Currently viewing the category: "Oregon"

Success For Oregon Spotted Frog On Antelope Grazing Allotment Oregon

On May 18, 2021 By

 

Deep pools in Jack Creek on the Antelope Grazing Allotment is prime Oregon spotted frog habitat. Photo George Wuerthner 

It is not every day that one can claim success in fighting public land degradation from domestic livestock. But the Fremont Winema National Forest in Oregon finally responded to conservationists’ concerns (and […]

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Wildfire May Benefit Spotted Owls

On May 4, 2021 By

Northern Spotted Owl Photo US FWS

A couple of years ago, I attended a meeting of the Deschutes Collaborative. Spotted Owls and wildfire was the topic that day. The meeting was a classic example of how collaboratives selectively use science to justify more logging of our forests.

The two-hour meeting featured a […]

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Antidote For Rural Sprawl–Land Use Zoning

On April 1, 2021 By

Rural subdivision in Gallatin County, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner

Back when I was a student at the University of Montana in Missoula, I had a girlfriend who managed to rent a house adjacent to the Bitterroot Mountains near Hamilton. All of us were very jealous of her luck in obtaining a place […]

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The 99-Year Old Grandmother Argument–The Bias of Forestry Advocates

On March 30, 2021 By

 

To many foresters and others who advocate for “active forest management,” a fire that results in high tree mortality is considered evidence of an “unhealthy” forest. Photo George Wuerthner 

This past week I was invited to present my views on forest health and fire ecology to a group of Washington State […]

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Domestic Sheep Threaten Wild Bighorns

On March 29, 2021 By

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Ram. Photo George Wuerthner

Bighorn sheep acquired their name for the large circular horns of the mature rams. They are strongly associated with mountain terrain, particularly steep hills and cliffs, which protect them against predators. They graze upon grasses and other plants. In general, bighorns are associated with […]

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Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act Introduced

On March 10, 2021 By

The Gallatin Range south of Bozeman is one of the many wildlands that would receive wilderness designation in NREPA. Photo George Wuerthner

On March 10th, Representative Maloney of New York reintroduced the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) legislation into Congress. NREPA is visionary. The legislation is big—it would protect 23 million […]

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Institutional Bias of Forestry School Research

On March 10, 2021 By

 

Foresters want to remove large old-growth fir trees greater than 21 inches from the Blue Mountain Ecosystems in the name of forest restoration. Photo George Wuerthner 

Institutional bias doesn’t just exist in race relationships. The Forest Service and Forestry Schools have been the handmaiden of the timber industry for so long […]

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The Active Forest Management Scam

On March 8, 2021 By

Previously logged and thinned forest that burned at high severity in the Jocko Lakes Fire, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner

There are daily news stories about the recent large wildfires in 2020. In nearly all of these media accounts, the large blazes are almost always attributed to a lack of active forest management. […]

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Malheur Collaborative Bent On Degrading Forest Ecosystems

On February 22, 2021 By

 

A recent article in the Blue Mountain Eagle Finding Common Ground on Active Forest Management quotes several people about restoring forest health.  None of these people have expertise in forest ecology, except James Johnson from the OSU forestry school. The irony is that all these people, including Johnson, ignore the science from other scientists […]

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Critique of The West Is Burning Documentary

On February 5, 2021 By

The wind-driven pattern of fire in the 1988 Yellowstone fires. Photo George Wuerthner

A new documentary titled The West Is Burning continues to promote a flawed narrative that large blazes are a consequence of “fire suppression” and “fuel build-up.”  Starting from this perspective, it promotes policies like thinning the forest and prescribed […]

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Quote

‎"At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour."

~ Edward Abbey