North Olympic Peninsula residents addressing human-made climate disruption. Washington State, U.S.A.
Critical Minerals Agreements Must Prioritize Labor, Environmental and Human Rights The U.S. government is considering entering into a number of possible Critical Minerals Agreements (CMAs) with other countries throughout the world. Please sign the petition below urging that any new CMAs prioritize labor, environmental and human rights throughout the supply chain. OCA joined the Washington …
Continue reading "OCA joins the Washington Fair Trade Coalition"
Local / Regional News Hot Off the Wire is taking a break in September. See you in October! Local governments voice support for WA's Climate Commitment Act. The “No on 2117” campaign to oppose the ballot initiative that seeks to repeal the Climate Commitment Act needs us. Volunteer! The Quinault Indian Nation could get back …
What is Initiative 2117? According to a ballot summary provided by the Washington state legislature Initiative 2117, which will be on the ballot in November, would prohibit state agencies from imposing any type of carbon tax credit trading, including "cap and trade" or "cap and tax" programs, regardless of whether the resulting increased costs are imposed on fuel recipients …
Continue reading "Act Now-No 2117 — A Bad Deal for Washington"
Book Release and ReadingSeptember 14, 2024 6:00 pm-7:15 pmLocation: Dungeness Rover Nature CenterSponsored by Clallam Good Governance League In 2021, Sasha Abramsky, a long-time political journalist and book author, came to Sequim to find out what the heck’s going on. Do you remember…The protests against the proposed Jamestown S’Kallam Tribe’s healing clinic; the “takeover by …
Reporters can help people see the forest, even when the trees are on fire. Incident Commander Rich Harvey answers questions about the Waldo Canyon Fire. Source: Michael Rieger/FEMA Journalists play a vital role in interpreting the significance of wildfire events within a broader context. For example, over the past decade, following the available science, reporters …
Continue reading "Four Ways Context Matters for Wildfire News Coverage"
No on I-2117: "We can't afford this bad initiative" In the Evergreen State, we value clean air, healthy communities, and forward progress. That’s why we lead the nation in natural beauty, quality of life, and clean energy. Because of the Cap-and-Invest Climate Commitment Act, it’s no longer free to pollute in Washington. The state’s biggest polluters …
Continue reading "Risks of repealing the Climate Commitment Act"
Presentation to the Clallam Democrats - Wednesday, August 25, 6:30 pmZOOM LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83949725891 More information about Project 2025
Local / Regional News Interested in updating this newsletter? We're forming a committee to review and update the Hot Off the Wire format based on our survey results. Contact Carole at 503-752-0972 for info. 8/20, 7pm: Elwha Legacy Forest monthly meeting, on Zoom. 8/21 and 8/22: Wildflower walks in the upper Dungeness with the Dungeness …
North Coast & Cascades Inventory and Monitoring Network The National Park Service’s North Coast & Cascades Inventory and Monitoring Network put together a StoryMap to help communicate Landscape Disturbance in Pacific Northwest National Parks. This is a great example of how NASA data, specifically from the Landsat Program, can be used to visualize change over time and enhance …
Continue reading "Landscape Disturbance in Pacific Northwest National Parks"
Local / Regional News Please vote on Tuesday 8/6 before 8pm Register or update your address in person at the Clallam County Elections and Voter Registration Office until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 6, Election Day. Here's the list of Olympic Climate Action endorsements. 8/6, 9pm: Election debrief on Zoom with Dave Upthegrove The No on …
OCA just signed on to this NGO letter asking the Biden administration to strengthen protections of our older forests in its proposed National Old-Growth Amendment. Main points: None of the alternatives include language to prohibit logging of old growth, only a vague statement of desired condition. The final plan should end the cutting and selling …
Continue reading "Feds: Get real about protecting our older forests"
Paul Krugman points out that we're probably way underestimating the likely costs of climate damage, and that culture-war climate denial will only make the impacts worse. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/27/opinion/climate-change.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ak4.66UV.Df2ZgoeDZ4TL&smid=url-share
Local / Regional News Election events! See the Olympic Climate Action endorsements. Get involved: Sign waving on Monday, July 22 from 4 - 6 pm in Port Angeles, at 1st & Lincoln for Dave Upthegrove and Eric Pickens. Sign up to volunteer for Eric here. Click links to help with phone calls for Upthegrove: Saturday, …
Per our endorsement policy, our Endorsement Committee has recommended, and our Board has unanimously approved, endorsements of the following candidates in the 2024 Primary election. (We did not make endorsements specific to Jefferson County because of inadequate familiarity with the races; Jefferson County residents are encouraged to join our Endorsement Committee for future elections.) OCA …
OCA has signed on to a letter opposing the proposed federal "Fix Our Forests" Act. This bill contains extreme cuts to NEPA and ESA, and harmful judicial review language. Under the guise of wildfire mitigation, this bill serves to cut science and the public out of the process, to the benefit of industry.
