Bark’s October News and Advocacy Opportunities
Updates on the Grasshopper Fire: What we know now, and what comes next
Last month, Bark staff toured part of the area burned in the Grasshopper Fire, getting a first look at the impacts on the ground. What they saw and heard tracks with the Forest Service’s initial Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessment, which offers some encouraging ecological findings.
13% of the fire area was unburned or experienced very low soil burn severity, 58% low severity, 26% moderate severity, and just 3% high severity. Soil burn severity can help indicate how forests may recover after wildfire; higher-severity burning can damage fungal networks and seed banks, delay regeneration, and increase erosion and runoff.
Early data also suggest the fire burned in a mosaic pattern, creating a patchwork of conditions that can support diverse wildlife. About 15% of the burned area experienced more than 50% tree mortality, though that estimate may change as more data comes in. For example, some oaks that appear dead in satellite imagery may simply be dormant and could leaf out next spring. Oaks are awesome!
These findings are preliminary, and it may take years to understand the fire’s full ecological impacts. We’re also watching what comes next: the Forest Service is developing a post-fire Environmental Assessment that could include road repairs, hazard-tree removal, and salvage logging. We’re particularly concerned about accelerated salvage logging and will track the process to ensure opportunities for public participation.
In the meantime, check out this drone footage of the burned area from Bark supporter and Green Oregon Alliance President, Ralph Bloemers.
Watch The Forest Keep Its Own Record: Fire, Science, and Stewardship on the East Side of Mt. Hood, featuring Bark staff!
Speaking of fire, what can a tree ring tell us about the history of fire and forest development across the diverse landscapes of Mt. Hood National Forest?
A new short film produced by Madison Washburn and Oregon State University’s Tree Ring Lab explores that question and presents some of the research the Tree Ling has been doing on Mt. Hood to answer it. Bark’s own Forest Watch Program Manager, Jordan Latter, contributed to the project and can be seen discussing how the research informs Bark’s advocacy in Mt. Hood’s forest collaboratives.
Tales from BeaverCon!
Bark Restoration Program Manager Meg Waller recently attended BeaverCon, the preeminent national conference for researchers, practitioners, educators and beaver enthusiasts—and an important opportunity to connect Bark’s restoration work with the growing field of beaver-based ecosystem restoration. Before the conference, Meg joined a field trip led by beaver researcher Dr. Emily Fairfax (who was also the lead consultant for the recent Pixar film, Hoppers!), where she learned new approaches to studying beaver populations, including eDNA sampling, drone surveys and GPS tagging.
At BeaverCon, Meg learned more about the many ways beaver-created wetlands can benefit ecosystems and communities, from boosting bat and amphibian populations to reducing wildfire risk. Meg’s trip also included a visit to St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, where she watched researchers test small beaver dam analogs (BDAs) in an outdoor flume, demonstrating how BDAs can slow and spread water and increase infiltration.
She’ll be putting the skills and experience she gained at the conference to work with her own upcoming beaver restoration projects on Mt. Hood. Read on!
Bark’s first beaver dam analog project has been approved!
Bark’s first-ever beaver dam analog (BDA) project has been approved by both the Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers! The project will take place at Cooper Creek, just north of Timothy Lake on the Clackamas District of Mt. Hood NF.
BDAs are structures designed to mimic some of the effects of natural beaver dams, slowing water, increasing wetland habitat and helping restore stream systems. This project is an exciting next step in Bark’s growing restoration work with beavers, and one we’re especially excited to bring to MHNF. Stay tuned for more details about how you can volunteer to help with this project.
Comment on the proposed changes to the Clean Water Act by October 9th!
Federal Register Notice
Submit your comment here
The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers are proposing another major rollback of Clean Water Act protections. Under the proposed changes, federal protection would generally be limited to waters that flow year-round, which an analysis by the NRDC estimates could put at least 94% of wetlands in the continental U.S. at risk.
