Oregon
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Sutton Mountain proposed National Monument lies along the John Day River in Central Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner Thus far in his administration, President Biden has been sparing in his use of his executive authority to create national monuments. Even with his recent designation of the Avi Kwa Ame NM in Nevada and Castner Range in…
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The western slope of the Cascades contains some of the greatest concentrations of old-growth Douglas Fir forests in the United States. Photo George Wuerthner Some of the most spectacular forests of Douglas fir in the West are found on the west slope of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. Though heavily logged by the timber industry…
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Many foresters want to be able to cut large grand fir like the one in this photo. Photo George Wuerthner Recently Jim Petersen expressed in a March 1, 2023 Chieftain commentary that the Blue Mountains region needs more “active” forest management in the form of logging to preclude tree mortality due to drought, insects, disease…
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In Bend in the fall, irrigators draw down of the Deschutes River to the point where fish and other wildlife die or are threatened GEORGE WUERTHNER JANUARY 27, 2023 5:50 AM The Deschutes River narrows after irrigators draw off water in Bend. (Courtesy of George Wuerthner) Many of Oregon’s rivers are drained every summer to…
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Old growth forests of Oregon store some of the greatest amounts of carbon in the United States. Photo George Wuerthner A new study, Strategic reserves in Oregon’s forests for biodiversity, water, and carbon to mitigate and adapt to climate change, reported in Frontiers in Forests and Global Climate Change, proposes setting aside a strategic forest…
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The Deschutes River in Bend during the summer is downstream from irrigation removal of the water is little more than a creek. Photo George Wuerthner In October, irrigators began the annual drawing down of the Deschutes River to the point where fish and other wildlife die or are threatened. Good people have tried to save…
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Dried-up bed of the Deschutes River upstream of Bend, Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner This past month, irrigators began the annual drawing down of the Deschutes River to the point where fish and other wildlife die or are threatened. Good people have tried to save fish stranded in pools of water. I do not want to…
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Clearcuts along the McKenzie River corridor east of Eugene, Oregon did little to slow the Holiday Farm Fire. Photo George Wuerthner The Holiday Farm Fire began on September 7, 2020. The fire charred 173,000 acres along the McKenzie River Valley in western Oregon’s Cascade Range, possibly due to a fallen power line. The fire destroyed…