Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12th) has recently reintroduced her Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R.2773, 117th).
Read MoreKurt Schrader
Oregon Wilderness by the Numbers: Versus Adjacent States, Congressional Delegation Rankings, and Total Potential Wilderness
Compared to its political equal Washington, arch-liberal California, arch-conservative Idaho, and politically purple Nevada, Oregon has the least designated wilderness acreage and the smallest percentage of the state’s lands protected as wilderness.
Read MoreWither the Wild Rogue?
When Representative Greg Walden (R-2nd-OR) hears “the Rogue,” he happily dreams of the roar of chainsaws. But now Walden is down and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-4th-OR) is up, and the stars have aligned to save the Wild Rogue. You can help.
Read MorePublic Lands in the 116th (2019–20) Congress
Elections matter, and the 2018 midterm election mattered a lot.
Read MoreFilling the Congressional Conservation Pipeline for When It Unclogs
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.
Read MoreThe National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, Part 2: Rounding It Out and Cleaning It Up (For Oregon, If Not Elsewhere)
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.
Read MoreThe National Wilderness Preservation System, Part 3: The Promise of and a Promise to Wilderness
Despite its imperfections, the Wilderness Act is a wonderful law, worth defending against all attacks and attackers.
Read MoreProtecting the Pacific Northwest Offshore Ocean for This and Future Generations
Abstaining from mineral development offshore is the only way to protect the marine environment and the renewable resources that depend upon it.
Read MorePublic Lands Conservation in Congress: Stalled by the Extinction of Green Republicans
Many politicians call for a return to the era of bipartisanship as a solution to any woe. This call has resonance because the bipartisan era occurred in the living memory of baby boomers. But in the long arc of history this era did not last long, and the evidence of today does not give much hope of a return to it.
Read MoreOregon’s Wildlands Should Matter At Least as Much to Oregon Legislators as Alaska's and Utah's
However, their cosponsoring a tundra wilderness bill in Alaska and a red rocks wilderness bill in Utah—at relatively large acreages of 1.6 and 9.1 million acres respectively—contrasts unfavorably with the Oregon congressional delegation’s efforts to conserve and restore Oregon’s green forests, tan deserts, and blue waters for the benefit of this and future generations.
Read MoreReigniting the Pacific Northwest Timber Wars by Logging More Old Growth: Bring It On, President Trump!
At 61 and with acrophobia, I’m no use in climbing old trees to defend them from the chainsaw. But a younger generation of activists will sit, en masse, in those threatened old-growth trees, in front of bulldozers, and/or in appropriate offices. And if it comes to that, I’m happy to get arrested in offices of the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Republican Party, the timber industry, or elected officials.
Bring it on, President Trump. Bring it on, Big Timber. Bring it on, Rep. Walden. Go ahead, make my day: reignite the Pacific Northwest timber wars.
Let the battle be joined, as nothing less is at stake than the lands and forests we leave to future generations.
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