From the open publishing newswire: Public lands are under attack all across the west, but perhaps one of the greatest threats to public ownership is right here in Oregon. The State Land Board appears to be moving closer to privatizing the Elliott State Forest, which means advocates of public lands need to get organized! Come learn about the wide array of threats to public lands and what we can do to help save the Elliott State Forest:

Monthly Wild Ones Meeting
"Public Lands and the Elliott"
6:30pm - 8:30pm, April 11, 2017

Base Camp Brewing (930 SE Oak St, Portland)
RSVP HERE:  http://org.salsalabs.com/o/1780/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=99676

From the open publishing newswire: OCT, 01 Thursday
Public Land Use Hearing.

At 9:30am at the Clackamas County Development Services Building Auditorium. located at: 150 Beavercreek Rd Oregon City 97045

This is the big one- the public hearing regarding the proposal from Lennar to change the zoning from R-10 to R-8. Lennar has stated that if they don't get the zone change, they will not purchase the property. Let's pack that place and show the county and the hearings officer that we DO NOT want this!

Lennar Corp wants to build a 72 home development on the site of an Old historic Church Campgrounds in the heart of Jennings Lodge, Oregon. This would require the cutting of at least 326 BIG Douglas fir trees [...]

(Facebook page)  https://www.facebook.com/Friends-of-Jennings-Lodge-1555128391388446/timeline/

From the open publishing newswire: To help publicize the proposed LNG pipeline in SW Oregon, the Cascadia Forest Defenders and are doing a publicity float starting at where the pipeline is proposed to cross the South Umpqua River.
Cascadia Forest Defenders launches "Float the Pipe", a floating protest of the Pacific Connector LNG pipeline, at the precise location the pipe would cross the South Umpqua river.

With the fight against the LNG pipeline and export terminal heating up in Oregon, CFD has decided to lead a flotilla of activists down a threatenend stretch of the South Umpqua. They will stretch a banner across the point where the pipeline would be bored underneath the river, then set off on their 12 mile, 2 day float through the waters that would flow downstream of the pipe. They will document the watershed they see along the way.

What: Press conference at the launch of Float the Pipe

Who: Cascadia Forest Defenders and friends

When: Friday, June 19 at 10am

Where: The proposed location that the pipeline would cross underneath the South Umpqua river. Just south of the Rivers West South Umpqua campground, 1-5 exit #112, on the east side of I-5. We will be putting boats in the water on Booth Ranch Rd. Myrtle, OR 97457

Why: To protest the Pacific Connector Pipeline and Jordan Cove energy terminal and to get to know a threatened section of the South Umpqua river.

From the open publishing newswire: Federal Government Releases Environmental Activist Eric McDavid From Prison

 http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2015/01/428910.shtml

On Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, United States District Judge Morrison C. England granted a joint request by defense attorneys and the Dept. of Justice and ordered Eric McDavid released from prison with time served, because the government withheld documents from the defense at trial. [...] - Earth First! Newswire 1/8/15

From the open publishing newswire: The Olympic National Forest (and even greater areas of eastern Washington) are slated to be converted to be used as the "Pacific Northwest Electronic Warfare Range" by the US Navy. The deadline to do something to save this precious fragile place is Oct. 10th. This is a big, permanent, expanding, military project that will change the Peninsula forever. The Forest Service can still say No.

Please go to the link (US Forest Service) in the forwarded message below from nbeety and send a comment objecting. People were not informed the way they should have been, and most locals are still unaware of this. We should demand a much longer comment period and public forums for local inhabitants of the areas, including Native American reservations.

The "emitters" the Navy wants to deploy, some mobile and some permanent, surround the Quinalt Indian reservation and impinge on other Native American land.

In order to find inspiration for comment writing, I went through all the public comments that had been posted as of 10/5 at the Forest Service site (see links below) . This is very laborious and time-consuming, so in order to save others that trouble, I put a collection of them into one text file that you can see at
 http://soula.org/files/OlympicForestComments.txt

DEMAND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD EXTENSION! At least 30 more days. People in eastern Washington received zero notice, and those on the Peninsula had a piece of paper stuck on the post office window for a week or two.

To ask for extension, write to Greg Wahl at  gtwahl@fs.fed.us or call (360) 956-2375.

