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Very Important and Vital News from Oregon Wild

28 Apr 2010 by Teri

As an Oregonian, I feel honored and blessed to be surrounded by such beauty and wonders as abound in the forests and wilderness of the Oregon Wilds. Clean, green, and beautiful. There is nothing I enjoy more than getting out and hiking to a lovely waterfall, or finding back trails to some fantastic and lovely water holes to cool off in the summer time. The tall green forests always feel so magical and special, and wildlife is abundant in a way the creators meant this planet to be.

Surely others feel the wonderful bond we humans have to nature, and can understand the integral part they play in Life on this beautiful planet Earth? We are conscious stewards who must remember to walk softly, with a great respect for these sacred lands. Because truly, all places on this planet are sacred, and we can each make a difference when it comes to preserving the pristine wild places. Please take a few precious moments to offer your support in caring for the land which provides for all of our needs. The following letter is the latest news from Oregon Wild. I give grateful thanks for your time.

Oregon Wild Supporter,

Here’s a quick quiz for you:

The Malheur, Wallowa-Whitman, and Umatilla Nation Forests in northeast Oregon cover 5.3 million acres of land. In the new draft Forest Service plan that will chart the course for their future management, how many acres of Wilderness is the agency recommending?

a)   1,800,000 acres
b)   953,000 acres
c)   16,000 acres

Click here to find out the answer and make sure your voice is heard as the Forest Service continues to draft their new plan.

Collectively, these national forests make up the spectacular and diverse Blue Mountains where Ponderosa pine forests and sweeping vistas are home to elk, steelhead, and now wolves. Out here, the forests are more open and the chance of running into another person out in the backcountry is slim.

The opportunities for expanded Wilderness protection are vast.

With only 4% of the state of Oregon permanently safeguarded with the highest level of protection Congress can bestow on public land, we have a long way to go to make up our Wilderness deficit. Sadly, the Forest Service (even with new leadership in the Obama administration) doesn’t seem to understand how vital Wilderness protections are to Oregonians today and for future generations.

Click on the chart below to see the numbers and find out what the Forest Service is recommending for Wilderness protection in the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revisions.

From Hell’s Canyon west to the headwaters of the John Day River, the national forests that make up the mighty Blue Mountains need your voice.

Write to the Forest Service today and urge them to protect the remaining wild places of northeast Oregon.

Thank you.

For the wild,
Erik Fernandez
Wilderness Coordinator
Oregon Wild

PS: The Forest Service doesn’t always move quickly. The Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision has been years in the making. Throughout the process, Oregon Wild staff have been diligently monitoring the process, attending meetings, and now holding the Forest Service accountable for a lackluster plan. We couldn’t keep the Forest Service honest without the support of people like you. Please donate or become a member today to support our work protecting our remaining wild forests. Thanks.

Category: Biology, Conservation, Earth News, Education, Environment, Forests, Life, Nature, Oregon Wild, Personal, Preservation, Trees, Wilderness Tags: Natural Resources, Nature, Oregon Forests, Oregon Wild, Wilderness
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Join Oregon Wild and Help Save our Forests

26 Jan 2010 by Teri

I am proud to live in the beautiful State of Oregon. My family and I enjoy our natural surroundings and lovely forests. To walk amongst the great trees brings my heart so much joy! It would be a terrible tragedy to destroy the delicate ecosystem in which we Oregonians have fought so hard to protect. Please read the letter below from Oregon Wild to see the danger our Oregon forests face today…

Dear Teri,

Last fall, we told you about Oregon’s 10 Most Endangered Places. Coming in at #8 on the list were the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests, threatened by a proposal to ramp up clear-cut logging.

Now, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) is set to approve this logging increase, and they need to hear from you! Tell them our state forests are vital for the salmon, wildlife, clean water, and recreational opportunities they provide!

Write a letter to ODF today and tell them to protect clean water, salmon, and recreation opportunities in our state forests.

Oregon prides itself on protecting its natural heritage, but what is being done to our state forests should be an embarrassment to every Oregonian. Instead of a legacy of abundant wildlife and clean water, we are leaving our children a heritage of clear cuts, mud slides, and wrecked rivers.

For decades, all forests in Oregon (including the Tillamook, Clatsop, Elliot, and Santiam state forests) were managed primarily for industrial timber production. As a result, most of our old-growth is gone and the species that rely on complex native forests are still vanishing.

