Oregon WildBlog

On Saturday, April 14th, brewers, beer lovers, and environmental advocates alike gathered to celebrate the forests and public lands that house our watersheds and to support their protection by raising a pint. Great beer begins with clean water after all!

Earlier this month, Oregon State Representative Dallas Heard was appointed to fill the State Senate seat of Jeff Kruse, who resigned this year following the release of an independent investigator's report that confirmed he had engaged in unwelcome physical contact with coworkers in the Oregon legislature.

Congress passed a spending bill last week after a month of negotiations produced a $1.3 trillion budget that will keep the federal government open for – gasp – a whole six months. The bill almost failed to become law after a whirlwind few hours that had President Trump threatening a veto, only to reverse himself, sign the bill, and pledge to never let another bill like it pass again.

^{Last year the Forest Service proposed an illegal logging project on one of Oregon’s most precious landscapes. In response Oregon Wild and Greater Hells Canyon Council took the agency to court. Judy Treman of Walla Walla, Washington has been visiting the Lostine River Canyon for over 70 years. When she heard about the logging project she wrote this piece:} 

Recently, my friend and I circumnavigated the caldera of an ancient volcano. Our four-day snowshoe-backpacking trip around the rim of the Crater Lake was among the most challenging trips we had taken, but it was also among the most rewarding. 

Protected State Scenic Waterway corridors aren’t just pretty places to look at. They’re protected, in part, because they provide important habitat for fish and other wildlife. Salmon, bull trout, steelhead and other fish species all benefit directly from healthy rivers, as do herons, bald and golden eagles, and other birds that may nest or forage in river corridors. Beaver and river otters likely win the award for cutest river corridor inhabitants, while other wildlife from deer to foxes and coyotes rely on access to rivers for fresh drinking water.

By Andy Kerr, former Executive Director and Conservation Director of Oregon Wild

[Note: The Bundy band represents both an existential threat and an existential opportunity for America’s public lands. This is the first of four Public Lands Blog posts that examine the government mishandling of the Bundys, the Bundys’ legal troubles, the Bundys’ legal troublemaking, and the opportunities for the conservation community to apply political jujitsu on the Bundy gang to advance the conservation of America’s public lands.]

This guest blog is from Francis Eatherington, winner of Oregon Wild's 2016 Tim Lillebo Wildlands Warrior Award,  it features her personal story of living amongst Oregon's industrial forestlands. Francis is a longtime forest activist, with a decades long history of fighting for Oregon's Forests, Watersheds, and Wildlife!