by Gabe Scott, Cascadia Wildlands House Counsel Ready for some good news? Last week our partners at Eyak Preservation Council announced that the major part of Alaska’s Bering River Coalfield, and the old-growth forest on top of it, has been permanently protected! Several things about this historic victory make it especially sweet. Ecologically it protects … Continue reading Reflections on the Enormous Victory in Northern Cascadia and Coming Full Circle
Cascadia Wildlands Leads Ground-truth Expedition into Fabled Tongass National Forest
by Alaska Legal Director Gabe Scott [updated 9/8/16] TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST, ALASKA— Lots to report from our ground-truthing trek last week into Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. We spent a week on Wrangell, Revilla and Prince of Wales Islands with colleagues investigating proposed and active old-growth logging projects. This was a trip to the edge of … Continue reading Cascadia Wildlands Leads Ground-truth Expedition into Fabled Tongass National Forest
Lawsuit Challenges Frankenfish Approval
March 31, 2016 — A broad coalition of environmental, consumer, and commercial and recreational fishing organizations today sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approving the first-ever genetically engineered (GE) food animal, an Atlantic salmon engineered to grow quickly. The man-made salmon was created by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. with DNA from three fish: Atlantic salmon, Pacific king salmon, and Arctic ocean eelpout. This marks the first time any government in the world has approved a GE animal for commercial sale and consumption.
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Effort to Overturn Tongass National Forest Protections
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear a last‐ditch effort by the State of Alaska to exempt America’s largest national forest from a national rule protecting undeveloped, road‐free national forest areas from logging and road construction. The State sought to overturn a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that kept the Roadless Area Conservation Rule in effect in the vast Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. The Ninth Circuit agreed with a federal District Court in Alaska that the Bush administration improperly exempted the Tongass from that landmark conservation measure.
FDA Approves Frankenfish, Cascadians Resist
By Gabe Scott, Alaska Legal Director CORDOVA, AK— Frankenfish may be coming to a store near you, but not if we can help it. Last week's decision by the Food & Drug Administration to approve Genetically Engineered Salmon for sale in the United States is hugely important. There are a lot of moving … Continue reading FDA Approves Frankenfish, Cascadians Resist
Win on the Tongass: Forest Service Withdraws Mitkof Island Old-Growth Timber Sale
October 12, 2015 — In a federal court filing last Friday the U.S. Forest Service announced it will withdraw its decision on the Mitkof Island Project, a large 35 million board foot timber sale. The project is in the center of the Tongass National Forest, near the communities of Petersburg and Kupreanof.
Legal Battle Results in Protections for Alaska’s Tongass National Forest
August 29, 2015 — In a major victory for America’s last great rainforest, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck down a Bush administration exemption of the Tongass National Forest from the “Roadless Rule,” a landmark conservation rule adopted in 2001 to protect nearly 60 million acres of wild national forests and grasslands from new road building and logging. The Court held the Bush administration failed to provide a reasoned explanation for reversing course on the Tongass. It concluded the Roadless Rule “remains in effect and applies to the Tongass.”
Lawsuit Challenges Plan to Log Old-growth in Alaska
Cascadia Wildlands yesterday filed suit against the Forest Service challenging approval of the Mitkof Island timber sale, a 4,117-acre old-growth logging project on the Tongass National Forest, near Petersburg in Southeast Alaska. This lawsuit comes close on the heals of our challenge to the Big Thorne timber sale, another big old-growth sale that is currently on … Continue reading Lawsuit Challenges Plan to Log Old-growth in Alaska
Exciting Leadership Transition at Cascadia Wildlands
Dear Cascadia Wildlands Supporters, Bushwacking through head-high ferns to find the elusive Devil’s Staircase waterfall. Watching salmon thrash upstream to their natal grounds. Hearing the pre-dawn keer of the marbled murrelet high in the canopy. Knowing wolves are reclaiming their rightful place back in Cascadia. Educating and empowering communities to confront power imbalances. These are … Continue reading Exciting Leadership Transition at Cascadia Wildlands
Deja Vu, the Corrupt Bastards Club, and the Fabled Tongass National Forest
by Gabe Scott, Alaska Field Rep. Do you ever get the feeling you’re running in circles? That sense of déjà vu has been strong with me lately as we do legal battle over the Big Thorne and other massive old-growth timber sales in Southeast Alaska’s rainforest. For all the progress we’ve made … Continue reading Deja Vu, the Corrupt Bastards Club, and the Fabled Tongass National Forest