12,000 Oregonians: “Protect Crater Lake Wilderness from Clear Cuts”

Big public response to the USFS proposal .... it will be interesting to see how our senators respond ..... still time for your comments (see end of release)

12,000 Oregonians: “Protect Crater Lake Wilderness from Clear Cuts”

US Senators urged to create longterm protection for Oregon’s national park

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

PORTLAND, OR—Old growth forest around Oregon’s only national park could be on the chopping block next month. That’s why statewide advocacy group Environment Oregon delivered 12,000 petitions to US Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today in support of a proposal to designate nearly half-a-million acres in and around Crater Lake National Park as a federal Wilderness area.

The delivery coincides with the public comment period for the proposed Bybee Timber Sale, a  logging project that would effectively clear cut old growth forest on the edge of Oregon’s only National Park.

“We can’t let logging companies trample pristine wilderness and cause irreparable harm to Crater Lake’s delicate ecosystem just for short term profits,” said Charlie Fisher, Environment Oregon Field Organizer, “Oregonians agree: our leaders should protect this treasured place from ongoing threats.”

Crater Lake and the old growth forests surrounding it are home to some of Oregon’s most iconic species like Roosevelt elk, black bears, and bald eagles. The proposed wilderness area also contains the headwaters of the Rogue, Umpqua, and Deschutes rivers. If the Bybee Timber Sale goes forward, logging companies will  destroy critical wildlife habitat, logging over 3,600 acres and bulldozing  12 miles of new roads in “wilderness quality” forest. This proposal, located in the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest, specifically threatens the headwaters to the Rogue River—a place important to spawning salmon.

Wilderness designation—which requires Congress to pass a bill—would protect the area from reckless proposals like Bybee.

“Oregonians need to know that they can comment on this bad proposal now,” Fisher said. “And longterm, we want our leaders in Congress to know wilderness protection will keep this special area safe for future generations.”

The delivery today was the kickoff of a campaign by Environment Oregon, Oregon Wild, KS Wild, and other groups to deliver thousands of public comments in opposition to the National Forest Service proposal .

The public can submit comment on the “Bybee Vegetation Management Project” until February 28, 2013 here: comments-pacificnorthwest-rogueriver-highcascades@fs.fed.us , or visit Environment Oregon's action center here.

How Climate Change Could Wipe Out the Western Forests

An interesting article published online at The Atlantic and reported by Sarah Garland is a staff writer at The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Some excerpts

"By mid-century, it's hard to see how the current dominant trees are going to be able to continue to grow in these sites. The climate will have changed too much."

   "Like the hurricane season, statistics suggest the burn season is becoming longer and more severe. A recentstudy of fires on U.S. Forest Service land by Climate Central, a nonprofit research group that reports on the impacts of global warming, found "the first wildfires of the year are starting earlier and the last fires of the year are starting later, making typical fire years 75 days longer now than they were 40 years ago." Compared to the 1970s, the number of fires covering more than 10,000 acres has increased sevenfold. At the same time, a study published in the science journal Nature Climate Change in September predicted that by the 2050s, forests will experience the worst droughts in 1,000 years.
   "The result will likely be more fires, but also more beetles, and more trees that just can't stand the heat. Soon, the landscape of the American West may be unrecognizable. In some cases, trees will regrow, although probably in sparser patches. Some may be replaced by different species. But especially in drier, hotter areas like New Mexico and Arizona, the forests are on course to disappear altogether."

link http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/01/how-climate-change-could-wipe-out-the-western-forests/267457/

Second Annual Mountain Boomer Day On February 2nd

Second Annual Mountain Boomer Day On February 2nd

Brightwood, OR.  The Second Annual Mountain Boomer Day Celebration will occur on February 2, 2013 at Barlow Wayside Park .  The public is welcome to join in either of the 1.5 mile trail walks. Beginning at 9:30 a.m. a group doing light trail work will encounter Barlow or Belle Boomer. The second 1.5 mile walk will begin at 10:30 with no trail work. Celebrants expect to see our own Boomer or Mountain Beaver show up to see if his/her shadow is visible and thereby determine whether there will be six more weeks of winter.

“Some think this day is all about another kind of rodent made famous by Bill Murray in the movie Goundhog Day,” notes Mitch Williams, a Barlow Wayside Park mover and shaker. “In fact. February second began in England as ‘Hedgehog Day.’  Here we have Barlow Boomer and we so look forward to seeing him again.”

Mountain Beavers are also known as Boomers or Ground Bears or Poor Folks Guinea Pigs. The Mountain Beaver doesn't actually belong to the beaver family. It's considered to be a primitive rodent. In most cases Mountain Beavers have a brown fur, but in some cases they will be blackish or reddish. The tail is short. The weight generally ranges between 500 and 900 grams (18 to 32 oz). The length of a male Mountain Beaver is between 30 and 50 cm. 

They live in burrows that have specialized chambers for food. They usually eat ferns or other fleshy herbs. The Mountain Beaver breeding season happens during the first three months of the year and each litter has 2 or 3 newborns. Their lifespan is between 5 and 10 years.   For more information on Mountain Boomers, see http://viewfromcrutchersbench.blogspot.com/2011/04/mountain-beaver-or-boomers-or-ground.html

“Since February is breeding season for mountain boomers, we will be very lucky when Barlow makes his appearance,” explains Nancy Hegg of Brightwood, who knows and named our community’s own Barlow Boomer. “He might be joined by his beloved partner, Belle Boomer,” she continues.

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Also  folks that want to help on trail sprucing up, we encourage you to bring a garden (steel tined) rake!

