Andy Kerr

Conservationist, Writer, Analyst, Operative, Agitator, Strategist, Tactitian, Schmoozer, Raconteur

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Andy Kerr | Oregon Conservationist, Writer, Analyst, Operative, Agitator, Strategist, Tactician, Schmoozer, Raconteur

Dedicated to the conservation and restoration of nature, The Larch Company is a non-membership for-profit organization that represents species that cannot talk and humans not yet born. A deciduous conifer, the western larch has a contrary nature.

Home
Public Lands Blog: Current
Public Lands Blog: Archive
Hot Stuff
Cold Truth
Search
About That Banner
Contact

Interests
About
Other Matters
Larch Occasional Papers
Oregon Desert Guide
Oregon Wild: The Book
Hate Mail
Using My Stuff: Creative Commons License

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National Park Service

About That Vision Thing

June 03, 2024 in Congress, 30x30, Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Public Land Law, National Wildlife Refuges, National Trails System, National Scenic Area, National Recreation Area, National Parks, National Park System, National Park Service, National Monuments Act, National Monuments, National Forest System, Nat'l Conservation Lands, Antiquities Act

When political realities come up against ecological realities, the former must be changed because the latter cannot.

Tags: Oregon Wild, Andy Kerr, Jesse Jackson

Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument: Safe from Big Timber, Threatened by the BLM

April 27, 2024 in Antiquities Act, Bureau of Land Management, Counties & Federal Lands, Federal Lands, LItigation, National Monuments, National Park System, National Park Service, Presidents

Big Timber’s and Addicted Counties’ supreme gambits to gut the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument have failed, but the monument is still in mortal peril from the Bureau of Land Management.

Tags: Murphy Company, American Forest Resource Council, US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, US District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, O&C Lands, Association of O&C Counties, US Supreme Court, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, Ryan Zinke, Oregon and California Lands Act of 1937, Antiquities Act, Jenny Creek Wild and Scenic River, Spring Creek Wild and Scenic River

Welcoming Back Pumas to the Eastern United States

March 13, 2024 in Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Fish and Wildlife Service, Livestock Grazing, National Park Service, National Wildlife Refuges, Wildlife

Scientists have identified seventeen areas in the eastern US suitable for the recolonization of Puma concolor. Will humans allow it?

Tags: Florida panther, Puma concolor, catamount, cougar, mountain lion, Panthera, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Northeast Wilderness Trust

Book Review: Our Common Ground: A History of America’s Public Lands

January 28, 2023 in Book Reviews, Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Counties & Federal Lands, Courts, Department of Agriculture, Department of Interior, Deserts, Ecological Reserves, Ecosystems, Elections, Endangered Species, Energy, Federal Lands, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, Forests, Grasslands, Legislation, LItigation, Livestock Grazing, Mining, Nat'l Conservation Lands, National Forest System, National Monuments, National Monuments Act, National Park Service, National Park System, National Parks, National Recreation Area, National Scenic Area, National Trails System, National Wildlife Refuges, Presidents, Public Land Law, Recreation, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Wilderness, Wildlife

Understanding the history of public lands is useful if one is to be the best advocate for the conservation of public lands.

Tags: John Leshy, Adam Smith, Our Common Ground: A History of America's Public Lands, Property Clause

The Proposed Sutton Mountain National “Monument”

November 24, 2021 in Bureau of Land Management, Federal Lands, Grasslands, Legislation, National Monuments Act, National Park Service, National Park System

Legislation has been introduced to conserve and restore one of the most colorful natural landscapes in Oregon for the benefit of this and future generations.

Tags: Sutton Mountain, Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden, Oregon Natural Desert Association, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon Desert Guide: 70 Hikes

Figure 1. Whitebark pine on the Fremont-Winema National Forest. Source: George Wuerthner (first appeared in Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness, Timber Press, 2004). — Figure 1. *Whitebark pine on the Fremont-Winema National Forest*. Source: George Wuerthner (first appeared in Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness, Timber Press, 2004).

Withering Whitebarks and Wilderness

April 15, 2021 in Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Federal Lands, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, National Forest System, National Park Service, Wilderness, Wildlife

After decades of dithering, the Fish and Wildlife Service has finally proposed listing the species as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Tags: whitebark pine, Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, Wilderness Watch, cheatgrass, barred owl, California condor, Clark's nutcracker, white pine blister rust, Smokey Bear

David Simons: An Oregonian with a Shining Vision for Public Lands Conservation

September 18, 2020 in Congress, Forest Service, National Park System, National Park Service, Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers

If not for the Cold War (1945–1991), there might well have been a national park in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains.

