Conservation Update Spring 2026
The Bigger Picture
Most of us who live in western Oregon do so because it’s beautiful. The rivers run cold, and the forests are part of our daily lives, not just scenery out the car window. That’s why the Bureau of Land Management’s recent proposal to quadruple logging levels on O&C [...]
BLM Resource Management Plan 2026 Revision
Submit comments online:
https://eplanning.blm.gov (Search for the DOI-BLM-ORWA-0000-2026-0001-RMP-EIS page)
Key talking points to include:
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Protect older and mature forests. Ask BLM to exclude mature and older stands from logging and prioritize conservation of climate-resilient forests.
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Reflect Orbital and SpaceX FCC Applications sets off alarms- Comment by March 6, 2026
Published February 26th, 2026Why Umpqua Watersheds is engaging on satellite infrastructure
Satellite constellations are rapidly becoming a new form of global infrastructure with measurable on-the-ground environmental effects. Expansion of low-Earth-orbit systems affects migratory birds, nocturnal wildlife, wilderness character, atmospheric conditions, and the visibility of night skies across the same public landscapes UW members steward and rely on for [...]
Conservation Update Winter 2025
Published December 5th, 2025The Endangered Species Act- Under threat
by Janice Reid
In 1970, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released The Right to Exist—A Report on Our Endangered Wildlife (Resource Publication 69, Stock No. 2410-0161). The authors quoted Aldo Leopold and reflected on America’s vanishing wildlife: passenger pigeons, heath hens, Carolina parakeets, and others. They [...]
Conservation Update Fall 2025
Published September 5th, 2025Protecting Roadless Areas
The federal government has announced its intention to rescind the National Roadless Rule, a longstanding policy that protects millions of acres of backcountry forests from road building and industrial logging. The Roadless Rule has been critical in safeguarding drinking water, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities, while saving taxpayers the burden [...]
Conservation Update Summer 2025
Published September 5th, 2025What We Stand to Lose
On Memorial Day, we drove into the Coast Range to see firsthand an active timber sale from the Blue and Gold project on Roseburg BLM lands. A concerned citizen had alerted us to clearcutting in the Gallagher Canyon units—despite BLM’s longstanding shift away from clearcuts due to their [...]
NEPA Under Threat — Act Now to Protect Your Voice in Environmental Decisions
Published July 28th, 202580+ Federal Agencies Are Gutting Public Participation — We Need Your Help
Over 80 federal agencies have just released sweeping changes to how they implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) — the cornerstone of environmental protection and public input in federal decisions. These changes were released all at once, with only 30 [...]
Proposed ESA Change Threatens Wildlife Protection
Published April 24th, 2025**The federal government is proposing to narrow the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),** removing habitat degradation from consideration. This means only direct injury or death of species would be considered a violation—**ignoring the critical role of habitat in species survival.**
Here’s why this change is dangerous:—
### 🌲 1. Habitat [...]
Conservation Update Spring 2025
Published March 7th, 2025The Urgent Need to Act: Protecting the Spotted Owl
The Umpqua Watersheds Conservation Committee continues to work diligently to protect our environment, especially here in the Umpqua. Conservation is rarely straightforward—righting past wrongs can be messy, complicated, and, at times, emotionally charged. But doing nothing is not an option when inaction leads to extinction.
One [...]
NEPA is under attack!
Published February 27th, 2025Please comment by March 27, 2025
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/25/2025-03014/removal-of-national-environmental-policy-act-implementing-regulations
Unfortunately, the CEQ itself cannot rescind an executive order issued by the President. Since Executive Order 14154 directs the removal of NEPA’s implementing regulations, CEQ is required to follow the President’s directive. However, there are still possible ways to challenge or reverse this action, including:
A Future Executive [...]
Complex Tradeoffs
Published February 3rd, 2025https://www.northcoastjournal.com/news/complex-tradeoffs-31988826
January 30, 2025
‘Complex Tradeoffs’
EPIC among conservation groups defending barred owl removal in court
By Kimberly Wear kim@northcoastjournal.com @kimberly_wearFive conservation groups, including the Arcata-based Environmental Protection Information Center, recently joined in the legal defense of a controversial U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan to [...]
Conservation Groups support US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Efforts to reduce barred owl impacts on spotted owls
Published January 21st, 2025Conservation groups, including Umpqua Watersheds, issue press release.
Press Release January 21, 2025
How a Fight Led to a Festival
Published January 4th, 2025Umpqua Watersheds member Bob Allen has an article in the Oregon Humanities Magazine Winter 2025 edition.
https://www.oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine/currents-winter-2025/posts-currents/
In the mid-1980s, my family lived outside Roseburg, not far from River Forks Park, a beautiful spot at the confluence of the North and South Umpqua Rivers. We had a small group of friends who would gather at [...]
Hoopa Valley Tribe receives major grant to remove barred owls
Published December 17th, 2024The success of the program to curtail the invasion of the barred owl on the Hoopa Valley Tribal Land gets a big boost from the federal government.
“The USFW’s controversial management approach is built on the foundation of experimental barred owl removal studies dating back more than a decade — including the Hoopa study — [...]
Preserving Oregon’s Public Lands
Published December 9th, 2024by Rob Taylor….
As a lifelong Oregonian, taking our public lands for granted can sometimes be easy. Oregon’s public beaches, Crater Lake National Park, the Pacific Crest Trail- all these wonders were established long before my birth- but they didn’t appear out of thin air. Our lands are constantly being fought over by various private [...]
Conservation Update Winter 2024
Published December 9th, 2024by Janice Reid…
The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP), completed in 1994 and implemented during the Clinton Administration, was the result of extensive scientific collaboration. Its goal was to create a scientifically credible, ecological approach to conserving western forests within the range of the Northern Spotted Owl. Unlike species-specific strategies, the NWFP focused on protecting ecosystems [...]
Despite Biden’s Promise to Protect Old Forests, His Administration Keeps Approving Plans to Cut Them Down
Published November 14th, 2024https://www.propublica.org/article/biden-logging-blm-oregon-climate
Crater Lake National Park
Published September 30th, 2024I had the joy of my annual visit to Crater Lake. The lake was in spectacular colorful array. The park is the crown jewel of the Crater Lake Wilderness Proposal. The back country of the park is already treated as wilderness by the park administration. Wilderness designation is the highest protection.
Conservation Update
Published September 16th, 2024By Janice Reid….
bg-harvest-plan-vicinity-map Monitoring the conservation of our wildlife and wild areas is a full-time job. Most of us probably think that once a species is on the Endangered Species Act list, federal agencies are required to protect it — and no harm will be brought to that species by the [...]
Cow Creek National Scenic Trail #1424
Published September 8th, 2024Cow Creek is a major tributary of the South Umpqua River. The 6 mile trail follows the creek through a lush old growth forest, with trees 500+ years old. The rich soil produces lush growth of many vibrant shades of glowing green. Seven of us had a great hike with numerous humorous rock hopping creek [...]
