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Clark County Wetlands Park, Las Vegas Nevada. Photo from Vegas.com website.   When you think of wildfires, you may not immediately think of wetlands. But the seldom seen blazes in these ecosystems carry incredible ecological benefits! Wetlands are areas of land that are saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally. What makes wetlands so distinct…

As many of you know, neighborhoods in Southern California have been heavily and tragically impacted by fire over the past week.  One of the Myths that has been floating around for years, and gains traction whenever there is a fire which affects communities, is that increasing logging (or as they now like to call it…

December 4, 2017 In the West, we often have periods of drought.  With these periods of drought our native bark beetle populations have a tendency to increase.  This is a natural process, nature’s design for balancing our ecosystems in times of scarcity, which results in the least fit trees within our forests being killed.  Ecologists…

On June 22, 2017 the John Muir Project organized and participated in a panel briefing for Congressional offices to help inform them about the science related to Wildfires.  Over 39 Congressional and Senate offices as well as committee staff from both houses attended the briefing.  In addition, John Muir Project produced a live video feed…

About four years ago, the Rim Fire spread across and burned 257,000 acres near and in Yosemite National Park. In the immediate aftermath of that fire logging interests began pressing the U.S. Forest Service to open up burned forest lands to clearcutting. Environmentalists challenged the logging interests, in an effort to protect California Spotted Owls…

                                               Long range photo looking into King Fire Burn Area, March 2015. Photo Credit Chad Hanson  A recent study funded and housed by the Forest Service claimed that the 2014 King fire resulted…

Photo looking into beetle kill area, May 2016. Sierra National Forest. Photo Credit: Chad Hanson.   California Governor Jerry Brown invited the John Muir Project’s Dr. Chad Hanson to a discussion with several scientists affiliated with the U.S. Forest Service and the Governor’s administration at the Governor’s offices in Sacramento, CA in July 2016.  Despite the high…

Wildflowers in Rim Fire Snag Forest: Stanislaus National Forest, June 2016.  Photo Credit: Chad Hanson. The Stanislaus National Forest is in the process of finalizing their Rim fire “Reforestation” decision which will determine whether they will maintain the unlogged high intensity burned areas which still exist in the National Forest portion of the Rim Fire…

We need your help to put this draft legislation on the right track. Comments are due to the Committee by Monday, June 13, 2016, please send in yours today!

Don’t let the remaining biodiverse snag forest habitat in the Rim Fire . . .    turn into another sterilized clearcut to subsidize the biomass industry at taxpayer expense! The Stanislaus National Forest has already heavily logged, and clearcut, over 8,000 acres of wildlife-rich “snag forest habitat” on national forest lands in the Rim fire area,…

Last fall Governor Brown issued a State of Emergency Proclamation, calling natural and beneficial tree mortality, which has resulted from several years of drought, a crisis and vowing to subsidize a massive commercial program to remove dead trees without limit, ostensibly to protect our forests and communities from fire.  Governor Brown’s statements represent a colossal…

By now you have probably heard about the Bundy Militia which has taken over and is occupying under threat of violence the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon.   These disgruntled ranchers, loggers and miners have decided that federal public lands belong to them and no-one else. Even though ranching, mining and logging are…

Wow, is all we can say!  The language in this WildfireFundingFix_and_LoggingRider2015 is simply a giveaway to the federal timber sales program and logging interests nationwide.  This “Clearcuts for Christmas” Logging Rider is not good for the taxpayers, it isn’t good for forest ecosystems, it won’t protect communities from future fire and it would permit the destruction of millions of…

Even while leaders from around the world are attending the Climate Change Conference in Paris to develop policies which will stall and hopefully reverse the effects of Global Climate Change, climate change denying Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate are threatening to hold U.S. spending bills (the funding that runs the government) hostage unless Democrats agree to include destructive logging provisions, which will exacerbate climate change, in the appropriations package.

Over 260 Scientist from across the country have sent a letter to the Senate and President Obama urging them to oppose two public lands logging bills, which the scientists say would be very destructive to forest ecosystems and wildlife on National Forests and other federal public forestlands. The bills, HR 2647 and S 1691, which promote widespread logging of burned and unburned forest, mostly in remote areas of federal public forestlands, will not improve forest health, reduce fire risks or protect communities. Join the Scientists today – Call your Senator and the President to oppose this harmful legislation!

Calls Needed to Senator Dianne Feinstein and Others to stop logging bills HR2647 and S.1691 which are currently being considered by the U.S. Senate. Both of these bills would weaken or eliminate environmental laws and close the courthouse doors to the public, all while doubling or tripling logging levels on federal public lands in both green and burned forest. These bills, or any compromise bill would be a disaster for native biodiversity and the health of our public forests and would simply create subsidies for logging corporations at great expense to taxpayers. Take Action Today!

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