Finally, in the 1990s, forest managers began using science to determine how their logging activities would impact things like salmon populations and water quality. Not surprisingly, clear-cutting doesn’t do wildlife and favors and doesn’t keep streams more pristine. Recognizing this, ODF refocused some of their management plans towards restoring more old-growth forest habitat, calling for an even 50/50 split between timber emphasis and forest protection.

Now, they plan to do away with any sense of balance and ramp up clear-cutting on up to 70 percent of State Forest land.

We need to tell them that protecting only 30 percent of our state forests isn’t enough. Write a letter before the January 29th comment deadline here.

With approximately 50% of Oregon’s forests in private hands (and subject to a constant rotation of industrial logging), it is imperative that we protect the small portion of forest land that we all own as Oregonians.

Thanks for standing up for the Tillamook and other state forests.

For wild forests,
Sean Stevens
Communications Associate
Oregon Wild

Salmon survival is at stake in the ODF decision to ramp up clear-cutting. (photo courtesy Wild Salmon Center)

{Maka Oyate} A Call for Prayers!!

30 May 2009 by Teri

Mitaku ye oyasin (All my relations)… I would like to pass along a very important message, from a sister who walks the Lakota path as I do, concerning our Sacred Earth. Prayers are needed, as well as action from those who know what to do, to help save the land from unnecessary desecration. Please look into your hearts and find the time to send out a message to preserve our lands… Pilama ye for your time in this urgent matter.

“Good Morning,

We are all walking towards the tree and I am grateful to belong to
this community.

In my pitiful way, I am asking for prayers for the beautiful land
surrounding where I live, here in Arizona.

More than five years ago, it was made known that Resolution Copper,
subsidiary of Rio Tinto, (British) and BHP (Australian) mining
companies were reopening the mine here in Superior. They have been
trying to trade land, Oak Flats Campground, part of Tonto National
Forest, for other land. The method of mining is to be block caving
down 4,000 feet. In owning the land they will not have to meet NEPA
standards.

The campground was sacred to me and I have gone there to do Chanupa
ceremony for all of these years. The surrounding corridor is of
magnificent standing Stone Nation that stand like sentinels and stand
so proudly, guarding. The oak trees at the campground are very old
and the acorns are used in Apache ceremony.

Recently, I have gotten to meet and listen to Chairman Nosie, San
Carlos Apaches tell the story of this place. He stated that for
hundreds of years the medicine people would call the people together
to do ceremony and give them hope in sacred places for the tribe.
One of the sacred places is Oak Flats Campground. He also, stated
that he was willing to lay down his life to save this place. He has
worked very hard in the political arena, trying to save this land.

The bill to exchange this land (Southeast Arizona Land Exchange &
Conservation Act 2009 – #S409) is going before the US Senate for the
fifth time on June 17, 2009.

These things are finally, left in the hands of Creator, I understand.
However, I would appreciate your consideration in praying for this
place that will be left as an empty crater – destroying wild life,
the petroglyphs, the oak trees, Stone Nation, the water, as well as
selling our Federal land to a foreign country.

Thank you,
Mitakuye Oyasin

Carolyn Gray”

EarthWorks takes Action

Rio Tinto and BHP – Billiton have created a subsidiary that is proposing to mine a rich copper vein more than 7,000 feet below sea level east of Superior, Arizona. As a first step, Rio Tinto is currently shopping around a land exchange bill that would end an executive order banning mining from Oak Flat Campground and privitize more that 3,000 acres of public land.

Concerned citizens are worried about the loss of Oak Flat Campground, a very popular recreation area. Birders, climbers, campers, canyoneers, bikers, and hikers enjoy the area throughout the year, all of whom would be greatly harmed if these lands were forever taken from public access. Western Apache people have traditionally used the area for cultural, spiritual, and subsistance. The land exchange would include Apache Leap, a cliff where more than 80 Apache warriors chose to leap to their deaths rather than surrender to the US calvary.

Both the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the White Mountain Apache Tribe has passed unanimous reslutions opposing the mine and land exchange. In addition, the Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Association in Superior, AZ has been meeting regularly opposing the land exchange and is circulating a petition.

