The Oregon Supreme Court has ended a six-year legal battle between the state and 13 western Oregon counties over logging practices by declining to hear the case.
Author: Alex Baumhardt - Oregon Capital Chronicle
State forester rescinds wildfire risk map in response to public, political outcry
On Thursday afternoon, just five weeks after publishing a wildfire risk map, the state Forestry Department axed it.
Electric utilities submit final plans to prevent wildfires, shutoffs as season ramps up
Nearly all of Oregon’s 41 electric utilities have submitted their final plans to the state for preventing wildfires and managing shutoffs, according to the Public Utilities Commission.
One of North America’s most destructive bugs arrives in Oregon
For the first time in Oregon, a grim confirmation came from Ash trees in Forest Grove’s Joseph Gale Elementary School parking lot: Emerald ash borers, responsible for wiping out hundreds of millions of Ash trees in 35 states, are here.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden raises concerns over shortage of firefighters, federal spending on fire prevention
Oregon faces a shortage of wildland firefighters that could be “a recipe for trouble,” according to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden. Wyden wrote to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently with concerns that their agencies weren’t prepared to handle another catastrophic fire season such[Read More…]
New limits coming for Chinook fishing over historically low numbers
Due to years of drought and poor ocean conditions, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will restrict fishing for wild Chinook salmon in parts of the state from late summer through the end of the year. Numbers of wild Chinook in several coastal tributaries are forecast to be at[Read More…]
Oregon to join most states in compensating the wrongfully convicted
Wrongfully convicted Oregonians will now be eligible for financial compensation for time of false imprisonment. On March 24, Gov. Kate Brown signed the Oregon Justice for Exonerees Act, which allows compensation for wrongful convictions. Victims will be able to receive money, housing assistance, counseling, a sealing of their records and[Read More…]
State takes next steps on plan to protect threatened species in western forests
A plan to protect critical animal habitat in nearly 640,000 acres of western Oregon state forests is moving towards its final stages. An environmental impact review of the Western Forests Habitat Conservation Plan was released March 18, and Oregonians have 60 days to submit their thoughts and concerns to the National Oceanic[Read More…]
