Forest Service Nixes Revised Blue Mountains Forest Plans
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Wow.
The revised Blue Mountain Forest Plans were bad news for the wild in the Greater Hells Canyon Region. (Refresh your memory why.) The plans were legally vulnerable, failing to include the required protections for wildlife, fragile habitats, and ancient forest. Still, we were surprised to learn that the Forest Service had decided to pull the plug on this 15 year process and start over. What a turn of events!
Greater Hells Canyon Council led the charge for the conservation community in objecting to the Blue Mountain Forest Plans, organizing and submitting a joint objection with fellow non-profits that represent hundreds of thousands of members in sum. We will of course be engaging in the revamped process, advocating for the wild, and keeping you apprised on how the new (new) Blue Mountain Forest Plans might affect the wild plants, animals, and clean waters of our mission area. Thank you to everyone who engaged in the public process by commenting and objecting. These plans being withdrawn does not necessarily mean a better outcome for our values in our mission area. We will need to remain vigilant, and to continue to engage in this important process over the coming years. As board member Brock Evans has been known to say, "Endless pressure, endlessly applied." Read the local paper's take here.
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Kathleen Dean Moore to Encourage Earth's Weary Lovers
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On June 1st at our Hellraiser event, guest speaker Kathleen Dean Moore will be presenting Encouragement for Earth's Weary Lovers. Says Moore of her talk: "We may be tired, we may be discouraged, but the assaults on a just and sustainable planet keep coming. In this keynote, we will collect our thoughts, confront our dismay, gather our courage, summon our communities, and reclaim our laughter and joy for the work ahead. Our fury may bring us to the task, but it’s our love for the world that will empower our voices in its defense." We can't wait to hear Moore. If you'd like to hear her too, hurry up and register for Hellraiser today!
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[Editor's note: This Field Notes is filled with excellent links worth checking out.] Field Notes, 3/13/19: Connecting for Climate Stefanie Krantz, Climate Adaptation Planner for the Nez Perce Tribe, will never try to convince you that climate change is real. Instead, she’ll tell you what the Tribal membership is already seeing in the landscape they’ve known intimately for thousands of years: salmon eggs scoured out of creeks by floods; ancient camas-collecting meadows gone dry; wildfire smoke settling in Lapwai earlier and earlier each year. Her job is not to explain the science of climate change. Her job is to assess the Tribe’s vulnerability to it and then draw up a roadmap for adaptation. “I’ll talk to anyone about climate change,” she says. The trick is to start the conversation five steps beyond the tired soundbites. Begin with: what are we going to do? I had the pleasure of traveling with Stefanie last week to Sandpoint, Idaho for a wildlife connectivity conference put on by Yellowstone to Yukon, one of GHCC’s partner organizations. (Continue reading on the blog.)
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We were very sad to learn of the recent passing of Larry McLaud. Larry worked for our organization as the Ecosystem Conservation Coordinator from 2005 - 2008, and helped protect special places all over the northwest. You can read his obituary and find details on the Celebration of Life Service here. Thank you Larry for all that you did for the Greater Hells Canyon Region!
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GHCC works to connect, protect, and restore the diverse and beautiful Greater Hells Canyon Region its native species. Your support makes our work possible. Thank you! Darilyn Parry Brown, Executive Director
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Upcoming Events
- June 1: Hellraiser 2019, Portland OR
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Interesting Bits
- Ready for a tidbit you'll wish you could unhear? Fossil fuel extraction on public lands accounts for nearly one quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Really. "Between 2005 and 2014, an average of 23.7 percent of American carbon dioxide emissions came from energy produced on public lands. That includes the emissions generated by drilling, mining, transporting and refining fuel before it’s burned."
- Are you fed up with our inaction on climate change? So are the kids. And we're not at all sure they're going to be alright. Here's a video and climate activist worth watching. - Will youth activism be what finally brings policy change on climate change and beyond? Here are some of the young heros of 2018 fighting for the future.
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Thank you to the Wilburforce foundations for supporting our conservation work!
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GHCC Wishlist
We're always looking for a few things. Your donation is tax deductible, and helps us save time and money. Thank you!
- 1st class stamps
- Postcard stamps
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