Ground Truth Blog
ESA Protection Sought for Rare Salamander
A rare salamander found only in rugged terrain along the Oregon-California border should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, conservationists contend. Long and brown with white speckles, the Siskiyou Mountains salamander lives in two populations, one in...
Interim Forest Service Chief Named
A Forest Service manager with a background in wildfire management was tapped yesterday to lead the agency after the resignation of Chief Tony Tooke earlier this week. Vicki Christiansen has worked with the Forest Service since 2010, most recently as Deputy Chief for...
With Tooke Gone, Who Will Be the Next Chief?
With the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service all without permanent directors, it's anyone's guess when the Forest Service can expect a new chief to replace the retired Tony Tooke. Here are FSEEE's office pool candidates: 1)...
Feral Cattle and Dogs Menace California Monument
A recently established national monument in Southern California is being overrun—not by people, necessarily, but by feral cattle and pit bulls. President Obama created the Sand to Snow National Monument outside of Palm Springs in February 2016. Since then, visitors...
Agency Proposes Moving Montana Trail Off Private Land
A Forest Service proposal released today calls for rerouting a trail in Montana that crosses private land. That trail and others in the Crazy Mountains have been the focus of long-simmering disputes between the agency and local landowners. The plan calls for building...
Oregon Headwaters Protected from Mining
Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced last week that a wild stretch of mountains in southwestern Oregon will remain protected from strip mining, handing conservationists a rare public-lands victory under the Trump administration. Panama-based Red...
Agency Releases Plan to Protect Fragile Rocky Mountain Lake
Forest Service officials in Colorado this week released a plan to implement visitation restrictions for Hanging Lake, a turquoise-tinted pond in the Rocky Mountains and one of the most popular hiking destinations in the state. As many as 1,000 people visit the lake...
Salmon, Berries and Bears — Oh My!
Does a bear poop in the woods? You bet—and that has a profound impact on the surrounding forest. A study by researchers at Oregon State University shows that brown and black bears in Southeast Alaska are the primary seed dispersers of devil’s club, a dominant shrub in...
Agency Approves Drilling Next to Mount St. Helens
Forest Service officials will allow exploratory drilling for copper and gold next to the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, including in an inventoried roadless area. The decision, announced last week, drew swift rebuke from conservationists who say...
Firefighters and Cops Win in FY 2019 Budget
You know the authoritarians are in charge when firefighters and cops get more money and everyone else gets less. That's the bottom line in Trump's FY 2019 Forest Service budget, which was released earlier today. Many dismiss the administration's annual budget exercise...
FSEEE: The Fires Are Out, Let the People In
FSEEE yesterday filed a petition calling for the supervisor of the Willamette National Forest in Oregon to immediately end closure notices stemming from wildfires that burned last summer. In a three-page letter to Willamette National Forest Supervisor Tracy Beck,...
Preparing for “Emergencies”
Fighting fires has emerged as the Forest Service’s top task, consuming more than half of the agency’s budget. And yet Forest Service administrators contend they do not have to conduct any environmental review of tactics used in managing wildfires, because each fire is...