Category: Conservation, Earth News, Ecology, Ecosystems, Endangered Wildlife, Habitats, Mother Earth, Natural Habitats, Nature, Pollution, Preservation, Sacred Sites, Wilderness Tags: Mother Earth, Prayers
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Endangered Grizzlies and Wildlife need our help

28 Apr 2009 by Teri

In the next few weeks, the U.S. Forest Service plans to reopen a
road that runs through the heart of grizzly bear habitat in
Wyoming’s Sweetwater Valley.

Please go to www.savebiogems.org/bears/takeaction and urge the
Forest Service to keep the road permanently closed.

With encroaching development on nearby lands, the Sweetwater
Valley — inside the Shoshone National Forest — has become a
secure oasis for threatened and imperiled wildlife.

In the eight years that the road has been closed, an abundance
of wildlife has thrived here, including grizzly bears, wolves,
lynx, cougars and moose.

In fact, grizzlies that have just come out of hibernation are
grazing right now on grass and other plants found in the valley.

There is no rationale for the Forest Service’s proposal to
reopen the road, which leads nowhere and has languished for
years. Reopening the road would only disturb and threaten the
Sweetwater Valley’s wilderness and wildlife.

Please go to www.savebiogems.org/bears/takeaction right away and
urge the Forest Service to leave the road closed. Time is
running out, as forest officials plan to reopen the road in the
next few weeks.

Thank you for taking action to protect our remaining western
wildlands.

Category: Endangered Wildlife, Environment, Preservation
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Help Stop the Giveaway of America’s Redrock Wilderness

12 Dec 2008 by Teri

Why is it that we have such a sneaky and conniving President? One would think that our President would have the greater good of the planet, as well as the people in mind when making important and far reaching decisions. To rape and plunder the Earth is a crime beyond belief, and I feel quite strongly about our wild and natural places enough to declare my outrage in hearing about the Bush administrations latest travesty against nature. I firmly believe we have at our disposal the intelligence and scientific data that can give us a solution to our supposed fuel issues, which will keep nature in balance and free from pollution and destruction.

Phew! Here I am again feeling like I am running against the wind, and I am quite distressed at the lack of intelligence and foresight our President and his administration present in their crimes against nature, and the people they are supposed to take care of. Well I will not turn a blind eye, and I do feel it is all of our responsibility to steward this planet with compassion, wisdom and common sense. We can survive without turning the world upside down, and greed just begets greed, no matter how you look at it. These people who think to reshape this planet and harvest all of her resources will be gone soon enough, and what will be left? I do care what our planet becomes, as well as loving all the beautiful wild places that this Earth has for us to enjoy.

I wanted to share a message from a fellow Earth lover, and I did not want to take away from the original content as written by Robert Redford. Please read the following and add your voice in objection if you feel as so many do about this underhanded tactic…

Dear Teri,

No one voted on Election Day to hand over Utah’s Redrock wilderness to oil companies.

But the Bush Administration cynically chose that very day to advance an outrageous plan that will sell off leases for some 300,000 acres of spectacular Utah canyonlands to oil and gas speculators.

While America was voting for Barack Obama and his vision of a clean energy future, Bush and Cheney’s underlings were conspiring to plunder one of the crown jewels of our natural heritage for their fossil fuel cronies.

Please register your own opposition right now.

The auction of Redrock country will take place on December 19. At stake are world-renowned vistas near Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, as well as near Dinosaur National Monument. The highest bidders will earn the right to turn vast tracts of pristine wilderness into industrial wastelands.

It’s bad enough that Bush officials went behind the backs of the American people with this disastrous scheme. But what’s worse, they didn’t even tell their own National Park Service until after the fact.

In my mind, this theft of our heritage goes beyond the cynical — it’s criminal. What will be left to give to our children and their children if we allow this administration, in a parting shot, to destroy our legacy of public lands for short-term gain?

I hope you’re as angry as I am about this blatant land grab, because we’ve got to stop it — and we have to act fast. The NRDC Action Fund is mobilizing more than one million Americans in an outpouring of protest over the coming days.

Send your own message of opposition immediately. Tell the Bush Administration that you will not allow it to destroy one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

We’ll automatically send copies of your message to your two senators, your representative and to the Obama transition team, which has signaled their opposition to this disastrous attack on our Redrock heritage.

The Bush Administration is racing to complete the auction of our lands before Inauguration Day, which will make sales difficult to reverse.

