Conservation Today

Samantha Krop works with Cascadia Wildlands. https://www.cascwild.org/ Sam talks about the federal timber sales, including Roseburg BLM sales in Douglas County. One alarming sale is "Umpqua Sweets" in the North Umpqua watershed. Pictures can be seen here: https://www.cascwild.org/umpqua-sweets-chronicles-vol-1-down-by-the-riverside/ https://www.cascwild.org/umpqua-sweets-chronicles-vol-4-community...

Jason Gonzales, with Oregon Wild, talks about the Oregon Forest Practices Act, (OFPA) and how it fails to protect Oregon's forest ecosystems. We have the weakest logging rules for private lands in the Pacific Northwest. Jason details the economic and environmental problems with the OFPA. In the second half of this conversation, Jason talks about three (or six) ballot measures that are proposed to...

Stuart Leibowitz discusses three upcoming ballot measures the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition is trying to get in front of voters, especially since the Cap and Invest bill failed earlier this years due to the republican walk-out. Stuart also describes an important upcoming event you don't want to miss: October 30, 6:30 at the Roseburg Library: "Moving toward a fossil fuel free future". Wit...

Barbara Davis, Lincoln County Community Rights, continues her discussion about the Lincoln County ban on aerial herbicide spraying. Just a few days after we talked last week, a court ruled and overturned the measure voted into law by the residents of Lincoln County. Barbara talks about the court ruling, and how to move on from here. We also talked more about the problems with the Oregon Forest Pra...

Michelle Holman (Lane County) and Barbara Davis (Lincoln County) talk about the efforts to pass Community Rights in their counties, and how Douglas County citizens could benefit from this. For instance, Lincoln County citizens passed a ban on aerial herbicide spraying (spraying pesticides from helicopters over industrial lands, over streams or near to rural residents). Barbara and Michelle talk ab...

This is a conversation with Stuart Liebowitz from the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition. Stuart talks about climate change, the failed Cap and Invest bill in the Oregon Legislature, and other current events. Stuart also talks about 4 upcoming events in Douglas County: 1. Friday September 20, 12 to 1 pm. Join the national Climate March to demand climate action now! Garden Valley Blvd in front...

Janice Reid is one of the top spotted owl researchers in the country. She gave a presentation about her research, and the results, to Umpqua Valley Audubon in late march. This is a recording of that presentation. It is fascinating, including the ecology of the spotted owl, their prey, threats to the owls, and their current status state-wide and specific to Douglas County. For more information abou...

Dr. Dominick DellaSala talks about fire, including how wildfire is beneficial to our ecosystems. Does thinning help reduce fire? Does it help the forest? It depends. In any case, Dr. DellaSala explains why salvage logging a burned forests is so destructive. Dr. DellaSala also explains the relationship between climate change and forests, and the carbon capture and release of a forest. Finally, Domi...

We speak with two people about the Jordan Cove Energy Project, Stacey McLaughlin and Allie Rosenbluth. Stacey talks about the marine mammal harassment authorization request that Pembina has made, about the pipeline proposed through her property, and the Coastal Zone pipeline permit reauthorizations that the judge found Douglas County did illegally. We also discuss impacts to whales as well as the...

Glide Wildflower Show organizers, Becky McRae, Debbie Barbrae, and Dianne Mascarello describe the inner workings of the world-renouned Glide Wildflower Show. The show this year is April 27 and 28 in Glide Oregon, east of Roseburg. The history of the show is described, starting in 1965 to the present day. Hundreds (600 to 700) of plant species are collected, in bloom when possible, identified by bo...

Elana Porter and Helen Laurence talk to us about feminism and women's studies. Elana, a PhD Student in women's studies, talks about the "Intersectionality Feminism", considering race, sex, class, ability, and how those experiences overlap. Elana also talks about the relationship between environmental issues and women's issues. Starting at 40:13, Helen Laurence, one of the founders of the Women and...

Neal Hadley, president of the Native Plant Society of the Umpqua Valley, talks about the mission and work of the Native Plant Society (NSO). Neal talks about some of the Umpqua's endemic plants and encourages us to see some of the native plant gardens in Roseburg, including the front yard of 548 Hickory street and next to the Arts Center on Harvard. Neal talks about the work to protect native spec...

PIELC Live: On March 2, Eugene community radio, KEPW, 97.3, hosted Conservation Today live at the annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference in Eugene. We interviewed the following people (and the time they speak in the podcast): Joseph Vaile, Klamath Wildlands Center, Kebrhea Cuellar, Oregon Wild (12:11), John Abbe, assistant station manager of KEPW (23:00), Dan Pennnington, Coast Range...