Always mention negative effect on TOURISM!
--Navy did its own Environmental Assessment, how sound is that? [...]

From the open publishing newswire: Senator Wyden is proposing to dramatically increase logging on 2.6 million acres of Oregon's BLM O & C lands across Western Oregon. One local group is exposing this scheme to Oregonians via a commercial billboard on Interstate 5 in Eugene, Oregon.
Please consider sending this image to Senator Wyden's offices once a week, once a month, or whenever you have a few moments to spare.

U.S. Senator Wyden in an attempt to appease the wealthy timber barons of Oregon and big timber dependent local governments in Lane, Douglas, Jackson, and other O & C counties, is publicly proposing to introduce legislation that would dramatically increase native forest and clear-cut logging by adopting the "Norm Johnson and Jerry Franklin Pilot Projects" as his preferred BLM management regime across 2.6 million acres of publicly owned BLM O & C forest lands.

The "Norm Johnson and Jerry Franklin Pilot Projects" are regeneration harvests or a clear-cut. Their Orwellian term used to describe these clear-cuts is "variable retention harvest" or "VRH". Several Norm and Jerry Show Projects have already been auctioned and awarded to Oregon timber barons. To View pictures of a logged Norm and Jerry Pilot Project "Buck Rising" from May 2013 go to  https://picasaweb.google.com/112037980213765028264/BuckRisingUnits1And2Cut#5920273007004695746

There are several more "Norm and Jerry Projects" in the works for the Eugene and Salem BLM Districts.

If you want to help keep this billboard on I-5 or help out any other way, contact us.  http://https://sites.google.com/site/ecosytemadvocates/Home/blm

From the open publishing newswire: PORTLAND, Ore. Oct. 1, 2013 ?Holding dozens of banners and signs opposing clearcutting, more than 200 people gathered today outside the office of Sen. Ron Wyden at Portland's Holladay Park for an hour-long rally in support of policies that include responsible management of Oregon's publically owned forests.

Rally to Save Our Public Lands

"It is a false choice to suggest that clearcut logging is needed for the health of rural economies," said Randi Spivak with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the rally's organizers. "In fact, this approach will harm sustainable economies that depend on clean water, healthy fisheries and intact forests, The message sent to Senator Wyden today was clear: Don't clearcut our children's future."

Reps. Peter DeFazio (D.-Ore.), Kurt Schrader (D.-Ore.) and Greg Walden (R.-Ore.) have proposed to effectively privatize 1.5 million acres of public land in western Oregon known as the "O&C" lands, turning it over to a private logging "trust" to be managed under the Oregon Forest Practices Act, where clearcutting is rampant. Sen. Wyden is currently developing his own plan for expanded logging of public lands in the western part of the state. [...]

From the open publishing newswire: Jennifer and Link Phillippi, owners of the now shuttered Rough and Ready Mill in Cave Junction Oregon and Perpetua Forest Industries, seem intent on clear-cutting and herbicide spraying as much of their 70,000+ acres of land holdings in southwest Oregon as fast as possible. In the upper Illinois River valley alone there is over 1,000 acres of clear-cuts scheduled to be sprayed by Jennifer and Link Phillippi within the next 30 to 60 days that will poison ESA listed juvenile Coho salmon and rural residents.

Oregon Department of Forestry data shows that more than 125,000 acres of industrial forest lands will or have been be sprayed with herbicide poisons this year alone.


The owners of Rough & Ready Mill and Perpetua Forest Industries, Jennifer and Link Phillippi, of Josephine County Are Spraying Herbicides that Jeopardize ESA Listed Coho Salmon & Southern Oregon Families.

News: As of Today, Saturday October 5th, Perpetua sprayed poisons via helicopter in the headwaters of Draper Creek where thousands of baby Coho have barely survived the summer. Rain is expected sometime this weekend. We hope that Draper Creek is flowing now (it was not before the rain) and most of the juvenile Coho have escaped being poisoned.

A project of the League of Wilderness Defenders

From the open publishing newswire: Oregon's Department of State Lands (DSL) has announced a new proposal to sell 2,700 acres of the Elliott State Forest, to be voted on at a State Land Board meeting in December. DSL will accept comments on the proposal until September 3rd.

"In a time when the State Land Board should be taking responsibility for the mismanagement of the Elliott State Forest, they are going over the heads of the public and the courts and finding ways to manage our public lands for profit instead of conservation," says Erin Grady, an activist with Cascadia Forest Defenders.

