National Forests

The Oregon Sierra Club says it won’t support Senator Wyden’s logging bill for Eastern Oregon. The group had been withholding judgement ever since the deal was announced almost two months ago. But now, the group’s Conservation Director Ivan Maluski tells me that without some changes, the Sierra Club will oppose the measure. His critique of the...
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Long time adversaries in Oregon’s timber wars told the Senate today they’re ready to make peace, at least in Eastern Oregon. The setting was a hearing on the Eastern Oregon Logging bill sponsored by Senator Wyden. Based on a historic compromise between timber and conservation groups, the bill hopes to revive the region’s logging industry...
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See streaming video of hearing at this link. 1:29pm: Kerr admits the conservation community is split over the bill. Many groups still believe in preserving forests from development because that activity has been harmful in the past. More are recognizing that restoring forests are now what’s needed. 1:05pm Not a fan of the bill, Larry Blasing...
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Tomorrow, the Senate gets its first look at a compromise logging bill for Eastern Oregon. Ideally, the bill is supposed to end years of timber wars. No more logging for the sake of logging. Instead, timber harvests happen as part of a greater effort to restore forests. Old growth trees are off limits. But Eastern...
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Senator Wyden’s logging bill for Eastern Oregon forests picked up the support of Senator Merkley today. Merkley’s office issued a press release saying he’ll co-sponsor the bill, officially known as the Oregon Forest Restoration and Old Growth Protection Act of 2009. It has a first hearing March 10 with the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands...
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We all know there’s something special about Oregon’s forests. A new study by the Wilderness Society says if you’re looking for a place to store carbon, Oregon forests are the best in the nation. Using Forest Service data, the Society says the top ten best forests for storing carbon are all in the Pacific Northwest. Six...
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The Hells Canyon Preservation Council says it just can’t support a compromise deal for logging forests in Eastern Oregon. The deal, put together after 18-months of negotiations between environmental groups and the timber industry, opens the door for logging on about 8 million acres of federal forests east of the Cascades.
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Add Governor Kulongoski to the list of supporters for the new Eastern Oregon logging agreement that was announced this week. The deal was negotiated by timber and conservation groups, with the help of Senator Wyden’s office. Wyden will introduce legislation to make it happen. “The forests of eastern Oregon have reached a crisis condition as has...
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The Hey! NW Natural campaign to block the Palomar Pipeline moved from cyberspace to the physical world Tuesday afternoon with a rally in downtown Portland. It was a small group, not surprising considering the cold weather. But they came armed with the names of some 1500 landowners who’ll be affected if the pipeline is built,...
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A coalition of Oregon and Western environmental groups is suing to block the construction of a new road for OHVs in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Called the Riley Ranch Access Project, this new route would allow off road vehicles into an area of the dunes where they’ve never been allowed before. “The Oregon...
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