movement grows


February 6, 2023 — The City of Eugene voted five to three tonight to phase out fossil fuels like gas in new homes and buildings, a historic step that will cut climate pollution, improve air quality, and lower utility bills for households. The vote from the City Council delivered a major victory to the dozens of climate, environmental justice, health, housing and racial justice groups who organized for more than two years in favor of the policy.