Oregon Wild's New Intern Reflects on Wilderness Today

By Taylor Rudow

I’d like to start with a quick introduction: My name is Taylor Rudow, and I am the new Wilderness Outreach Intern here at Oregon Wild. I am currently a senior Environmental Policy major at the University of Portland, and I hope to use my time at Oregon Wild and my time in college to create a career in environmental conservation.

On October 7, 2014, Congressman Earl Blumenauer hosted a public forum entitled “The 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act: What’s At Stake for Oregon?” As the newest member of the Oregon Wild team, I had no idea what to expect, both from Oregon Wild and the forum as a whole.

The forum itself was a held in the Student Center at Portland State University. Members of the community, many sporting environmental slogans on green shirts, filed into the chair-lined conference room and made small talk while microphones were adjusted and pictures of Oregon’s wildlands played on the screen. Oregon Wild was there in full fashion, armed with buttons supporting Crater Lake protection and a barrage of important information.

Earl Blumenauer kicked off the event, and members of the conservation community, including our very own Bridget Callahan, spoke up about wildlands in Oregon that still needed Wilderness protection. Areas like Crater Lake, Mount Hood, and the Kalmiopsis flashed across the screens, and declarations for more Wilderness protection were met with robust rounds of applause.

I sat in the back, watching the process unfold, and felt empowered. My generation is frequently taught, by our schools and social media, that we are powerless. In a world with an uncertain future, we frequently feel like we have no voice. Even though we are concerned about the state of our planet, and desperate to do something about it, we stay in the shadows because we have been conditioned to believe that that is where we belong.

This forum opened my eyes and showed me the falsity in that belief. Staff of the delegations were present taking head counts, Congressman Blumenauer was open to difficult questions, and everyone involved was genuinely interested in what every community member had to say. Our elected officials are the ones who have the power to stand up for the wildlands of Oregon, yet they cannot do it without the support of the public.

We have a voice, and it is time it was heard. It is time to realize that we can, and should, do more. I hope to continue encouraging my generation to get involved in these events, so that they too can understand their importance in the system. Robert Swan mused, “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

I’m hopeful for the future, and excited to continue keeping Oregon green with Oregon Wild.

Cheers!

Photo Credits
Top photo by Taylor Rudow. Middle photo by Arran Robertson. Salmon River photo (bottom) courtesy of Erik Dresser