Private Lands
Old-growth forests in the American East have been so far gone for so long in the public consciousness that Big Timber (from private corporations to government foresters) has conned conservationists and buffaloed biologists into believing that massive and repeated logging is the only salvation of “wildlife.”
Read MoreAs public lands conservationists continue their fight to save the last of the mature and old-growth forests for the benefit of this and future generations, we must not forget the preforests.
Read MoreWhile the Oregon Private Forest Accords is a grand bargain with a great net gain for the conservation of Oregon forestlands, it is not a complete one. A comparable grand bargain is needed for terrestrial species conservation on Oregon’s private timberlands. Regulation of private land is inadequate to provide optimal public benefits. More private timberland should be reconverted to public forestland.
Read MoreThe OPFA—an agreement between Oregon private timberland interests and conservation and fishing interests to convince the Oregon Legislative Assembly to rewrite the Oregon Forest Practices Act in the 2022 short session—is epic. If legislators agree, conservation requirements on the state’s private timberlands will be strengthened significantly.
Read MoreUnfortunately, “America the Beautiful” represents a gross dereliction of the duty of the Biden administration to future generations.
Read MoreThe conservation community must now also contend with an emerging existential threat to the nation’s public lands posed by fringe groups of left-wing crazies who seek to tribalize public lands.
Read MoreFigure 1. There is a difference between conventional (business as usual) forestry and that kind of forestry practiced on a Forest Stewardship Council-certified forestland (see below). Source: Forest Stewardship Council.
When one has to consume tree flesh, more commonly known as wood, it’s best to use wood certified as coming from a responsibly managed forest. However, one person’s definition of responsibleis another person’s nightmare. Whether forest management is a nightmare or a dream depends on both the reference point one starts with and who owns the land.
Read MoreGrasslands get little respect. So easily are they converted to agriculture that grasslands are the least protected biome on Earth.
Read MoreWolves of the Minam Pack. Source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) recently issued its annual report on Oregon wolves. It contains great, good, bad, ugly and troubling news.
Read MoreIf one is going to live in or near a forest, one assumes a higher risk of fire. The best way to minimize that risk is to seriously and continually create and maintain defensible space. It’s not cheap. If it were, it would have been done already.
Read MoreSecretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and I don’t agree on most public lands issues, including greater sage-grouse, national monuments, fossil fuel energy exploitation, and endangered species to name a few. But we do agree on at least one matter: Solar panels don’t belong on public lands.... While photovoltaic panels can happily and profitably live on roofs in town, bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, and sage-grouse cannot.
Read MoreIn 1927, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes noted, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” The timber-addicted counties need to become more civilized.
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