Dr. John Telberth talks about Oregon's Clean Energy Jobs Bill, and other bills, describing what additional protections are needed to fully meet Oregon's climate goals. Dr. Telberth also describes the carbon impacts from Oregon's logging industry and the unfair tax subsides they receive. Later (beginning at 31:06), I talked with Douglas County citizens at the "Rally for Transparency" on February 19...

Dylan Kruse talks about the state's Cap and Invest bill, and how it works to reduce carbon in Oregon. Dylan starts at 18:00. First on today's show is Tonia Moro, lawyer for landowners in Douglas County. She talks about the recent court ruling overturning Douglas County's decisions to grant and renew Jordan Cove's Pacific Connector Pipeline permits.

Stuart Leibowitz speaks about the Clean Energy Jobs Bill in the first half our show. Later we talk about the logging at Whistlers Bend Park currently ongoing. Stuart encourages us to join the Lobby Day in Salem on February 6 to help pass Oregon's Clean Energy Jobs Bill (sometimes known as a Cap and Pay bill). Stuart explains the concept behind the bill: 25,000 metric tons of carbon pollution allow...

This week we hear from dozens of Douglas County residents about the Jordan Cove export terminal, and the Pacific Connector Pipeline, projects of a Canadian corporation, Pembina. Pembina is asking the state of Oregon for a removal-fill permit to dig a 3' deep trench through 450 waterways in southern Oregon to lay their 230-mile gas-pipeline to bring fracked natural gas to Coos Bay. The state of Ore...

Today we have a conversation with Becky McRae, President of the North Umpqua Foundation. Becky describes the programs of the NUF: restoration work in the North Umpqua watershed, scholarship programs, Fish Watch to protect steelhead fish in Steamboat Creek, and community education. Becky talks about favorite places to visit on the North Umpqua, "the most beautiful river in the world". The North Ump...

Jim "Cap" Caplan tells us a bit of his history with the forest service, including the time he worked at the Bridger-Teton National Forest while the famous Yellowstone wildland fire broke out in 1988. Jim is currently the COO of the Environmental Dispute Resolution USA, and teaches a class on the subject at UCC. Jim is also a founding member of the Umpqua Forestry Coalition and talks about their ro...

Stanley Petrowski, founder of the South Umpqua Rural Community Project talks with us today. Stan gives us a history of the fish abundance in the South Umpqua River, and the alarming low numbers this year. Both Coho and spring chinook seem to be on the brink of extension in the south Umpqua, following summer steelhead that are already extent. Restoration activities include putting large wood in str...

Steve Cole is a cartographer and photographer of old growth forests. He has been documenting public land timber sales on the Umpqua, mostly sales stopped by Umpqua Watersheds in the late 90's and early 2000's. Steve has a remarkable website documenting this work: umpquaLSOGproject.org. Steve's site is a celebration of what good work we all did back then, including the brave activists that sat in t...

Chris describes the work of the South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership in the area of Tiller Oregon, such as Oak habitat and fish habitat restoration. Chris describes some of the reasons there were only 30 Coho salmon returning up the South Umpqua this year. Only 30 South Umpqua Coho left! One problem is the industrial private land logging in the watershed, with too many roads and too small ripa...

Stuart Leibowitz, from Douglas County Global Warming Coalition, discusses the just-released UN Climate Report. It says we have to reduce fossil fuel use by 45% by 2030 or 2040. Stuart discusses the differences between our climate rising 1.5 vs. 2.0 degrees (it is currently 1.0 degrees hotter). Stuart also discusses current Oregon efforts to pass cap-and-trade legislation that will make polluters p...

Richard is the Aquatic Scientist for the North Umpqua Hydro Project. He describes how the project was originally built in the late 1940's through the early 50's. Then in 1990's it went through it's 50-year relicensing, making it more fish-friendly, even putting a fish ladder on Soda Springs Damn. Richard discusses the technology for getting the fish over the dam and back down, and other improvemen...

Pat describes his work as the Conservation Chair of Umpqua Watersheds. He monitors public land projects and provides comments to BLM on behalf of the public. Pat talks about the new BLM management plan and how logging is not regulated. Pat describes recent studies that describe how the private industrial timber land that surrounds public BLM land degrade the BLM and degrade our watersheds in gener...