An update on our wetlands work and Mt. Hood advocacy
Plus, an exciting opportunity to have your donation to Bark matched!
Thanks to everyone who submitted comments on the Consent for Geothermal Leasing project on Mt. Hood and the Trump administration’s proposed change to the Endangered Species Act!
Read on for some exciting updates on our wetlands work and how we’re pushing back against the reckless timber EO that aims to drastically expand logging in our national forests. Plus, an amazing opportunity to have your donations to Bark matched and an invitation to our first campout of the season!
Wetlands Mapping Program Update!
Happy International Day of Biological Diversity and American Wetlands Month! It’s fitting that a global celebration of biodiversity would fall in the same month that we celebrate wetlands here in the U.S.—after all, wetlands are biodiversity hotspots that act as natural filters for our forests’ waterways and account for a substantial portion of forests’ water storage capacity. But May also marks—almost to this day—the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett decision, which drastically reduced protections for wetlands across the U.S.
That’s why Bark’s Restoration Program, which has been proactively confronting these threats to Mt. Hood’s wetlands by ensuring the National Wetlands Inventory’s (NWI) maps of MHNF’s Clackamas District are up to date, is so important. We’re proud to announce that we’ve now completed our updates of the NWI. And while this portion of the project may be over, our wetlands mapping program lives on and will be refocused on supporting our ongoing efforts to mitigate the impacts of the timber sales we know are coming.
In honor of this milestone in our wetlands mapping program, we’ve made this very cool Story Map that outlines how this work supports Bark’s mission, what we’ve accomplished so far, and where it’s headed in the future. HUGE shout out to Bark’s Restoration Manager, Meg Waller, for creating the Story Map, and to longtime Bark partner and wetland ecologist Dr. Kyla Zaret, whose research and writing informed the Story Map and without whom these updated NWI maps would not have been possible.
Open the Story Map in a new tab by clicking here.
Bark to Mt. Hood Forest Supervisor: We’re drawing some red lines
Earlier today, Bark’s Forest Watch Program Manager, Jordan Latter, sent a letter to Mt. Hood’s Forest Supervisor and Deputy Forest Supervisor that outlines our serious concerns about Executive Order 14225 and subsequent directives that prioritize timber extraction over ecological stewardship and public transparency. We’re demanding that Mt. Hood Forest leadership request a comment period for a recently proposed project covering 10,000 acres and drawing some clear red lines:
- No logging in old-growth stands or Wilderness Areas
- No sales or transfers of public lands to private interests
- No stripping away of public input on decision-making
- No degradation of water quality or sensitive riparian habitats
- No bypassing Tribal consultation
These are non-negotiable. We’re calling on Mt. Hood leadership to uphold transparency, ecological integrity, and meaningful public engagement, and we’re prepared to take legal action if these red lines are crossed.
Read our full letter to MHNF leadership here.
So Hum Foundation will match donations to Bark up to $100,000!
We’re thrilled to announce that thanks to a transformative $100,000 matching gift from the So Hum Foundation, your support can go twice as far! When you sign up to become a Forest Sustainer—our monthly giving program—your donations will be matched for an entire year. That means your commitment to protecting Mt. Hood every month will have double the impact.
Join us as a Forest Sustainer today and help us unlock the full match!
Save the date for our first campout!
Join us July 24th-27th for our upcoming Groundtruthing and Wetland mapping campout in the Stone Creek area! Campouts allow us to collect much more data than we’re able to do in a single field day with the added fun of hanging out with fellow Barkers at camp afterwards. This campout will be focused on groundtruthing and surveying for wetlands in the Stone Creek project area near Timothy Lake. No experience required and all are welcome. Plus, it’s free! Just be sure to read all the details about what you’ll need to bring.