Conservation Today

Permit violations during the August 2023 repairs of the Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River near Roseburg, resulted in the biggest fish kill on an Oregon River this year. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fined the dam's owners and their contractors $27.6 million dollars for the needless death of hundreds of thousands on native fish. The Winchester Dam was condemned in 1976. The Oregon Water Resource District gave the dam their highest danger rating, “high hazard,” meaning: “the department expects loss of human life to occur if the dam fails.” Mike Ruehle and Adam Miller of Community Rights Douglas County chronicle the history of the Winchester Dam. They describe the ongoing pattern of violations of both permit and law that culminated in the massive fish kill and unprecedented monetary penalty, how it could have easily been prevented, and what can be done to remove the Winchester Dam so this never happens again. The Winchester Water Control District, owners of the derelict and condemned Winchester Dam, have perpetrated a litany of documented violations including: • Illegal water storage in excess of their water rights. • Pollution of the North Umpqua River. • Privatization of publics lands and waterways. • Killing of millions of threatened and sensitive aquatic species. • Repeated failure to comply with state and federal laws and regulations.  • The use of toxic and carcinogenic building materials that leach copper, arsenic, and chromium 50 feet upstream of the intake to the public drinking water source for 37,700 residents – one third of the residents of Douglas County, Oregon. For more information, visit WinchesterDam.com

Kai Huschke, with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, talks to us about the hierarchy of community rights, states rights, and corporate rights. We look at examples of Rights of Nature laws in other countries, and why it is so difficult to have community or nature rights under the Unites States system of capitalism. Community vs corporation examples include the timber and fossil fuel industries. For more information, see https://celdf.org/. Ending song is “Occupy the USA” from the album “Revolutions Per Minute” by Emma's Revolution. https://emmasrevolution.com/. You can purchase this album in a non-capitalistic way by naming your own price at: https://emmasrevolution.com/revolutions-per-minute

Michelle Holman (Community Rights Lane County) and Craig Kauffman (UO professor and author) talk about a ballot initiative to help protect Lane County watersheds and give legal rights to nature. The ballot initiative can be seen here: https://www.protectlanecountywatersheds.org/lane_county_watersheds_bill_of_rights To get involved in Community Rights, and to donate to this project, see: https://www.protectlanecountywatersheds.org/donate Craig's fascinating information is here, including a link to download his latest book: “The Politics of Rights of Nature": https://blogs.uoregon.edu/craigkauffman/ Also note, on February 22 at 6pm, Michelle, Craig and Kunu Bearchum (filmmaker, multimedia producer and Chief Petitioner for the Lane County Watersheds Bill of Rights) will join with Kai Huschke (Oregon Community Rights Network president and CELDF community organizer) in conversation about water protection, rights of nature and the pending initiative. To attend this Zoom event, send request for link to: info@orcrn.org

A panel of speakers discusses the plight of native wild horses in "Horse Management Areas" on public lands in western states. Speakers on Part 1 and Part 2 of the Wild Horse Podcast include: Lorna Torrey Palermo is a long time horse lover, animal advocate and Advocate for Wild Equines. Linda Wallace first became interested in the wild horses as a child when she heard about Wild Horse Annie. She has been writing letters and making phone calls ever since! Linda adopted an amazing black Eastern Oregon Mustang named Moonshine in the 80s. She now visits HMAs all over the West to photograph these beautiful, majestic creatures. Nick Goertzen is a western states horse advocate Tenaya Jewell is a scientist in the medical field and a long-time activist for animals and the environment. She has always loved horses and her passion is advocating for respectful and compassionate ways of being with animals. Renee Bosarge Ivy is a long-time animal lover and dedicated horse advocate. ----------------------------------------- Links for more information: A.W.E Advocates for wild equines https://www.advocatesforwildequines.com/ https://m.facebook.com/groups/152598663650225 Wild horse education: lots of news, updates, litigation https://wildhorseeducation.org/ American wild horse campaign: Beautiful photos and very detailed background info on the issues https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/ Skydog sanctuary: rescues mustangs, reunites families separated during round ups, has 2 locations: malibu, ca and bend, or https://www.skydogranch.org/ Articles: New evidence that wild horses are native and how history was distorted by colonizers: https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/yes-world-there-were-horses-in-native-culture-before-the-settlers-came This article includes links to official sources about grazing fees and tax payer costs http://dailypitchfork.org/?p=631&fbclid=IwAR1dMdl6jRiGlITT5amPw2vAmh68Udu4ZYXcD9vUqUkrDuLGBHBCKka2NoA Bills to Support: https://www.safe-act.org/ https://wildhorseeducation.org/2022/02/08/bill-to-ban-helicopters-to-capture-wild-horses/ ------------------------------------------- The Part 2 ending song is “Navajo Trail” by “The Slow Ponies”. Their music can be found here: https://www.slowponies.com/

A panel of speakers discusses the plight of native wild horses in "Horse Management Areas" on public lands in western states. Our speakers on Part 1 and Part 2 of the Wild Horse Podcast include: Lorna Torrey Palermo is a long time horse lover, animal advocate and Advocate For Wild Equines.. Linda Wallace first became interested in the wild horses as a child when she heard about Wild Horse Annie. She has been writing letters and making phone calls ever since! Linda adopted an amazing black Eastern Oregon Mustang named Moonshine in the 80s. She now visits HMAs all over the West to photograph these beautiful, majestic creatures. Nick Goertzen is a western states horse advocate Tenaya Jewell is a scientist in the medical field and a long-time activist for animals and the environment. She has always loved horses and her passion is advocating for respectful and compassionate ways of being with animals. Renee Bosarge Ivy is a long-time animal lover and dedicated horse advocate. ----------------------------------------- Links for more information: A.W.E Advocates for wild equines This is the website, there is a place to donate: https://www.advocatesforwildequines.com/ This is awe Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/groups/152598663650225 Wild horse education: lots of news, updates, litigation https://wildhorseeducation.org/ American wild horse campaign: Beautiful photos and very detailed background info on the issues https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/ Skydog sanctuary: rescues mustangs, reunites families separated during round ups, has 2 locations: malibu, ca and bend, or https://www.skydogranch.org/ Articles: New evidence that wild horses are native and how history was distorted by colonizers: https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/yes-world-there-were-horses-in-native-culture-before-the-settlers-came This article includes links to official sources about grazing fees and tax payer costs http://dailypitchfork.org/?p=631&fbclid=IwAR1dMdl6jRiGlITT5amPw2vAmh68Udu4ZYXcD9vUqUkrDuLGBHBCKka2NoA Bills to Support: https://www.safe-act.org/ https://wildhorseeducation.org/2022/02/08/bill-to-ban-helicopters-to-capture-wild-horses/ Current legislation in Congress that impacts the horses: *HR 3355 Safe Act: prohibits the transport of equines for the purpose of slaughter. *HR 6635 WHB Protection Act of 2022Stops the use of helicopters in the round up of wild equines *HR 6935 Grazing Retirement Act *SB 1214 Grazing, Mike LeeFacilitates the voluntary retirement of grazing allotments owned by ranchers and sale to other interested parties. * HR 5203 Ejiao Act, Don Beyer, subcommittee on health(Sept 2021)Prohibits the sale or transport of Ejiao made using donkey skins in interstate or foreign commerce. The A*W*E Advocates for Wild Equines Lobby Coalition does lobby for the passage of these acts in Congress.

