Coast Range Radio

Ballots are out for the 2022 general election, and it is no exaggeration to say that this is the most consequential election for Oregonians in years if not decades. Three out of six of Oregon’s seats for the US house of representatives are considered tossups where either the Democrat or Republican could win, and the race for Governor is anyone’s game.  To put that into perspective, Republicans hav...

Today’s show is about a topic that is near and dear to my heart - Wild and Scenic rivers!  We in Oregon are so fortunate to have not only amazing waterways, but also a history of elected officials who have been willing to fight for them, and for public access. Without Wild and Scenic protections, many of our most special and important places in Oregon would not exist as we know them.  What most fo...

Fire is, and always has been, a permanent part of our western landscapes and ecosystems, but the debate and policy prescriptions around how to protect our communities is shockingly disconnected from the science and and on the ground reality.   That’s why I’ve asked the director of an inspiring and powerful new film called ‘Elemental’ onto the show to talk about the realities of how we can co-exist...

Preserving mature and old growth forests across the US is a critical piece of the puzzle in fighting climate change, and on Earth Day of this year, President Biden issued an executive order to "strengthen America's forests, boost wildfire resilience, and combat global deforestation". Great news, right?  Not so fast. To learn more about the good, the bad, and the ugly of Federal fore...

This is part three of our series celebrating 10 years of Oregon’s Marine Reserve Program.  For those who aren’t familiar, a Marine Reserve is an area within coastal waters dedicated to scientific research and conservation. Think of it as a combination of an underwater State Park, a wildlife preserve, and a living laboratory!   Here in Oregon, we have five designated Marine reserves.  From North to...

This is part two of a three part series celebrating the 10th anniversary of Oregon’s Marine Reserve Program!   A Marine Reserve is an area within coastal waters dedicated to scientific research and conservation, where all ocean development and removal of marine life is prohibited.   Think of it as a combination of an underwater State Park, a wildlife preserve, and a living laboratory!   Here in Or...

On the show today, we’re diving into the exciting and choppy waters of offshore wind!   Floating Off-shore wind energy is relatively a new technology with huge potential.  The federal Bureau of Oregon Energy Management estimates up to 3 gigawatts in near-term commercial potential off of the Southern Oregon coast alone.  That’s enough power for over 200,000 homes. I’m excited for today’s topic, bec...

Joe Seamons is a musician and educator based in the Pacific Northwest and dedicated to helping people connect with their heritage through music and storytelling. Born and raised in Northwestern Oregon, Joe has made a living interpreting the songs and stories of the local sawmill, logging, and fishing ballads composed by elder working people and folklorists. Many of these songs are included on the...

Hello!  I'm Michael Gaskill, your new host for Coast Range Radio.  I'm hard at work putting together brand new episodes for the show, and we have some great guests lined up.   I'm also always looking for feedback, show ideas, and guest suggestions! Email me at michael@coastrange.org. In the meantime, I wanted to replay on of my favorite epsiodes from the past couple years of the sho...

Outgoing Coast Range Radio host and producer, Andrew, introduces Michael Gaskill. Michael will be the new host and producer of Coast Range Radio and is the new communications staff for the Coast Range Association. Michael and Andrew interview Cristen Don who oversees the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife's Marine Reserve Program.  Over the past 17 years Cristen's work has spanned...

Coast Range Radio interviews Chuck Willer on how to build equitable rural forest economies in Western Oregon. Chuck describes how social benefit and community centered forest solutions can revitalize rural Oregon communities and economies. Chuck’s vision and analysis comes from 30 years of work addressing the underlying causes of social and environmental problems in Western Oregon. To learn more a...

This episode is an edited broadcast of a presentation given to the Pacific Northwest Forest Climate Alliance by Dr. Dominick DellaSala. DellaSala is the Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage, a project of Earth Island Institute, and former President of the Society for Conservation Biology, North America Section. He is an internationally renowned author of over 200 science papers on forest and fire ecol...

Andrew interviews Bob Sallinger, Conservation Director at Portland Audubon , on the history and current conservation efforts for the Elliott State Forest in Oregon. Bob details the public process over the past three years to separate the Elliott State Forest from the Common School Fund and turn the Elliott State Forest into a publicly owned research forest. Learn more here . 2022 is a turning poin...

