From the open publishing newswire: Tree sitters, blockaders, and the support crew have found their new home near the head waters of Myrtle Creek on O&C land in the White Castle timber sale.

They are defending 77 acres of native never-before-logged forest from Variable Retention Harvest, also known as clear-cutting. As Doug Heiken of Oregon Wild describes "The White Castle project is a cynical attempt to pass off clear-cutting century-old trees as restoration. In reality, the true focus of this project is providing cheap timber to old-growth dependent logging mills at taxpayer expense."

The White Castle timber sale contains lush native and old growth trees punctuated by flowering rhododendrons, trilliums, and wild iris amongst salal and Oregon grape. It is considered habitat for 5 pairs of endangered spotted owls, three fens and rare forest wetlands.

If you want to come out to help build this occupation please contact Cascadia Forest Defenders!

From the open publishing newswire: In this 3 1/2 minute video clip, Bark announces a four-day-long camp out in Mt. Hood National Forest! We hope to provide Bark volunteers, both new and not so new, with a variety of skills in field work and timber sale monitoring, as well as opportunities to put those skills to work to protect the forests of Mt. Hood.

Bark Extravaganza Camp Out!

You are welcome to attend one or all of these events. Barkers will have a camping arrangements set up in the forest, and will arrange a carpool meet up on Thursday the 18th and Saturday the 20th. Thursday, October 18th: Groundtruth Training and Blitz Friday, October 19th: Survey and Manage in Lichen and Fungi Saturday, October 20th: BMP Squared: Post Logging Monitoring Training Sunday, October 21st: Field Work Blitz: Put your new skills to work Location will be announced soon. If you have RSVPed we will send you an e-mail with location details once they are finalized. Click here for more details and to RSVP. Email Meredith at bark-out.org to RSVP; or, for more information, call 503-331-0374. homepage: http://www.bark-out.org phone: 503-331-0374

From the open publishing newswire: The US Forest Service issued a Decision Notice and Environmental Assessment for the Jazz Timber Sale on September 7th, 2012. While nearly 3,000 individuals provided public comment in opposition to the Jazz Timber Sale, the Forest Service has decided not only to proceed with Jazz, but the only change they made was to increase the amount of heavy thinning to "create elk habitat."
Bark Response to USFS Jazz Timber Sale Decision>

This 7 minute video is a response from Bark by Brenna Bell, staff attorney and National Environmental Policy Act NEPA)Coordinator.

(The following is adapted from the Bark website.)

After months of waiting, the Forest Service issued its decision on the Jazz Timber Sale, and the results are shocking. The final sale puts more forest on the chopping block, admits to additional road impacts, and has no plans to monitor logging impacts on the ground.

Now, since receiving the decision, Bark has a begun review of the decision and initial impressions indicate that the Forest Service did not fully address the more than 3,000 public comments submitted opposing the project. We will provide more information after full review.

The Jazz Timber Sale would log 2,000 acres of forest, throughout 30 square miles of the Collawash River watershed. The Collawash is a tributary to the Clackamas River and is host to the last wild late run of winter coho salmon, making it key spot for the survival of this species.
Homepage: http://www.bark-out.org

From the open publishing newswire: Rod Coronado, who is turning 47 this year, is a Yaqui Pascua Indian, a writer and poet, a father, lover of nature and animals, a felon and eco-anarchist. He's the kind of guy that could tell you all about the native flowers growing out of the cracks in the sidewalk and how to make rudimentary bombs...

In 1995 Coronado was convicted on felony charges for an arson attack on a Michigan State University animal research facility, part of a string of facilities targeted by the ALF in their campaign duly titled "Operation Bite-Back." He was sentenced with 56 months but the damages to the fur industry were substantial. Aside from the direct impacts of the action he was imprisoned for, he has been credited for research and inspiration which lead to many more actions, freeing thousands of animals -mink, fox, coyotes -who actually have a fighting chance to re-wild themselves and survive upon release. Not to mention millions of dollars lost to economic sabotage, dealing a crippling blow to the whole industry.

Much of Rod's early actions took place just before the eruption of intense FBI hunts for "domestic eco-terrorists," a fear mongering term elevated by State and corporate media following the rise of the ELF. But in a West rapidly laid bleak with concrete, undergoing an extinction crisis and climate convulsion, overcrowded with bland, consumerist culture and the boredom of timid human engagement, Coronado stands as a figure, all the more heroic, and absolutely quintessential to the promise of a re-Wilded West.

homepage:  http://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/

From the open publishing newswire: Salem, OR: Near 10:00 AM Cascadia Earth First! and Cascadia Forest Defenders converged at the Oregon State Capitol. Activists chained themselves together and staged a "die-in" in the offices of Ted Wheeler and Kate Brown while others climbed the building's flagpoles, hanging banners reading, "Oregon: For Sale by Kate Brown and Ted Wheeler" and "Defend Oregon, No Compromise, Earth First!"

