Bark Alert: Sneaky business in public forests

Dear Barker,

On July 11th, Rep. Kurt Schrader attempted to open 1.5 million acres of our public forests to clearcutting. This is the same congressperson whose district includes the proposed Jazz Timber Sale, which threatens the Clackamas River. Read about his sneaky move in this month’s “Howls and Growls.”

Sincerely,
Alex P Brown, Executive Director

PS- As I write this, two Bark volunteers are in Mt. Hood National Forest collecting data on logging. This is how Bark turns two hours of staff-led training into 16 hours of boots-on-the-ground to protect the forests you love. Support local environmental actions today – click here to donate.

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Bark-Out: Don't let the Forest Service reverse restoration in Mt. Hood National Forest!
Bark-About: Tree talk
Giving Tree: What is a penetrometer?
Bark Tales: A fresh perspective and fancy new tools
Howls and Growls: A growl for a sneaky politician and a howl for responsible volunteers
Bark Burns: You took the survey, now check out the stats

Bark-Out
The Forest Service is setting roads recovery back by decades in the Jazz Timber Sale – don’t let the Forest Service reverse restoration!

Bark groundtruthers recently discovered that the Forest Service has already begun cutting trees in the Jazz Timber Sale, despite no final decision yet being issued on the sale. How is that possible? Because the trees cut were new growth sprouting out of unused roads that timber companies want to access logging units in Jazz. These young trees represent the possibility of a landscape recovering from a history of logging and mismanagement, but rather than allowing these roads to heal over with newly generated forest, the Forest Service is actively setting back restoration by decades -- all for a timber sale that hasn’t even been approved.

In addition to the roads recently cleared for the Jazz Timber Sale, eleven more miles of previously decommissioned roads are planned to be re-opened for the sale, further degrading publicly funded restoration of our forest. Take action today! Contact Mt. Hood’s Forest Supervisor and your congressperson to register disgust at the casual disregard for the recovery of our public forests.

Bark-About
Tree ID in the Red Hill Timber Sale

For our August hike we are going to talk trees, including tips on how to identify the different Cascade conifer species, and what clues they lend about their surroundings. We'll be hiking in the Red Hill Timber Sale, the newest logging proposal in the Hood River District of Mt. Hood National Forest. This sale is located in a transition zone, where mid-elevation meets high-elevation forest, making it a great spot to learn about species diversity. Bark’s Forest Watch Coordinator and botany expert Gradey Proctor will lead this hike.

This month's Bark-About will have two meet up locations, one in Portland, and one in Hood River! Check our website for details on the meet up, and if you are meeting up in Portland, please arrive by 8:45am so we can leave promptly at 9:00.

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
Bark’s new penetrometer also measures frugality

Thanks to a partnership with Drew University (see Bark Tales below), Bark was able to purchase a new penetrometer, a pricey yet important measurement tool. Partnerships like the one with Drew U, in which $17,000 of in-kind labor and equipment, like the penetrometer, are helping protect Mt. Hood are just another way that Bark stretches your donation.

A penetrometer measures the strength of soil, and can be used to determine levels of compaction and even soil moisture. This is helping Bark document exactly how logging roads harm forest soils and will help us stop future timber sales.

Bark is only $14,000 from our Summer Campaign goal. Please click here to donate today!

Bark Tales
Drew University research helps us get the best possible data to protect Mt. Hood National Forest

Thanks to the work of Drew University’s Megan Chellew and Professor Sarah Webb, Bark has begun developing new scientific groundtruthing protocol to monitor recently logged areas in Mt. Hood National Forest. Bark’s volunteer Forest Watch Committee has shown us the value of visiting logged areas by bringing us remarkable photos and report-backs on what they witness in the forest. Through Megan’s many field hours we hope to add to those resources with the tools we need to get quantifiable, scientifically viable data of damage done by recent logging projects.

Stay tuned for updates on information volunteers find in the field, and keep an eye out for upcoming groundtruthing trainings where you can learn how to help us collect this valuable information.

Howls & Growls
A howl for volunteers removing tons of trash from Mt. Hood OHV areas and a growl for Congressman Schrader trying to open 1.5 million acres of public forest to logging

In 2001, years of work on the Mt. Hood Travel Management Plan resulted in a greatly minimized impact of Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) designated areas in Mt. Hood National Forest. Since then, Bark has continued our involvement through the OHV Monitoring Group which brings together conservationists and motorized vehicle advocacy groups to monitor how the plan is working. At a recent meeting we learned that one OHV group, Those Guys Off Road, has led a consistent effort to clean up the La Dee Flats OHV area and hauled out tons of trash already this year. Here is a howl for a group of responsible volunteers carrying the load for other OHV users by cleaning up the trash and abandoned vehicles that accumulate in OHV areas. HHHHAAAAAOOOOOO!

Bark has been monitoring an effort by a few Oregon Congressmen to open 1.5 million acres of public forest to old growth clearcuts and watershed-wide logging. We have been consistently disappointed in Representative Schrader’s role in degrading protections on these lands, but recently that disappointment reached the point of pure shock. In a desperate attempt to see Oregon’s old growth forests logged, Rep. Schrader recently submitted a rider to the Farm Bill at the eleventh hour. Fortunately, his effort was stymied and voted down on the House floor, but we expect this isn’t the last we’ll see of Schrader’s anti-environment fanaticism. Join us in growling at Schrader by contacting your legislator today to register your concern about Schrader’s tendency to support and propose legislation that would decimate Oregon’s old growth forests. Take action now! GGGGGGRRRRRRR!

Bark Burns
Survey says Barkers value wildfire

For the last six months we have asked for your opinion on the role fire plays in Mt. Hood ecosystems and how people should interact with (or stay away from) this powerful force.

Here is a snapshot of how Barkers responded to our survey:

• 90% think the Forest Service should not log in municpal watersheds to decrease the threat of high-intensity fire.

• 86% agree that fire suppression should not take funding priority over other programs in Mt. Hood National Forest.
  

• 75% indicated that the cause of fire should dictate the type of response, whether it was a result of human or non-human actions.
  

Based on these and other responses, it is clear that most Barkers value the role of wildfire in ecosystem health, would like to see a more nuanced approach to fire management, and object to the current model of supressing all fires outside of wilderness areas regardless of cause. However, many responses indicated that fire supression may be necessary if a fire threatens homes or other structures, and asked what regulations exist for homeowners who build in areas with a high likelihood of fire. Although there are no restrictions on building in fire prone areas, the Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Act requires homeowners to take certain precautions to reduce the probability that their home would burn if there was a nearby wildfire.

Stay tuned for the unveiling of Bark’s fire policy, coming soon!