Great news for birds! In 2018, Audubon, several other conservation groups, and eight states filed lawsuits challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior’s elimination of longstanding bird protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). On Monday (August 10) U.S. district court struck down the legal opinion used to justify the Trump administration’s coming rollback [...]
July 13, 2020 Lauren Brown Field Manager Ashland Resource Area Medford BLM 3040 Biddle Road Medford, OR 97504 RE: Bear Grub Timber Sale EA Comments DOI-BLM-ORWA-M060-2020-0001-EA Dear Ms. Brown: The Rogue Valley Audubon Society (RVAS) is a chapter of the National Audubon Society with over 500 members in Jackson County. The survival of [...]
Bear Grub Timber Sale EA Comments (July 2020) Letter From Chapter to BLM Comments on Public Access to, and Management of, the Imperatrice Property (March 2020) Letter From Chapter and SOLC to City of Ashland Comments on Proposed Rule and Environmental Impact Statement for Migratory Bird Treaty Act (March 2020) Letter From State Audubon Chapters [...]
The Conservation Column By Pepper Trail As this is the last Chat for a few months, I thought I would present an update on some of the statewide conservation priorities for the Oregon Audubon Council (OAC) that are of particular concern here in our region. This summary is provided by Joe Liebezeit, Chief Scientist of [...]
The Conservation Column By Pepper Trail Well, this has been a beautiful spring, hasn’t it? Except for being too dry, and – oh, yes – the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of just about every normal activity. Well, even if organized field trips have been canceled, we can still take joy in solitary (or carefully [...]
The Conservation Column By Pepper Trail Well. Crazy world, right? At the end of February, I returned to the U.S. from a two-week voyage through the Seychelles Islands, with highlights including the incredible giant tortoises of Aldabra Atoll and such unique birds as the Seychelles Blue-Pigeon and the Black Parrot. Little did I know that [...]
Date: March 19, 2020 From: Audubon Society of Portland To: US Fish and Wildlife Service Re: Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2018-0090, Proposed Rule and Environmental Impact Statement for Migratory Bird Treaty Act Dear US Fish and Wildlife Service, Please accept the following comments from Audubon Chapters in Oregon including Audubon Society of Portland, East Cascades Audubon [...]
To: The Ashland City Council, Mayor John Stromberg CC: Paula Brown, Public Works Director; Michael Black, Director of Parks and Recreation From: Pepper Trail, Rogue Valley Audubon Society Kristi Mergenthaler, Southern Oregon Land Conservancy Date: March 17, 2020 Subject: Public Access to, and Management of, the Imperatrice Property The Rogue Valley Audubon Society (RVAS) and [...]
The Conservation Column By Juliet Grable This month’s column highlights the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between conservation groups and the timber industry, which was signed in early February. This breakthrough occurred when Governor Kate Brown stepped in to mediate a resolution between the two sides, each of which had been planning to introduce ballot measures [...]
The Conservation Column By Pepper Trail Let’s start off 2020 with a summary of some conservation victories over the past year. This summary is from National Audubon, and it reminds us that even in the most challenging political environment, determined advocacy for birds and other wildlife can achieve great results. But, of course, threats remain [...]
