FIELD REPORT: Medford BLM botched forest management above the Wild & Scenic Rogue River
The Medford Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) clearcuts speak for themselves—and it's not a pretty story. Following the Rum Creek fire just upslope of the Wild & Scenic Rogue River outside of Galice, OR, the BLM engaged in extensive post-fire roadside clearcutting.
In our latest video field report, we walk you through what we saw: clearcuts, slash piles, washed out riparian areas, and trash dumping. Warning: It’s not a pretty sight.
KS in the Press
Today forest conservation organizations filed a legal challenge in Medford federal district court challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) latest old-growth timber sale located in the Cascade foothills east of the community of Sunny Valley, Oregon.
KS Wild and partners are litigating against the BLM’s Rogue Gold timber sale behind the community of Gold Hill and Rogue River, OR. The forests being targeted for logging are resilient, healthy, older forests that are designated as reserves for conservation, recreation, and water protection.
KS Wild and partners are taking the BLM to court on Tuesday, April 2nd against the BLM’s Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) project.
Breaking News! The D.C. Court of Appeals just affirmed the legality of an expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. This is a pivotal decision that means that Western Oregon BLM lands can be managed for social and environmental values, not just timber production.
In a legal victory, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today agreed to reconsider whether West Coast fishers in northern California and southern Oregon warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. Read the full press release here.
A coalition of conservation organizations filed a legal complaint challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) “Integrated Vegetation Management” (IVM) program that would aggressively log forest stands located within Late Successional Reserves, areas purportedly set aside for forest conservation.
Judge in the District Court for the District of Oregon ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service justification for Bureau of Land Management timber sales totaling nearly 18,000 acres including old growth forests violated the Endangered Species Act.
Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center joined the Center for Biological Diversity and the Environmental Protection Information Center in suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for denying endangered species protection to West Coast fishers.
Send an Action
The Medford BLM is back at it. They’re targeting forest reserves…again…this time outside of Williams, OR in the footprint of their unsuccessful Late Mungers timber sale. Click to learn more and take action!
The Rum Creek timber sale was planned in secret with no public commenting process at all. That makes it hard to make your voice heard. If you'd like to contact the BLM with your views about clearcutting and logging, take action today!
Rather it is the result of decades of fire exclusion that allowed conifers to overtake hardwood ecosystems combined with the climate change-induced heat domes and drought. All of which result in young fir stands being especially vulnerable to mortality. Now the BLM wants to log their way out of the problem. Let's make sure they get it right.
The U.S. Forest Service is working to update every national forest plan in the country to protect old growth, which could become one of the most meaningful safeguards for federal forests that we have seen in decades. The agency is currently seeking public input on how they’ll manage public forests for generations to come. This is a unique opportunity that we don’t want to miss.
Currently the 8,150-acre "Last Chance" timber sale calls for logging most of the remaining mature and old-growth forests in the foothills between Sunny Valley and Galesville. Take action now to help defend this essential forestland.
Five Areas of Critical Environmental Concern within the CSNM are at risk. Please take a moment to click and write to the BLM that these special places in Monument need to be recognized and protected!
Latest News
The Medford Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) clearcuts speak for themselves—and it's not a pretty story. Following the Rum Creek fire just upslope of the Wild & Scenic Rogue River outside of Galice, OR, the BLM engaged in extensive post-fire roadside clearcutting. Watch videos from the field report here.
In his final days in office, President Biden has designated two new national monuments: the Sáttítla National Monument in northern California and the Chuckwalla National Monument in southern California.
The conservation community lost a beloved member with the passing of long-time activist Lou Gold on November 15, 2024.
While the Bureau of Land Management struggles to address a low-elevation die-off, it is also conducting ‘regeneration’ logging — replacing healthy older stands with dense Douglas fir stands that are not resilient to fire or drought
Upcoming events
Join us outside!
Join KS Wild for our first book club! Dana R. Fisher's Saving Ourselves is a wonderful text that argues that there is a realistic path forward for climate action—but only through mass mobilization. We will build hope and community as we explore the themes and deeper messages together over 4 club meetings. Sign up is required.
Join KS Wild Executive Director Michael Dotson as he shares insight on recent successes and upcoming challenges with public lands conservation in the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion during the Trump Administration and ways they can make a difference for the forests, waters, and wildlife of the bioregion.
How well do you know the flora and fauna of the Klamath Siskiyou bioregion? Do you have a trove of natural history, geology, wildlife, and water facts stowed away? Come put it to use during our trivia night at the KS Wild office! Gather a team of 4 or less and show us what ya got. Prizes awarded to winners!
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New & Improved:
A Guide to Living Rurally
A ‘one stop shop’ for all the resources you need to acquaint yourself with the forests of the Siskiyou region and how to prepare your home for a wildfire.