This is a conversation with Carol Van Strum, who has fought against the aerial spraying of pesticides, including Agent Orange, since 1975. Join Carol on the webinar Wednesday, April 6, 6 PM, 2022. "Oregonians Love Trees". Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83135992632?pwd=VlFvZUp1SmxxKzdjZzRESEVVQ3BiZz09 The PBS documentary that features Carol: The People vs. Agent Orange. https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/the-people-vs-agent-orange/ Books by Carol: A Bitter Fog, Herbicides and Human Rights. https://bookshop.org/books/a-bitter-fog-herbicides-human-rights/9781732446830 The Oreo File. https://bookshop.org/books/the-oreo-file/9781539821830 The ending song by Alice DiMicele, Defend The Earth from her “Searching” album. https://alicedimicele.bandcamp.com/track/defend-the-earth

This is a conservation with Patrick Starnes, long time environmental activist, and now a candidate for governor of Oregon. We talk about some recent environmental victories, then a conversation on health plan options for Oregonians. We also chat about campaign finance reform, the housing crisis, renewable energy possibilities, and a bit about forestry in Oregon. For more information on Patrick Starnes, see: https://starnes2022.com/, and https://ballotpedia.org/Patrick_Starnes Ending music is “Vote Republican” by Roy Zimmerman, from his “You're Getting Sleepy” album. https://roy-zimmerman.myshopify.com/, https://roy-zimmerman.myshopify.com/collections/youre-getting-sleepy

This is a fascinating conversation with Bonnie Olin. Bonnie is an avid river user, including kayaking on the Snake River. Bonnie talks about the four lower Snake River Dams, why they should be removed, and the impacts removal would have on fish and wildlife, as well as the economy. She covers the mitigations available for impacts such as barging grain and electrical generation. For more information, the following links were mentioned in the podcast: * Wild Salmon Center and their work. This is also the center created by Guido Rahr of the book Stronghold. https://wildsalmoncenter.org/strategy/ * Information about the book “Stronghold” by Tucker Malarkey https://wildsalmoncenter.org/stronghold-book/ * Another excellent group working to breach the dams and save the salmon is https://www.wildsalmon.org * Mike Simpson's proposals for dam breaching. This is not a piece of legislation. It is just a set of ideas. https://simpson.house.gov/uploadedfiles/websiteslides2.4.pdf * Andy Kerr, (Public Lands Lobbyist) thoughts on Simpson's proposal. http://www.andykerr.net/kerr-public-lands-blog/2019/9/6/a-solomonic-salmonid-solution * A link to Bonnie's website, with stories and info about the Owyhee, and her book, The Owyhee River Journals. www.owyheemedia.com * Bonnie's letter to the editor: https://www.registerguard.com/story/opinion/columns/2021/03/20/guest-view-plight-salmon-upstream-battle/4740844001/ Walt Pollock, former BPA Administrator, letter to the editor: https://www.registerguard.com/story/opinion/columns/2021/09/02/guest-view-we-can-have-our-salmon-and-eat-it-too-hydro-power-killer-whales-chinook-oregon-idaho/5657156001/ The ending song is “Bound for the Inland Sea”, by Pacific Flyway from their album Over Our Heads, sung by Roseburg's own Marnie Allbritten. marnie59 at jeffnet dot org

This is a conversation with Deb Evans and Ron Schaaf about the Jordan Cove project. Deb and Ron are landowner plaintiffs in the Deborah Evans v. FERC lawsuit. We talk about what happened at the oral arguments in the DC Circuit court on October 28. Deb, Ron and other landowners threatened with eminent domain, were represented by the Niskanen Center. https://www.niskanencenter.org/ Also at the October 28 court hearing, environmental groups were represented by Sierra Club and Western Environmental Law Center. https://westernlaw.org/ Recording of the October 28 argument is here: https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/recordings/recordings2021.nsf/E49C2CAEBC1395A28525877C0060D500/$file/20-1161.mp3 Deb and Ron talk about the history of Jordan Cove, the impacts of the required Oregon state permits, and what the future looks like for the proposed Canadian pipeline through southern Oregon. For more information, see: Our Land - Our Lives Landowner website: https://www.ourland-ourlives.org/ Deb and Ron suggest we thank Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden for their bill, Landowner Fairness Act, which would help reduce burdens on landowners from oil and gas corporations. Landowner Fairness Act - Full Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/641/text Our ending song is the Jordan Cove Rock, by Harry Stamper. I haven't yet found a place online to purchase Harry's music, but you can hear more of it here: http://pnwfolklore.org/HarryStamper.html ... http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv24615

This is a conversation with Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, the Douglas County Public Health Officer. We discuss the current state of the Covid pandemic in Douglas County, and what you can do keep yourself healthy. The current situation is dire, with many dying needlessly at Mercy Medical Center. Bob discusses some of the myths surrounding the Covid vaccines. He explains how the vaccines were developed so quickly, yet safely, under Operation Warp Speed. For more information on how you can get a vaccine or a Covid test, see https://douglaspublichealthnetwork.org/. Or call 541-464-6550. Our ending song, Play One Song For Me, was written and played by Marnie Allbritten, from Douglas County.