Local / Regional News July 16 - Save the Climate Commitment Act volunteer training -- Sign up here July 11 - Join the League of Women Voters of Washington Environment Affinity Group at 7pm via Zoom for a one-hour discussion with Dr. Paula Swedeen of Conservation NW about forest management. Register here. League of Women Voters schedules …
Local / Regional News Peninsula College gets funding to train people working on the frontlines of climate change. Group launches site to map Climate Commitment Act projects -- They hope showing investments will help save Washington's Climate Commitment Act from repeal. Learn more: No on 2117 BC looking to ban open net farmed salmon June …
Local / Regional News June 15: Can it happen here? Get your tickets now. June 11 - Where are we now with greenhouse emissions? Register here for this Environmental Speaker Series online discussion. June 11 - Utilities education series with 350 features a talk on renewable energy funding opportunites for non-profits through the IRA. Register. …
Local / Regional News May 28, 10am: Tell The Clallam County Commissioners to support the City of Port Angeles’ Elwha Watershed Protection Project under the Trust Land Transfer (TLT) program! On May 28, the County Commissioners will vote on a letter about the City’s TLT. Agenda with Zoom link. More info: Elizabeth Dunne: edunne@earthlaw.org Elwha …
Local / Regional News Before May 15, support the Elwha Watershed Protection Project Trust-- The City of Port Angeles has submitted an application under DNR’s Trust Land Transfer Program to transfer 3,089 acres of state forest lands into protected status. Community support is a key. Comments accepted through May 15. Use this link. Living on …
By Jim Furnish and René Voss, The Missoulian Kai deSilva --Pixabay In the early 20th century, Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service wrote what is now considered the agency’s mission statement: Where conflicting interests must be reconciled, prioritize “the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run.” This approach …
We can do this...if we want... In this podcast, Ezra Klein interviews Hannah Ritchie, a Scottish data scientist and author of Not the End of the World, about sustainability in relation to climate change, energy, food and agriculture, biodiversity, air pollution, deforestation, and public health. Bottom line: we can now decouple our economies from heating …
From Tyler Gilmore <tyler@350pdx.org>: 350 Portland has been getting involved in resisting industrial biomass as corporate bad-actor Drax plans to expand to the Pacific NW, proposing a plant in Longview, WA. We have learned much about industrial-scale energy production via biomass, and every part of the industrial biomass process has adverse climate and community impacts. To …
Continue reading "Support Sen. Booker’s biomass-reform bill"
Local / Regional News https://youtu.be/8pVx6bo8wIA?feature=shared Save the WA Climate Commitment Act from climate arsonists - A Seattle Stranger report. Get involved at No on Initiative 2117 WA legislative recap from 350WA.org League of Conservation Voters endorses Randall Environmental Speaker Webinars: 4/30, 4pm -- Building Climate Leadership, 5/2, 4:30pm - Lawyering for Climate Justice Thursday, 4pm. …
Photo -- John Gussman Beautiful story and images to capture the struggle to protect the Elwha River and its watershed. Watch now
Celebrate our recently protected forest! When: May 11, 2024Where: Wandering Joy Campground (Private)233035 US- 101, Port Angeles
Where is your favorite politician on this axis? Where is your old uncle? And where are YOU? Click to see the full cartoon
May 12th, 12:30-1:30 pmOlympic Unitarian Fellowship1033 N Barr Rd, Port AngelesThe event is free and open to the public. Parking is available on site. Dr. Bond's presentation will cover the past, present and future climate of the Pacific Northwest with a focus on its impacts on the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The …
Continue reading "Climate Forum will Feature Dr. Nick Bond, UW Climatologist"
Local / Regional News Image: NOAA 2024 Earth Day art Clean a beach for Earth Day! Washington Coastal Clean Ups, Sat. April 20 - sign up here. 4/22 - Take a guided forest immersion walk for Earth Day. Sign up with Dungeness River Nature Center. Earth Day to Election Day - Join WA Conservation Action …
Check out The Switch Is On if you want to electrify your home, lower your energy use, save on utility bills, and cut climate pollution. It’s a one-stop shop to help you navigate the process of upgrading your home with clean energy technologies like a new heating and cooling system, heat pump water heater, or …
Continue reading "New tool available to help you make clean energy upgrades"
