Oregon WildBlog

The release of ODFW’s annual wolf report is a big deal. As the keepers of the numbers – and keenly interested in public perception – the agency is always sure to give reporters a heads up and ensure their narrative becomes the narrative.

Regardless of the numbers, ODFW tends to paint the rosiest picture they can and are always sure to thank the livestock industry.

Oregon's forests could use a friend right now.

Clearcutting of both private and state forests is at an all-time high. Our drinking water is being polluted. Precious wildlife habitat is being lost. And communities in Oregon’s Coast Range, surrounded on all sides by miles of clearcuts, aren’t being heard by their lawmakers.

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.

There’s never a dull day for those of us working on wildlife conservation in Oregon! In this monthly update, we’ll give you the download on the Wolf Plan review process, legislative happenings in Salem, and much more. Also, don’t forget to check out the “In the news” section, as there is one story in particular that really puts a spotlight on the difficulty of doing environmental conservation in this state.

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.

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 dominick@geosinstitute.org for an advanced copy of this chapter.

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 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.

Last week, we learned that one of the wolves in the newly established White River wolf pack died late last year. 

by Tom A. Titus