This is a conversation with Jim McCarthy, the Southern Oregon Program Director for WaterWatch of Oregon. Waterwatch is part of a coalition of conservation groups suing over the fish-killing Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River, North of Roseburg. Jim describes the history of the dam, ownership, management, and why the dam kills fish, including coho, steelhead, and pacific lamprey. Visit Waterwatch at: https://waterwatch.org/. Winchester Dam page: https://waterwatch.org/programs/winchester-dam/ Fact sheet on Winchester Dam: https://waterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/WINCHESTER-DAM-FACT-SHEET-FINAL-11-10-20.pdf Our ending song is “Big Fat Fish” by “Walkin' Jim Stoltz” from his “The Web of Life” album. You can download his song here: https://walkinjim.com/the-web-of-life-cd/

This is a conversation with Audrey Squires, Umpqua Restoration Program Coordinator for the mitigation funds from the North Umpqua Hydro Project. The Hydro Project's 2001 settlement agreement required PacificCorp to pay annual funding for restoration projects to mitigate their wildlife impacts. Audrey describes the types of wildlife impacts, types of restoration projects, and volunteer opportunities. For more information: The North Umpqua Hydro Project, see https://www.pacificorp.com/energy/hydro/north-umpqua-river.html The Umpqua National Forest page with mitigation fund information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/umpqua/landmanagement/resourcemanagement/?cid=stelprdb5387276 (The FY 22 projects, soon to be announced, will be posted there). Audrey Squires: asquires@nationalforests.org National Forest Foundation: https://www.nationalforests.org/

Today we talk with Kimberly Holmquist about Douglas County Community Rights and some issues before the Douglas County Commissioners, including the proposed 2,800 acre destination resort planned for near Yoncalla. Kimberly also describes the history of the “Doctrine of Discovery”, and how it favors corporate rights over community rights. The ending song is "Why Am I An Anarchist?" by Norman Nawrocki. For more information about the Douglas County issues discussed in this podcast, see: https://celdf.org/community-rights/ https://communityrightslanecounty.org/ https://orcrn.org/Lincoln-county/ https://orcrn.org/ https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2019/11/former-oregon-securities-broker-charged-with-investment-fraud-tax-evasions.html https://www.ridgecrestca.com/news/20200114/despite-legal-trouble-pegasus-equestrian-facility-still-planned-in-yreka Pathway to Democracy Part 1--The Doctrine of Discovery and Thomas Jefferson's Legal Mind: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/dGHJF5kpKJ6ZO-T9f7lFjN1fg9spFcAyeh3kx1qzpQEvir2QkDcjkRNfcFYU3vpd.OLUh4bT377LyCBNQ Pathway to Democracy Part 2-- The Doctrine of Discovery and Thomas Jefferson's Legas Mind: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/bHmQPcwznh7Z4yS3zp-24FDp1-Ub9HRBDNq5V5JmIjyBDiwMsPKV8mbYyShxnhyQ.KofhCOjVwE5B17Bd

This conversation with Kyle Reed is about how to keep safer during fire season. Kyle is the Fire Prevention Specialists at the Douglas Forest Protective Association. Kyle talks about the Firewise program for neighborhood groups, ways to better protect your home from a wildland fire, and how to keep track of the changing guidelines for your work as the fire season progresses. Below are links to more information that Kyle referred to: www.firewise.org ... for your neighborhood group; https://www.dfpa.net/ ... to keep track of fires in our area and times chainsaws or mowers are allowed; https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/pnw590.pdf ... For a list of fire-resistant plants for your home; https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Wildfire/Preparing-homes-for-wildfire ... How to prepare your home to resist wildland fire https://www.facebook.com/DouglasForestProtectiveAssociation ... DFPA’s facebook page, with the latest fire information. Our ending song is “Fire Of ’87” by Bruce Marsh from his album Siskiyou. This album is from 1993, and unfortunately, I can’t find a reference to where you can download his music. I found this album used, and all his music is great.

We speak with Kat Stone who ran for the Oregon State Senate District 1 last year, against the republican Dallas Heard. Kat will tell us about her campaign, including reforming the tax structure for private industrial land owners. Kat will also talk about her other activities, like monitoring the Douglas County Commissioners meetings. The day after we recorded this podcast, Kat's campaign manager for her 2020 senate campaign, Christian Avana, suddenly passed away. So we got back together to talk about Christian and his gifts to our community. In Memory of Christian, our final song is "Rise" by Alice DeMicele. It is available for a free download here: https://www.alicedimicele.com/store. Links relevant to this podcast: Douglas County Commissioners Meetings: https://video.ibm.com/channel/douglascountyoregon Douglas Complex fire research showing private lands burn hotter than public lands: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Location-of-and-fire-severity-within-the-Douglas-Complex-in-Oregon-USA-Fire-severity_fig1_324786837 Britt Nichols County Park and Dave Busenbark County Park: https://flic.kr/s/aHskAvo63S

Will Falk is occupying the site of an approved lithium mine in northern Nevada, near the southern Oregon border. Will describes why the BLM approved this mine in January 2021, and why he, and his friend Max Wilbert, are determined to stop it. To find out how you can help or how to join Max and Will, visit their web site at https://www.protectthackerpass.org/Will and Max upload beautiful writings and photos of the sagebrush habitat at that site. Note the donation button. Also visit Will’s other web page at http://willfalk.org/Our closing song is "Paradise", by John Prine, one of Will's favorite songs these days.

This is an interview with Antonio Gisbert and Patty Sherin about the Oregon People’s Rebate, a proposed initiative petition for the November 2022 election that will rebate about $750 to every Oregonian, every year, by raising taxes on the largest corporations to 3%. Currently Oregon corporations pay some of the lowest corporate tax in the nation. Under this initiative large corporations would pay just a little more. This money would then be distributed to people in Oregon. For more information, see https://opr2022.org/en.Our ending song is “Occupy the USA” by Emma’s Revolution. You can download it here: https://emmasrevolution.com/track/1280877/occupy-the-usa

Dr. Phil Harding is with Citizens Climate Lobby. We talk about HB 763, a federal climate bill supported by Citizens Climate Lobby, including what its impact would be on citizens, companies and our climate, as well as its impact on Oregon projects, such as Jordan Cove LNG and the timber industry. How does it differ from a state bill we have tried to pass in Oregon? Later, Phil talks about his work at Willamette Falls Paper Company, developing non-tree-fiber paper. Do they use hemp fiber? What about the carbon footprint of recycled paper? Phil will answer those questions.Ending music is by Roy Zimmerman, “Hope, Struggle & Change” from his “You’re Getting Sleepy” album. You can download free songs from Roy here: https://www.royzimmerman.com/Other links from today's show:Citizens Climate Lobby: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/OSU's Study on Carbon released by logging: https://sustainable-economy.org/osu-research-confirms-big-timber-leading-source-greenhouse-gas-emissions-oregon/

This is a conversation with Kirk Blaine, the Southern Oregon Regional Coordinator of the Native Fish Society. We talk about native fish in the Umpqua basins, including impacts from Winchester Dam (north of Roseburg, near Umpqua Community College), Rock Creek Fish Hatchery (east of Glide near Swiftwater Park), the Archie Creek fire, and more. You can contact Kirk at kirk@nativefishsociety.org and find out more about The Native Fish Society here: https://nativefishsociety.org/aboutWe finish by listening to Ashland artist Alice DiMicele singing "Chinook Blues" from the One Land, One Heart album.

