Don't let the BLM close public hiking trails

Dear Barker,

On Tuesday I tallied the results and am proud to announce that thanks to Barkers like you, we raised $33,053 in our Winter Campaign! Thank you. Unfortunately also on Tuesday, I read an email from one of our volunteer Forest Watch Committee members describing disturbing logging preparations in the Molalla River watershed including a new road that has a “stream” of water flowing down it. Check out this month's Bark-Out for more.

Sincerely,
Alex P Brown, Executive Director

PS -- Like something you see in this email? Help us spread the word by posting our alert to your Facebook page!


Bark-Out: Annie’s Cabin Timber Sale is being logged – Don’t let the BLM overstep its authority by restricting public access!
Bark-About: A special snowshoe wildlife tracking hike
Bark Tales: Forest Ecology Intern makes Bark smarter
Bark Bites: 2011 was an awesome year


Bark-Out
Recreation trails and spotted owl habitat in the Annie’s Cabin Timber Sale are being destroyed – don’t let the BLM shut us out!

From 2003-2007 Bark fought hard to stop the Annie’s Cabin Timber Sale from decimating threatened wildlife habitat and disrupting popular recreation sites in the Molalla River Recreation Corridor. We won important concessions in that fight, but were ultimately struck down in an unfavorable court decision that allowed the logging to move forward. Now, logging has begun in the area and Bark volunteers monitoring the sale have discovered that the Bureau of Land Management is restricting all public access to the surrounding recreation area, shutting the public out of our public lands without due process. This is unacceptable!

Help us hold the BLM accountable by sending a message today requesting the removal of improper signage blocking public access to public lands!


Bark-About
Snowshoe tracking hike with Bark and Cascadia Wild
Sunday, January 8th, 9am-5pm

This month Bark and Cascadia Wild are teaming up to lead a winter tracking hike in Mt. Hood National Forest. Join us for a snowshoe hike to learn the art of animal tracking and how to help protect our threatened local forests. This is a special opportunity to get into the snow with Bark and learn new skills along the way!

We have a limited supply of snowshoes available for your use. Please contact [email protected] to reserve a pair for the hike. If you have your own pair or an extra to share, please bring them along. Come prepared for winter travel and bring lunch, water, and cold weather gear.

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.


Bark Tales
James Fallon-Côté utilized our Forest Ecology Internship to expand his knowledge and improve Bark’s resources – thanks James!

Every year Bark offers at least one Forest Ecology Internship to a volunteer with enthusiasm and interest in learning about forest science. In 2011 we had a stellar intern who researched the ins and outs of forest fungi, climate change, and fire regimes in Mt. Hood National Forest. Thanks to James, who was able to create an independent study course through University of Portland as a part of his volunteer work, the Bark office is now equipped with the most up-to-date science on these topics along with useful executive summaries. Here’s a howl for James for dedicating such thoughtful work and research to helping us improve our resources on forest ecology: HHHHAAAAAOOOOOO!

Want to see the product of James’ work? Drop by our office to review the new climate change and fire science binders in our resource library. Interested in pursuing a Forest Ecology Internship with Bark? Check out the internship description and follow the instructions to apply.


Bark Bites
In 2011 we had incredible campaign victories and accomplished great feats! Some highlights of 2011 include...

• Defeated NW Natural’s plans for the Palomar Pipeline
• Submitted more than 3,000 public comments to the Forest Service opposing the Jazz Timber Sale
• Sent more than 5,000 postcards to Governor Kitzhaber opposing Nestlé’s plans to bottle and profit from our Mt. Hood water
• Completed the Bark Mural on SE Powell at 45^th
• Hosted a successful Mt. Hood Solutions Summit
• Led 12 free public Bark-About hikes
  
• Dedicated more than 1,000 volunteer hours to groundtruthing timber sales
• Saw the initiation of aggressive road decommissioning projects in Mt. Hood National Forest
  
• Produced the “Know your Forest” film series
• Provided our NEPA 101 training to 14 new volunteers