Kurt Schrader
Figure 1. Very rare in Oregon, the fisher (Martes pennanti) has been the victim of trapping and habitat loss. It needs dense, mature forests with a deciduous component. Source: Bruce Hayward (first appeared in Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness [Timber Press 2004]).
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 MoreWhen 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 MoreElections matter, and the 2018 midterm election mattered a lot.
Read MoreSeveral 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 MoreCurrently, 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 MoreDespite its imperfections, the Wilderness Act is a wonderful law, worth defending against all attacks and attackers.
Read MoreAbstaining from mineral development offshore is the only way to protect the marine environment and the renewable resources that depend upon it.
Read MoreMany 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 MoreHowever, 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 MoreAt 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.
Read More![Figure 1. Very rare in Oregon, the fisher (Martes pennanti) has been the victim of trapping and habitat loss. It needs dense, mature forests with a deciduous component. Source: Bruce Hayward (first appeared in Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness [Timber Press 2004]).](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/573a143a746fb9ea3f1376e5/1623336465041-W3D0NPLFKZWHCR3VS8KI/12bFisher+copy.jpg)
