Oregon’s Rogue River Basin to face climate-change hurdles
GEOS Institute and University of Oregon’s Climate Leadership Initiative collaborate to look at 2030 & 2080
EUGENE, OR Three major global climate-change projections scaled down to Oregon’s scenic Rogue River watershed point to hotter, dryer summers with increasing wildfire risk, reduced snowpack and more rainy, stormy winters, according to a report coordinated by the University of Oregon’s Climate Leadership Initiative and the GEOS Institute.
Study projects hotter summers, rainier winters for basin
With the region caught in the icy grip of a winter storm that brought a dusting of snow to Medford, the last thing on most residents’ minds is global warming. Read more…
The owl’s stunning reprieve
History is certain to judge the Bush years as a disaster for the nation’s — and the planet’s — environment. But as his second term winds down, it’s worth noting that ancient forests in the Pacific Northwest are still standing, despite the administration’s vigorous efforts to help timber companies cut them down, and thanks to countless citizens who stood in the way. Read more…
New Report On the Economics of Protecting Endangered Species
The Bush administration has repeatedly ignored the economic benefits of protecting endangered species habitat, using faulty accounting to create a false dichotomy between prosperity and conservation, a new report from environmental groups charges.
Administration undermines Northwest Forest Plan
Few places on Earth can match a Pacific Northwest old-growth forest. With its giant centuries-old towering trees and rainwater trickling through the thick forest canopy, those ancient forests are a big piece of what makes our region a unique and special place to live. Read more…
Rethinking our assumptions about wildland fires
This year, as in every previous year, fires are occurring in the forests of the Western United States. And, as in previous years, we read the predictable headlines about how many acres of forest were “destroyed” by wildland fires. Read more…
BLM Releases Siskiyou Monument Management Plan
More than eight years after the Clinton Administration created the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument, the federal Bureau of Land Management Thursday released a final plan to manage it. Read more…
Worth the risk?
A deadly helicopter crash in Northern California has some people asking if federal agencies should risk firefighters’ lives battling blazes in remote, sparsely populated areas. Read more…
Spotted owl habitat slashed as population declines
As spotted owl’s numbers keep falling, some fear it’s doomed
Buffeted by years of logging and the invasion of a tougher owl, populations of the northern spotted owl are falling year after year, despite sweeping protections for the old-growth forests it inhabits. Now, genetic problems are adding to the reasons for worry. A just-released study found the remaining birds are so genetically similar, they are at risk of entering an “extinction vortex.” Read more…
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Arsum is the Senior Adaptation and Coastal Resilience Specialist for the National Wildlife Federation’s Southcentral Region. In this role, she advances climate adaptation efforts, with a focus on nature-based approaches to address the impacts of climate change and extreme events across the Gulf region. She has authored and co-authored numerous publications on climate impact assessments and adaptation solutions. Additionally, she regularly participates in state-based coastal resilience and hazard mitigation planning across the Gulf, collaborating with regional and local stakeholders.
Frank is the former President of the Reinsurance Association of America. Frank currently serves on the Advisory Board of the OECD’s International Network for the Financial Management of Large-Scale Disasters, the RAND Center on Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation, and the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner III Center for Insurance and Risk Management Advisory Board.
Jim is a multilingual world traveler. Based in Bavaria during the 1970s, Jim spent most of this period in India, Afghanistan and Nepal, where he founded and operated a charitable medical clinic serving Tibetan Refugees. He settled in Oregon in 1983 on a forested ranch in the Umpqua National Forest.
Dr. Micah Hahn is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health in the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. She received her joint PhD in Epidemiology / Environment and Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MPH in Global Environmental Health from Emory University. Subsequently, she was a postdoctoral fellow for the CDC Climate and Health Program, and in this position worked collaboratively with the CDC Division of Vector-borne Diseases and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Her research focuses on understanding the health impacts of climate change and working with communities to develop locally-relevant adaptation and resilience-building strategies. Dr. Hahn is also on the Management Team of the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center.
Michael is a former Founding Principal of Resilient Cities Catalyst, a global non-profit helping cities and their partners tackle their toughest challenges. He is currently the Executive Director of Climate Resilience Academy at the University of Miami.
Dr. Quintus Jett is a consultant, educator, and strategist for public causes. He has a doctorate in Organizations & Management from Stanford University, and a two-decade faculty career which spans schools, departments, and programs of business, engineering, liberal studies, divinity, and public and nonprofit management. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Dr. Jett launched a volunteer project in New Orleans, which enlisted residents, students from over a dozen colleges and universities, and hundreds of others to field map the city’s Gentilly district, Lower Ninth Ward, and New Orleans East. Dr. Jett is an innovator in higher education, bridging the divide between academic research and the other priorities of the modern university, including student access and diversity, community engagement, and providing foundations for life-long learning in today’s rapidly changing world.
Scott is Monfort Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. He has written about 100 publications in the peer-reviewed climate literature, is a former editor of the Journal of Climate, and served for five years as founding Science Chair of the North American Carbon Program.
Linda has many years of experience in disaster preparedness and resilience. She has been an elected official on the Linn County Iowa Board of Supervisors, Chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, the statewide Mental Health Developmental Disability and the Linn County Board of Health. Langston is a former president of the National Association of Counties (2013-2014).
Ken works with families and organizations as a mediator, organizational consultant, trainer and facilitator. Along with his passion for helping people prepare for and reduce climate change, Ken also volunteers as a mediator through Mediation Works and is passionate about supporting youth through mentoring with Boys to Men of Southern Oregon.
Matthew is a retired high school teacher who was once honored as Oregon High School Social Studies Teacher of the Year. Before his teaching career he was in the restaurant business in Portland. He is also a lawyer who has been a member of the Oregon State Bar Association since 1980.
Andrea is the Resilience Policy Advisor for the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. She works across state agencies and with local governments to increase the state’s resilience to the impacts of climate change.