conservation
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Protecting Pines in the Ochocos

Logging areas in sensitive habitats were blocked after an appeal from conservationist groups
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

A settlement between conservationist groups Oregon Wild and Central Oregon LandWatch and the Ochoco National Forest halted logging in sensitive areas that could have put fisheries and Rocky Mountain Elk in danger. The settlement was reached on June 14, over a year after it was filed. The National Forest Service’s mandate is to manage the land […]

Posted inOutside

Is a Big Win for Conservation a Blow to Climate Action?

As extinction and climate crises loom, the Great American Outdoors Act and recreation industry continue to rely on oil money.
Carl Segerstrom, High Country News

On July 22, Congress passed the biggest public-lands spending bill in half a century. The bipartisan bill, called the Great American Outdoors Act, puts nearly $10 billion toward repairing public-lands infrastructure, such as outdated buildings and dysfunctional water systems in national parks. It also guarantees that Congress will spend the $900 million it collects each […]

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Water is Life

…for people, fish, farms and other creatures of the High Desert
Avatar photo Nicole Vulcan

Our Creek in WinterTodd Creek, Oregon By Katrina Hays The beargrass is gone The aspen has shed summer The creek dreams in narrow motion under a riven blanket of ice The air you raised your face into is not here That water long since passed What was is no more Suppose nothing changed Suppose we […]

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Wasted in Bend: Sustainable Schools

Green schools reduce waste and improve energy use
Suzanne Johnson

Every parent of school-age kids has a similar shopping list this month: Pencils, glue sticks, highlighters, notebooks, dry-erase markers, crayons, sharpies and erasable pens… and don’t forget the earbuds and iPad stylus. Most items are not recyclable, or biodegrable, and represent just a fraction of the resources that go into educating kids. Schools create a […]

Posted inCulture

River Warrior

Fighting to keep our waterways flowing
Avatar photo Richard Sitts

Tod Heisler might as well have river water running through his veins. He was recently hired as the director of the Rivers Conservation Program within Central Oregon LandWatch, and before that he led the Deschutes River Conservancy for 15 years. His 30 years of conservation experience began with the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C., […]

Posted inOutside

Make America Science-y Again

The March for Science is this Saturday
Avatar photo Nicole Vulcan

In a Pew Research poll conducted in 2016, 74 percent of Americans said they believed “the country should do whatever it takes to protect the environment.” That’s compared to 23 percent who believed the government has gone too far to protect it, according to that same poll.  Despite stats such as those, rollbacks to air […]

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Water Reduction Encouraged During Eclipse Week

City of Bend encourages water conservation techniques to balance out water usage spike.
Shilo Grayson

As visitors begin pouring in to Bend to experience the eclipse, the City of Bend is preparing for the increase in water usage that is sure to occur by encouraging residents to watch their water usage. These reduction measures don’t have to be big; most water usage during summer comes from landscape irrigation. By simply […]

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USDA seeks proposals from conservation partners for 2017

Deadline May 10
Sherron Lumley

Submitted by Tracy Robillard, State Public Affairs Specialist, Natural Resources Conservation Service – Oregon, U.S. Department of Agriculture Restoring and protecting vital natural resources such as water, air, land and wildlife is truly a team effort. That’s the premise behind USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)—a voluntary Farm Bill program that puts conservation partners in the […]

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Top Local News Stories of the Year

Avatar photo Erin Rook

1. Mirror Pond This year, the Mirror Pond debate continued to ebb and flow. In March, Bend City Council narrowly voted to support the ad hoc committee’s “preferred alternative”—a hybrid plan that would have maintained the pond while removing the failing Newport Dam. By July, that committee was reportedly preparing to make an offer to […]

Posted inOutside

High Desert Heroes

Celebrate a combined 75 years of Central Oregon conservation
Avatar photo Corbin Gentzler

Central Oregon would hardly be the place it is today were it not for the blood, sweat, and acumen of so many engaged residents willing to pull together. This year, the holy trinity of Central Oregon conservation groups are celebrating some pretty big anniversaries with events highlighting their many successes. Central Oregon Land Watch Central […]

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