Urgent action needed to protect 2,000 acres of Mt. Hood!

Dear Barker,

The Forest Service’s timber sale program is out of control. Subsidizing the logging of Mt. Hood National Forest to the detriment of our watersheds may have been acceptable in the 1900s, but not in 2011. The 2,000-acre Jazz Timber Sale demonstrates why it is time to say NO to the Forest Service timber program, and YES to restoration and recreation. Official comment period ends soon…

Sincerely,
Alex P Brown, Executive Director

PS- This isn’t your average alert. We’re asking more of you because we have comment deadlines on both the Jazz Timber Sale and Nestlé’s proposed bottling plant. Thanks in advance for taking action to protect Mt. Hood.


Bark-Out: Stop the Jazz Timber Sale now!
Bark-About: A hike to see the beautiful forest in the Jazz Timber Sale
Giving Tree: Why Bark is a good use of your tax-deductible donation
Bark Tales: Bark’s canvass educated 40,000+ in 2011 (that’s right!)
Bark Bites: Will Palomar return? An LNG update


Bark-Out
The comment period is open for the Jazz Timber Sale – this is your chance to stop 2,000 acres of logging in Mt. Hood!

The Jazz Timber Sale would log 2,000 acres in the most landslide-prone watershed in Mt. Hood National Forest and would require eleven miles of previously decommissioned roads to be re-opened to allow logging trucks access into the beautiful forest and wet meadows encompassed by the sale. More logging in this sensitive drinking watershed is not the way to heal a landscape that is recovering from decades of mismanagement and over-logging. Don’t let the Forest Service’s Timber Program dictate the management of our forest! Send in your comment opposing this sale now!


Bark-About
Come see the Jazz Timber Sale for yourself
Sunday, December 11th, 9am-5pm

The Jazz Timber Sale is home to an incredible understory of diverse flora, beautifully recovering decommissioned roads, healthy wet meadows, and evidence of a landscape naturally recovering from a history of logging. With the public comment period officially open for this 2,000 acre sale, now is a great time to get your feet on the ground to inform your comments to the Forest Service.

Please bring lunch, water, and sturdy boots and plan to walk up to 2 miles on and off trail. The weather is very unpredictable this time of year, so please be prepared for various weather conditions.

Bark-Abouts are led on the second Sunday of every month and are free to the public. Click here for more information about this month’s hike.


Giving Tree
Here is how giving to Bark turns into wins for Mt. Hood

When you financially support Bark, your money goes further than you might realize. Here’s an example:

Your donation supports Brenna Bell, Bark’s part-time NEPA Coordinator, who this summer trained over a dozen Oregonians how to read and comment on NEPA documents (what is NEPA?). Now, the Jazz Timber Sale Preliminary Assessment has been released and 8 of those volunteers are helping to compile Bark’s official comments on the 160-page document. Your financial support of one staff member has now become a team of trained Oregonians who are helping protect Mt. Hood National Forest from short-sighted logging!

Want more examples? Call Alex P. Brown at 503-331-0374 to ask how you can maximize your end-of-year donation with a canvass challenge. Or simply click the donate button and rest easy knowing that Bark will stretch your dollar to protect and restore Mt. Hood National Forest!


Bark Tales
Bark’s canvass collected more than 3,500 comments opposing Nestlé this year... and more fun facts about our canvass team!

As Bark’s canvass closes another year, here are a few reasons why that check you gave to a Bark canvasser one evening was so important for Mt. Hood:

1) Education -- Bark has had face-to-face conversations with nearly 40,000 Oregonians about threats to Mt. Hood. This quality education is invaluable to our long-term goals;

2) Strength in numbers –- Bark’s local email list is now 17,000-strong and so far this year we’ve helped over 5,500 people take action on critical issues like Nestlé and the Jazz Timber Sale; and

3) Money –- The most unique donations at the door in 2011 include an apple (Ben says “thanks!”), a bag of $43.63 in change, and $1,000 in cash (we all say “thanks!”).

Most importantly, in 2011 Bark’s canvass facilitated SO many comments to be sent to the Oregon Water Resources Board on Nestlé’s proposed bottling plant, that a decision still hasn’t been issued because it took so long to wade through the comments. Click here to send your  comment to the governor!


Bark Bites
An LNG update and keeping an eye on NW Natural’s plans

Since NW Natural pulled the plug on the Palomar Pipeline in March of this year the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) landscape has changed considerably. The two remaining LNG proposals in Oregon, Oregon LNG and Jordan Cove LNG, are now re-arranging their proposals to export domestic natural gas as LNG to Asian markets instead of importing foreign LNG into the U.S. through the Oregon coast. If these plans succeed it will mean drastically higher energy costs for energy consumers across the country while posing all the environmental threats of an import facility. It will also increase demand for ‘fracked’ gas, a process that is poisoning the drinking water of communities impacted by gas extraction (the subject of the documentary Gasland). 

Meanwhile, NW Natural is re-tooling its Palomar Pipeline proposal with the hopes of re-opening its federal application to funnel domestic gas into Oregon for export through the Oregon LNG terminal. The State of Oregon recently took a strong stand on exporting LNG through Oregon. Click here to read about Oregon’s letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission urging them to revoke granted permits for one LNG terminal in Oregon.

Bark is keeping tabs on Palomar and will keep our supporters informed about the project’s status and its threat to 47 miles of Mt. Hood National Forest!


Bark Bonus
Wow! You've just learned about a few of the urgent threats to Mt. Hood that Bark has been dilligently fighting in 2011. Your end-of-year donation will ensure that we can continue this work into 2012. Thanks for giving generously!