That matters here on Mt. Hood, where seasonal streams, wetlands, and smaller waterways are essential parts of the forest’s water system that one-third of Oregonians rely on.
Comments are due October 9 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Take a few minutes to tell federal agencies to protect, rather than weaken, our clean-water safeguards.
More than 390,000 comments submitted on DEIS for Roadless Rule Rescission
The comment period on the DEIS for the proposed Roadless Rule rescission ended earlier this week. Bark submitted comments opposing the repeal, refuting the claims about wildfire and economics that the agency used to justify the rescission and emphasizing the importance of roadless areas for intact forest ecosystems, clean water, wildlife, and recreation. And we were far from alone. As of today, 391,483 people exercised their right to speak up on the issue, and an initial analysis indicates that the vast majority oppose the rescission.
This tracks with the Center for Western Priorities’ previous analysis of comments submitted last fall in response to the Notice of Intent to rescind the widely popular policy, which also found that over 99% of comments opposed the rescission.
You can read Bark’s comments here.
All public comments can be viewed through Regulations.gov here and here. Please note that there were two places to comment due to the extension of the comment period.
Trump administration continues dismantling Endangered Species Act
The Trump administration’s attacks on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) continued last month, with a September 14th memo distributed to Fish and Wildlife Service field offices calling for a reinterpretation of what it means to “take” an endangered species. By reinterpreting the law to mean that harming or killing an endangered animal would no longer be considered illegal unless the action was specifically intended to cause harm or death, the memo effectively excludes economic activities such as logging, mining and industrial development from the ESA’s prohibition on “takes” of endangered species.
This latest development comes on the heels of the administration’s repeal in July of the ESA’s definition of prohibited “harm,” which had been defined as “an act which actually kills or injures wildlife,” including acts that “may include significant habitat modification or degradation.”
Long one of our most important tools for protecting imperiled species and the ecosystems they depend on, the future of the ESA, and the endangered species the law was supposed to protect, remains uncertain given these reinterpretations. A number of states have sued over the changes and we’ll be watching how the suits play out in the courts. Stay tuned.
Bark joins 34+ organizations in condemning collaboration between USFS and ICE
Bark joined 34 other organizations in signing a letter to the U.S. Forest Service condemning recent evidence of collaboration between the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The letter follows an incident in Washington’s Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in which Forest Service law enforcement officers assisted with the detention of five people on a camping trip.
Public lands belong to all of us. We’re calling on the Forest Service to be transparent about any collaboration with ICE and to commit to ending further involvement in immigration enforcement.
The environment needs your vote!
You’ve schlepped out to the field with us, submitted your public comments, and now it’s time to exercise your civic duty by voting for public lands and environmental protections this fall.
Oregon’s voter registration deadline is October 13. Ballots begin arriving October 14, and Election Day is November 3. Take a moment to make sure your voter registration is current, especially if you’ve moved or changed your name since the last election. Do it for the forest!
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is October 12
The Bark office will be closed on Monday, October 12th in observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. If you’re looking for ways to learn, show solidarity, or support Indigenous-led work, here are a few opportunities in and around Portland:
- Attend NAYA’s Indigenous People’s Day Solidarity event: Monday, October 12, from 10 am-1 pm at the NAYA Family Center. Volunteers and allies are invited to gather in the garden at Wapas Nah Née Shaku. Register here.
- See Between the Lines, a new exhibition by Cahuilla artist Gerald Clarke that confronts the performative language of land acknowledgments and the distance between symbolic recognition and meaningful action. The exhibition closes October 17. Learn more here.
- Visit Sahaptin Stories, a new Indigenous-owned bookstore in Portland specializing in new and used books written by Indigenous authors. 4181 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97202. Learn more.
- Join us in the field. This Friday, Bark will be supporting the restoration work at Parrott Creek Child and Family Services by helping their Indigenous-led Cultural Ecology Program plant willows on part of their property. Register here.