Clallam County has a survey running through May 10 regarding hazard planning, which will guide the County's future hazard-mitigation efforts: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/2310b0f0d7b042b39f0f2ef624d7500c?portalUrl=https://websrv31.clallamcountywa.gov/portal Consider answering this 10-15 minute survey and asking for greater preparation for climate risks such as flooding, drought, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, wildfire, smoke, and extreme heat events. To help you, you might want …
Continue reading "Help Clallam County Reduce Risk and Plan for the Future"
Rain Barrels at Tammy's home. For info on storing rainwater during our increasingly dry season, contact Tammy Dziadek at tammydzi@yahoo.com. For hired help with water conservation via rainwater storage, I, Tammy Dziadek of Port Angeles, highly recommend Ryan Bates (RSB Builders, 360-912-1844, rybates@gmail.com). Ryan and his helper Steve created an efficient, effective rainwater collection system via …
King County Council Chair Dave Upthegrove Photo: Andrew Villeneuve/NPI By Andrew Villeneuve, The Cascadia Advocate The endorsements from former Democratic Commissioner Peter Goldmark and Washington Conservation Action come at a critical juncture in the campaign. Read more
Local / Regional News 4/1-4/7: Food Waste Prevention Week has free and fun events all week! Follow WSU Clallam Extension on Facebook and Instagram for event listings. 4/2 Trivia Night at Angeles Brewing features fun, food waste facts and fermented beverages. Win prizes! 4/20 Washington Coastal Clean Ups - sign up here. No on 2117 - An …
King County Superior Court rules that DNR violated SEPA by failing to disclose and mitigate the climate impacts of logging mature 'legacy' forests Mature legacy forests in the Wishbone Timber Sale area are safe for now due to successful litigation by CSE and its partners. Seattle – For the second time in two years, a Washington Superior …
April 1-7, 2024 Come celebrate Food Waste Prevention Week with free and fun events all next week, including food waste trivia, recipe demonstrations, and informational tabling! Stay tuned to the WSU Clallam County Extension social media pages and website for more exciting updates, and check out foodwastepreventionweek.com to learn about the international campaign and see webinars and …
Continue reading "Come Celebrate Food Waste Prevention Week"
Board needs more transparency, diversity, inclusion In a February letter to Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and his fellow Board of Natural Resources members, Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal calls for significantly more time for the Board to evaluate proposed timber sales and for the public to comment on them, as well as …
Local / Regional News 3/19, 3pm - Plants Get Sick - Monitoring Sea Grass Wasting Disease in a Changing Climate - This free NOAA webinar focuses on Northern California's sea grass meadows. Register here. 3/19, 4pm - Disruptive Energy Futures - a WWU Institute for Energy Studies webinar. Zoom registration 3/19, 6:30-7:30pm - WA Divestment …
and cancelation of the Power Plant timber sale Sunday, March 24, 2024
from foodandwaterwatch.org A letter delivered today to President Biden from more than 560 environmental, climate, health, and advocacy organizations around the world applauded the administration’s decision to halt pending liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approvals to non-free trade countries and called on the administration to expand the pause to halt the permitting of new LNG infrastructure and …
Continue reading "OCA signs letter with hundreds of green groups urging Biden to expand LNG freeze"
From a sign at the Nisqually Refuge...
Local / Regional News Image: Climate Solutions Only 1 week left in Washington's legislative session - The 350 Civic Action team wants help advocating for the 3 priority items listed below. Sign up here. • Capital Budget: Support Encumbered Lands Proviso & Prioritize Mature Forests Conservation • Transportation Budget: Improve Rail Allocation • Capital Budget: …
March 21, 6:30PM on Zoom, RSVP here Glaciers are the spring of life for the valleys below and one of our planet’s key indicators of a changing climate. In 2022, father-son duo Chip and Will Freund set out to document how one specific glacier has changed in our lifetime for their project, Blue Glacier Then & …
Continue reading "Blue Glacier’s Change Over the Past 40 Years"
TemperateSage -- Pixabay The OCA Board of Directors unanimously agreed to sign onto this petition, from The John Muir Project alongside a coalition of over 200 conservation, climate, and social justice organizations, as well as 200 leading scientists, urging President Joe Biden to issue an executive order halting logging inall mature and old-growth forests on …
Continue reading "OCA signs on: Stop logging mature/old-growth fed forests!"