We talk with Ken Carloni and Kasey Hovik about changing the “Douglas” reference, for Douglas County, from Stephen Douglas (a politician) to David Douglas (the botanist who first described the Douglas fir tree). In the first half we also discuss the racist beginnings of Oregon, including the racist views of Joseph Lane, who Roseburg’s middle school is named after. In the second half we also discuss the ecological practices of Native Americans in Oregon. It all makes for a fascinating discussion.In honor of David Douglas’s work naming Oregons plants, our ending song is about naming wildlife, “A Crash of Rhinoceros” by Carrie Newcomer.In this conversation, we reference:The Douglas County Museum: http://umpquavalleymuseums.org/museums/douglas-county-museum/and Umpqua Watersheds: https://umpquawatersheds.org/Check back here to find a link to the petition Ken Carloni is writing so the Douglas County commissioners can officially change the Douglas County name reference. Or, just ask the commissioners to do it now.

In this conversation with Gordon Marvin we talk about a landslide that ripped through his community, Stump Acres, near Umpqua Oregon in 1996. It came out of a 9-year-old clearcut above their property, and killed 4 people, including Gordon’s wife, Sharon Marvin, and his two friends Rick and Susan Moon. I was unsuccessful in getting someone from the Oregon Department of Forestry to talk to us about how logging rules changed as a result of this slide, to now include a (small) public safety component.Gordon and I cover some additional private-land logging issues, including aerial spray rules. Public notice for aerial spraying has recently been strengthened. You can read about that here: https://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/2020/02/10/what-is-the-new-oregon-timber-pact/?emci=b3c4dbbc-fcb7-ea11-9b05-00155d039e74&emdi=ea000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&ceid=or listen to an interview with Ralph Bloomers who talks about it on this show earlier this year. We also talk about the FERNS reporting system, where the public can sign up to receive all logging notices in places important to them, such as their home.FERNS can be accessed here. https://ferns.odf.oregon.gov/E-Notification/

This is a recording of the April 7 WildChat webinar from Cascadia Wildlands concerning the community resistance to Jordan Cove. It includes Deb Evans, an impacted landowner threatened with eminent domain, Gabe Scott, on the legal team, and Ka’ila Farrel-Smith, a Klamath Modoc artist and anti-pipeline activist. Sam Krop from Cascadia Wildlands is the moderator.Here is a link to the video of this conversation:https://vimeo.com/405639387?fbclid=IwAR1dtYbQqkmT2VOd48cSr5r0yCXtW-1spuM_D8KGHr9uZw2pxUbYwdD_dzoTo join future the WildChat webinars of Cascadia Wildlands, go here:https://www.cascwild.org/weekly-wildchats-with-cascadia/To read more about the Landowners facing Eminent Domain:https://www.ourland-ourlives.org/To Donate to their legal defense, click on the donate button on that website, which will bring you here:https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/support-the-pacific-connector-easement-action-teamDeb Evans also mentioned this site for landowner issues:http://www.36inchesmovie.com/watch.htmlThe music at the end is “Cherokee River” by Walela, from their album Walela.

This is a March 19, 2020 presentation sponsored by the Great Old Broads for Wilderness about the Jordan Cove Energy Project. It was supposed to be a live panel given in Portland. But with Corvid, the live presentation was replaced by a webinar, and thus you get to listed to it. In the morning of March 19, the U.S. Government gave the Canadian corporation, Pembina, permission to condemn land for the Jordan Cove Energy Project. So it was a timely presentation.We hear from myself, Francis Eatherington, Pam Ordway, a landowner near Camas Valley whose land is threatened with eminent domain, Damon Motz-Storey from Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Anu Sawkar, an attorney with Crag Law Center.The Great Old Broads for Wilderness is a grassroots organization, led by women, that engages and inspires activism to preserve and protect wilderness and wild lands. You can read more about the Broads, and join your local broadband, at: https://www.greatoldbroads.org/You can read more about impacted landowners here:https://www.ourland-ourlives.org/, and help donate their legal defense here:https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/support-the-pacific-connector-easement-action-teamDamon Motz-Storey works on the intersection of health, climate change, and fossil fuel threats with the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility. You can support their work at:https://www.oregonpsr.org/donateYou can also read Oregon & Washington PSR's report on the health threats of fracked gas at: https://www.oregonpsr.org/fracked_gas_a_threat_to_healthy_communitAnu Sawkar is an attorney at Crag Law, a nonprofit law firm that provides legal aid for communities, climate, and the wild in the Pacific Northwest. Learn more about Crag Law at: crag.org. Currently donations to support Crag made through Benevity will be matched 1:1!: https://mygoodness.benevity.org/community/cause/840-931323758

Should nature have rights, like people have rights and corporations have rights? Will Falk, from Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, helped bring a federal lawsuit seeking rights for the Colorado River. Will talks about the Colorado River, his book, and why nature deserves to have rights.For more information, see https://celdf.org. The ending song is "Battered Earth", by Sweet Honey in the Rock, from their album "Twenty Five".

Ralph Bloomers, from the Craig Law Center, will explain the MOU and legislation supported by 13 environmental groups and 13 industrial timber operators. It would require logging buffers on streams in the Siskiyou watersheds to be as large as our more northern watersheds. It would require larger buffers for helicopters that spray pesticides from the air. Homes and schools now get only a 60’ buffer (Washington state gives 200’). The new legislation would help protect school children and families with a 300’ buffer from aerial-sprayed herbicides next to homes and schools.For more information about Ralph's organization, see: https://crag.org/For more information about aerial spraying in Oregon, see: https://www.beyondtoxics.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/FINAL_Report_OregonIndustrialForest_and_HerbicideUse_12-17-13.pdfAnd here: https://oregonwild.org/support-regulation-aerial-herbicide-sprayingPictures of aerial spraying that I took around me are here: https://www.flickr.com/gp/umpquawild/0V4cBvEnding song is by Alice DiMicele, "Defend The Earth", from her "Searching" album. Alice will play us this music in Roseburg on March 22.

