Oregon Wildblog

Nature for Dummies

Hi there! My name is Rachel Rothman, and I am the Community Outreach and Conservation Advocate intern at the Oregon Wild office in Eugene this winter.

My work here the past three months has centered around environmental policy- forest protection, the wolf plan, aerial spraying, and other conservation issues. But outside of the work I do in the office, the other half of my position has been trying to rally college students to understand and advocate around these causes. What I found? That this is pretty difficult.

A Forgotten Wolf

Too often, wolves only get attention when they are at the center of unnecessary conflict. Policy and population numbers tend to make up the rest of the story. If there's any "color", it's usually provided by the two-legged characters.

Don’t Be Fooled by “Fake Forests”

by Dominick A. DellaSala, Ph. D, Chief Scientist, Geos Institute

If a tree grows in a forest, does that make it a forest? Does planting trees compensate for cutting down a forest? How do we know we are in a forest or an unreasonable facsimile (“fake”) there of?

A new publication “The World’s Biomes” is set for release in libraries globally in 2020. It will feature my chapter on fake vs. real forests. Contact me at [email protected] for an advanced copy of this chapter.

A win but not a solution for the Ochoco Mountains

The Bend Source recently published this letter to the editor by Jamie, our Ochoco Mountains Coordinator:

"As the Source recently reported, quiet recreationists across the state rejoiced at the news that a plan proposing 130+ miles of additional off-road vehicle trails in the Ochocos was struck down by the courts. The proposal would have been bad news for wildlife like deer and elk as well as hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers. 

If Walden wants conservation cred, he has to earn it

If it seems like it has been a decade since Congress did anything good for conservation and the protection of Oregon’s public lands, there’s a reason for that.  Up until this year, 2009 was the last time Congress passed a major piece of Wilderness legislation that benefited special places in Oregon.

 

Withering

by Tom A. Titus

A Real Wolf Conservation Plan

While hard to believe, it’s almost that time again: the 5-year review of the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. The ‘wolf plan’, which was first adopted in 2005, included a provision to have the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and Commission review and update it every five years. This was done to ensure that the living document kept up with emerging best available science, incorporated new applied learning based on lived experience, and reflected current endangered species listing status. 

January Town Halls with Oregon's Senators

A little over a week ago, Oregon was on the verge of celebrating new Wilderness designations with the inclusion of the Oregon Wildlands Act in a proposed budget deal in Congress. Unfortunately, last minute objections from Congressman Greg Walden and a late-night tantrum by anti-public lands Senator Mike Lee stopped the bill just short of the finish line.

The good news is Congress committed to a vote on a public lands package again in January (once the government is back up and running again, of course). Now, we have less than a month to make new Oregon Wilderness a reality.