Oregon Wild
Posted inNews

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 inNews

Conservation in Central Oregon

When it comes to plugging into local environmental and conservation causes, these are groups to choose from
Mary Fleishmann

Bitterbrush Broads – Great Old Broads for Wilderness Great Old Broads for Wilderness is a national nonprofit organization based in Durango, Colo. Currently, 40 Chapters of the Broads operate throughout the U.S., with four chapters in Oregon. The Central Oregon Bitterbrush Broads chapter is local to this region. The Broads are engaged in inspiring women […]

Posted inNews

Big Changes for Well-Traveled Trails

Forest Supervisors announce plan to create a permit system for busy trails during peak season
Avatar photo Nicole Vulcan

Ask a local how they feel about the traffic on trails and natural areas in Central Oregon, and chances are they’ll tell you that things are way too crowded. Some might even say that the wilderness areas near Bend are being “loved to death“—the phrase used in a post written by local writer Katy Bryce […]

Posted inOutside

A Fisheries Pioneer

Amy Stewart was ODFW’s first district-wide female fish biologist
Brian Jennings

“I was told women belong in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant,” recalls former state Fish Biologist Amy Stuart of Prineville. In 1983, she was hired by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as its first district-wide female fish biologist, based in Prineville. With natural resources degrees from Cornell and Colorado State Universitiy, she interviewed for […]

Posted inOutside

Crowds in the Backcountry

As national forest leaders consider quotas for local wilderness areas, some local wilderness advocates weigh in
Brian Jennings

Sarah Cuddy coordinates conservation efforts in the Ochoco National Forest for Oregon Wild. She’s worried about increased foot traffic in the woods. “With our population increase we’re seeing an increase in recreation. The sheer volume of people on the trails now is way more than we’ve experienced in the past.” Central Oregon’s population growth bears […]

Posted inNews

Bridge Battle, Part Deux

In the Oregon Legislature, a new effort to sink the Deschutes River Trail Bridge
Chris Miller

The fight over the proposed Deschutes River pedestrian bridge south of Bend may suffer a knockout blow if a new bill passes in the upcoming short legislative session.  The draft of the bill, currently titled Legislative Concept 49, differs from Rep. Gene Whisnant’s failed bill from last session in that it doesn’t provide another option […]

Posted inNews

Groups Protest BLM Plan

Oregon Wild advocacy volunteers organize
Sherron Lumley

More than half of the forests that once covered the Earth are gone, and each year, more disappear. Though many are aware of deforestation in South America, far fewer realize that it is happening right here in Oregon. The Bureau of Land Management posted an official protest period of April 16 to May 16, as […]

Posted inNews

Crossroads in the Ochoco National Forest

The Ochoco Summit Trail proposal
Brian Jennings

Few things stir more controversy than proposing a new trail system for off-highway vehicle (OHV) travel in a national forest. The proposed 130-mile Summit Trail in the 850,000-acre Ochoco National Forest, an hour’s drive east of Bend, is one such proposal that has met mixed response. The arguments for and against the proposed trail for […]

Posted inOutside

Mountain Bikers Seek Changes to 1964 Wilderness Act

Conservationists fear too much is at stake
Brian Jennings

Thus far, 2016 has been a controversial year for federal public lands, especially in Oregon where the federal government manages more than 50 percent of the state’s geographic area. First, there was the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge south of Burns. Then, Malheur County residents overwhelmingly voted against creating a possible National […]

Sign up for newsletters

Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.

Sending to:

Gift this article