We must fend off this land grab now — before the oil and gas companies can lay claim to the spoils.

Those spoils include stretches of Desolation Canyon, which has been proposed for national park status. Bush’s own Interior Department describes the canyon as “a place where a visitor can experience true solitude — where the forces of nature continue to shape the colorful, rugged landscape.”

The very idea of oil and gas operations invading these remote sanctuaries — which have remained untouched for millennia — is deeply upsetting. Once the dirty deed is done, our wilderness can never be restored. That’s why I’m asking you to help us sound the alarm and organize now.

Tell the Bush Administration to cancel the Redrock auction. Remind them that we the people are the rightful owners of this majestic wilderness and that we won’t stand for its destruction.

And thank you for joining with me and the NRDC Action Fund to save these beautiful wildlands for all future generations.

Sincerely,
Robert
Robert Redford
NRDC Action Fund

P.S. After you send your own message of protest, I’ll let you know of an easy way to spread the word to your friends and family. With only 10 days to mobilize one million Americans, I’m counting on you to rally everyone you know to speak out and save this precious wilderness from destruction.

Category: Conservation, Earth News, Endangered Wildlife, Environment, Habitats, Mother Earth, Nature, Pollution, Preservation, Wilderness Tags: Robert Redford, Utah's Redrock Wilderness
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Brimham Rocks.. An area of Outstanding Beauty

30 Oct 2008 by Teri

Whilst searching for great places to visit and explore in England, I discovered the Brimham Rocks. Situated on a hill overlooking Summerbridge and Lower Nidderdale, Brimham Rocks are a series of fantastically shaped Millstone Grit outcrops, sculptured by erosion during the last ice age. Although technically outside of the Yorkshire Dales national park boundary, Nidderdale has been designated as an “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty” and has every right to be included in any definition of the “classical” Yorkshire Dales.

There are many variations of rock formations, caused by the Millstone Grit being eroded by water, glaciation and wind, most of which have achieved amazing shapes. Many of the formations have been named, though some imagination is required and the correct viewing angle is helpful. Examples are The Sphinx, The Watchdog, The Camel, The Turtle and The Dancing Bear. If you wish to enjoy the view, the property is open all year around; typically from 8 a.m. until dusk. These are indeed quite fantastic works of art formed by nature and adding a beautiful and wonderous image to the landscape of Mother Earth.

Category: Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Mother Earth, Nature, Preservation Tags: Area of Outstanding Beauty, Brimham Rocks, England, Lower Nidderdale, Mother Earth, Nature, Summerbridge, Yorkshire Dales
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Connect with Nature at Shangri La Botanical Gardens

23 Apr 2008 by Teri

In honor of my love for nature and all things natural, I am always curious to find places which represent the natural world in ways meant to benefit all, while providing quality education to help nurture a love of the wonders of nature in children. It is so very important to allow these young minds a chance to explore their natural environments, while encouraging them to learn how they too can become responsible and good stewards.

I would like to take this moment to direct those who feel as I do to a wonderful place which opened to the public on March 11th, 2008. Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center really impressed me with their history, as well as their current mission. Originally developed more than 60 years ago, through the vision of H.J Lutcher Stark, a prominent philanthropist who resided in Orange, Texas. Inspired by the mystical retreat represented in the book Lost Horizon, Stark sought to create his own haven of indescribable beauty where time would stand still. His vision became a reality in 1937 when he began creating Shangri-La Botanical Gardens within significant acreage owned by him along Adams Bayou in his hometown of Orange, Texas. Shangri La Gardens and Nature Center represents a place of enlightenment, peace and beauty.

Nestled within 252 acres in the heart of Orange, Texas, Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center is the first project in Texas and the 50th project in the world to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s Platinum certification for LEED®-NC, which verifies the design and construction of Shangri La reached the highest green building and performance measures.

As one of the most earth-friendly projects in the world, Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center offers a glimpse of how people can live in harmony with nature. The combination of gardens and nature at Shangri La presents a serene oasis for retreat and renewal, as well as the opportunity to explore, discover and learn. I strongly encourage you to visit the Shangri La website to learn more about the wondrous history, the tragic events which caused this beautiful place to close down for 50 years, and the current mission of this magical place of nature. You will discover an ancient Pond Cyprus tree which is at least 1,200 years old, situated within Shangri La. Don’t miss this! I will be taking my daughter on a visit real soon, you can be most certain.

