Posts in Old-Growth
New BLM Conservation Rule: A Step Forward for America's Wildlands and Wildlife, Yet Challenges Persist in Oregon

The Biden Administration has announced a federal rule for how the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) mission addresses the climate and biodiversity crises, attempting to re-balance BLM’s multi-use mandate for managing public lands, which for decades has favored resource extraction over any other use.

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What’s Up with the Medford BLM & Old-Growth Logging?

The Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continues to propose timber sales and contend they are retaining (rather than logging) old-growth, and conservation organizations and the BLM’s neighbors will argue that the BLM is in fact logging old-growth. So, who is right and what’s behind the conflicting claims?

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Going to court against BLM's IVM and Late Mungers

Do you remember the BLM's Integrated Vegetation Management plan to log old-growth Late Successional Reserves like those located in the Late Mungers timber sale near Williams? After commenting, public meetings, field checking, and trying everything we could think of to get BLM to retain these old-growth forests, we finally will have our day in court, and you are invited to join us.

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Barred owls may doom old-growth ecosystems

Serious barred owl encroachment on northern spotted owl habitat has led the US Fish and Wildlife Service to propose a management plan to right the dynamic. Read more about the need for the plan and what the implications could be if the situation is not addressed.

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A Long Time Coming: Forest Service Begins Update of the Northwest Forest Plan

The Northwest Forest Plan is the largest, truly science-based forest and ecosystem management plan in the country, affecting 19 million acres of public lands across western Washington, Oregon, and northern California, and it’s getting an update. Learn more here.

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Update on the Poor Windy Old-Growth Timber Sale

The Medford District BLM Poor Windy Timber Sale allows logging on more than 15,000 acres, including cutting down 4,573 acres of mature and old-growth trees.

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The Public Comment Process: Tips & How-Tos

Federal agencies such as the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are legally required to consider public opinion. When you or your community join the decision-making process through contributing substantive public comments, you have the opportunity to influence the actions of the agency involved. Learn how to make comments on federal projects in this blog.

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Imperiled species highlight: The northern goshawk

The northern goshawk is an avian species whose population directly relies on the extent of the presence mature and old-growth forests and has been on the decline alongside mature and old-growth forests. The species is currently not listed under the ESA. Read more about the goshawk here.

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What is in the new inventory of mature and old-growth forests?

The US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the first ever national inventory of mature and old-growth forests. Want to know what this all means for the protection of forests in the Pacific Northwest?

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“Integrated Vegetation Management” on Medford District BLM Forestlands: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Some timber advocates within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) simply cannot abide the idea that there are old-growth forests designated as protected on public lands, so they’ve designed a new program called “Integrated Vegetation Management” to target Late Successional Reserves for logging. Learn more about the IVM project in this blog.

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Oregon’s Untapped Climate Solution

We need to protect Oregon lands from climate extremes and harness their potential as a climate solution. The Senate Committee on Natural Resources has scheduled a hearing on SB 530, common-sense legislation that will help increase carbon sequestration on our forests, agricultural lands, and wetlands and improve the resilience of our water, wildlife, and communities. Learn more about SB 530 and action you can take for natural climate solutions in this blog.

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Northwest Forest Plan: Then and Now

The Forest Service is currently in the beginning phases of updating the Northwest Forest Plan, the first large-scale, bioregional forest plan incorporating conservation biology. We will be working with partners to ensure an updated plan reflects the current issues our forests face in the era of climate change. Read our Climate Program’s latest blog post about these critically important NFP updates. 

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BLM's "Bear Grub" Timber Sale Is Back—Wellington Wildlands Threatened Again

The Bear Grub timber sale is back, and rather than working with the public to reduce the impacts of the proposed "group selection" logging on wildlife, watersheds and wildlands, the BLM is once again targeting ancient forests in the "harvest land base" for "group selection. Take action today to let the BLM know you oppose the Bear Grub timber sale!

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Groundtruthing 101 with KS Wild’s ForestWatch Program

What is groundtruthing? How does it make a difference in the federal agencies’ logging plans? How can you get involved to ensure proper land management of your public lands? Read on to find out!

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KS Wild Forest Defenders Take Action for Old-Growth

This October, KS Wild hosted our first ever Forest Defender Training Series to help community members learn how to advocate for our forests and take action to protect them through writing letters, LTEs, taking action on social media, and more.

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The Importance of Prescribed Burning

Prescribed fire can have many benefits. It can reduce fine fuels, brush and small trees and reduce subsequent fire severity. It can help forests become more resilient in the face of climate change. Read more about prescribed fire policy at this KS Wild Blog Post .

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What is an Old-Growth Forest?

Old-growth forests are dominated by ancient trees and have been shaped by natural processes over the course of hundreds of years. There are several types of old-growth forests throughout the Pacific Northwest marked by dynamic ecosystems supporting biodiversity that relies on the unique environment created only in these ancient forests. Learn more about what features make an old-growth forest.

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Medford BLM Poised to Log Old-Growth Reserves

"Integrated Vegetation Management for Resilient Lands" (IVM) sure sounds great doesn't it? Unfortunately, those flowery words are agency-speak for logging old-growth forest reserves down to 30% canopy cover and creating four-acre mini-clearcuts across the landscape in southwestern Oregon.

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