Andy Kerr

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

Oregon Wildlands Act

Crowdsourcing New and Expanded Oregon Wild and Scenic Rivers, Part 1: An Unprecedented Opportunity

October 31, 2019 in Wild and Scenic Rivers, Congress

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is asking his constituents to nominate possible new wild and scenic rivers for Oregon. You have until January 20, 2020. This opportunity is unprecedented and potentially historic. All hands on deck!

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.

Showdown for the Oregon Wildlands Act

January 18, 2019 in Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Forest Service, Legislation, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Wilderness, National Recreation Area

In play right now in Congress are two bills that would elevate the conservation status of 442,620 acres of public land in Oregon.

Public Lands Blog

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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.