First, we talk with Stuart Leibowitz, from the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition, about Oregon’s new “Cap and Invest” bill, SB 1530, this year’s version of the proposal to limit carbon emissions in Oregon. Stuart will also talk about the rally in Salem in support of this bill on February 11, and how to get there from Roseburg. To join the carpool, call 541-672-9819. For more information, see: https://www.facebook.com/DouglasCountyGlobalWarmingCoalition/,and http://www.douglascountyglobalwarmingcoalition.com/In the second half of the show we speak with Mike Burk about his experience working in Alaska, and the problems with the Trump Administrations roadless rule for Alaska’s forest ecosystems. For more information, see:https://www.conservationnw.org/news-updates/joint-comments-on-proposed-alaska-roadless-rule-exemption/and https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2019/new-legislation-protecting-roadless-rule-is-key-for-preserving-america-s-forestsThe song at the end is “The Tree” by Dana Lyons, from the album One Land, One Heart.

Samantha Krop works with Cascadia Wildlands. https://www.cascwild.org/Sam talks about the federal timber sales, including Roseburg BLM sales in Douglas County. One alarming sale is “Umpqua Sweets” in the North Umpqua watershed. Pictures can be seen here:https://www.cascwild.org/umpqua-sweets-chronicles-vol-1-down-by-the-riverside/https://www.cascwild.org/umpqua-sweets-chronicles-vol-4-community/https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHuWwvZLone Rock Timber’s new road, built through BLM old growth last year ,will now be used by BLM to log the forest on either side of the road. https://flic.kr/s/aHskvJ7H4QSamantha also talks about the Elliott State Forest and the problems with turning it over to Oregon State University for a research forest. Other OSU research forests can be seen here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJXoymEFinally, Sam talks about the Jordan Cove Project, a proposal to ship Canadian fracked gas to Asia via Oregon. Pictures of the most recent public opposition in Salem this past November can be seen here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskeHwyL8To get involved in timber sale monitoring, email sam@cascwild.org and join the Cascadia Wildlands Wildcat monitoring team. https://www.cascwild.org/about-us/volunteer-opportunities/wildcat/Ending song is “Have You Been To Jail For Justice”, by Anne Feeney

Jason Gonzales, with Oregon Wild, talks about the Oregon Forest Practices Act, (OFPA) and how it fails to protect Oregon’s forest ecosystems. We have the weakest logging rules for private lands in the Pacific Northwest. Jason details the economic and environmental problems with the OFPA. In the second half of this conversation, Jason talks about three (or six) ballot measures that are proposed to be in front of voters November 2020, and how you can help.Ballot initiatives described here, with good information on Oregon forests: https://forestwaters.org/North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection. Sign up to help this process: https://healthywatershed.org/Jason referred to these Oregonian news articles describing broken legislative process:https://projects.oregonlive.com/polluted-by-money/And the newest from the Oregonian:https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2019/11/timber-interests-propose-three-pro-logging-ballot-measures.html?fbclid=IwAR3VITHmoXhqMt0glZxJzU9ijYxRhljqRvnDTkr-UWtt2ZWUefHFDkIiXlYDon’t miss this movie describing the problems with logging regulations on private industrial forest land:Behind the Emerald Curtin: https://youtu.be/Q0j_Msmz44MThe great work by Oregon Wild, Jason’s organization, seen here: http://oregonwild.org/Song at the end is "Song For Oregon" by our own Marnie Albritten when she was with the band Girls Can Jam.If you want it, send me an email and I'll send it to you. francis at mydfn dot net

Stuart Leibowitz discusses three upcoming ballot measures the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition is trying to get in front of voters, especially since the Cap and Invest bill failed earlier this years due to the republican walk-out. Stuart also describes an important upcoming event you don't want to miss: October 30, 6:30 at the Roseburg Library: “Moving toward a fossil fuel free future”. With professor Randall Bluffstone and Dylan Kruse from Sustainable Northwest. (We talked with Dylan Kruse on this program last year. https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=329967).To support the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition, make checks out to OEC, and mail to: 143 SE Lane, Roseburg 97470. (OEC is the Oregon Environmental Council. Put Douglas County... in the memo).For more information: https://www.facebook.com/DouglasCountyGlobalWarmingCoalition/The song at end is “Power From Above” by Dan Berggren. Free download here: https://soundcloud.com/berggrenfolk/power-from-above

Barbara Davis, Lincoln County Community Rights, continues her discussion about the Lincoln County ban on aerial herbicide spraying. Just a few days after we talked last week, a court ruled and overturned the measure voted into law by the residents of Lincoln County. Barbara talks about the court ruling, and how to move on from here. We also talked more about the problems with the Oregon Forest Practices Act governing private land logging, including lack of regulations on aerial herbicide spraying. It is unfortunate that the wishes of the Lincoln County Citizens was challenged by the timber industry and overturned.For more information:Lincoln County Community Rights:http://www.lincolncountycommunityrights.org/http://www.lincolncountycommunityrights.org/donatesupport/Oregonian story on efforts to strengthen Oregon forestry laws.https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2019/10/ballot-initiative-to-tighten-oregon-forestry-laws-gets-rejected-advocates-blame-timber-money.htmlOregonian story about timber cash influences politics in Oregonhttps://projects.oregonlive.com/polluted-by-money/How to sign up for spray notifications in your area:https://ferns.odf.oregon.gov/e-notificationFor help in signing up for notifications, email francis at mydfn dot netRights of Nature:Klamath River now has the legal rights of a person:https://www.hcn.org/articles/tribal-affairs-the-klamath-river-now-has-the-legal-rights-of-a-personMusic at end of discussion is by David Rovics, “Here At The End Of The World”, free download here: https://archive.org/details/dr2004-02-01.flac16/dr2004-02-01d1t06.flac

Michelle Holman (Lane County) and Barbara Davis (Lincoln County) talk about the efforts to pass Community Rights in their counties, and how Douglas County citizens could benefit from this. For instance, Lincoln County citizens passed a ban on aerial herbicide spraying (spraying pesticides from helicopters over industrial lands, over streams or near to rural residents). Barbara and Michelle talk about what is community rights, the national and international movement, and how the Rights of Nature is part of the movement. For more information see:Oregon Community Rights Network: https://orcrn.org/Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund: https://celdf.org/Community Rights Lane County: https://communityrightslanecounty.org/Lincoln County Community Rights: http://www.lincolncountycommunityrights.org/

