Currently viewing the tag: "Oregon"

The western slope of the Cascades contains some of the greatest concentrations of old-growth Douglas Fir forests in the United States. Photo George Wuerthner 

Some of the most spectacular forests of Douglas fir in the West are found on the west slope of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. Though heavily logged by […]

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Many foresters want to be able to cut large grand fir like the one in this photo. Photo George Wuerthner 

Recently  Jim Petersen expressed in a March 1, 2023 Chieftain commentary that the Blue Mountains region needs more “active” forest management in the form of logging to preclude tree mortality due […]

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In Bend in the fall, irrigators draw down of the Deschutes River to the point where fish and other wildlife die or are threatened GEORGE WUERTHNER JANUARY 27, 2023 5:50 AM      

 The Deschutes River narrows after irrigators draw off water in Bend. […]

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Old growth forests of Oregon store some of the greatest amounts of carbon in the United States. Photo George Wuerthner 

A new study, Strategic reserves in Oregon’s forests for biodiversity, water, and carbon to mitigate and adapt to climate change, reported in Frontiers in Forests and Global Climate Change, proposes setting […]

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The Deschutes River in Bend during the summer is downstream from irrigation removal of the water is little more than a creek.  Photo George Wuerthner 

In October, irrigators began the annual drawing down of the Deschutes River to the point where fish and other […]

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Dried-up bed of the Deschutes River upstream of Bend, Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner 

This past month, irrigators began the annual drawing down of the Deschutes River to the point where fish and other wildlife die or are threatened. Good people have tried to save fish stranded in pools of water. I […]

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Clearcuts along the McKenzie River corridor east of Eugene, Oregon did little to slow the Holiday Farm Fire. Photo George Wuerthner

The Holiday Farm Fire began on September 7, 2020. The fire charred 173,000 acres along the McKenzie River Valley in western Oregon’s Cascade Range, possibly due to a fallen power line. […]

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The Rogue River cuts through the coastal Siskiyou Mountains. Photo George Wuerthner 

Congressman Peter DeFazio (D) from Eugene, Oregon, has introduced into the House the Wild Rogue Conservation and Recreation Enhancement Act. It is a companion bill to earlier legislation in the Senator supported by Senators Wyden and Merkley.

Rogue […]

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One hears continuously that the Forest Service doesn’t clearcut anymore. Of course, what constitutes a clearcut is subject to interpretation. The following photos are all taken on the Deschutes NF in Oregon. These are “forest thinning” projects designed to reduce wildfires and “improve” forest health. How many trees do you need to leave behind so […]

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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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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