Klamath-Siskiyou eNews, Issue 133
In This Issue:
Governor Kulongoski Opposes the BLM's WOPR-Please Tell Him Thank You!
Coalition Pushes Back on LNG
KS Wild Holiday Gift Memberships- a Gift That Keeps on Giving!
KS Wild Winter Film Series
Rogue Basin Climate Report Released- Forest Conservation Emphasized
Governor Kulongoski Opposes the BLM's WOPR-Please Tell Him Thank You!
After receiving thousands of postcards, emails and phone calls from Oregonians concerned about the drastic consequences to our forests that would occur under the BLM's WOPR (Western Oregon Plan Revision), Governor Kulongoski issued a strong press statement on December 8th asking the BLM not to adopt the plan. He did not reject the WOPR wholesale, and even seemed to endorse much of its underlying premise. However, his detailed comments called on the BLM to address many of the substantive issues and insufficiencies that the public has been asking him to speak up about.
Well done and thank you to everyone who took the time to contact the Governor! Now we are asking you to do it again to say thank you. Click here to contact his office.
Governor Kulongoski is getting blowback from some rural counties and conservative newspapers criticizing him for opposing the plan, and his role in the future of the WOPR may not be over yet. If the BLM ignores his opposition and moves forward with the current plan, the Governor has the right to appeal their decision, possibly delaying its implementation until the Obama Administration has taken power.
So, please take a moment and contact the Governor to express your appreciation that he took an important stand for Oregon's forest ecosystems and salmon-bearing watersheds. Ask that he continue to advocate for sound public lands management that incorporates protections for endangered species, water quality and a stable climate.
Coalition Pushes Back on Liquified Natural Gas (LNG)
KS Wild's Rogue Riverkeeper program is working in coalition with Citizens Against LNG, Columbia Riverkeeper and others to stop the Coos Bay Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) proposal that would pump foreign fossil fuels to California via Oregon's fragile coast and a 230-mile pipeline across southwest Oregon. In November, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a ridiculously flawed and insufficient Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project.
Along with many others, KS Wild submitted comments on the Draft EIS. Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski submitted a letter to FERC, along with comments from the Department of Environmental Quality, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other state and federal agencies, many of which requested a Supplemental EIS. The Governor criticized FERC for not properly analyzing the need for the project or its environmental and public safety impacts. He noted that many conclusions were founded on unenforceable promises, not sound science.
While the project would have dramatic environmental impacts on Coos Bay, water quality and struggling salmon populations, the larger issue is our lack of an unassailable, progressive energy policy. FERC is proceeding with numerous projects in isolation without a comprehensive analysis of America's energy needs, climate change or the impacts of the global market (due to high global demand, the world price of LNG is now almost three times that of U.S. natural gas). Further investment in fossil fuel infrastructure undercuts an emerging green economy by diverting funds away from renewable development, while keeping America reliant on exporters like Russia and the Middle East. Our coalition remains vigilant in stopping this proposal, and we look forward to a new, visionary energy policy that will put these types of dinosaur projects to rest.
Take Action: Please take a moment to email Governor Kulongoski and thank him for his letter to FERC on the Jordan Cove LNG proposal and encourage him to continue working for renewable energy and clean water, while opposing more foreign fossil fuel infrastructure that threatens Oregon.
KS Wild Holiday Gift Memberships- a gift that keeps on giving!
As the holidays, birthdays and anniversaries approach, please consider gifting someone with a KS Wild membership! Your loved ones will adore receiving a gift that helps protect and restore the forests, wildlife and waters of the extraordinary Klamath-Siskiyou region. The recipient of a basic $35 gift membership will be welcomed into the KS Wild family with a beautiful card announcing your gift. They will receive the quarterly KS Wild News, invitations to hikes and other events, and peace of mind knowing that their voice is strengthening the mission of KS Wild. A deluxe membership of $50 includes an organic KS Wild tote bag or t-shirt.
To place an order, email lesley@kswild.org or click here for more info and to see items in the KS Store.
KS Wild Winter Film Series
Jan 15th- Ashland Public Library 7pm. "HEAT"
A PBS Frontline global investigation into one of the greatest crisis mankind has ever faced. From the LA Times: Thorough and wide-ranging, "Heat" takes us from India's cement factories (did you know cement manufacturing is the No. 3 contributor to carbon dioxide emissions?) and the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Bali to the international empire that is Exxon and the chambers of the Congress.
Feb 13th-Ashland Public Library 7pm "A Snowmobile for George"
"A Snow Mobile for George" is a rambunctious road trip that collects the stories of fishermen, cowboys and firemen who have to face the consequences of environmental de-regulation by the Bush Administration. Filmmaker Todd Darling opens with a swirling panorama from a boat floating down the Klamath River, and asks: "How did I end up here floating backwards down a river, 20 miles from a road, and even further from electricity? It all began in a cabin in California with a mystery about a machine, and it ended on the other side of America, with a letter."
March 27th- Patagonia's Wild and Scenic Film Festival at the Congregational Church on Siskiyou in Ashland. More info on films and program will be published soon.
Rogue Basin Climate Report Released- Forest, Water Conservation Emphasized
On December 16, a report entitled "Preparing for Climate Change in the Rogue River Basin" was released with ominous predictions for the Rogue Valley. Drafted by the University of Oregon's Climate Leadership Initiative and the Ashland-based National Center for Conservation Science & Policy, the report is the first of four that will try to boil down climate change predictions to a regional scale in Oregon.
If global warming continues unabated, summer temperatures in the Rogue River Valley could rise up to 15 degrees by 2080, making the weather here similar to that of Sacramento. The researchers said the changes would likely boost wildfires, drastically decrease snow pack and make the region largely inhospitable for fish, forests, pears, wine grapes and people, who would see water supplies dwindle.
While the predicted consequences of unchecked global warming are dire, these studies use a model that assumes human societies do not make major changes in the way we live in the coming decades. In fact, if we make difficult choices now and take bold action locally and globally, we do have the power to greatly reduce our carbon footprint and begin to stabilize the conditions contributing to climate change.
As scientific understanding deepens it is becoming ever more clear that intact native forests play a major role in carbon sequestration. Recent studies reveal that uncut forests hold more than three times the carbon previously thought- and more than 60% more than plantation forests. It is also being recognized that in addition to stopping carbon emissions, we must begin to take proactive steps to adapt to the coming shifts in weather patterns.
The report makes several recommendations for increasing resistance and resilience, including the reduction of current stressors such as old-growth logging, habitat fragmentation and road-building, while protecting species diversity, genetic diversity and remaining intact ecosystems such as old-growth and roadless areas. It also emphasizes the need to maintain connectivity across the landscape, both terrestrial and aquatic, as well as protect ecosystem services and restore key biodiversity hot spots.
The core program work of KS Wild involves keeping old-growth forests standing, gaining permanent protection for large swaths of intact wildlands and threatened species and stopping ecologically destructive practices from road building to industrial mining. All of these efforts overlap with priorities being identified to counter climate change.
It is estimated that deforestation is responsible for 20% of global carbon emissions- second only to the burning of fossil fuels.
These realizations add to the long list of reasons the Klamath-Siskiyou is a globally significant landscape, and they place an added relevance and urgency to our ongoing efforts to keep the KS wild. |