dlsdkcgl --Pixabay Even in states with financial officers that purport to care about sustainability, way too many pensions are failing to push the companies they invest in to align with global climate goals. Public pensions in the United States are responsible for investing and stewarding nearly $8 trillion. Read the full article. Divest Washington will …
J16 and J60- January3, 2024 (Encounter #3) Center for Whale Research The Center for Whale Research is sad to report that the youngest member of J pod, J60, was missing during our most recent encounter with the pod. On January 27, 2024, researchers conducted a photo ID survey of J pod in San Juan Channel …
Local / Regional News Image: Climate Solutions The 2024 Washington State legislature has a short session so we have to act quick! Jan. 31st is the first hard cutoff-- Bills will die if they haven’t passed out of policy committees. Green Amendment, Community Solar and the right to repair are in jeopardy. Here's how to get …
Local / Regional News Fight for climate action in WA state - the short 2024 state legislative session has begun! Here's how to get involved: Weekly through March 7 --Join 350.org's Civic Action Team. Help advance climate friendly and just transition legislation. Sign up to get 2 action emails a week. Every email includes: Clear information …
Local / Regional News These trees saved, for now Power Plant timber sale in Elwha watershed cancelled despite having been auctioned off to the highest bidder in July. Read more. The forest we've saved - The Legacy Forest Defense Coalition looks back on successes from this past year in Washington state and discusses taking DNR …
Local / Regional News Sunday, 12/17, 6-7:30pm: The values of our local mature forests with Dr. Dominick Dellasalla. Also, a presentation about the city's application to protect 3,000 acres of older forest in the Elwha watershed, under the state Department of Natural Resources’ Trust Land Transfer program–link here. Location: Sons of Norway Scandia Hall, 131 W. …
With world-renowned Dr. Dominick Dellasala Sunday, December 17th -- 6-7:30 pm Sons of Norway Scandia Hall131 W. 5th StreetPort Angeles, WA Dr. DellaSala will be coming to Port Angeles and giving a special presentation about the values of our local older forests which have not yet reached old-growth, and why we need to let them …
Continue reading "Presentation: Values of Our Mature Forests"
Recommend a parcel near Lake Sutherland On December 12, the Clallam County Commissioners sent a letter to DNR nominating a timber sale with mature forest as a priority parcel for conservation under the Natural Climate Solutions program of the Climate Commitment Act, becoming the eighth county wanting to participate in this program! Clallam County historically has been …
Continue reading "Clallam Commissioners ask DNR to participate in Natural Climate Solutions program"
Local / Regional News Make Your Voice Count: WA Climate Response Strategy UpdateThe WA Dept. of Ecology is working to update the state's current Climate Response Strategy. Provide input by filling out this survey and participating in a listening session:-- Dec 5 at 1230PM (Register Here)-- Dec 6 at 6PM (Register Here)-- Dec 7 at 10AM (Register Here) Dec. 10, 3pm: Sea Otters ecology and conservation …
by Rena Priest -Citizen of the Lhaq’temish [Lummi] Nation and Washington State's 2021-2023 poet laureateI have seen a tree split in twofrom the weight of its opposing branches.It can survive, though its heart is exposed.I have seen a country do this too.I have heard an elder saythat we must be like the willow—bend not to …
OCA points out the multiple benefits of the Natural Climate Solutions program.
