Shows
Coast Range RadioIs The Forest Service Using The Threat Of Wildfire To Increase Logging??The Forest Service is using the threat of wildfires to justify a drastic expansion of commercial logging on our public lands. That is the contention in an investigative reporting series from Nathan Gilles at Columbia Insight. Many of us in the environmental world have long thought this to be the case, and this series brings the receipts, including internal Forest Service documents, emails, and more.The Forest Service has received billions of dollars in recent years on top of their normal budget specifically to protect communities from wildfire. If they are using those funds to pus...2025-03-1129 minCoast Range RadioNow is the Time to Take Action on the Northwest Forest Plan, with Grace Brahler (NWFP series, part 3)This episode is part three of our deep dive into the Forest Service’s proposal to amend the Northwest Forest Plan, which covers 24 million acres over 17 nation forests spread across Oregon, Washington, and Northern California. As I've said before, it is one of the primary reasons we have any intact or recovering forests left in the Pacific Northwest. So, kind of a big deal…What we haven’t gone in depth with yet is the conservation and environmental perspective. So for a completely non-biased, totally neutral take on the good, the bad, and the “it’s complicate...2025-03-0342 minCoast Range RadioHow Trump's DEI Witchunts Impact the Environmental Movement, and How We Can ResistWe are going to have a couple banger episodes on the Northwest Forest Plan in the coming weeks, but I’m recording this on February 24th, just over one month since Trump’s second term began, and I think we need to step back and take stock for a minute. Don’t worry, this episode is not going to be all about the dark lord, but the administration’s actions have already had huge consequences here in the Pacific Northwest, so we need to address it.Most of what Trump and his court of billionaires and white...2025-02-2638 minCoast Range RadioTribal Sovereignty & The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP series, Part 1)The Northwest Forest Plan is one of the primary reasons that we have any forest left in the Northwest. Without it, and other protections that are now also at risk because of the Trump administration, our public lands would look no different than the industrial clearcuts and monocrop tree plantations that surround me in the Coast Range.In December, the Forest Service released its planned amendment to the Northwest Forest Plan in what is called a ‘Draft Environmental Impact Statement’, or DEIS, and we the public have until March 17th to submit comments on their proposal.We...2025-02-1041 minCoast Range RadioWhy Oregon Needs an Environmental Rights AmendmentThis is our first episode of 2025, and while we brace for the tidal wave of insanity coming our way on the federal level, we are also preparing for Oregon’s biennial legislative session.If you don’t know, Oregon only has full legislative sessions in odd years, meaning that 2025 will be a big year for Oregon politics and policy. Oregon’s session runs from late January through late June, but most of the important opportunities for public input happen early, in February and March. I’ve been tracking a lot of bills as the session approache...2025-01-1529 minCoast Range RadioThe Fallacy of "Chainsaw Medicine" for Wildfire, with George Wuerthner, Part 2Today’s show is the second part of a recent talk by conservationist and author, George Wuerthner, on the failures and fallacies of some of the ingrained beliefs around wildfires and wildfire suppression.George Wuerthner is a well-known ecologist and author who has dedicated his career to studying and advocating for wilderness and wildlife conservation. He is the author of nearly 40 books on environmental issues and natural history, including co-authoring and editing “Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy”.If you didn’t hear part one, I would really encourage you to go back and listen t...2024-12-2429 minCoast Range RadioThe Fallacy of "Chainsaw Medicine" for Wildfire, with George Wuerthner - Part 1Our last episode was a great discussion with a Forest Service scientist and a forest ecologist with the Nature Conservancy about the effects of various fire treatments on subsequent fire behavior. While I appreciated their perspective and research, I wanted to bring in a different viewpoint on fire and forest ecology.It’s important to remember that western forests have existed and thrived long before humans arrived in North America. The impulse to “manage” the world around us is an ingrained human trait, and not even particularly unique to humans. However, while indigenous people throughout the Amer...2024-12-1129 minCoast Range RadioPreparing for the Dark Days AheadAs we all collectively live through the unfolding trauma of the 2024 election results, I am going to share a conversation I had yesterday with two of my colleagues in the climate justice world that I found really helpful in starting to process what this election could mean for climate justice and our movement, and how to engage in these early stages.I’m joined today by Brenna Bell from 350pdx and Forest Climate Alliance Organizer Alex Budd. And quick disclaimer, this conversation does not necessarily represent the views of our respective organizations.If you...2024-11-1147 minCoast Range RadioState of the Climate Emergency, with Dr. Jillian Gregg“We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster. This is a global emergency beyond any doubt. Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled. We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis”.Those are the opening sentences of the 2024 State of the Climate Report, led in part by scientists at Oregon State University. I’m willing to bet that not a single person listening to this needs to be convinced that fossil fuel caused climate change is a global emergency.I think the questions that we’...2024-10-2838 min