As of 1:00pm: There are 50 protesters onsite. The climbers of the flagpoles have been arrested descending into applause and leaving the banners to be removed by cherry pickers. The people locked down in the office of Kate Brown have had their support crew removed by police, who are currently bringing in extraction equipment and have hung a sheet in front of the window obscuring outside media and support. The activists inside of the office of Ted Wheeler have similarly been deprived of their support crew and shielded from view. The crowd cheers from outside of the office doors Chanting: " "Devastation and Exploitation Won't be Solved by Corporations"
"Earth First No Compromise We Fight for Water Earth and Sky"

Protesters are targeting Secretary of State Kate Brown and Treasurer Ted Wheeler - both members of the State Land Board - after passing a plan in October of last year that will nearly double the annual clearcut in the Elliott State Forest. Today's protest is an escalation in a series of protests calling on the Land Board to stop the clear cutting of ancient forests and to separate public school funding from state forest management. [...]

Cascadia Earth First! and Cascadia Forest Defenders demand:
No more clear cutting ancient forests.
Drop the 2011 implementation plan for the Elliott State Forest.
Separate our school funding from public land management.
No more privatization of public lands.
Earth First!
homepage:  http://cascadia2012.com

From the open publishing newswire: Ecological resistance is in the air this summer in Cascadia, and to spread the word, some Earth First!ers are hitting the road. To promote this summers (bio)regional rendezvous, set for june 20-25, the tour starts in the far north of Cascadia then heads down south. In solidarity with the Winnemem Wintu tribe, we'll be headed down south to Shasta Lake, colonized California where the Winnemem Wintu tribe has put out a call to action to directly confront the forest service in preserving their traditional Coming of Age Ceremony.

Civil Liberties Defense Center
www.cascadia2012.com

From the open publishing newswire: Portland General Electric is hosting an open house in downtown Portland to promote their proposed Cascade Crossing project. This 209 mile energy transmission corridor spans from Boardman, Oregon to the Salem area, and traverses private land as well as both the Willamette and Mt Hood National Forests. Join Bark at the open house on Tuesday, and make sure PGE knows we think this project is a bad deal for ratepayers and our public forests.

Tuesday, March 13th, between 4PM and 7PM (stop by any time)
Plaza Conference Room, Two World Trade Center
121 S.W. Salmon Street, [Portland, OR]

Find us there for questions or ideas about what you can say to PGE.

The video is an excerpt from the August 2010 Bark Hike to existing Portland General Electric (PGE) transmission lines near Mt. Hood in order to familiarize folks with what the proposed PGE Cascade Crossing Energy Corridor will look like.

Hike to Energy Corridor

See you there! Contact Bark with questions at 503-331-0374. bark-out.org

From the open publishing newswire: At the 30th Annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, the Sunday Keynote address will be a Film Screening: Greedy Lying Bastards, a Documentary Film by Craig Rosebraugh. A panel discussion will follow the screening. Greedy Lying Bastards is a film exposing the shocking lengths the fossil fuel industry travels to insure maximum profits for exectuives and shareholders.

A trailer for the film

More information on the film

This year's [PIELC / ELAW] theme is New Frontier: The Political Crossroads of Our Environmental Future

Conference Schedule

From the open publishing newswire: Small Town Endeavors to Protect its Future

The rural community of Williams in Southern Oregon is striving to prevent an imminent clear-cut on a privately owned 320 acres. This parcel is perched atop a prominent ridge in the Williams Creek watershed, located in the Applegate Valley, and serves as the headwaters for three major contributing streams. The community has united as the non-profit organization Williams Community Forest Project (WCFP) to purchase the land. The WCFP is fervently intensifying its fundraising and media campaign to procure the necessary funds and raise public awareness about the plight of our threatened woodlands. Thus far, the community has been pledged a substantial loan from a private group and raised $120,000 from grassroots fundraising.

Further information can be obtained at the WCFP website, www.williamscommunityforestproject.org, or through an inspiring ten-minute film posted at www.indiegogo.com/Wiliiams-Community-Forest-Project where direct, tax-deductible donations can be made. Donations may also be sent to WCFP, P.O. Box 36, Williams OR 97544.

