Now More Than Ever, Mt. Hood Needs Defenders Like You
I’ll be honest. I wrote the first draft of this email before the election – before I knew what we know now. And despite having the results, we are still in the earliest hours of understanding their impact.* What I do know is that five presidents have come and gone since Bark began in 1999, and through each administration, Bark grappled with historic challenges, overcame grave threats, and achieved new victories. The whiplash of federal politics can stagger and overwhelm, but Bark has stood firm for 25 years thanks to the support of our community. People like you.
I also know that now that we have the results, it’s more urgent than ever that we come together to fight like hell for the health and safety of our forests and the communities that depend on them. Bark has always been rooted in community action, and we know it’s going to take every single one of us to stand up against destructive, backwards-facing forest policy and unbridled corporate greed.
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That’s why I’ve focused much of my efforts over the last year on building relationships not only within our community, but also with decision-makers and those most impacted by the management of the lands now known as “Mt. Hood National Forest.”
I’ve helped establish Bark as a respected and authoritative voice in three Mt. Hood Forest collaborative groups, which work to proactively shape timber projects on the Forest. These groups often have conflicting interests, yet my advocacy on behalf of Bark has helped build consensus around the idea that large trees and old forests should be left where they stand.
Bark volunteers were instrumental in helping me groundtruth timber projects currently being planned in the Timothy Lake area and near the White River Wildlife Refuge on Mt Hood’s easternmost boundary. Our initial findings and concerns (regarding wetlands, large legacy trees, and fire) have already been shared with Forest Service staff to help shape these projects (more on that later!).
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And finally, I’ve begun the long process of building Bark’s relationship with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. This year, Bark was honored to be invited onto the Reservation to tour their forestry program, to observe a cultural burn in a camas meadow, and to begin learning about the Tribe’s aspirations for their homelands–lands now known as Mt Hood National Forest–directly from the Tribes themselves.
None of this would have been possible without you – our supporters. With your support, I’ll keep rallying our volunteers to expose harmful timber projects through our groundtruthing program and expanding hands-on training to reveal the real impacts of reckless forest policies. Most importantly, I’ll deepen Bark’s commitment to collaborating with Indigenous communities – the original and rightful stewards of this land – as we push back against destructive, profit-driven forest management. Together, we can confront policies that threaten our lands and communities, demanding that Mt. Hood’s forests are protected for the people, not exploited for private gain.
While many may be focused on the nation’s capital today, Bark’s work will continue to be focused right here, on the ground. On the grassroots organizing work that has brought us this far and that continues to excite and inspire new and old volunteers alike to advocate for these lands.
So, as we face another year of challenges and uncertainty, I hope you’ll join us in fighting to protect and restore Mt. Hood for 25 more years.