Bark Alert: Old growth assault and illegal fees on the Clackamas

Dear Barker,

The photo to the right is the last sliver of old-growth near the lower Clackamas River that the BLM wants to cut down for a new logging road. After Bark’s organizer Meredith documented this on a sunny Sunday afternoon, she took a much-needed break along the Clackamas only to find that California Land Management (aka-Mt. Hood Recreation) is now charging people to park on the side of Hwy 224 to swim at the Big Eddy swimming hole. Please don't wait, take action below.

Sincerely,
Alex P Brown, Executive Director

PS- Bark is one of Oregon's 100 Best Non Profits! Your actions and donations make it possible. Read more below, and thanks!

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Bark-Out: Stop the BLM’s old-growth grab
Bark-About: Hike to the Dollar Lake Fire
Giving Tree: Oregon's 100 Best Non Profits
Bark Tales: New Tumblr page showcases volunteer-produced videos
Bark Bites: Don’t pee, don’t pay
Bark Burns: Bark’s Fire Policy debut!

Bark-Out
Protect the last old growth on the lower Clackamas!

Think old-growth logging is a thing of the past? Not for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)! The proposed Airstrip Timber Sale just east of Estacada is using the construction of a one mile road and 20 logging landings in remnant old growth to cover up this plan and avoid requirements to assess the environmental impact of logging old-growth.

Take action now! Logging could begin any day in Airstrip, and Bark is prepared to sue the BLM over this blatant mismanagement -- unless they drop the road and landings that punch through old growth in the planning area. Tell the BLM that its plan to avoid environmental accountability and destroy the last of the area’s old growth is unacceptable. Click here to expose the BLM’s sneaky avoidance of environmental accountability and demand that it reverse plans for new road construction and protects legacy trees and snags.

Bark-About
The Dollar Lake Fire one year later

Join Bark Forest Watch Committee member Matt Mavko as he takes us into the post-burn Dollar Lake fire which started in the Mt. Hood Wilderness late last summer and burned a total of 6,000 acres. On the hike Matt will discuss the intricacies of fire’s role in forest ecosystems as well as how the Forest Service manages for fire.

This hike will be strenuous and we will be very exposed to sun, so please come prepared. Please bring lunch, water, and sturdy boots. We will be going up fairly high in elevation so please bring clothes for diverse conditions. Please, only dogs on leash to protect the sensitive soil in this recently burned area.

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.  photo by Katelyn Hale


Giving Tree
Bark to be announced as one of Oregon's 100 Best Non Profits

Bark was just identified by the Oregon Business magazine as one of the state's 100 best non-profits. The rankings will be unveiled Thursday, September 27th, at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower.

If you are interested in attending the dinner at Bark's table for only $75, please email [email protected] by noon tomorrow (Thursday) for details.

Don't want to attend the dinner? Please make a special donation through our secure website to support our tenancious efforts to protect Mt. Hood National Forest.


Bark Tales
Follow our new Tumblr page to catch the latest Bark videos

Did you know that Bark has been producing Bark for Mt. Hood TV, a monthly cable access TV show, for over 10 years? Board member and dedicated volunteer Jim Lockhart has captured footage of Bark’s monthly hikes and produced Bark for Mt. Hood TV to educate those who are not able to join us in the forest, on the issues impacting Mt. Hood and their public lands.

Jim is just one of several Barkers who have produced excellent videos to inform and inspire action to defend our forests, and we are happy to announce our new Tumblr page that features a number of these videos from years of Bark history. Click here to check out our page, and ‘follow’ it to get alerts for new video posts. The page features past Bark-About hikes, resistance to the proposed Nestlé bottling plant in the Gorge, the Bark Mural project, and more!  Check ‘em out!

Bark Bites
Don’t pee, don’t pay

Do you go swimming at Big Eddy on the Clackamas River? Have you noticed a new fee requirement or been given a ‘courtesy notice’ that you must pay to access the river at this popular site just off Highway 224? Well, we have news for you: the $5 fee being charged by California Land Management (doing business as Mt. Hood Recreation) is not actually allowed under the Forest Service’s own rules.

Big Eddy is one of the recreation sites whose management was transferred by the Forest Service to the private for-profit company earlier this year, along with Bagby Hot Springs and over two dozen campgrounds. Although a recent Ninth Circuit Court decision clearly indicates that fees are not permitted when parking alongside roads and trails for “hiking through . . . without using the facilities and services,” the Forest Service has allowed the company to establish a fee to park along Hwy 224 at Big Eddy.

You have the right to access public land free of charge and we want Barkers to have all the information necessary to make informed decisions about your forests. Contact us at [email protected] for more about this decision and concessionaire management, as well as ways to get involved.


Bark Burns
Bark’s new fire policy unveiled!

The buzz surrounding last summer’s Dollar Lake Fire, which burned in and around Mt. Hood Wilderness, provided the spark of inspiration that Bark needed to establish a policy on forest fire. We spent months researching fire science and many hours talking among staff and volunteers about the importance of fire in Mt. Hood National Forest, the public sensitivity toward fire, and the fire management policies of the Forest Service. Then we asked you to weigh in on fire through our Bark Burns surveys over the last year. Now we are proud to unveil our brand new fire policy.


Click here to read Bark’s Fire Policy to understand our position on wildfire, to learn about some of the mis-conceptions about fire in our forests, and to understand some of the impacts of active fire management in our forests.