This is a conversation with Stuart Liebowitz from the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition. Stuart talks about climate change, the failed Cap and Invest bill in the Oregon Legislature, and other current events. Stuart also talks about 4 upcoming events in Douglas County:1. Friday September 20, 12 to 1 pm. Join the national Climate March to demand climate action now! Garden Valley Blvd in front of Fred Meyerhttps://allevents.in/roseburg/roseburg-climate-strike/2000179493901092. Friday September 27, 6-9 pm at the Library: Roseburg Water Symposium called "Protecting the Headwaters in an Extreme Climate."https://umpquawatersheds.org/event/protecting-the-headwaters/3. October 5 is the Smart Energy Tour, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Fish Food Pantry. RSVP by calling 541-672-9819 or emailing solartoursignup@gmail.com4. October 30, 6:30 at the Library: “Moving toward a fossil fuel free future”, with professor Randall Bluffstone and Dylan Kruse from Sustainable Northwest. (We talked with Dylan Kruse on this program last year. https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=329967To support the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition, send donations to: 143 SE Lane, Roseburg 97470. https://www.facebook.com/DouglasCountyGlobalWarmingCoalition/

Janice Reid is one of the top spotted owl researchers in the country. She gave a presentation about her research, and the results, to Umpqua Valley Audubon in late march. This is a recording of that presentation. It is fascinating, including the ecology of the spotted owl, their prey, threats to the owls, and their current status state-wide and specific to Douglas County. For more information about the sponsor of this presentation, see:http://umpquaaudubon.org/

Dr. Dominick DellaSala talks about fire, including how wildfire is beneficial to our ecosystems. Does thinning help reduce fire? Does it help the forest? It depends. In any case, Dr. DellaSala explains why salvage logging a burned forests is so destructive. Dr. DellaSala also explains the relationship between climate change and forests, and the carbon capture and release of a forest. Finally, Dominick summarizes the green-new-deal from congress. In the last part of this podcast I talk more about the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, the BLM’s 2018 no-mitigation policy, and the new 885-acre reserve the BLM plans to give to Jordan Cove.For more information:Geos Institute: https://www.geosinstitute.org/Timothy Egan, the Big Burn: https://www.timothyeganbooks.com/the-big-burnGreen New Deal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_New_DealBLM no-mitigation policy: https://www.blm.gov/policy/im-2019-018New 885-acre BLM reserve given to a foreign corporation: page 2 of the DEIS.Writing FERC comments: https://www.nolngexports.org/write-comments

We speak with two people about the Jordan Cove Energy Project, Stacey McLaughlin and Allie Rosenbluth. Stacey talks about the marine mammal harassment authorization request that Pembina has made, about the pipeline proposed through her property, and the Coastal Zone pipeline permit reauthorizations that the judge found Douglas County did illegally. We also discuss impacts to whales as well as the new 880-acre reserve the BLM plans to give to the foreign corporation in place of BLM’s wildlife reserves.Allie Rosenbluth talks about the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and the comments our government is asking from us before July. Allie, from Rogue Climate is holding comment-writing workshops around Oregon, including one in Myrtle Creek on May 29, and Eugene on June 6, 2019.For more information see:Rogue Climate: https://www.rogueclimate.org/Pipeline Awareness Southern Oregon: https://www.facebook.com/pipelineoregon/Firefighters United for Ethics and Ecology fire report on Jordan Cove: https://www.fusee.org/You can download the DEIS from here: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20190329-3050Or view it at the Myrtle Creek Library or your local BLM or Forest Service office. For help on writing comments, see: https://www.nolngexports.org/write-comments, or come to the comment-writing workshop in Myrtle Creek on May 29.You can postal mail your DEIS comments to:Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426Regarding: "CP17-494-000 and CP17-495-000" (you have to include those CP numbers).

Glide Wildflower Show organizers, Becky McRae, Debbie Barbrae, and Dianne Mascarello describe the inner workings of the world-renouned Glide Wildflower Show. The show this year is April 27 and 28 in Glide Oregon, east of Roseburg. The history of the show is described, starting in 1965 to the present day. Hundreds (600 to 700) of plant species are collected, in bloom when possible, identified by botanists, and beautifully displayed at the Glide Community Center, along with great home-made pies for sale. It is one of my favorite events of the year, with information on native plants, noxious weeds, rare plants, tree species, etc. DON’T MISS IT. More information at:http://www.glidewildflowershow.org/Watch the Oregon Public Broadcasting show about the Glide Wildflower Show:https://www.opb.org/television/programs/ofg/segment/glide-wildflower-show/

Elana Porter and Helen Laurence talk to us about feminism and women’s studies. Elana, a PhD Student in women’s studies, talks about the “Intersectionality Feminism”, considering race, sex, class, ability, and how those experiences overlap. Elana also talks about the relationship between environmental issues and women’s issues.Starting at 40:13, Helen Laurence, one of the founders of the Women and Gender studies at Umpqua Community Collage, talks about how equal rights for women helps all genders. Helen’s specialty is eco-feminism: how the environment is treated reflects how women are treated. At 7 minutes into our conversation with Helen, a storm starts and we can hear the rain pounding on the roof of the yurt we are in, in case you wonder what that strange noise is.For more information, Elana suggests:Web sites: feministing.com; everydayfeminism.com.Books: Intersectionality by Kimberle Crenshaw; Masters Tools by Audre Lorde.Helen suggests these books:We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; Refuge. An Unspoken Hunger by Terry Tempest Williams; Men Explain things to Me by Rebecca Solnit; Nature and Other Mothers by Brenda Peterson.