Tags: Mark Hatfield, David Simons, David Brower, Harvey Manning, Pat Goldsworthy

National Parks in Oregon, Part 4: Will the Inertia Continue?

May 15, 2020 in Bureau of Land Management, Antiquities Act, Congress, Federal Lands, National Monuments, National Park Service, National Park System, National Parks

I am bearish on the prospect of establishing any new national parks in Oregon, save perhaps one that would be a hell of a long shot. I am semi-bullish on the possibility of modest additions to Oregon’s only national park. But I am bullish on the chances of designating several new National Park System units in Oregon.

Tags: Crater Lake National Park, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Richard Neuberger, Oregon Dunes National Seashore, Mount Hood National Prk, Oregon Coast National Park, Steens Mountain National Park, Owyhee Canyonlands National Park, Volcanic Cascades National Park, Ancient Forest National Park, Fort Rock Lava Beds, Lost Forest-Shifting SandDunes, Diamond Craters, Jordan Craters, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, Crabtree Valley National Monument

National Parks in Oregon, Part 3: Modest Expansion amid Grand Hopes

April 30, 2020 in Congress, Department of Interior, Federal Lands, National Park Service, National Park System, National Parks

No new national park proposal in Oregon has made it past the finish line since the establishment of Crater Lake National Park in 1902. Oregon’s only national park has had two very modest additions since then, in 1932 and in 1980.

Tags: Crater Lake National Park, Mount Thielsen, Mount Bailey, Stephen Mather, Diamond Lake, Rogue River, Union Creek, Horace M. Albright, Mark O. Hatfield

National Parks in Oregon, Part 2: Multiple Failures

April 17, 2020 in Department of Interior, Federal Lands, Legislation, National Park Service, National Park System, National Parks, National Recreation Area

Part 2 discusses multiple failures to establish additional national parks in Oregon.

Tags: Samual H. Boardman, Mark Hatfield, Three Sisters, Stephen T. Mather, Mount Hood National Prk, Mount Hood National Park, Hells Canyon National Park, Oregon Coast National Park, Oregon Dunes National Seashore, Steens Mountain National Park, Volcanic Cascades National Park

National Parks in Oregon, Part 1: One Success

April 10, 2020 in Congress, Department of Interior, Federal Lands, Legislation, National Park Service, National Park System, National Parks, Politics

There are national parks and then there are other units of the National Park System—all administered by the National Park Service. The United States has 62 national parks. It has another 357 units that are also part of the National Park System but go by another name (national whatevers). Herein we focus on the one national park in Oregon.

Tags: Crater Lake National Park, Crater Lake, Oregon national parks, Wallace Stegner, William Gladstone Steel, John Wesley Powell, Mount Bailey, Diamond Lake, Mount Thielsen

Figure 1. There is lots of money to be spent by taxpayers and made by the fire-industrial complex. Fires boost the local economy. Source: National Interagency Fire Center. — Figure 1. *There is lots of money to be spent by taxpayers and made by the fire-industrial complex. Fires boost the local economy.* Source: National Interagency Fire Center.

Speaking Truth to the Fire-Industrial Complex

August 23, 2019 in Forest Fires, Forest Service, Forestry, Forests, Grasslands, National Forest System, National Park Service, Wildfire

The fire-industrial complex needs to be redirected to only set fires on wildlands and only put out fires on buildings.

Tags: Tania Schoennagel, Soberanes Fire, FUSEE, Headwaters Economics, Firefighters United for Safety

Fig. 1. Crabtree Lake in Crabtree Valley, which contains some of the oldest trees in Oregon, is in the proposed Douglas Fir National Monument, located in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains. Source: David Stone, Wildlands Photography. Previously appeared in … — Fig. 1. *Crabtree Lake in Crabtree Valley, which contains some of the oldest trees in Oregon, is in the proposed Douglas Fir National Monument, located in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains.* Source: David Stone, Wildlands Photography. Previously appeared in *Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness* (Timber Press, 2004), by the author.

The Oregon Wildlands Act 2.0

March 29, 2019 in Congress, Legislation, Nat'l Conservation Lands, National Forest System, National Monuments, National Park Service, National Park System, National Parks, National Recreation Area, National Scenic Area, National Wildlife Refuges, Recreation, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Wilderness, National Trails System

Less than a week after President Trump signed the Oregon Wildlands Act into law (as one of many bills in the John D. Dingell, Jr., Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act), Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-3rd-OR) convened an Oregon Public Lands Forum on Monday, March 18, 2019.