Ensures they are among the most climate & health friendly in the nation OLYMPIA, WA—The Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) voted today to adopt amendments to statewide energy codes for new residential and commercial buildings, ensuring that they are among the most climate and health-friendly in the nation and are insulated against gas industry …
Continue reading "WA State Building Code Council Votes to Protect Energy Codes"
Local / Regional News https://youtu.be/XA7Fau9IpzU?feature=shared Dec. 1 and 2: The Alaska Suite - a live musical reverie on the tenuous beauty of the Arctic. It's a story of beauty, loss and hope with music, poetry and images. Dec. 1, 7 pm: Port Townsend, Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Avenue. Tickets here Dec. 2, 2 pm: …
Local / Regional News Nov. 6 and Nov. 7: A chance to protect Clallam County's older forests The Elwha watershed has some big trees. Image: @forest2sea **Monday, 11/6, 10:00 am: Dr. Catharine Copass from Olympic Forest Coalition will present “DNR Natural Climate Solutions Program - Opportunities in Clallam County” during the county commissioners’ work session. Listen in or …
A love offering for the Olympic Peninsula Photo -- Art Wolf In Salmon, Cedar, Rock & Rain, Tim McNulty explores the Olympic Peninsula’s complex—and ongoing—story of development, conservation, restoration, and cultural heritage, while writers from the Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam, and Makah Tribes, and Quinault Indian Nation share some of their …
Seattle-based, award-winning composer Nelda Swiggett brings her five-piece chamber jazz ensemble to Port Angeles, Sequim, and Port Townsend on Dec. 1-2 for a tour of her original work, “The Alaska Suite: a story of beauty, loss and hope.” This concert is a musical reverie on the tenuous beauty of the Arctic. But it is not just a …
Continue reading "The Alaska Suite: a story of beauty, loss and hope"
...so why don't they have to apply for water rights? Originally published in the Peninsula Daily News, 9/30/23 Goumbik -- Pixabay It’s well-known that forest clear-cuts adversely affect stream flows in multiple ways, such as by increasing surface temperatures, damaging water absorbing organisms and causing faster runoffs. Not so well known is that the more …
Local / Regional News 10/23: A special presentation in Port Angeles: Sea level rise here and around the world Port Townsend during a recent king tide. Image Jeff Taylor In this Olympic Climate Action program, a coastal hazards expert discusses the science and impacts of rising seas, including threats here on the Olympic Peninsula. Location: …
October 12, 2023Re: Lower Elwha Klallam Proposal for BIA Climate Change Planning FundingDear BIA Climate Change Resiliency Program reviewers,Olympic Climate Action is in full support of the efforts made by the Lower Elwha KlallamTribe’s climate change planning team to prepare for the effects of climate change in the LowerElwha Klallam (LEKT) community through the development …
Local / Regional News Port Townsend during a recent king tide. Image Jeff Taylor 10/23: Sea level rise here and around the world - In this special Olympic Climate Action program, Dr. Ian Miller, a coastal hazards specialist for Washington Sea Grant, will present a program on the science and impacts of rising seas, including …
To watch the video of the presentation, click here When: Monday, October 23, 2023, 6:30-7:30 p.m.Where: Port Angeles Library, Carver Room Waves splash buildings in downtown Port Townsend, 10-15-16. Photo by Jeff Taylor for local king tide monitoring project. As our warming climate melts glaciers and expands ocean waters, sea-level is rising worldwide. Dr. Ian …
Continue reading "A Special Presentation: Sea Level Rise Around the World and Here at Home"
David Large Home David Large and Janis Burger will participate in the National Solar Tour sponsored by the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society. Despite its name, the Solar Tour is not solar-specific but rather covers all aspects of climate-friendly living: homes, vehicles, and landscaping. Time: 10 am -- 4 pm, Location: 1328 Bent Cedars Way, …
Continue reading "Local Homes on National Solar Tour Oct 7, 2023"
Local / Regional News Volunteers building emergency channels in the Dungeness River to ease fish passage.Photo by Hansi Hals Drought strands Dungeness River salmon - Low water levels on the Dungeness River have stranded thousands of salmon but irrigators and volunteers are trying to help out. Read more from Dungeness Nature Center here. Also, get …
Local / Regional News Stage 3 water shortage in Port Angeles declared - Restrictions come in response to continuously decreasing flows in the Elwha River, the City’s primary source of drinking water. Learn about the restrictions. Also, get resources about rainwater catchment systems from King County. Image: King County Natural Resources & Parks Dept.. Timber …
Local / Regional News Cool down with a free shade tree Summers are hotter and the urban tree canopy in Port Angeles is disappearing. The city is stepping in with a free shade tree program. Get a tree or volunteer . Bellingham rallies to save big trees https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=LJeYvMokyDw Monitoring old growth logging in BC- Forest …
Local / Regional News Controversial Elwha timber sale makes the news Planned logging represents a growing controversy over the state’s forest-management practices and its sale of timber in the face of climate change. Read more from the Seattle Times. Elwha Forest Fund hopes to stop the clear cut. Aug. 17- Clean transportation for all in WA- …
Art by Shelly Gould On August 22-23, the Board of Natural Resources (BNR) will be holding its annual retreat in Whatcom County. This is an important opportunity to deliver our simple message: "Commissioner Franz and BNR, become the climate champions we need you to be: enact a mature forest conservation policy NOW!" We will rally on …
Continue reading "STATEWIDE RALLY FOR LEGACY FORESTS–BELLINGHAM, AUG. 22, 5:30-6:30"
Daniel Kim -- The Seattle Times Reporter Isabella Breda for the Seattle Times provides an in-depth look at the views from many sides about the Department of Natural Resources harvesting 80+ year-old forests in the Elwha River watershed. Read her article.
