Gordon Creek Timber Sale Mushroom Hike October 27th, 2007 www.bark-out.org BARK hike leader Matt Mavko takes us on an enjoyable and informative hike through the proposed Gordon timber sale site. The John Rancher music is great as always. Listen to the words and sing along! The Gordon Creek Timber Sale is proposed in public forests administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This proposal is located near the Bull Run Watershed and is currently home to a diverse and integral forest. This project proposes to log over the intake for the Corbett Water District. The Corbett Water District, as well as the Portland Water District has come out against this project. The Gordon Creek sale will log a mix of young and old-growth forest. Bark needs volunteer Groundtruthers to help collect more data on this sale. Please email Amy (at) bark-out.org to find out how to help!

BARK Field Trip to Proposed Clackamas River Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Pipe Line CrossingBARK Hike Leader: Amy HarwoodMarch 9th, 2008 http://www.bark-out.org For more information on Oregon LNG please see: http://www.columbiariverkeeper.org As the world races to address the causes of global warming, Texas and New York based energy speculators are aiming to make Oregon the west coast's import site for massive new supplies of Liquefied Natural Gas. The projects would increase Oregon's import of gas by over 500% and the gas imported would have the carbon impact of over 14 million cars. The Wall Street Journal has called LNG "the next fossil fuel," but how Oregon responds to the planned LNG terminals is our most serious test to date as to how we will respond to the global warming crisis. While LNG, which has a greenhouse gas impact similar to coal, could undo Oregon's progress on renewable energy, LNG and their related pipelines projects also threaten Columbia River salmon, rural communities, and seriously increase the price of gas. The newly proposed gas pipelines would involve the removal of over 1 million trees due to clear-cutting a pipeline right-of-way that would include a 40 mile long clear-cut across the Mt. Hood National Forest. The Bradwood LNG facility would require 40 miles of pipe to pass through the Mt. Hood National Forest on the way to the larger pipe line passing from Canada to Mexico. There are three ways in which LNG pipe lines will cross Mt. Hood National Forest's creeks and rivers. Some of the creeks and rivers will be crossed up to three times. One is the "wet crossing," which is digging a trench in a river while it is flowing. Brenna says that this is how the Clackamas River will be crossed, because "there is no other way." Another method is the "dry crossing," where a waterway is damned or the water somehow diverted around while the trench is dug. And last, "the horizontal directional drill," where they drill underneath the river, "which sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't," possibly discharging loads of sediment into the public waterway.

Slinky Timber Sale "Victory Hike" July 8th, 2007 BARK Hike Leaders: Erin Madden / Charlie Ferranti http://www.bark-out.org JUDGE STOPS LAST PROPOSAL TO CLEARCUT MT. HOOD OLD GROWTH By Jeff Barnard The Associated Press Published: Thursday, March 8, 2007: GRANTS PASS - A federal judge has stopped the Mount Hood National Forest, the most popular in Oregon, from offering an old growth timber sale until it shows it has followed its own rules to consider whether the logging would harm sensitive wildlife. "Our hope is that old growth logging on the Mount Hood National Forest is over for good and the Forest Service will now prioritize the repairing of damage done from 50 years of industrial logging,'' said Alex Brown of Bark, a Portland conservation group. "This ruling sends a really clear signal to the Forest Service. The continued logging of old growth is unacceptable, period. The public has demonstrated they don't want it. The science doesn't even justify it.'' Located in the Cascade Range outside Portland, Mount Hood is popular with skiers, mountain climbers and hikers, and gets more than 4 million recreational visitors a year, more than any other national forest in Oregon. It was once one of the most heavily logged of the national forests in Oregon, but former timber towns that now rely on tourism and recreation for their economies have thrown their support behind legislation pending in Congress to create nearly 130,000 acres of new wilderness areas where logging would be off-limits. In a ruling dated Saturday, U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman in Portland found the U.S. Forest Service was arbitrary and capricious when it failed to monitor the impact logging would have on pine marten, pileated woodpeckers, deer and elk, as required under the National Forest Management Act. Those species were designated by the Forest Service as indicators of the health of old growth forest ecosystems. The Forest Service had argued that under formal forest management plans and 2005 Bush administration revisions to forest management rules, it was not required to monitor wildlife. But the judge found that rules imposed in 2000, which called for using the best available science, applied to the project. Originally proposed in 1998, the Slinky timber sale called for effectively clearcutting 184 acres of scattered patches of old growth in the headwaters of the Clackamas River, which has been heavily logged.

Bark Hike Leader: Michelle McKenzie Gordon Creek Timber Sale June 10th, 2007 www.bark-out.org The Gordon Creek Timber Sale is proposed in public forests administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This proposal is located near the Bull Run Watershed and is currently home to a diverse and integral forest. This project proposes to log over the intake for the Corbett Water District. The Corbett Water District, as well as the Portland Water District has come out against this project. The Gordon Creek sale will log a mix of young and old-growth forest. Bark needs volunteer Groundtruthers to help collect more data on this sale. Please email Amy (at) bark-out.org to find out how to help.

