Conservation Today

Joe Walicki tells us the special places in Oregon to go for the best wilderness experience. He speaks about how wilderness was designated in the Umpqua in the 70's. He also tells us about his upcoming book.

Permit violations during the August 2023 repairs of the Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River near Roseburg, resulted in the biggest fish kill on an Oregon River this year. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fined the dam’s owners and their contractors $27.6 million dollars for the needless death of hundreds of thousands on native fish. The Winchester Dam was condemned in 1976. The Oreg...

Kai Huschke, with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, talks to us about the hierarchy of community rights, states rights, and corporate rights. We look at examples of Rights of Nature laws in other countries, and why it is so difficult to have community or nature rights under the Unites States system of capitalism. Community vs corporation examples include the timber and fossil fuel in...

Michelle Holman (Community Rights Lane County) and Craig Kauffman (UO professor and author) talk about a ballot initiative to help protect Lane County watersheds and give legal rights to nature. The ballot initiative can be seen here: https://www.protectlanecountywatersheds.org/lane_county_watersheds_bill_of_rights To get involved in Community Rights, and to donate to this project, see: https://ww...

A panel of speakers discusses the plight of native wild horses in "Horse Management Areas" on public lands in western states. Speakers on Part 1 and Part 2 of the Wild Horse Podcast include: Lorna Torrey Palermo is a long time horse lover, animal advocate and Advocate for Wild Equines. Linda Wallace first became interested in the wild horses as a child when she heard about Wild Horse Annie. She ha...

A panel of speakers discusses the plight of native wild horses in "Horse Management Areas" on public lands in western states. Our speakers on Part 1 and Part 2 of the Wild Horse Podcast include: Lorna Torrey Palermo is a long time horse lover, animal advocate and Advocate For Wild Equines.. Linda Wallace first became interested in the wild horses as a child when she heard about Wild Horse Annie. S...

This is a conversation with Carol Van Strum, who has fought against the aerial spraying of pesticides, including Agent Orange, since 1975. Join Carol on the webinar Wednesday, April 6, 6 PM, 2022. "Oregonians Love Trees".   Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83135992632?pwd=VlFvZUp1SmxxKzdjZzRESEVVQ3BiZz09 The PBS documentary that features Carol: The People vs. Agent Orange. https:/...

This is a conservation with Patrick Starnes, long time environmental activist, and now a candidate for governor of Oregon. We talk about some recent environmental victories, then a conversation on health plan options for Oregonians. We also chat about campaign finance reform, the housing crisis, renewable energy possibilities, and a bit about forestry in Oregon. For more information on Patrick Sta...

This is a fascinating conversation with Bonnie Olin. Bonnie is an avid river user, including kayaking on the Snake River. Bonnie talks about the four lower Snake River Dams, why they should be removed, and the impacts removal would have on fish and wildlife, as well as the economy. She covers the mitigations available for impacts such as barging grain and electrical generation. For more informatio...

This is a conversation with Deb Evans and Ron Schaaf about the Jordan Cove project. Deb and Ron are landowner plaintiffs in the Deborah Evans v. FERC lawsuit. We talk about what happened at the oral arguments in the DC Circuit court on October 28. Deb, Ron and other landowners threatened with eminent domain, were represented by the Niskanen Center. https://www.niskanencenter.org/ Also at the Octob...

This is a conversation with Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, the Douglas County Public Health Officer. We discuss the current state of the Covid pandemic in Douglas County, and what you can do keep yourself healthy. The current situation is dire, with many dying needlessly at Mercy Medical Center. Bob discusses some of the myths surrounding the Covid vaccines. He explains how the vaccines were developed s...

This is a conversation with Jim McCarthy, the Southern Oregon Program Director for WaterWatch of Oregon. Waterwatch is part of a coalition of conservation groups suing over the fish-killing Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River, North of Roseburg. Jim describes the history of the dam, ownership, management, and why the dam kills fish, including coho, steelhead, and pacific lamprey. Visit Waterw...

This is a conversation with Audrey Squires, Umpqua Restoration Program Coordinator for the mitigation funds from the North Umpqua Hydro Project. The Hydro Project’s 2001 settlement agreement required PacificCorp to pay annual funding for restoration projects to mitigate their wildlife impacts. Audrey describes the types of wildlife impacts, types of restoration projects, and volunteer opportunitie...

