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.
In 2020, federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) descended on Portland escalating police violence against people demanding an end to racist police violence. DHS agents used unprecedented amounts of teargas, pepper spray, and other chemical munitions on the crowds. Thousands of Portland residents were exposed to harmful chemicals known to cause cancer, … Continue reading Statement on the 9th Circuit Court Ruling Dismissing our Portland Teargas Case
January 10, 2023 — Wildlife conservation groups today announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction for the illegal killing of a collared male wolf in Klamath County late last fall.
January 4, 2023 — Following years of extensive research, analysis, and outreach, the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) Commission voted unanimously to initiate a plan to decommission the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project on the McKenzie River at its January 3 meeting. The Board of Commissioners formally approved EWEB General Manager Frank Lawson’s December 6 recommendations to decommission the project, which discontinued electricity generation in 2018, and remove the aging Leaburg Dam.
December 16, 2022 —The Oregon Court of Appeals recently ruled against the proposal to mine TV Butte on the eastern edge of Oakridge, citing significant impacts blasting and industrial operations would have on resident deer and elk herds. The ruling was a major victory for Oakridge residents and local businesses who have long opposed the gravel mine proposed by Ed King III of King Estate Winery.
November 17, 2022 — Today, forest and climate activists gathered at Terry Schrunk Plaza across from the Forest Service Region 6 offices in support of stronger protections for mature and old-growth forests.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2023
EUGENE, OR — As world leaders gather to address the climate crisis, U.S. land management agencies are undermining President Joe Biden’s commitment to conserve mature and old-growth forests and trees by proposing to log thousands of acres on public lands that serve as climate-saving carbon sinks, as well as providing wildlife habitat and clean drinking water for communities.
November 10, 2022 — This month, conservation groups finalized a legal agreement with the Bureau of Land Management to reverse a Trump-era rule excluding vastly more logging in post-fire landscapes from detailed environmental review. The agreement resolves a legal challenge the groups brought against the agency in October, 2021.
October 8, 2022 — Today, a “kayaktivist” flotilla of over 100 concerned community members rallied on the McKenzie River to protest an old-growth logging sale in the Willamette National Forest. The Flat Country project, proposed by the U.S. Forest Service, targets over 2,000 acres of old-growth and mature forests for logging across the headwaters of the McKenzie River. The agency could auction the old growth to be cut at any moment. Attendees held up signs from boats and kayaks, and unfurled a large banner declaring “Forest Defense is Watershed Defense”, to draw attention to the logging sale’s impact on downstream drinking water.
October 4, 2022 — Late Friday, a judge in the District Court for the District of Oregon ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) justification for Bureau of Land Management (Bureau) timber sales totaling nearly 18,000 acres including in old growth forest violated the Endangered Species Act. The judge ruled against the Service’s claim that old-growth logging in the Poor Windy and Evans Creek timber sales on 15,848 acres of threatened northern spotted owl habitat would not harm the imperiled bird species.