USFS Travel Plan / Ramona Falls August 12th, 2007 BARK Hike Leader: Amy Harwood BARK Volunteer: Katie Chipko http://bark-out.org http://bark-out.org/activities/travelplan.php In the Pacific Northwest OHVs are a big problem, but pale in comparison to the damage being done by a crumbling road network. The Mt. Hood Travel Plan Must Address Roads: The current Travel Plan proposal introduced by the Forest Service in May is to create six new Off-Highway Vehicle play areas around the mountain, totaling over 50,000 acres. This would render OHV use in all other areas of the forest illegal, an improvement over the current situation, in which OHV use is legal in all areas unless specifically prohibited. However, the current proposal falls short for three reasons: 1) The Forest Service is sacrificing far too much of the forest to an activity that is incompatible with other uses. Other recreationists, not to mention wildlife, don t want to use areas surrounded by noisy OHVs. And since only about 1% of the demand on Mt. Hood is from OHV users, why are they getting 5% of the forest? 2) Without law enforcement, the system won t work. Mt. Hood has only five law enforcement officers for its 1.1 million acres. 3) The Forest Service proposal ignores the fastest growing problem in the forest: thousands of miles of old logging roads are fragmenting wildlife habitat, eroding into streams, and need to be obliterated. At the same time, roads that lead to recreation destinations are being neglected. Please join us! http://bark-out.org

Eight Mile Timber Sale "Zombi" Hike August 12th, 2007 BARK Hike Leader: Tarp Tamac http://bark-out.org Dear Barkers, This Monday a company called Southside Enterprises Inc. began logging the Eight Mile Meadow Timber Sale. Despite hundreds of letters asking the Forest Service to stop the logging plan, over a thousand hours in the field by the Groundtruthing team, and a lawsuit challenging the legality of the sale, 222 acres of forest will be clearcut in the coming weeks. But the fact that the Forest Service ignored public concern should be no surprise. Eightmile Meadow Timber Sale is a categorical exclusion, or CE, meaning that the Forest Service was not required to analyze the environmental impacts of logging nor take the public's opinion into account. That is why no one knew about it when the Forest Service chose to double the volume of logging. That is why no one knew about it when the Forest Service chose to not only cut dead lodgepole pine but live western larch trees. Please join us! http://bark-out.org

Slinky Timber Sale "Victory Hike" July 8th, 2007 BARK Hike Leader: Erin Madden http://www.bark-out.org JUDGE STOPS LAST PROPOSAL TO CLEARCUT MT. HOOD OLD GROWTH By Jeff Barnard The Associated Press Published: Thursday, March 8, 2007: GRANTS PASS - A federal judge has stopped the Mount Hood National Forest, the most popular in Oregon, from offering an old growth timber sale until it shows it has followed its own rules to consider whether the logging would harm sensitive wildlife. "Our hope is that old growth logging on the Mount Hood National Forest is over for good and the Forest Service will now prioritize the repairing of damage done from 50 years of industrial logging,'' said Alex Brown of Bark, a Portland conservation group. "This ruling sends a really clear signal to the Forest Service. The continued logging of old growth is unacceptable, period. The public has demonstrated they don't want it. The science doesn't even justify it.'' Located in the Cascade Range outside Portland, Mount Hood is popular with skiers, mountain climbers and hikers, and gets more than 4 million recreational visitors a year, more than any other national forest in Oregon. It was once one of the most heavily logged of the national forests in Oregon, but former timber towns that now rely on tourism and recreation for their economies have thrown their support behind legislation pending in Congress to create nearly 130,000 acres of new wilderness areas where logging would be off-limits. In a ruling dated Saturday, U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman in Portland found the U.S. Forest Service was arbitrary and capricious when it failed to monitor the impact logging would have on pine marten, pileated woodpeckers, deer and elk, as required under the National Forest Management Act. Those species were designated by the Forest Service as indicators of the health of old growth forest ecosystems. The Forest Service had argued that under formal forest management plans and 2005 Bush administration revisions to forest management rules, it was not required to monitor wildlife. But the judge found that rules imposed in 2000, which called for using the best available science, applied to the project. Originally proposed in 1998, the Slinky timber sale called for effectively clearcutting 184 acres of scattered patches of old growth in the headwaters of the Clackamas River, which has been heavily logged. Join us! http://www.bark-out.org