 For more information about the park and directions, please visit http://www.mthoodmagazine.com/winter/68-recreation/102-jonesing-for-a-snow-free-hike

Viewing Mountain Beavers

Mountain beavers are abundant and active year-round, yet they are seldom observed due to their subterranean existence. Although active on and off throughout a 24 hour period, they are only occasionally seen wandering around on the ground or climbing in trees during daylight hours. They find the majority of their food and water within 150 feet of their burrows.
Mountain beavers have various calls; the most frequent is a chattering produced by gnashing the tips of the lower and upper front teeth. This indicates irritation and at close range is best heeded, because mountain beavers have sharp teeth and can be swift, vicious biters if cornered.

A mountain beaver's hind tracks are 1¾ inches long and ¾ inch wide. The front tracks are slightly shorter. (From Pandell and Stall, Animal Tracks of the Pacific Northwest.)

Source:  http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/mtn_beavers.html

For additional information, the journals of Lewis & Clark have a section on the mountain beavers.  To read their entries please go to this site   http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=1948

Can Oregon save American health care?

The Washington Post has a nice write up about the approach Oregon is taking to manage is health care costs for Medicaid recipients.  It is quite interesting and has great potential if care can be coordinated in lower cost settings and effective in outcomes.  

If you have interest in Oregon's plan of coordinating care in the state's 15 regions, you may want to read this article:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/18/can-oregon-save-american-health-care/

Florida land-use case at Supreme Court may have national impact

An interesting Supreme Court case is pending arguments soon.  Below is an excerpt from an article:

"The National Association of Home Builders and conservative allies have lined up with the Koontz family. They want the court to rule that a government agency that refuses a land-use permit because the property owner declines to pay certain fees has essentially taken the property. This would compel agencies to more strictly justify their permit requirements.

From the opposite side, California and 18 other states are urging the court not to impede the widespread use of fees by characterizing them as a taking.

“Impact fees on developments are used by a large percentage of localities across the nation,” notes the states’ legal brief, chiefly authored by California Supervising Deputy Attorney General Daniel L. Siegel, adding that “to offset harm caused by proposed projects, state and local governments widely condition approvals on mitigation, often in the form of mitigation fees.”"

source:  http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/01/11/2599837/florida-land-use-case-at-supreme.html

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/01/11/2599837/florida-land-use-case-at-supreme.html#storylink=cpy

Where are the birds?

Varied thrush

Varied Towhee

Dark-eyed Junco

Mountain Chickadee

It's in the middle of winter and we have a spot or two of snow.  The bird feeders are full of luscious black sunflower seeds.  About two weeks ago I filled the feeders.  Our neighbor squirrel came over, and not able to get to the seeds, provided the longest harangue I ever heard in our forest.  But ever since that announcement or complaint, nary a bird.

The above pictures show the typical birds we were seeing every day only a little while ago.  Photos courtesy of http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

upcoming Wyden Metro Area (Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas) Town Halls

Esteemed leaders,

Recognizing that I’m getting this to you very late in the game (for which I apologize in advance), I’d like to alert you to Senator Ron Wyden’s upcoming metro-area Town Halls.

This Thursday, Senator Wyden will host his Washington County Town Hall at 1:15PM at Tualatin High School (details below).

This Sunday, January 13^th, the Senator will host his Multnomah County town hall at the Multnomah Arts Center in Multnomah Village at 1:30PM.

And next Wednesday, January 16th at 9:30AM, the Senator will visit Estacada High School for his Clackamas County Town Hall.

Should you, your constituents or members of any organizations you represent have an interest in attending, the Senator would enjoy and appreciate yours and their presence.

Thanks again for forgiving the last minute notification.

I look forward to seeing you in the near future, if not at one of the town halls.

Sincerely,

Jay Ward

Jay Ward

Director of Business Outreach

U. S. Senator Ron Wyden

911 NE 11th Ave.

Suite 630

Portland, OR

97232

Status of Rainforest Conservation Plan

Environmentalists, forest industry struggle to complete Great Bear Rainforest conservation plan

 

The forest industry is not moving quickly enough to achieve ecological and economic goals in the world’s largest temperate rainforest, environmental coalition says
At issue, said Valerie Langer, spokeswoman for the three environmental groups working with industry to protect the globally-significant rainforest, is an inability to reach the scientifically agreed-upon target of preserving 70 per cent of the rainforest’s old-growth while maintaining the second agreed-upon target: a timber harvest of 2.7 million cubic metres of logs a year.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Environmentalists+forest+industry+struggle+complete+Great+Bear/7776998/story.html#ixzz2H3s0eKpW

The goal is to go from the maintenance of 50% to 70% old growth trees while reaching a targeted lumber harvest that is both sustainable for the timber industry as well as the forest.  Meanwhile, the industry continues to operate under the less sustainable paradigm.  It will be interesting to see how this effort evolves

Is Mount Hood too white?

Well, actually the referenced article has a different title:

Is Mount Rainier too white?

Preserving our natural heritage will require engaging a larger share of the population in outdoor activities. The National Parks won't survive on support from white people with white hair

This is the start of an interesting piece posted on Crosscuts  http://crosscut.com/ , out of Seattle.  There are interesting facts and thought provoking questions in the article http://crosscut.com/2013/01/02/mossback/112253/mount-rainier-too-white/

Several excerpts:

 "The growing diversity in the country is a wake-up call to park and forest managers who are dealing with the reality that the folks who form the core of national park visitors are a shrinking slice of the population." 

"The awareness of the wilderness' "white problem" is known, not just at the policy levels of the National Park Service, but also at the retail level. Seattle's REI has hired Laura Swapp to help the company remain relevant in a more diverse world, both with employees and customers."