Conservation Note for November

Conservation Committee Note for November

Fall has fully arrived, vine maple leaves red and orange, bigleaf maple yellow and brown, chanterelles showing golden among the conifers.

As Thanksgiving approaches, most of us outdoor Oregonians are showing our thankfulness by enjoying Oregon’s mountains, forests, rivers, streams and lakes. And while we enjoy the Oregon fall, we should take a moment to think about how vulnerable the Oregon we love is, in this time of climate change. We have been in drought since 2012, and though the drought has lessened now, many of the once perennial small streams which dried up have not begun to flow again. Our beloved western red cedar continue to turn brown, and many have already died. Our forests and our waters continue to be at risk.

A full 80-90% of the water we drink, bathe in, irrigate with, originates in our forests. In a previous issue of the Blazer, we published an article by Mary Scurlock on the Oregon Forest Practices Act (OFPA), what it is and does, and in what respects it falls short of protecting our forests and waters, ever more important to us as climate change progresses. A voter initiative to reform and correct the most important failings of the OFPA was carefully crafted by environmental lawyers working with some of our Oregon conservation non-profits. It reached the Secretary of State Bev Clarno, who blocked it from proceeding further. (See the Oregon Live article in the Oregonian by Rob Davis, Oct 4, 2019.) This decision is being appealed; stay tuned.

I hope as we enjoy the fall, and give thanks for all the beauty we enjoy here, that we not only resolve to do our best to minimize our individual negative impacts on the climate, but also join in the work of the environmental organizations featured in our prior Conservation notes. It will take changes at the city, county, state, national, and international levels, to protect and heal our beautiful Oregon and our beautiful planet.

Wishing you all a good Thanksgiving,

For the love of of our forests, streams, rivers, and wetlands,

Your Conservation Committee