Eastern Oregon is more than just high desert and dry pine forests. The Blue Mountains – Oregon’s largest eco-region – host a particularly diverse collection of landscapes and communities. Simply put, it is a landscape of superlatives and presents one of the most significant conservation opportunities in the Lower-48. Unfortunately, a new proposal threatens to undo generations of stewardship by ramping up resource extraction and development.
The Blues host the deepest river gorge in North America, the most complete assemblage of big wildlife in the state (including moose, bison, and wolverine), America’s largest intact bunchgrass prairie, high mountain peaks, wet forests, and more. It also provides the only forested corridor connecting the Rockies to the Cascades and beyond and has been home to humans for over sixteen thousand years.
Generations have taken care of and defended these places. As a result it still hosts some of the largest undeveloped and intact landscapes in the region. While a new generation of advocates considers how best to protect these values for future generations, the administration has proposed a plan to gut existing protections and open the Blues to development and exploitation.
Advocates from Wallowa County will share with you why they love the region as well as their hopes and fears about its future. And, of course, we’ll tell you what you can do to put things back on the right path.
We will be raffling off a copy of Oregon’s Ancient Forests: A Hiking Guide and one of our “Let Nature Live. Let Nature Last” t-shirts. You can also support one of our partners for this webcast, the Greater Hells Canyon Council (GHCC), by purchasing tickets for a chance to win a set of ten watercolor notecards by Robin Coen. Tickets are $5 and are an optional purchase below. Raffle tickets not only help us continue these Wednesday presentations but also support our work safeguarding Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife, and waters.