From the open publishing newswire: Will you be our valentine? In October, Governor Kitzhaber approved a plan that will nearly double the annual clear cut in the Elliott Rainforest, starting this year. On the 14th, the first land board meeting of 2012, the Governor will also approve the privatization of over 1,000 acres of public forest land in Southern Oregon. Privatization will leave the fate of sensitive wildlife in the hands of ravenous timber barons.

Cascadia Forest Defenders are heading to Salem on the 14th to confront the State Land Board--Governor Kitzhaber, Secretary of State Kate Brown, and Treasurer Ted Wheeler-- about their direct hand in the destruction of Oregon's public forests.

Tuesday Feb 14 7:30am until 12:00pm Oregon Department of State Lands Office, 775 Summer Street, Salem!

for more info visit forestdefensenow.com
[ rides from Eugene and Portland being organized on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/246432292102522/ ]

From the open publishing newswire: Mt. Hood National Forest has released a Preliminary Assessment (PA) for the Jazz Timber Sale and comments are due by Monday, December 19th.

The Jazz Timber Sale is proposed by the Forest Service to log 2,000 acres in the Collawash Watershed, the most geologically unstable watershed in Mt. Hood. The sale would require 11 miles of roads that have been previously decommissioned to be re-opened to facilitate logging and has prevented still more miles of roads that are damaging water quality and aquatic habitat from being decommissioned while the Jazz Timber Sale has been in the planning stages.

All citizens of the United States may comment on activities which take place on public land
Comments on the Jazz Timber Sale are due by Monday at 5:00 on December 19, 2011.
To send a comment, go to Bark Jazz Timber Sale Action Page

Video - Bark Appeal for Comments on Jazz Timber Sale

December 11th Bark-About Hike to the Jazz Timber Sale starting @ 9am

From the open publishing newswire: At the 2011 Mt. Hood Solutions Summit a diverse network of stakeholders were brought together to discuss the challenges and solutions for protecting this important natural resource.
Three Power Point presentations by members of Pacific Rivers Council at Mt. Hood Solutions Summit, sponsored by the forest advocacy group, Bark

Mt. Hood National Forest provides drinking water to one-third of all Oregonians and 98% of the Forest is the source of municipal water supplies. As a source of drinking and agricultural water, fish habitat, recreation opportunities, and energy production, appropriate management of this resource is critical to the well-being of Oregon's population and ecosystems.

This vital resource faces myriad threats ranging from climate change to a crumbling roads system and is the focus of much restoration work.

From the open publishing newswire: We hope that you can block off the first half of your day on Tuesday, October 11 and dedicate it to change for Oregon's State Forests. Friends of Oregon's Forests (all of us) will be demonstrating for a new way forward. The State Land Board, made up of Governor Kitzhaber, Secretary Brown and Treasurer Wheeler, will be making a final decision on a proposed 40% clearcutting ramp-up on the Elliott State Forest.

October 11: Get On The Bus
Rally against the plan to increase clearcutting in the Elliott State Forest

We hope that you can block off the first half of your day on Tuesday, October 11 and dedicate it to change for Oregon's State Forests. Friends of Oregon's Forests (all of us) will be demonstrating for a new way forward. The State Land Board, made up of Governor Kitzhaber, Secretary Brown and Treasurer Wheeler, will be making a final decision on a proposed 40% clearcutting ramp-up on the Elliott State Forest.

A dire situation is about to get worse as the land board is expected to adopt the new forest plan that will sanction clearcutting of 850-1,000 acres of complex rainforest each year. As you know, the Elliott is a lifeboat for the federally listed marbled murrelet, northern spotted owl and Oregon Coast coho salmon amidst the Coast Range checkerboard, and stores incomparable amounts of carbon thereby mitigating the climate crisis.
Join us in Salem for a demonstration and massive showing against reckless public forest management at the land board meeting (775 Summer St., Salem). Carpools and buses will be leaving Cottage Grove, Eugene and Portland. They rally will begin at 9:30 a.m. and likely end around noon. Bring signs, banners and passion for for our state forests.

Join us in Salem for a demonstration and massive showing against reckless public forest management at the land board meeting (775 Summer St., Salem). Carpools and buses will be leaving Cottage Grove, Eugene and Portland. They rally will begin at 9:30 a.m. and likely end around noon. Bring signs, banners and passion for for our state forests. [carpool info: read more ...]