Today we talk with Kimberly Holmquist about Douglas County Community Rights and some issues before the Douglas County Commissioners, including the proposed 2,800 acre destination resort planned for near Yoncalla. Kimberly also describes the history of the “Doctrine of Discovery”, and how it favors corporate rights over community rights.  The ending song is "Why Am I An Anarchist?" by Norman N...

This conversation with Kyle Reed is about how to keep safer during fire season. Kyle is the Fire Prevention Specialists at the Douglas Forest Protective Association. Kyle talks about the Firewise program for neighborhood groups, ways to better protect your home from a wildland fire, and how to keep track of the changing guidelines for your work as the fire season progresses. Below are links to mor...

We speak with Kat Stone who ran for the Oregon State Senate District 1 last year, against the republican Dallas Heard. Kat will tell us about her campaign, including reforming the tax structure for private industrial land owners. Kat will also talk about her other activities, like monitoring the Douglas County Commissioners meetings. The day after we recorded this podcast, Kat's campaign manager f...

This is an interview with Antonio Gisbert and Patty Sherin about the Oregon People's Rebate, a proposed initiative petition for the November 2022 election that will rebate about $750 to every Oregonian, every year, by raising taxes on the largest corporations to 3%. Currently Oregon corporations pay some of the lowest corporate tax in the nation. Under this initiative large corporations would pay...

Dr. Phil Harding is with Citizens Climate Lobby. We talk about HB 763, a federal climate bill supported by Citizens Climate Lobby, including what its impact would be on citizens, companies and our climate, as well as its impact on Oregon projects, such as Jordan Cove LNG and the timber industry. How does it differ from a state bill we have tried to pass in Oregon? Later, Phil talks about his work...

This is a conversation with Kirk Blaine, the Southern Oregon Regional Coordinator of the Native Fish Society. We talk about native fish in the Umpqua basins, including impacts from Winchester Dam (north of Roseburg, near Umpqua Community College), Rock Creek Fish Hatchery (east of Glide near Swiftwater Park), the Archie Creek fire, and more. You can contact Kirk at kirk@nativefishsociety.org and f...

We talk with Ken Carloni and Kasey Hovik about changing the "Douglas" reference, for Douglas County, from Stephen Douglas (a politician) to David Douglas (the botanist who first described the Douglas fir tree). In the first half we also discuss the racist beginnings of Oregon, including the racist views of Joseph Lane, who Roseburg's middle school is named after. In the second half we also discuss...

This is a recording of the April 7 WildChat webinar from Cascadia Wildlands concerning the community resistance to Jordan Cove. It includes Deb Evans, an impacted landowner threatened with eminent domain, Gabe Scott, on the legal team, and Ka'ila Farrel-Smith, a Klamath Modoc artist and anti-pipeline activist. Sam Krop from Cascadia Wildlands is the moderator. Here is a link to the video of this c...

This is a March 19, 2020 presentation sponsored by the Great Old Broads for Wilderness about the Jordan Cove Energy Project. It was supposed to be a live panel given in Portland. But with Corvid, the live presentation was replaced by a webinar, and thus you get to listed to it. In the morning of March 19, the U.S. Government gave the Canadian corporation, Pembina, permission to condemn land for th...

Should nature have rights, like people have rights and corporations have rights? Will Falk, from Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, helped bring a federal lawsuit seeking rights for the Colorado River. Will talks about the Colorado River, his book, and why nature deserves to have rights. For more information, see https://celdf.org. The ending song is "Battered Earth", by Sweet Honey in th...

Ralph Bloomers, from the Craig Law Center, will explain the MOU and legislation supported by 13 environmental groups and 13 industrial timber operators. It would require logging buffers on streams in the Siskiyou watersheds to be as large as our more northern watersheds. It would require larger buffers for helicopters that spray pesticides from the air. Homes and schools now get only a 60' buffer...

First, we talk with Stuart Leibowitz, from the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition, about Oregon's new "Cap and Invest" bill, SB 1530, this year's version of the proposal to limit carbon emissions in Oregon. Stuart will also talk about the rally in Salem in support of this bill on February 11, and how to get there from Roseburg. To join the carpool, call 541-672-9819. For more information, see...