Tags: Oregon Wildlands Act, Ron Wyden, Earl Blumenauer

Filling the Congressional Conservation Pipeline for When It Unclogs

August 31, 2018 in Congress, Federal Lands, Keep it in the Ground, Marine National Monuments, Marine Sanctuaries, Nat'l Conservation Lands, National Forest System, National Monuments, National Park Service, National Park System, National Parks, National Recreation Area, National Wildlife Refuges, Politics, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Wilderness, Bureau of Land Management, Ecological Reserves

Several mostly good public lands conservation bills have been introduced in the 115th Congress (2017–18) but languish in committee, unable to get a vote on the floor of the House or the Senate.

Tags: Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley, Peter DeFazio, Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader, Oregon wilderness

The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, Part 2: Rounding It Out and Cleaning It Up (For Oregon, If Not Elsewhere)

July 27, 2018 in Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Congress, Bureau of Land Management

Currently, less than 1 percent of Oregon streams, by mileage, are included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. An estimated additional 10,000 miles (less than 3 percent of the total mileage) of Oregon streams are eligible for inclusion.

Tags: Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, Mark Hatfield, Bob Packwood, Ron Wyden, Gordon Smith, Jeff Merkley, Les AuCoin, Peter DeFazio, Jim Weaver, Earl Blumenauer, Greg Walden, Kurt Schrader, Suzanne Bonamici

The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, Part 1: A Vital National Conservation Purpose

July 20, 2018 in Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior, Congress, Bureau of Land Management, Administration

There are times when Congress acts in a visionary manner. (Is it less so today, or is it just me?) Such was the case in 1968 when it enacted into law the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

Tags: Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, Barbara Roberts, Bruce Babbitt, Oregon Omnibus Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, Elk Creek Oregon

Bungling of the Bundys: A Postmortem Analysis of Government Incompetence

February 02, 2018 in Administration, Bureau of Land Management, Courts, Department of Interior, National Park Service

The bands of bozos that joined Cliven Bundy and his four sons in legally questionable escapades on federal public lands have mostly gotten away with it.... And now the conservation community has a chance to make sweet, sweet lemonade out of the Bundy lemons.

Tags: Cliven Bundy, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, God Butte National Monument, Nevada standoff, Oregon occupation, Robert Abbey

Many National Parks Arose From National Monuments

November 10, 2017 in Antiquities Act, Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine National Monuments, National Monuments, National Monuments Act, National Park System, National Park Service, National Wildlife Refuges, Presidents

The originations of 25 of our 59 national parks, totaling 39.6 million acres, were first seeded by the establishment of a presidentially proclaimed national monument. Fourteen of these monumental 25 were established from more than one national monument proclamation, in that were expanded by later presidents.

Tags: Theodore Roosevelt, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoove, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Pinnacles National Park, Bureau of Land Management, Indiana Dunes National Seashore, Indiana Dunes National Park, Joe Donnelly, Todd Young

Federal Systems for the Conservation and Enjoyment of Lands and Waters

June 09, 2017 in Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Department of Agriculture, Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, National Forest System, National Park Service, National Park System, National Recreation Area, National Wildlife Refuges, Presidents, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Wilderness

Federal conservation systems are an unqualified social good and generally provide elevated protection and better management to important federal public lands and to resources and areas of high national significance. All existing federal conservation systems could be improved, and none should be weakened or discarded. Those that haven’t yet been codified by Congress need to be.

Tags: National Marine Sanctuary System, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admibistration, National Estuaine Research Research System, National System of Marine Protected Areas, National Trails System, National Wildlife Corridor System, National Desert and Grassland System

National Heritage Areas: Combining the Conservation of Nature, History, and Culture with Local Economic Development

April 13, 2017 in National Park Service, National Park System, Congress

National heritage areas (NHAs) are a way to conserve and restore important natural, historical, and cultural resources for this and future generations while at the same time generating local economic activity through tourism. NHAs are established by Congress but administered by local entities with the assistance of the National Park Service.

Tags: National Heritage Areas, economic developoment, Michigan Canal NHA, Augusta Canal NHA, Tennessee Civil War NHA

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A ~1,000-word weekly exposition on some aspect of federal or state public lands in the United States. Some blog posts goes rather deep and serve as a useful (I hope) backgrounders on particular public land areas, matters or issues. Other weeks, you’ll find a topical piece addressing a public lands controversy of the moment. This blog not only defends, but also extols, public lands.

Andy Kerr of The Larch Company (www.andykerr.net) splits his time between Ashland, OR and Washington, DC. He has been significantly involved in the enactment of more than 25 pieces of federal and state legislation and in copious litigation pertaining to public lands. Dedicated to the conservation and restoration of nature, The Larch Company is a non-membership for-profit organization that represents species that cannot talk and humans not yet born. A deciduous conifer, the western larch has a contrary nature.

If you wish to contact me, I will probably be glad you did.