Oregon's 10 Most Endangered Places 2015

It's been pretty easy over the last two years to get caught up in our state's big tourism promotion campaign - the Seven Wonders of Oregon. No doubt, places like the Painted Hills and Mount Hood are not the only beautiful but big-time drivers of our economy. 

In contrast, we bring you the 10 Blunders of Oregon - more commonly known as Oregon's 10 Most Endangered Places of 2015

While it's fun and important to celebrate all that our natural wonders can provide, it's equally important to take stock of what is at risk. Sadly, there are some truly amazing places facing logging, mining, ATV abuse, dirty energy export schemes, and more. Without further ado, here's the list. Click on each place below to find out more about each threat and ways you can take action:

  1. Coos Bay
    • Threat: Massive dredging to make way for LNG export facility and supertankers shipping off to Asia
       
  2. Siskiyou Rivers
    • Threat: Proposal for industrial nickel mining in salmon-rich waters by a foreign owned conglomerate
       
  3. Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges
    • Threat: Overuse of natural water supply by industrial agriculture exacerbated by years of drought, leaving wildlife high and dry
       
  4. Joseph Canyon
    • Threat: Proposed logging in old-growth forests and roadless areas
       
  5. Columbia River
    • Threat: Massive proposals to ship oil, coal, and LNG down the river, risking pollution and climate change
       
  6. Crater Lake Region, just west of the park
    • Threat: The misguided Bybee Timber Sale threatens to clearcut forests right up to the park boundary in the headwaters of the beloved Rogue River
       
  7. Ochoco Mountains
    • Threat: Summit Off Highway Vehicle proposal that would open up backcountry trails to ATV abuse
       
  8. Mount Hood
    • Threat: Proposed Polallie Cooper Timber Sale that would see logging in Wilderness-quality lands near a popular Mount Hood trail
       
  9. Elliott State Forest
    • Threat: Efforts by Oregon politicians to sell off large swaths of Oregon's only state forest with significant old-growth stands
       
  10. Owyhee Canyonlands
    • Threat: Combined pressures from ATVs, gold and uranium mining, and oil and gas development
Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area photo by Stan Newman. Located on the north side of Coos Bay, the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area harbors some of the rarest plant ecosystems in Oregon. The Jordan Cove Terminal is proposed to be built on a sand dune on the north spit of Coos Bay, and a massive dredging project would be required in the bay for pipelines and huge LNG ships.