Current Stories
Editor's Top Picks
Rural NW could receive economic boost
Oregonian
11/05/2009
Rural and disadvantaged communities in the Northwest could receive an economic boost thanks to $30 million in new markets tax credits allocated to Portland-based Ecotrust. The nonprofit organization plans to target former timber towns struggling to recover jobs and tribes working for economic benefits by improving the health of forests.
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All in a tree's work
Oregonian
11/06/2009
Twenty years ago, a group of children planted a sugar maple tree behind Boise-Eliot School in North Portland. The tree was supposed to grow tall and spread a graceful canopy, but looks more like a lollypop. The unremarkable tree goes about its remarkable job: cleaning the air of pollution, capturing carbon dioxide and filtering stormwater, while providing shade and a sense of well-being.
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BC clear-cuts flout forest salvage efforts
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/05/2009
A stampede to harvest pine beetle-killed lumber in interior British Columbia has resulted in gaping clear-cuts that flout recommendations made at the beginning of the salvage effort in 2004, increasing the risk of floods.
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Obama tweaking roadless forest logging rules
Oregonian
10/28/2009
Environmental groups in May hailed the Obama administration's decision to effectively pause development in about 58 million acres of road-free federal forests, but that decision is being weakened, however slightly.
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Oregon law found to discriminate against enviro disputes
Eugene Register Guard
10/29/2009
People against logging old growth forests won an Oregon Court of Appeals ruling Wednesday that struck down a state law on grounds it treats an environmental dispute differently.
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Arcata Forest signs on to new carbon program
Eureka Times-Standard
10/25/2009
Arcata has committed just more than 20 percent of its community forest to grow trees and store carbon, part of a contract with the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. meant to reduce greenhouse gases.
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Thousands rally for action on climate
Vancouver Sun
10/25/2009
About 5,000 people, including a shouting, sign-waving group of secondary school students, demonstrated on Vancouver's Cambie Bridge as part of the International Day of Climate Change. They were among millions of people around the world who took part in weekend demonstrations demanding government action on climate change.
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Rallying for (climate) change
Oregonian
10/25/2009
Kayakers and canoeists formed a giant 350 in the Willamette River this weekend joining actions in 181 countries that urged world leaders to act quickly and aggressively to reduce carbon emissions that cause climate change. Many climate scientists say the Earth can remain healthy at a top limit of 350 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere.
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Missing the forest
Oregonian
10/25/2009
A new study suggests warming temperatures predicted over the next century could boost tree growth on Northwest forests, but less so at lower elevations where most of the timber is and temperatures are already warm.
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Tree farmers may profit from climate regs
KUOW
10/23/2009
In our region, private timberland owners, farmers, and some tribal governments are dreaming dollar signs thanks to a growing market for carbon offsets meant to temper climate change.
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Idaho nursery gives forests a start
Seattle Times
10/21/2009
A Coeur d'Alene nursery is a genetic storehouse for Western forests. One of six nurseries in the national forest system, it grows seedlings that can be used to replenish woods wiped out by fires.
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Global warming could boost NW forest growth
Oregonian
10/19/2009
Global warming could increase overall productivity in the Pacific Northwest's forests during the next century, a study concludes, but growth could decrease in the lower elevation forests that have accounted for more than four-fifths of the region's timber harvest in recent years.
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Forest study sees upside of climate change
Los Angeles Times
10/20/2009
While gradually warming global temperatures long have been seen as an environmental threat, a study released Monday suggested that the forests of the Pacific Northwest could see a substantial gain in productivity as the thermometer climbs.
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Forest Service approves Ashland thinning
Medford Mail-Tribune
10/20/2009
Some 7,600 acres of forestland outside Ashland will be thinned to help protect against wildfire under a project approved by the US Forest Service.
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Loggers spared massive red cedar
Vancouver Sun
10/16/2009
A massive tree discovered recently is believed to be the largest red cedar in the southern portion of Vancouver Island -- a graphic reminder that ancient trees on the island need protection.
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OR forest plan balances economy, environment
Oregonian
10/15/2009
On Wednesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar put forward the administration's plan to balance the economic needs of rural logging communities with environmental mandates for about 2.5 million acres of forests in western Oregon.
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EPA releases Bush global warming memo
San Francisco Chronicle
10/13/2009
A controversial e-mail message buried by the Bush administration because of its conclusions that global warming poses a danger to the public welfare surfaced Tuesday, nearly two years after it was first sent to the White House and never opened.
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Better mountain bikes, fewer mountain trails?
New York Times
10/11/2009
As the number of mountain bikers has soared in recent years, the bikes have become lighter and more nimble - to the benefit of riders and the detriment of forest lands recommended for wilderness designation, according to the US Forest Service, which is looking to keep bikers off hundreds or thousands miles of trails.
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Could resource consolidation save states money?
Boise Idaho Statesman
10/12/2009
As part of a government reform initiative, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire has released the results of a task force look at consolidating agencies that protect the environment, fish and wildlife and manage state-owned lands. Could Idaho learn something?
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Plant would turn wood scraps into power, ethanol
Longview Daily News
10/08/2009
Officials like a proposal to build a plant in Longview, Wash., capable of converting wood scraps into both electricity and ethanol, a first-of-its-kind operation that would create green energy and jobs.
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Trial Islands: Green gem in our midst
BC Local News
10/07/2009
Trial Islands, a pair of islands off of Victoria, are a little-known but renowned ecological reserve, home to more than 300 plant species, many which disappeared from around the region after European settlement.
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Saving forests would boost bottom line, report says
San Francisco Chronicle
10/07/2009
US companies could save tens of billions of dollars by investing in efforts to combat deforestation in developing nations instead of cleaning up their own domestic carbon dioxide emissions
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Big Idaho land swap generates opposition
Oregon Public Broadcasting
10/06/2009
The US Forest Service and a Portland-based timber company are considering a large land swap in Idaho that would put nearly 40,000 acres of highly-valued forest in public hands and give the company dozens of smaller parcels. Some say it's a good deal. But opponents lament what the public would lose.
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Little beetle a big puzzle for Canadian lumber
Toronto Globe and Mail
10/05/2009
Western Canada's mountain pine beetle infestation has left forestry firms with both the short-term problem of how to make money in a tough market from beetle-killed trees, and the long-term risk of a fibre shortage. If the industry is lucky, the spectators at the 2010 Games will take their eyes off the athletes speeding around the skating oval and spend a few moments looking at the newly built facility's "wood wave" ceiling.
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OR roadless rule roadblock
Ashland Daily Tidings
10/05/2009
Federal economic stimulus money totaling $2 million has been earmarked for a wildfire fuels thinning project in the Ashland Watershed, but the project is in limbo because of a nationwide controversy over what activities will be allowed in roadless areas.
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