With only two weeks left in the comment period, they have not released any details on age of stand, value of timber or potential environmental impact if these parcels are sold. "They are avoiding public process as much as possible with this decision." says Grady.

Take action! Contact Clara Taylor- clara.taylor@state.or.us at Oregon's Department of State Lands and demand transparency on the issue of Elliott land privatization. Let her know that our ancient forests are not for sale!

From the open publishing newswire: Comrades, Allies, Friends! For almost three months, Cascadia Forest Defenders have been tree sitting and blockading the White Castle Timber sale - against the destruction of the remaining old forests and for the right of all living things to exist. We intend to stay until is White Castle is once more a forest and no longer a timber sale and will continue to maintain our blockades while pressuring the powers that be to back off.

We are calling out for more blockaders, tree sitters, dreamers, the malcontent, all folks of a diversity of skill sets and abilities to come join us.

As the rain begins to fall to quench the fires, we are asking you to help us do the opposite. Come out and join us. New to this whole thing? We will train you up. An old hand? Love to get your input and benefit from your experience. Whether you can only stay for a week or until the last mill is shut down, all are welcome.

This is a front in the battle for all living things!

Cascadia Forest Defenders

From the open publishing newswire:
Join Cascadia Forest Defenders and owl surveyor Nancy Duncan this Saturday, August 10th for a owl surveying how-to! Arriving at the White Castle Timber Sale at 8pm we will be learning how to hoot, call and identify different types of owls until 11PM. We will use this knowledge to see what sort of owl activity there is in the timber sale and report the findings. This is a rare opportunity to learn from professionals a skill that can be utilized anywhere there are owls and timber sales to be thwarted.

We will be meeting at the parking lot across from the Dairy Queen in Myrtle Creek and carpooling out to the timber sale. Rendevzous is at 7PM. The following morning we will be doing a followup on the prior nights surveys, so come prepared to camp out or be ready to get back to Myrtle Creek around midnight. There is overnight parking.

Previous Features: Tree-Sit News: White Castle Temporary Area Closure | White Castle Tree-Sit: A Conversation in the Canopy | Tree sit in Roseburg BLM : No more cuts on O and C Lands !

From the open publishing newswire: Join herbalist Missy Rohs and naturalist Candace Larson for a hike on Mt. Hood's eastern flanks. We'll visit the recently revived Polallie Cooper timber sale--one of a series of large-scale logging proposals currently planned for Mt. Hood's north side--and we'll see firsthand why cutting down our recovering forests threatens watershed health, wildlife corridors and scenic values throughout this popular recreation corridor. We'll also hike a section of the beautiful Tilly Jane trail, learn about the ecological, edible and medicinal uses of the area's local plants, and talk about what you can do to help protect Mt. Hood National Forest.

We'll also hike a section of the beautiful Tilly Jane trail, learn about the ecological, edible and medicinal uses of the area's local plants, and talk about what you can do to help protect Mt. Hood National Forest.

Date: Sunday, Aug 11th at 9:00 am to at 6:00 pm

Please be prepared for a steep hike, with some portions off trail Bring lunch, water, and sturdy boots. The weather is very unpredictable this time of year, so don't forget extra layers of clothes and water resistant gear. To protect off-trail resources, we ask that you leave your dog at home. Also please note that we will be travelling a further afield this month, so expect to be back in Portland at 6pm.

From the open publishing newswire: The Roseburg Bureau of Land Management has proposed putting up a road closure for the 15 miles of road surrounding the White Castle Timber Sale. This is directly targeted at making it more difficult for us to access and defend this land.

We have thirty days to comment on this proposed closure and we need support! We might be able to get this closure cancelled, or better yet this screwy timber sale dropped with enough public pressure. Please contact the Roseburg BLM and tell them they have no right to destroy native forests much less restrict access to it's defenders.
White Castle Temp Area Closure Environmental Assessment (pdf)

Comments can be sent to:
Steven Lydick
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
Roseburg District Office
777 NW Garden Valley Blvd.
Roseburg, Oregon 97470
(541) 464-3211
sdlydick@blm.gov

You can also contact the Roseburg BLM office directly at:
541-440-4930
BLM_OR_RB_Mail@blm.gov