Highlights from our year of keeping the Northwest wild. Both nationally and locally, conservation faced challenges in 2018. Yet, with our strategic and collaborative approach, we made important progress protecting, connecting and restoring wildlife and wildlands from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies. From reintroducing fishers and saving Blanchard Mountain to restoring critical … Continued
Wildlife protections and healthy rural communities can coexist. BY DAVE WERNTZ, SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION DIRECTOR, AND PAULA SWEDEEN, POLICY DIRECTOR Marbled murrelets, small, plump fast-flying seabirds that nest in old forests along coastal areas, are declining rapidly. Unlike other seabirds, they raise their young on the wide, mossy branches of old trees, flying up to … Continued
A new study concludes that young plantation forests managed by industrial owners experienced higher severity fire than did nearby public forests. By GEORGE Wooten, Conservation Associate, Okanogan Forest Field Staff That is the conclusion of post-fire research on the 2013 Douglas Complex Fires in Oregon that burned over 48,000 acres, of which about half is … Continued
By Jay Kehne, Sagelands Program Lead based in Omak I was honored to join the Methow Headwaters Campaign and several other local citizens on a recent trip to Washington, D.C. to show the broad local support for the Methow Headwaters Protection Act and an administrative mineral withdrawal by federal agencies, both of which would withdraw mining … Continued
Our Executive Director Mitch’s remarks at our 2018 Hope for a Wild Future Auction & Dinner. If you weren’t able to join us at the auction this year, you can always support our work through an online donation! By Mitch Friedman, Founder and Executive Director Every year I look forward to this event, when so … Continued
Finding common-ground on the Mission Project in north-central Washington By George Wooten, Conservation Associate and Okanogan Forest Field Staff In the Methow Valley, a forest project is moving ahead with conservation guidelines, benefits for both forest health and local economies, and our support thanks to common-ground reached through collaboration. My personal involvement in the landscape … Continued
An update on the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition from our Forest Field Program. BY TIANA LUKE, CONSERVATION ASSOCIATE and COLVILLE FOREST FIELD STAFF While divisiveness grows rampant in many parts of the world, there’s still a place in the northeastern corner of Washington state where those of different viewpoints work together to promote each other’s … Continued
A report from Mitch after his trip to D.C. advocating for national forests, wildfire funding and roadless areas. Wednesday 3/21 Update: Credible reports indicate that Congressional leaders reached a deal early Wednesday morning on a wildfire funding fix. It appears to not include the feared riders related to Alaska or roadless areas, but we await further … Continued
By Mitch Friedman, Executive Director “Dad, is it true that Blanchard Mountain might be logged?” It hurt to hear those words from my daughter almost two years ago, reflecting the buzz among her high school friends and so many in Northwest Washington who love and often visit the western Skagit County jewel that is Blanchard … Continued
Through the new Washington Public Lands Defense Network and partnerships with national allies, we’re standing strong to protect public lands. By Heather Hutchison, Public Lands Defense Organizer When the Trump Administration and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke opened a “review” of more than two dozen national monuments, including Washington’s Hanford Reach, Americans were shocked. … Continued