High Roberts Slideshow
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Mt. Hood is a special place for many Oregonians, our alpine gem. For centuries, people in the NW have lived by the mountain. In the late 1800s people began to ski, climb and hike on the mountain. The first Wilderness was designated soon after the Wilderness Act was passed. For the past century local residents in Hood River and Sandy have farmed the land below her flanks. Hood River County is the most productive pear farming valley in the entire United States. For the past five years, the CRAG law center has assisted a diverse group of local residents, recreation clubs like the Oregon Nordic Club and the Mazamas, conservation groups like the Friends of Mt. Hood, the Oregon Natural Resources Council, BARK, Portland Audubon and the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club to advance their vision for the mountain. Congressmen Blumenauer and Walden hiked around the mountain last summer, held a public hearing in December, and then introduced legislation just in early April of 2006. This issue of the summit discusses their proposal and the work that led to this historic settlement. For more information, visit Cascade Peaks Protection.
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The Oregon Coast is home to Sebastes Melanops, a black rock fish that lurks in the Tillamook Bay. The Crag law center is assisting local residents seeking to protect the Miami River from a gravel mine expansion. We are also working with local residents in Tierra Del Mar to protect the Sand Lake estuary from a proposed destination resort and golf course development. The area is home to diverse species of fish and wildlife. This issue of the Summit also talks about our recent successes on Mt. Hood, the Deschutes River and in the Malheur National Forest.
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The Strawberry Mountains are in the rugged eastern part of Oregon and is home to the bull trout, mountain lions, bears, goshawk and pileated woodpeckers. Late in 2004, a whistleblower emerged from the forest to report that the Forest Service had claimed that hundreds of old growth trees near the Wilderness were being logged under the Healthy Forest Initiative. The claim was that these trees were dead or dying, but the reality on the ground was that the fire claimed little trees and left just enough dead trees for the woodpeckers and other birds that thrive on them. This issue of the Summit tells those stories, and also provides a look at the economics of watershed protection. The Crystal Springs watershed is a key drinking watershed in Hood River County and the watershed is threatened by development. This Summit also contains articles about our work on pesticide free parks in Portland, the abuse of science by federal agencies, and the launch of our environmental justice initiative.
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The Hood River flows from the east, west and northern flanks of Mt. Hood through old growth forests and one of the richest pear farming valleys in the world. The north side is home to wildlife and the Crystal Springs watershed. This issue of the Summit explores the impacts of potential development on the watershed, wildlife and way of life in the valley. The edition also contains an introduction by Chris Winter, an article about recent changes at the federal level to a forest plan standard designed to protect aquatics and a piece about a highlighted volunteer.
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Are you interested in reading about Mt. Hood Meadows plans to pave paradise and put up a parking lot? How about learning what the public did not know about Hood River County's decision to trade away its watershed for peanuts to a real estate developer?
In this issue, key evidence was obtained through discovery of documents in a challenge to a sweetheart land deal that the County completed with Mt. Hood Meadows. The 158 families in the Hood River Valley Residents Committee, a local citizens' organization that is seeking to protect the historic north side of Mt. Hood, brought the challenge.
The Crag Law Center also represents BARK, the Friends of Mt. Hood, the Mazamas, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, Oregon Wildlife Federation, the Friends of Tilly Jane, the Oregon Natural Resources Council and the Hood River Valley Residents Committee on a challenge to a logging project that the Forest Service claims will reduce the risk of fire. This issue of the Summit describes the legal issues with this project, as well as the current fire hysteria that is gripping the west.
This issue of the Summit is dedicated to the local residents and all Oregonians who enjoy Mt. Hood. The elk traversing the last remaining east-west migratory corridor do not care whether the massive development built in the way has low-flush eco-friendly toilets in mauve or taupe, and, we hope, neither does the public!
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Crag's inaugural issue starts with an opening statement from Chris Winter describing why we created the Crag Law Center. This issue contains articles about our work to protect the threatened bull trout in the headwaters of the Willamette River, as well as our successful effort to challenge ecologically unsound post-fire salvage projects in Eastern, Oregon.
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