Conservation Northwest protects and connects old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies, vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife. Since 1989, Conservation Northwest has worke
Issue link: http://conservationnw.uberflip.com/i/209895
news nwea news in brief Mountain caribou update Volunteer opportunity Help research Canadian wood products Northwest Ecosystem Alliance needs your help in determining where Canadian lumber products—much of it from old growth logged in caribou habitat—are sold. We need you to travel to lumberyards and home improvement stores to survey the dimensional lumber inventory, recording brand names and noting types of products, using a form we provide. Our target area is western Washington, from Everett to Centralia. To help, contact Seth Cool at scool@ecosystem.org or 360.671.9950 x16. 6 Northwest Ecosystem Alliance Fisher reintroduction update NWEA's work (together with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife) studying the feasibility of reintroducing fishers to Washington continues to move slowly, with a lot of work still to be accomplished before we see fishers released in Washington. Recently completed mapping work concluded that the Olympic Peninsula has the largest area of contiguous, high quality fisher habitat available for reintroduction. If fishers are reintroduced to our state, it would likely be on peninsula. Most recently, the draft feasibility report was given to the fisher science team and North American fisher researchers for review and comment. After the final report is completed, the WDFW director must approve the next stage of the implementation process. Implementation might include full National Environmental Policy Act review (depending on release sites), release process design (including capture, transport, veterinary care, and housing before release), and public outreach. The Doug: On the road for old growth The Ancient Forest Roadshow began its first roadshow segment, a tour of the southern United States, on April 14 in Portland, Oregon. "The Doug" is probably the first outreach staffer to work for NWEA that was neither living nor human (though we can't verify this). It is quite likely that its size and age, 7 feet in diameter, 1,000 pounds, and 420 years old, is also unprecedented in NWEA staff history. The Doug has traveled 2500 miles and has already been seen by tens of thousands of people across the southern US. With a few words from a Roadie (one of the crew members hauling the Doug), or a glance at the Roadies' web logs on the website (www.forestroadshow.org), Americans can learn the devastating impacts of the Bush administration's policies on ancient forests. The Roadies' experiences, with nearly every person they've met on the road, has been a unifying one: regardless of a person's background or politics, people realize they are all part of the story of this tree and its amazing history. The Doug is us and it is not an exaggeration to say that our outreach partner, the Doug, works the hardest of all of us, in solemn silence, a witness to history. If you want to volunteer to work a leg of the tour as a Roadie, contact Todd Carey at tcarey@ecosystem.org or Hugging the Doug. Ron Rundus At the Canadian Consulate in Seattle in April, protesters in mountain caribou costumes called attention to the clearcutting of endangered species habitat in British Columbia. And at least 2,000 people responded to our action alerts by sending comments asking for more protection of mountain caribou and less logging of old-growth in the interior temperate rainforest of BC. Canadian politicians are mulling over a decision. You can help by reminding BC Premiere Gordon Campbell that mountain caribou and their inland rainforest habitat should be protected for future generations. Please visit www.mountaincaribou.org to take action. "These animals need a break; caribou numbers are dropping fast," says Joe Scott, who leads the fight at NWEA to protect mountain caribou. "The BC government's scientists have repeatedly warned that logging is the biggest problem." Logging giant, Canfor, also took notice of the vocal public response, recently announcing they will place a temporary moratorium on planned logging operations in caribou habitat. We hope that other companies currently logging in mountain caribou habitat will follow in Canfor's footsteps. On the US side of the border, we have learned that snowmobiling is rampant inside the caribou recovery zone in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, where old growth provides important feeding and shelter areas for mountain caribou, which are listed as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act. The Forest Service has not been effective at solving the problem, even though there is ample scientific evidence that the smell, sight, and sound of snowmobiles frighten caribou. Snowmobile presence may be a factor that causes herds to vacate prime habitat. As part of the Mountain Caribou Project, NWEA will continue our efforts to make sure that the habitat on both sides of the border is protected. www.ecosystem.org