On Oregon Timber

 

The Obama administration is withdrawing a controversial Bush-era logging plan for millions of acres of federal forests in western Oregon.  More on here on Oregon Live.

I'm actually sitting in a Yachats, OR cafe (southbound to Cali) trying to get a read on local opinion.  Seems they're more proud of their french toast.

Administration Approves First Roadless Logging Contract In Alaska's Tongass National Forest

This week, the Obama administration approved the sale of timber in a roadless national forest in Alaska. 

According to the Wilderness Society:

American taxpayers have not only watched as the Tongass has been picked apart by road building and logging, they've paid for the privilege. The tab extends beyond $750 million over 20 years. In a single year alone, the Forest Service spent $36 million on the Tongass timber program and got back in revenues only $1 million.

LINK (Via: The Huffington Post)

52 Trout - The Illustrations and Recollections of Alan Folger

A snippet from Alan's bio.

I got my formal art training in an 8th grade algebra class, where I was often caught doodling and drawing dragsters. I was banished to art class but was soon returned to algebra to continue my art training. No longer drawing dragsters, I have devoted the past few years attempting to master the art of pen & ink and colored pencil and as would be expected, I have chosen as my subject matter all things piscatorial.

LINK

Oregon Governor signs bill to pay for removal of Klamath dams

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski has signed a bill financing most of the cost of removing four dams on the Klamath River to help salmon.

Meanwhile, representatives from California, Oregon, PacifiCorp, the Obama administration and others continued to meet Tuesday in Klamath Falls, Ore., to make a September deadline for a binding agreement on the effort to restore 300 miles of salmon spawning habitat.

LINK (Via: Oregon Live)

Vote early and vote often

If you've been with us this long, you understand our believe that wild salmon and steelhead conservation is the ticket to sustainable, quality fisheries.  And, we feel it is paramount that our Washington state leaders understand that we are not alone in this belief. 

If this is important to you too, then we encourage you to fill out the 1 minute survey on the right sidebar right here on the WDFW website. 

NEWS RELEASE
Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission
July 13, 2009
Contact: Susan Yeager, (360) 902-2267

Commission surveys public priorities
for a new fish and wildlife director

OLYMPIA – Should the next director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) focus on restoring wild salmon and steelhead populations, or on improving statewide fishing and hunting opportunities?

That is one of several options posed in an online public survey by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is currently accepting applications for the state’s top job in fish and wildlife management.

Anyone interested in sharing their ideas about qualifications for that position can do so on the commission’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/ . A job description and application form are also available at that site.

Phil Anderson has been serving as interim director since December, when Jeff Koenings resigned after 10 years as director of the agency.

“We’d like to hear from anglers, hunters and everyone interested in the future of our state’s natural resources,” said Miranda Wecker, who chairs the nine-member citizen commission responsible for setting policy – and hiring a director – for WDFW. “We’ll consider those responses as we get down to the business of selecting a new director.”

So far, 21 candidates have applied for the position, said Anthony Cesario, a state Department of Personnel recruiting consultant, who updated the commission on the executive search during a public meeting July 10-11 in Olympia. “About five of those candidates appear to be qualified,” he said.

Wecker said the commission will review the qualifications of specific applicants at a meeting scheduled Aug. 6-8 in Colville. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, she said.

Salmon begin long journey back to Yakima Basin

After an absence of about 115 years, sockeye salmon, also known as blue back, are once again in Lake Cle Elum, northwest of Ellensburg.

Plans call for planting adult sockeye in Lake Cle Elum for another 18 years to develop a self-sustaining run.

LINK (Via: The Yakima Herald)