Neal Hadley, president of the Native Plant Society of the Umpqua Valley, talks about the mission and work of the Native Plant Society (NSO). Neal talks about some of the Umpqua’s endemic plants and encourages us to see some of the native plant gardens in Roseburg, including the front yard of 548 Hickory street and next to the Arts Center on Harvard. Neal talks about the work to protect native species, such as oak trees, the Rough Popcorn Flower and Cox Maripossa Lilly, as well as our best public lands to see native flowers in the County. Neal describes the valuable herbarium collection at the Douglas County museum, going back decades. The NSO is involved in writing comments to address the impacts of the proposed Pacific Connector Pipeline on rare plants, and the proposal for Boardman Coal Plant. Next year Boardman will change from burning coal to burning biomass. But the biomass plant they want to introduce is potentially very invasive to the area, the Giant Cain, a prolific grass. While it could be a good biomass producer, it is also a potential new noxious invasive species for the Columbia River area.Contact and more information:www.npsoregon.orgfacebook: umpquavalleynpsoemail: uv_president at npsoregon.orgMonthly meetings are every second Thursday, 2741 W. Harvard blvdUpcoming field trips include:Ollalla Ck. field trip Sat. March 23rd, 9am,Beatty Ck. field trip Sun. April 7th, 9amRogue River Scenic Trail Mon. April 1st (no foolin') 8:30amCar pool leaves from the county parking lot at Fowler @ Deer Ck.

PIELC Live: On March 2, Eugene community radio, KEPW, 97.3, hosted Conservation Today live at the annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference in Eugene. We interviewed the following people (and the time they speak in the podcast):Joseph Vaile, Klamath Wildlands Center, Kebrhea Cuellar, Oregon Wild (12:11), John Abbe, assistant station manager of KEPW (23:00), Dan Pennnington, Coast Range Forest Watch (24:00), Jimmy Betts, Beyond Extreme Energy (34:35), Dave Stone, Douglas Fir National Monument. (41:29), John Jordan-Cascade, Beyond Toxics, (51:00).

Dr. John Telberth talks about Oregon’s Clean Energy Jobs Bill, and other bills, describing what additional protections are needed to fully meet Oregon’s climate goals. Dr. Telberth also describes the carbon impacts from Oregon’s logging industry and the unfair tax subsides they receive.Later (beginning at 31:06), I talked with Douglas County citizens at the “Rally for Transparency” on February 19 at the county courthouse. Lately there has been a rash of complaints against the county commissioners, including the logging at Whistlers Bend Park, the permitting of the Pacific Connector Pipeline that was found illegal, the closing of rural dump sites, the closing of Reedsport services, the closing of county libraries, waiving dump fees for the rich, approving a quarry in a Glide neighborhood over the objections of the citizens and the Planning Commission. Some citizens also asked for transparency on Canyonville’s water problem. Canyonville citizens now have to boil their water due to “turbidity”. Did it come from logging? We need transparency so the cost of clean-up is not bourn by by the citizens. Over 70 people attended this rally, and a few of them will speak us in this podcast.Finally, don't miss the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) in Eugene February 28 through March 1. One of the biggest environmental conferences in the world, and it's free and close.PIELC schedule of events: pielc.orgItems referenced in Dr. Talberth's interview:https://sustainable-economy.orghttps://sustainable-economy.org/beyond-cap-and-trade-towards-a-new-green-deal-for-oregon/

Dylan Kruse talks about the state's Cap and Invest bill, and how it works to reduce carbon in Oregon. Dylan starts at 18:00. First on today’s show is Tonia Moro, lawyer for landowners in Douglas County. She talks about the recent court ruling overturning Douglas County’s decisions to grant and renew Jordan Cove’s Pacific Connector Pipeline permits.

Stuart Leibowitz speaks about the Clean Energy Jobs Bill in the first half our show. Later we talk about the logging at Whistlers Bend Park currently ongoing.Stuart encourages us to join the Lobby Day in Salem on February 6 to help pass Oregon’s Clean Energy Jobs Bill (sometimes known as a Cap and Pay bill). Stuart explains the concept behind the bill: 25,000 metric tons of carbon pollution allowed, and then the polluter has to pay for more. Stuart talks about how this would apply to the Jordan Cove project where the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Coos Bay would emit 1.8 million metric tons of carbon. The passing of this bill will make it expensive for a high-polluter to operate in Oregon. Stuart explains where the money the polluters pay will go, why the .16 increase at the gas tank is a false fear, and in what ways industry is trying to water down the bill.To carpool to Lobby Day, call Stuart at 51-672-9819, and meet at the Library parking lot at 7:15, February 6.In the second half of the show, people talk about the Whistlers Bend County Park logging, and why the Disk Golf community is very upset. We found that none of the trees to be cut were marked by the county. Instead, they let the logger decide what to cut. The County failed to submit the required Notice of Operations to the state, further hiding the logging. When they filed the notice, late, after we complained, the county refused to comply with the 15-day waiting period. Then ODF told the county they had to do a written plan for the trees on the banks of the North Umpqua River and an Osprey nest in the area. But the logger had already cut down some of the trees this applied to. We complain about these, and other problems with the unannounced logging of a beloved park and a world-renounced disk-golf course.

This week we hear from dozens of Douglas County residents about the Jordan Cove export terminal, and the Pacific Connector Pipeline, projects of a Canadian corporation, Pembina. Pembina is asking the state of Oregon for a removal-fill permit to dig a 3’ deep trench through 450 waterways in southern Oregon to lay their 230-mile gas-pipeline to bring fracked natural gas to Coos Bay. The state of Oregon (Department of State Lands) also has to permit (or not) the dredging of the bay of Coos Bay so massive ocean tankers can take this gas to Asia, via a liquefaction terminal Pembina wants to build in Coos Bay (yes, on top of the subduction zone earthquake fault). On January 9, 2019, the state of Oregon held a public meeting to hear what we had to say about this. I interview people waiting to get into the meeting, and later record some of the testimony given to the state. It is a sad tail of landowners threatened with eminent domain, expensive fish-restoration projects being destroyed, endangered species harmed. One person talked about the huge, old madrone trees on her property she would loose. Another of his cattle ranch being degraded, and another talked of his tree-farm being permanently lost. The sound quality leaves something to be desired, but turn up the volumn. One of these days KQUA radio might buy me a real microphone. For more information, see https://www.nolngexports.org/. Then, click on http://nolngexports.good.do/DSL/DSLComments/ to submit your own comments to the state before February 3.

