Oregon
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During the 1992 Presidential Election cycle, political advisor James Carvel devised a brief and successful mantra that helped Bill Clinton win the election: “It’s the economy, stupid.” A similar mantra could characterize all large wildfires in the United States: “It’s the wind, stupid.” Although numerous elements contribute to fire spread, including slope, topography, fuel type,…
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The Deschutes National Forest plans to ramp up prescribed burns across Central Oregon. However, the Forest Service exaggerates the presumed benefits of prescribed burning and ignores the problems. One of the most important issues is that most wildfires never encounter a fuel reduction, whether from thinning or prescribed burns. So, even if prescribed burns were…
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An article in the Oregon Capital Chronicle focuses on cultural and prescribed burning fuel reduction and how they can preclude large wildfires, such as the 127,000 acre Cedar Creek Fire on the Willamette National Forest. The Cedar Creek fire was a wind-driven blaze that occurred during severe drought. The only thing that brought the blaze…
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The 1.6 million acres Deschutes National Forest, Oregon is engaged in an active deforestation effort, all justified based on precluding or slowing wildfires. The Forest also suggests that the logging is “restoring” historical forest conditions. After the spotted owl controversy of the 1980s, the Forest Service lost its social license to log public forests to…
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Recently, Rep. Cliff Bentz discussed wolf management in a forum in Pendleton, Oregon. Bentz represents Oregon’s second district, which includes nearly all of eastern Oregon. During his presentation, Bentz is reported in an article in the East Oregonian to have made several misleading statements about wolves and their impact on game animals. For example, Bentz…
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Wolves successfully live in states or parts of other countries with far greater human populations than Colorado. Photo George Wuerthner A recent NPR radio story titled: “Is Colorado Too Crowded To Support Wolves” suggested that with 6 million residents, there wasn’t enough habitat to sustain wolves. I’ve been involved with wolf restoration since the 1980s,…
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Eagle Creek six years after the wildfire. Photo George Wuerthner In September 2017, the Eagle Creek Wildfire scorched 50,000 acres in the Columbia River Gorge east of Portland. Numerous media accounts suggested the blaze “destroyed,” “damaged,” and devastated the forest communities. Wildflowers are favored by wildfire. Photo George Wuerthner As one reporter suggested, the…
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The once gin clear Deschutes River near Bend, Oregon is now a pea-green or dirty blonde due to irrigation degradation of the river. Photo George Wuerthner This past week I hiked along the Upper Deschutes River. It was a pea-green color, or maybe you might say dirty blonde. Whatever adjective you like, the Upper Deschutes…