Category: Ecology, Ecosystems, Education, Environment, Habitats, Nature, Preservation, Trees, Wilderness, Wildlife Tags: Botanical Gardens, Green, Nature Center, Orange Texas, Shangri La
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Please help block dirty fuels in Western Wildlands

14 Mar 2008 by Teri

Please take a few moments to read this very important message…

The Bush administration wants to sacrifice some of the wildest regions of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming to produce fuel from two of the most polluting sources: oil shale and tar sands.

This proposed development — spanning an area of more than two million acres of wildlife habitat and outstanding recreation areas across three states — could pollute air and water, jeopardize human health and dramatically worsen global warming.

Please go to http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction and tell the Bush administration to protect these sensitive wildlands for future generations and promote cleaner sources of energy instead.

Oil shale is rock that produces oil when heated to extreme temperatures. Tar sands contain extremely heavy oil mixed with sand and clay. Tar sands development in Canada has displaced wildlife, created toxic waste sites that go on for miles and generated three times the amount of global warming pollution per barrel produced as conventional fuel.

We must act now to shield our own western wildlands from thisnightmare scenario. Oil shale and tar sands development could release dangerous toxic elements such as arsenic, selenium, and boron into the Colorado River watershed — a vital source of drinking water for local communities.

This area is also home to mule deer, elk, mountain lions, black bears, bald eagles and great horned owls and offers exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities.

Go to http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction and tell the Bush administration to put the brakes on dirty oil shale and tar sands development in America’s West.

Thank you for helping to save our last western wildlife habitats from destructive development.

Category: Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Wildlife, Environment, Nature, Pollution, Preservation Tags: Dirty Fuels, Toxic Waste
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Polar Bears running out of time… Please Help!

29 Jan 2008 by Teri

Polar Bear

In our fight to save Earth’s wild creatures, we are faced with many battles. I will never tire of this worthwhile cause… yet I sometimes wonder if time is our greatest enemy. Time is running out for the beautiful and wild Polar Bears in the Chukchi Sea. Yet truly time is not THE enemy of those who wish to live as Nature intended. Year after year, President Bush has called for harmful drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the most important onshore denning habitats for U.S. polar bears. Earlier this month, his Secretary of the Interior approved the sale of drilling rights in the Chukchi Sea, potentially threatening even more bears with pollution, spills and disruptive activities.

What does George Bush have against polar bears?

The Bush/Cheney Administration’s own scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey say that global warming and habitat loss could lead polar bears to extinction in the U.S. by 2050. Yet, the president said little in last night’s State of the Union about what — if anything — his administration would be doing to prevent their extinction.

It is so very important to place this matter on high priority. Please visit Defenders of Wildlife and take the time to send a personalized message urging President Bush and his administration to do the following…

~ Direct the Fish and Wildlife Service to immediately list polar bears as “Threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. The decision on listing has already been delayed once. It’s time for President to act.
~ Abandon plans to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and
~ Protect polar bears by scrapping the planned February 6th sale of leasing rights to drill for oil and gas drilling rights in the Chukchi Sea.

Our fellow Polar Bears are quickly running out of time. I am sending my own personalized message right this moment, and I strongly urge you to follow my example and Take Action Today!

Thank you so much for your support and thoughts for this important cause in helping to protect our four legged friends. We are nearly halfway there… let it be known how precious and sacred ALL Life is, and let your voice be heard!

Save the Polar Bear with us at Defenders of Wildlife

Category: Defenders of Wildlife, Earth News, Environment, Natural Habitats, Polar Bears, Preservation Tags: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Endangered Wildlife, Mother Earth
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Mother Earthbeats

Archive for the Category »Preservation «

Very Important and Vital News from Oregon Wild

Join Oregon Wild and Help Save our Forests

{Maka Oyate} A Call for Prayers!!

EarthWorks takes Action

Endangered Grizzlies and Wildlife need our help

Help Stop the Giveaway of America’s Redrock Wilderness

Brimham Rocks.. An area of Outstanding Beauty

Connect with Nature at Shangri La Botanical Gardens

Please help block dirty fuels in Western Wildlands

Polar Bears running out of time… Please Help!

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