Today we have a conversation with Becky McRae, President of the North Umpqua Foundation. Becky describes the programs of the NUF: restoration work in the North Umpqua watershed, scholarship programs, Fish Watch to protect steelhead fish in Steamboat Creek, and community education. Becky talks about favorite places to visit on the North Umpqua, “the most beautiful river in the world”. The North Umpqua Foundation is also a patent holder on a unique new tool to extract DNA from fish with no harm to the fish, by collecting fish slime as it passes by a WIFI enabled monitoring station.For more information, see: https://northumpqua.org/and: https://www.pacificrivers.org/run-wild-run-free.html

Jim “Cap” Caplan tells us a bit of his history with the forest service, including the time he worked at the Bridger-Teton National Forest while the famous Yellowstone wildland fire broke out in 1988.Jim is currently the COO of the Environmental Dispute Resolution USA, and teaches a class on the subject at UCC. Jim is also a founding member of the Umpqua Forestry Coalition and talks about their role in forest management.Jim was the Forest Supervisor of the Umpqua National Forest starting in 2002, while I was working with Umpqua Watersheds. We were pleased that Jim turned the forest toward more thinning in the managed plantations.Finally, Jim talks about his time with the Red Cross, the Roseburg Downtown association, and Cycle Umpqua. For more information, see:https://p.facebook.com/umpquaforestry1/http://www.environdispute.com/Home_Page.htmlhttps://www.cycleumpqua.com/

Stanley Petrowski, founder of the South Umpqua Rural Community Project talks with us today. Stan gives us a history of the fish abundance in the South Umpqua River, and the alarming low numbers this year. Both Coho and spring chinook seem to be on the brink of extension in the south Umpqua, following summer steelhead that are already extent.Restoration activities include putting large wood in streams, because Oregon law required large wood to be removed from steams to protect bridges and other infrastructure. Thus, all the fish habitat created by large wood was removed, and now needs to be replaced.Beavers can help put wood in streams, but beavers were almost extirpated in Oregon and also need some restoration help. There is a 2019 Beaver Conference in Canyonville. See link below for that.Stan also talks about logging practices damaging to fish, herbicide use damaging to all wildlife, and which fire-management practices are good and which are not.For more information, see:http://surcp.org/South Umpqua Rural Community Partnershipandhttp://stateofthebeaver.org/2019 Beaver Conference, Canyonville Oregon.

Steve Cole is a cartographer and photographer of old growth forests. He has been documenting public land timber sales on the Umpqua, mostly sales stopped by Umpqua Watersheds in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Steve has a remarkable website documenting this work: umpquaLSOGproject.org. Steve’s site is a celebration of what good work we all did back then, including the brave activists that sat in trees to protect them. I recently rode with Steve as he visited two of those sales, the Snog sale (1999, on the Diamond Lake RD), and the White Castle sale (2014, Roseburg BLM). We also visited BLM’s Sugar Pine sale (1997, near Tiller), and a newer project where we failed to save the old growth: Lone Rock Timber’s new road through a BLM forest near Susan Creek. I recorded Steve’s impressions as we drove, so there is a different sound to this interview.Steve also details how he uses a drone to take videos and other photographic techniques, as well as how he made the carbon maps on his web site.The website where it is all at is: umpquaLSOGproject.org. Until Steve gets it all up on his website, other pictures of the timber sales we visited are here:Snog: https://flic.kr/s/aHskeBcu3eWhite Castle:https://flic.kr/s/aHsmqZvGNJLone Rock Timber logging BLM old growth: https://flic.kr/s/aHskvJ7H4QOlder footage of the White Castle tree sit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VukPXLzSACg

Chris describes the work of the South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership in the area of Tiller Oregon, such as Oak habitat and fish habitat restoration. Chris describes some of the reasons there were only 30 Coho salmon returning up the South Umpqua this year. Only 30 South Umpqua Coho left!One problem is the industrial private land logging in the watershed, with too many roads and too small riparian buffers. Chris describes the problems with aerial herbicide spraying on industry land, with examples of over-spraying. Chris gives a list of alternative ways to treat invasive and noxious weeds.Chris was the first woman ever to work work in the field in the Tiller Ranger District of the Umpqua National Forest. Chris was even the tree-planting director and inspector for an all-woman's Hoedad contract in 1980 that I worked on in Tiller, when I first met Chris.Finally, Chris reports that the health of the Tallest Sugar Pine Tree in the world is good, and how the Forest Service saved it from an act of vandalism in 1998, and how it is protected from forest fires today.For more information on the work of the South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership, see SURC.org.

Stuart Leibowitz, from Douglas County Global Warming Coalition, discusses the just-released UN Climate Report. It says we have to reduce fossil fuel use by 45% by 2030 or 2040. Stuart discusses the differences between our climate rising 1.5 vs. 2.0 degrees (it is currently 1.0 degrees hotter). Stuart also discusses current Oregon efforts to pass cap-and-trade legislation that will make polluters pay for carbon release, and redistribute that money to invest in low-income communities.You can find out more about Douglas County Global Warming Coalition here: http://www.douglascountyglobalwarmingcoalition.com/Two upcoming events sponsored by theCoalition are on October 23 and November 8, both at the Holiday Inn conference room at 6:30 p.m.Tuesday October 23, Dr. Edward Brook, Collage of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at OSU, will talk on the Future of Climate Change.Thursday November 8, we will learn about: "Rising Seas and the Oregon Coast". Featuring Dr. Kristina Dahl, Senior Climate Scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Dr. Scott Bridgham, Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon.

Richard is the Aquatic Scientist for the North Umpqua Hydro Project. He describes how the project was originally built in the late 1940's through the early 50's. Then in 1990's it went through it's 50-year relicensing, making it more fish-friendly, even putting a fish ladder on Soda Springs Damn. Richard discusses the technology for getting the fish over the dam and back down, and other improvements of the relicensing. Richard also discusses the general ecology of salmon in the North Umpqua River.A movie of the Hydro Project can be seen here: https://youtu.be/_mpyX3N57oU.Richard also talks about The North Umpqua Foundation, helping to protect the North Umpqua River. The North Umpqua Foundation is having their annual dinner at Steamboat Inn on October 20, celebrating 50 years of the Wild and Scenic Rivers. For more information on the dinner, see www.northumpqua.org. For the Pacific Rivers new film on the Wild and Scenic Rivers, see: https://vimeo.com/292826814.

Pat describes his work as the Conservation Chair of Umpqua Watersheds. He monitors public land projects and provides comments to BLM on behalf of the public. Pat talks about the new BLM management plan and how logging is not regulated. Pat describes recent studies that describe how the private industrial timber land that surrounds public BLM land degrade the BLM and degrade our watersheds in general. Industrial tree plantations are more prone to wildland fire as well as cause summer low flows in streams. Pat also talks about how private industrial timber corporations pay far lower taxes than they have historically, and far lower in Oregon than surrounding states. Pat ends with his words of wisdom on how to move forward to make watersheds better in the long run.