Fish Creek Road Survey Hike May 18th, 2007 BARK Hike Leader: Amy Harwood http://bark-out.orghttp://bark-out.org/activities/travelplan.php In 2005, the Forest Service finalized the Travel Planning Rule. The rule requires all national forests to designate those roads, trails, and areas that are open to motor vehicle use including Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs). Mt. Hood National Forest was the first forest in the Pacific Northwest to begin Travel Planning. Most forests that have already begun Travel Planning are in the Southwest US and are focusing all of their energy on controlling devastating OHV use. In the Pacific Northwest OHVs are a big problem, but pale in comparison to the damage being done by a crumbling road network. The Forest Service s own 2003 Roads Analysis states that nearly half (49%) of the roads in Mt. Hood National Forest are unnecessary. There are over 4,000 miles of roads in the forest, most of which were built for the purpose of logging in our watersheds. Many of these roads are deteriorating, posing additional threats to fish, wildlife, and the drinking water of over a million Oregon residents. Time and time again the Forest Service has said that it has too many forest roads to maintain properly, and that the consequences are impacting drinking water and wildlife habitat. The Travel Plan is the perfect opportunity for the Forest Service to work with Mt. Hood communities and start to fix the roads problem. Join Bark in taking advantage of this historic opportunity to restore Mt. Hood National Forest! You can help Bark influence the Travel Plan by becoming one of the thousands of Oregonians calling on the Forest Service to do what should have been done years ago...a thorough assessment of roads and OHV routes surrounding Mt. Hood.

Annie's Cabin Timber Sale http://www.bark-out.org Bark Hike leaders: Paula Hood Joseph Auth Molalla RiverWatch http://www.molallariverwatch.orgFor complete details on the Annie's Cabin Protest, please visit: http://bark-out.org/tsdb/anniec/Bark's_Annies_Cabin_Protest,_without_photos.htm The article below is from the Portland Independent Media Center, July 5th, 2007. http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/07/361818.shtml TAKE ACTION NOW TO PROTECT MOLALLA RIVER RECREATION CORRIDOR. Annie's Cabin timber sale, a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposal to thin 566-acres within the Molalla River Recreation Corridor, contract has been rewarded to Freres Lumber Company. This timber sale would severely impact recreational trails designated for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding created by volunteers. Sensitive species such as Oregon Slender Salamanders, Red Tree Voles, and Tall Bughane have been found within this timber sale project and would also be impacted. Act now to contact Congresswoman Darlene Hooley to tell her office to urge the BLM to cancel this timber sale. History of Trail System 16 of the 25 units of the Annie's Cabin timber sale either have the Molalla River Recreation Corridor's Shared-Use Trail System running through units or abutting the units with no buffers. This trail system was created in the 1990s when the BLM closed 13 miles of logging roads converting these roads into trails for hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian uses. In 1994, the BLM approved the development of 12 miles of additional single-track trails in partnership with volunteer organizations. Thinning of Unit #2 would impact Amanda's Trail, Mark's Trail, and Sandquist's Trail, three trails named for early advocates and builders of the trail system. We need to protect and preserve the scenic beauty of these trails that volunteers spent long hours to create and maintain! Story of Annie The timber sale name, Annie's Cabin, comes from a cabin that sits just north of Squirrel Creek on the east side of the Huckleberry Trail. Jim Williams, Annie Miller, and her daughter, Squirrel, used this cabin as their living room (a small trailer was next door) from June 1992 until December 1993. They were BLM volunteers who worked to improve the condition of the Molalla River Recreation Corridor. Jim's presence made a big difference in the Molalla River Recreation Corridor. He loved this area and worked hard to improve and protect it. Jim spent his last days there and died in October 1993. Annie and Squirrel left two months later. The cabin sits just 250 feet south of Unit #6 of the timber sale. We need to continue to protect Jim's vision! Oregon Slender Salamanders Volunteers in Bark have found Oregon Slender Salamanders, a State and Federal 'sensitive listed species, in Units 9 and 13. The BLM provides no plans in the Environmental Assessment and Decision Rationale on a way to protect this species from the logging operations. Oregon Slender Salamanders need dense canopy and course woody debris over 20 inches in diameter to survive in the forest. Logging operations on the ground and opening of canopy will very likely disturb this creature's habitat. According to the BLM's Decision Rationale, the agency also found this species in Unit 6, 16, 17, and 18. We need to get protection buffers placed on these Oregon Slender Salamanders! Wildlife Nests The BLM has removed 30 acres from Units 8, 9, 11, and 12 from the timber sale due to the discovery of red tree voles. A Survey Manage listed species, red tree voles live in the canopies of old growth Douglas Fir trees and provide 50 of the diet of Northern Spotted Owls. We need an open process by the BLM for the public to comment on these red tree vole findings as well as information regarding the species living in 50 nests of trees within the timber sale found by Bark volunteers! Steelhead and Chinook Salmon The BLM did not address the cumulative effects by this timber sale, the surrounding lands, and future projects impacting Steelhead and Chinook Salmon that read and spawn along the Molalla River watershed. A creek just north of Unit #13 does not have the sixty foot buffer as required by the agency for perennial streams. We need buffers along both the perennial and intermittent streams longer than the minimum required by the BLM to protect the water quality for fish as well as drinking water!