Andrew interviews Deb Fant. Deb is a retired nurse and 30 year Oregon resident. She is a leader at Lincoln County Community Rights and was actively engaged in the work to enact the Lincoln County Aerial Spray Ban in 2017. We discuss the history of this local aerial spray ban, the work of Lincoln County Community Rights, the challenge to the overturned ban in the Oregon Supreme Court in 2021, and h...

Sam Krop and Andrew interview Dr. Betsy Herbert, an environmental scientist and published author who has expertise in researching how forest management impacts drinking water. She is also an active volunteer for North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection and Forest Waters Watch .  Betsy describes how she started in this work, the importance of forests for providing quality drinking water and...

Andrew interviews Dr. Melissa Ward, PhD post-doctoral researcher working out of San Diego State University, and Ryan Hasert, public policy analysis graduate student at Oregon State University. They are part of the research project “Assessing Community Vulnerability to Ocean Acidification Across the California Current Ecosystem”.  The project looks at Ocean Acidification on the West Coast and speci...

Andrew interviews Andrew Bogrand, volunteer Communications Director for the Divest Oregon Campaign . Andrew is a human rights campaigner and policy advocate who supports nonprofits, coalitions, and communities fighting injustice. They discuss why a diverse coalition of Oregonians have come together to demand the Oregon Treasury, managing $120 Billion in investments, divest from the climate warming...

Sam and Andrew interview Rita Frost, Campaigns Director at the Dogwood Alliance . The Dogwood Alliance advances environmental justice and climate action by mobilizing diverse voices to protect southern forests and communities from industrial logging.  Rita outlines the threats of biomass as a false climate solution that threatens southern forests and the importance of bringing communities most imp...

Andrew interviews award winning and prolific author, essayist, and commentator Robert Leo Heilman from Myrtle Creek, Oregon. Bob is the author of several books including Overstory Zero: Real Life in Timber Country, Children of Death, and The World Pool: A Literary Variety. He has also been a prolific contributor to guest columns in the News Review in Roseburg.  Bob has recently been the target of...

In part two, we continue our conversation with Levi Van Sant (@LeviVanSant), an Assistant Professor at George Mason University in Fairfax County Virginia whose work focuses on environmental (in)justice, particularly issues surrounding food, agriculture, and land use.  Levi wrote a formative piece in Dissent on Land Reform and the Green New Deal that influenced the Coast Range Association’s recent...

In part one, Andrew interviews Levi Van Sant (@LeviVanSant), an Assistant Professor at George Mason University in Fairfax County Virginia whose work focuses on environmental (in)justice, particularly issues surrounding food, agriculture, and land use.  Levi wrote a formative piece in Dissent on Land Reform and the Green New Deal that influenced the Coast Range Association’s recent Climate & Or...

Sam Krop interviews Bethany Cotton, Conservation Director at Cascadia Wildlands , on the connections between rivers, salmon and communities with a look at the proposal to remove the four lower dams on the Snake River. Sam and Bethany discuss the history and cultural significance of the Columbia and Snake Rivers salmon runs, the current impacts of the dams on salmon and communities, the flaws in Re...

Chuck Willer, Executive Director of the Coast Range Association, and Andrew discuss the release of the Coast Range Association's recent report, Climate & Oregon's Industrial Forests - A Green New Deal Proposal. They highlight the need for Western Oregon's private industrial forests to store large amounts of carbon. The need for this important natural climate solution is put into...

In part two, Andrew and Abel discuss the ecoforestry practices used at Aprovecho to manage the forest there towards an old growth character forest. They discuss how this type of intentional land management connects to indigenous and climate justice. They also go into the history of indigenous genocide in Oregon and its connection to the landscape change from oak savanna to primarily Douglas fir fo...

Andrew interviews Abel Kloster. Through Resilience Permaculture Design, LLC , Abel specializes in Forest Stewardship Planning as a consulting forester for ODF and a Technical Service Provider for the NRCS. We talk on site about the ecoforestry work he stewards at Aprovecho outside of Cottage Grove, OR. We discuss the lessons he has learned in this work and the opportunities he has found in coopera...