December 8, 2014 — The State of Oregon has decided against privatizing the Elliott State Forest after receiving overwhelming public comment encouraging a conservation solution for the 93,000-acre state forest located northeast of Coos Bay. 1,147 out of 1,185 comments received during the public process, or 97%, encouraged the Department of State Lands and the Oregon State Land Board to protect the iconic forests for its outstanding water quality, salmon and wildlife habitat, hunting and fishing opportunities and its remarkable ability to store carbon to mitigate climate change.
Speak Up for the Elliott on Dec. 9: Oregon State Land Board Meeting Details
The Oregon State Land Board will meet on December 9th to discuss future options for the 93,000-acre Elliott State Forest. That really means that they are meeting to discuss the fate of the marbled murrelt, spotted owl and one of the largest runs of Coho salmon on the Oregon coast. It also means that they will … Continue reading Speak Up for the Elliott on Dec. 9: Oregon State Land Board Meeting Details
Observations from the BLM’s Buck Rising Timber Sale Field Tour
By Rory Isbell, Cascadia Wildlands Legal Intern Fellow intern Rance and I recently joined Cascadia Wildlands’ Conservation Director Francis Eatherington on a public tour of the Buck Rising timber sale on BLM land east of Myrtle Creek, Oregon. The tour was organized by the BLM Roseburg District office in order to demonstrate the results … Continue reading Observations from the BLM’s Buck Rising Timber Sale Field Tour
Press Release: Bull Trout Harmed by Years of Agency Inaction, Legal Action Initiated
July 11, 2014 — Nearly four years after critical habitat protection was granted to bull trout, federal land management agencies have still not determined whether existing land management plans are compatible with protecting the fish. Today, conservation groups Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, and Cascadia Wildlands sent a notice of intent to sue to both the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service over failures to properly evaluate the consequences of actions taken within bull trout critical habitat.
Press Release: Petition Filed to Require Nonlethal Steps to Control Washington Wolves
July 9, 2014 — Eight conservation groups filed a petition late Friday requesting that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife enact rules that sharply limit the use of lethal control of wolves to respond to livestock depredations. Most prominently the petition asks the state to require livestock producers to exhaust nonlethal measures to prevent depredations before any lethal action can be taken. In 2012 the Department killed seven wolves in the Wedge Pack despite the fact that the livestock producer who had lost livestock had taken little action to protect his stock.
Cascadia Wildlands and Colleagues File Petition for Rulemaking Over Lethal Control on Wolves in Washington
On June 9, 2014, Cascadia Wildlands and allies filed a petition for rulemaking urging the Washington Department of Fish and Wildife Commission to adopt a rule that outlines the non-lethal steps that must be taken prior to lethal control being used on wolves.
Press Statement on Famous Wolf OR-7 Likely Finding a Mate and Fathering Pups in Southern Oregon
For immediate release May 12, 2014 Contact: Josh Laughlin, Cascadia Wildlands, 541.844.8182 According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, OR-7, the famous male wolf that traveled from the Imnaha pack in northeast Oregon all the way to northern California nearly three years ago, has likely found a mate in southwest Oregon and … Continue reading Press Statement on Famous Wolf OR-7 Likely Finding a Mate and Fathering Pups in Southern Oregon
Press Release: Suit Filed Challenging Sale of Elliott State Forest Land
April 21, 2014 — EUGENE, Ore.— Conservation organizations filed a lawsuit and temporary restraining order today challenging the state of Oregon’s disposal of part of the 93,000-acre Elliott State Forest northeast of Coos Bay. The legal complaint submitted by Cascadia Wildlands, Audubon Society of Portland, and the Center for Biological Diversity identified the 788-acre East Hakki Ridge parcel as prohibited by law from being sold.
Press Release: Conservation Groups Serve Timber Firms Notice of Intent to Sue over Elliott State Forest Privatization
March 13, 2014 — Three conservation organizations filed a notice of intent today to sue any potential timber purchasers of nearly 3,000 acres of the Elliott State Forest recently authorized for sale by the State of Oregon. Audubon Society of Portland, Cascadia Wildlands and the Center for Biological Diversity argue that if timber companies knowingly buy and log the tracts that contain marbled murrelet habitat, they will be in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act.
Press Release: Washington Wildlife Agency Urged to End Support for Abolishing Federal Wolf Protections
March 6, 2014 — Eleven conservation organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Washington residents sent a letter to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife today urging the agency to rescind its support for stripping wolves of federal Endangered Species Act protections. The department has repeatedly expressed support for dropping the federal safeguards, most recently in a letter sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Dec. 13, 2013. The delisting runs counter to the best available science and ignores the values of the vast majority of Washington residents who want to see federal wolf protections
maintained.