Local / Regional News Judge OKs logging in Elwha watershed Despite community opposition, the timber sale will proceed. Read more here. Take action with the Center for Responsible Forestry . Oregon town buys a forest to build an economy based on tourism, not logging - Read more here. Study finds forest protections lead to reduced …
Local / Regional News https://youtu.be/8U0kC3qFkhQ Who’s ready to tell a wild, 12,000-pound killer whale to stick his tongue out and say “Aaah”? Find out about SeaDoc in this Salish Sea Wild video. July deadlines for forest preservation - More info: Center for Responsible Forestry --To ensure Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz puts an end …
Learn from community professionals about climate change issues from sea to summit, including the long-term glacial monitoring research at Olympic National Park that inspired the “Terminus” project and exhibition. GET TICKETS FOR CIVIC MINDS
In response to a public comment period on a proposed Conservation and Landscape Health rule, more than 330,000 members of the public and supporters of environmental advocacy groups, including Environment America, called on the Bureau of Land Management to protect mature and old-growth trees and forests managed by the agency. “From the redwoods and Douglas …
Continue reading "330,000 call on BLM to protect our older forests"
Letters sent to BLM, USFS In response to calls for public comment in response to President Biden's Earth Day 2022 call to develop policies to protect America's older forests, OCA submitted comments to the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. Here are our comments to the Forest Service from our perspective here on …
Continue reading "OCA calls for protection of older federal forests"
"If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters." —Frederick Douglass, speech in 1857 in Canandaigua, NY
Local / Regional News Olympic Climate Action participated in statewide banner protests last week. July deadlines for forest preservation - More info: Climate Forests and Center for Responsible Forestry STATE ACTIONS- To ensure that the Commissioner of Public Lands, Hilary Franz, puts an end to logging the last remaining mature forests in western Washington, send …
Art by Shelly Gould As part of the Week of Action for PNW Forests and Climate happening June 24-July 2, the Washington State Lands Working Group releases an open letter from more than 25 organizations to Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, calling on her to: Publicly commit to bring forward a new policy and …
Scientists' letter to the federal government re: rulemaking on older forests "As scientists with expertise in forest ecosystems, climate change, and natural resources, we fully support global efforts to protect large trees and old forests (mature and old growth) from logging along with restoring logged forests as natural climate solutions¹. . . . There is …
As part of a coordinated regional action of the Pacific Northwest Forest Climate Alliance, OCA members held banners supporting protection of our older forests on Monday morning at the Black Diamond overpass over Hwy 101. Similar banners were dropped over I-5 from southern Oregon to the Canadian border. Activists across the state are calling upon the state Department of …
Continue reading "Coordinated Banner Action June 26th, 2023"
OCA members traveled to DNR Headquarters in Olympia Tuesday, joining others from the Washington State Lands Group of the Pacific Northwest Forest Climate Alliance, calling on Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz to halt cuts of the state’s older forests, our carbon workhorses, while a longer-range plan can be developed that incorporates the Natural Climate Solutions potential of these …
Continue reading "OCA Members Protest DNR in Olympia for Clearcuts of Mature Forests"
Local / Regional News Deadlines in June and July for federal forest preservation comments Open comment periods for federal rules are a rare opportunity for public input in protecting mature and old- growth forests. More info: http://www.climate-forests.org/take-action By June 20: DOI rulemaking: How might the BLM use this rule to foster ecosystem resilience of old …
The fires in Canada underscore the need to let our current mature forest grow old. Warmer and drier conditions will weaken this resistance and make even these mature forests more prone to wildfire. This is very likely an important factor with the fires currently burning in Canada. | Megan Albu/AFP/Getty Images Across America, forests on …
Continue reading "New Trees Are No Substitute for Old Trees"
Clayton Cotterell for The New York Times I asked the Forest Service to guarantee that the saplings planted using my money would not grow up only to be logged later by the timber companies. The agency declined. But overcome, I suppose, by pie-in-the-sky do-gooderism, I pledged the money anyway. Over the next few years, over …
Continue reading "I Pledged $1 Million to Plant New Trees. My Money Could Have Been Better Spent."