BARK Hike Leader: Alex Brown www.bark-out.org Welcome! "Bark is a grassroots organization based in Northwest Oregon that works to preserve the forests, waters and wildlife of Mt. Hood National Forest and surrounding regions. We monitor logging and challenge destructive timber sales in the area and provide education and advocacy programs to bring attention to the vanishing legacy of our forests and wildlands. The BARK email newsletter is sent out approximately twice a month, updating you on Bark events, the state of Mt. Hood National Forest, and a variety of issues affecting our public lands.

Bark Hike Leader: Gradey Proctor Bark-About to Gordon Creek Saturday, February 10th www.bark-out.org February's Bark-About will be a visit to the Gordon Creek Timber Sale, led by long-time Barker, Gradey Proctor. This proposal is located near the Bull Run Watershed and is currently home to a diverse and integral forest. The Gordon Creek Timber Sale is proposed in public forests administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Gordon Creek sale will log a mix of young and old-growth forest. Bark needs volunteer Groundtruthers to help collect more data on this sale. Please email Amy (at) bark-out.org to find out how to help. Hike leader Gradey Proctor is a botanist who studies the flora of Oregon's forests and wildcrafts medicinal and edible plants for his community. He is co-founder of Arctos School of Herbal and Botanical Studies and also teaches at the Northwest School of Herbalism. Due to the cold temperatures, please bring warm clothes and proper footwear (boots or sturdy sneakers). As well, pack water and a sack lunch.

Bark Hike Leader: Amy Harwood www.bark-out.org In the coming months, the Forest Service will be revising their Travel Plan. This document guides the agency in their decision-making when it comes to building, maintaining and obliterating roads in Mt. Hood. Many of these roads have been unmaintained and abused by all-terrain vehicles. With each storm a road becomes more and more likely to fall into a crossing stream. After decades of logging and mismanagement, there are over 4,000 miles of roads in Mt. Hood National Forest alone! Bark has a long history of defending the national forest with site-specific, scientifically backed monitoring data from Forest Service projects. We intend to treat our response to their Travel Plan revisions with the same rigor and passion. Join our team of groundtruthers come out of the forest and onto the road in an effort to complete the first citizen-led inventory of this crumbling road system."

Bark hike leaders: Carolyn Evans Martin Evans Charlie Ferranti Alex Brown www.bark-out.org Every acre of forest that Bark has ever saved has been because of our amazing members and volunteers. The Clear Dodger Timber Sale is no exception. When the sale was announced in 2002, Bark Groundtruthers immediately began collecting data that ultimately led to 22 acres of forest including ancient western red cedars and lush streams being dropped from the proposal. Now Bark has one last chance to stop the BLM from logging the remaining 143 acres of Clear Dodger. Last week we filed an appeal with the BLM to drop the proposal. Following years of work by volunteer botanists, surveyors and lawyers, as well as countless hours leading the public out to the project, Bark filed a legal brief with six copies (100% tree free, kenaf, of course) sent via certified mail, costing $14.50. This may seem like a small price to protect our public forests...and it is! Please do you part to support citizen action! For more information on the Clear Dodger Timber Sale, please visit Bark s Timber Sale Database at www.bark-out.orgBark is a grassroots organization based in Northwest Oregon that works to preserve the forests, waters and wildlife of Mt. Hood National Forest and surrounding regions. We monitor logging and challenge destructive timber sales in the area and provide education and advocacy programs to bring attention to the vanishing legacy of our forests and wildlands. The Bark email newsletter is sent out approximately twice a month, updating you on Bark events, the state of Mt. Hood National Forest, and a variety of issues affecting our public lands. www.bark-out.org

BARK hike leader: Rolf Skar Rolf takes us on a hike through the ecology and politics of forest fires.www.bark-out.org Clackamas River Northwest Oregon November 12, 2006Forests provide our community with clean air, pure water, habitat for endangered species, refuge and recreation, but they are not being protected by the current environmental laws. Logging is frequently allowed in sensitive areas, even in watersheds that provide our drinking water, and taxpayers are footing the bill for forest destruction to the tune of millions of dollars every year.Bark is a grassroots organization based in Northwest Oregon that works to preserve the forests, waters and wildlife of Mt. Hood National Forest and surrounding regions. We monitor logging and challenge destructive timber sales in the area and provide education and advocacy programs to bring attention to the vanishing legacy of our forests and wildlands. The BARK email newsletter is sent out approximately twice a month, updating you on Bark events, the state of Mt. Hood National Forest, and a variety of issues affecting our public lands.www.bark-out.org