Local / Regional News There's No Time to Waste, It's Time to Let Forests Grow Old forests on federal lands capture and store vast amounts of carbon pollution and should be a cornerstone of U.S. climate policy. Tell the Biden Administration it's time to let them grow. ‘We’re going to need so many seedlings’ for reforestation …
At the May 16 Clallam County Commissioners meeting, 22 people called for a pause on DNR timber sales on older forests (such as “TCB23” and “Power Plant” in the Elwha watershed), until newly-enacted tools for older forest protection are implemented and understood. Despite this massive input, Commissioners French and Johnson decided they do not support …
Comments due June 20 OCA just sent letters to the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management asking them to begin rule-making to protect the nation's climate-critical older forests from their #1 threat: logging. Older forests on federal lands capture and store vast amounts of carbon pollution and should be a cornerstone of U.S. …
Continue reading "OCA comments on older federal forests…you should too!!!"
Local / Regional News Clallam County PUD endorses dam removal County Public Utility District joins the City of Port Angeles in supporting breaching the lower snake dams and replacing their services. Read more from Save our Wild Salmon. Local timber sale updates Image: Forest2Sea Photography May 23 and May 30- The Center for Responsible Forestry says: "Just …
The Board of Commissioners of Clallam County PUD #1, on April 10, became the first public utility district in the region to come out in favor of restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River. The utility serves citizen-owners on Washington State’s North Olympic Peninsula. The commissioners unanimously approved a resolution that minced no words. The resolution makes these key …
Continue reading "Clallam County PUD endorses Snake River dam removal"
The UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS) welcomed Dr. Jerry Franklin, SEFS Emeritus Professor, as the 2023 Sustaining Our World Speaker. Dr. Franklin spoke on “What the Old Forests Taught Us: Forest Stewardship in the 21st Century”, with Q&A following. Franklin's program description: A revolution in our understanding of forests – what they …
Continue reading "Jerry Franklin tells it plain: We need our older forests!"
Local / Regional News WA legislative session closes with some successes Climate Commitment Act funds WA state forest protection --State legislators in Olympia invested a landmark $83 million in forest conservation and management. This funding marks the first time the state government will set aside timber acreage strictly for its carbon value, by designating it …
We need more loggers, not less.We gathered earlier this year on the banks of the Elwha River.An Indigenous elder welcomed everyone to their lands.They called on us to not be divided, thanked us for caring for the forests and river.Asked us to be grateful, to forgive.Environmentalists, loggers, tribal people were all there with families.Port Angeles …
Our Forests, Our Climate, and Our Communities: Weaving a Healthier Web Sunday, May 7, 12:30 pm Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Sanctuary 1033 N. Barr Rd, Port Angeles, WA- Good parking - open and free to all - Ed Chadd, Olympic Climate Action forests chair, will speak on forest & climate issues, focusing on WA state. In …
Continue reading "May 7: Forestry talk by OCA’s Ed Chadd, OUUF Sanctuary"
Laura Otýpková -- Pixabay April 24, 2023, Olympia, WA — State legislators in Olympia invested a landmark $83 million in forest conservation and ecological forest management practices to boost carbon sequestration on state lands. This funding marks the first time the state government will set aside timber acreage strictly for its carbon value, by designating it …
Announcement advances Biden’s 2022 Earth Day Executive Order The 42 Divide logging sale in the Roseburg, Oregon Bureau of Land Management district. Photo Credit: Hanna Anderson WASHINGTON, DC – According to reports, the U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday a pathway for protecting mature and old-growth trees and forests as part of a strategy to improve …
Local / Regional News April 22: Earth Day Events Earth Day Spring Fest Concert, 4/22, 3pm, at the Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1033 N. Barr Rd. Sequim. Beach clean-up, 4/22, with Washington CoastSavers! Choose a beach on the Olympic Peninsula and have fun removing debris. Register here. Earth Day Mulch Event, 4/22- Help the North Olympic …
