Items by Kathie Durbin

National Fire Plan vs. the Healthy Forests rule changes
The National Fire Plan, the Healthy Forests Initiative and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act are explained and compared
Kathie Durbin April 17, 2006 From the print edition
Slim margins
Loggers say forest-restoration work, which involves the thinning and cutting of small, skinny trees, doesn’t bring in much money
Kathie Durbin April 17, 2006 From the print edition
The War on Wildfire
President Bush says the Healthy Forests Restoration Act and Initiative were needed to fight wildfire, but several years into the new rules, critics question whether the changes they brought were helpful or even necessary
Kathie Durbin April 17, 2006 From the print edition
Unsalvageable
Despite angry environmentalists, rotting timber, and unenthusiastic logging companies, the Bush administration is determined to push logging on roadless land burned by the Biscuit Fire in southwestern Oregon
Kathie Durbin May 16, 2005 From the print edition
Massive logging plan shakes Northwest
The proposed salvage logging of the Biscuit Fire area in Oregon’s Siskiyou Forest is one of the largest timber sales in history, and critics say it’s not only ecologically dangerous, but undermines the Roadless Rule
Kathie Durbin Dec. 22, 2003 From the print edition
On a new national monument, has an agency been cowed?
On a new national monument, has an agency been cowed?
When President Clinton established Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument three years ago, he told the BLM to study grazing impacts, but now funding for the study has been cut, while grazing continues unabated
Kathie Durbin Nov. 10, 2003 From the print edition
A revival on Hart Mountain
Oregon’s Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge is thriving these days, but refuge managers are courting controversy by trying to get permission to shoot coyotes from airplanes
Kathie Durbin Nov. 10, 2003 From the print edition
In fire’s aftermath, salvage logging makes a comeback
Despite the warnings of scientists who say it’s a bad idea, the Bush administration is eager to log trees burned by the Biscuit Fire in Oregon’s Siskiyou National Forest
Kathie Durbin Sept. 1, 2003 From the print edition
Renegade house with a view - for now
A three-story house being built on the rim of Washington's Columbia River Gorge - in defiance of the National Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area - has become a battleground between supporters of the scenic act and property-rights advocates.
Kathie Durbin Feb. 15, 1999 From the print edition
Do coyotes need "control' on the refuge?
Evidence that coyotes are keeping the antelope population down leads some to propose that the coyotes on Oregon's Hart Mountain Refuge should be controlled by killing.
Kathie Durbin Nov. 24, 1997 From the print edition
Selling science to the agencies: an ecologist's story
Zoologist David Dobkin believes that federal land managers are closing their minds to his scientific research - especially when his research indicts grazing.
Kathie Durbin Nov. 24, 1997 From the print edition
Restoring a refuge: Cows depart, but can antelope recover?
Oregon's Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge seems to be recovering now that cattle have been banned from it - but despite the lush grasses, the antelope are still in decline.
Kathie Durbin Nov. 24, 1997 From the print edition
Habitat plans are in full flood
In the Pacific Northwest, timber companies such as Weyerhaeuser are enthusiastic about HCPs because of the spotted owl.
Kathie Durbin Aug. 4, 1997 From the print edition
Timber's bad boy comes to the table
Biologist Lorin Hicks of Plum Creek Timber Co. says that the notorious logging company is now trying to do the right thing for endangered species with the help of HCPs.
Kathie Durbin Aug. 4, 1997 From the print edition
The feds won't enforce the ESA
Some say the real problem with habitat conservation lies in the government's unwillingness to really enforce the Endangered Species Act.
Kathie Durbin And Paul Larmer Aug. 4, 1997 From the print edition
New plan draws hisses, boos
The long-awaited draft of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project draws little but criticism from environmentalists, loggers, Indian tribes and ranchers.
Kathie Durbin June 23, 1997 From the print edition
Rain and clearcuts make fatal brew
Heavy rain on clearcut hillsides in western Oregon is blamed for floods and landslides that kill eight people.
Kathie Durbin Dec. 23, 1996 From the print edition
Proposed gold mine stirs up a rural Washington county
Farmers lead the protest against Battle Mountain Gold Company's open-pit mine in Washington's conservative Okanogan County.
Kathie Durbin Dec. 11, 1995 From the print edition
Silencing science at UW: one researcher's story
Aquatic biologist Steve Ralph recalls how he directed a new stream-research program for the University of Washington - until timber industry scientists objected and the project was cancelled.
Kathie Durbin Nov. 13, 1995 From the print edition
The ax falls at the University of Washington
The University of Washington's innovative environmental institute and other new forestry programs are clearcut by a conservative dean.
Kathie Durbin Nov. 13, 1995 From the print edition
Reformation in the Vatican of sawlog forestry
Oregon State University rejects its one-time advocacy of unsustainable forestry practices and begins to teach new forestry.
Kathie Durbin Nov. 13, 1995 From the print edition
Dog and pony show about salmon and owls
Public hearings on the rewriting of the Endangered Species Act stir up controversy among environmentalists and their opponents.
Kathie Durbin May 15, 1995 From the print edition
Forest activists retrench and grope for support
Pessimism and anxiety mark the fourth Western Ancient Forest Conference in Ashland, Ore.
Kathie Durbin Feb. 20, 1995 From the print edition
Judge hints that Clinton's forest plan is dead
The Option Nine forest plan may be sent back for revision for more owl and salmon protection.
Kathie Durbin Dec. 12, 1994 From the print edition
A small town in Oregon gets ugly
Wise-use movement clashes with environmentalists in Joseph, Oregon.
Kathie Durbin Nov. 14, 1994 From the print edition
If you hear the alarm, stop breathing
A reporter tours the chemical agent disposal facility at Tooele Army Depot in Utah.
Kathie Durbin Essay Oct. 31, 1994 From the print edition
The progress of freewheeling consensus jeopardized as feds pull back
An unusual group, the Applegate Partnership, tries to build consensus among environmentalists and loggers in southern Oregon.
Kathie Durbin Oct. 17, 1994 From the print edition
Ranchers arrested at wildlife refuge
Ranchers arrested at wildlife refuge
The arrest of rancher Dwight Hammond for running cattle on a wildlife refuge provokes a wise-use backlash in Oregon.
Kathie Durbin Oct. 3, 1994 From the print edition
Shame and threats impel Eastside plan
Restrictions on logging in spotted owl habitat lead to increased cutting in the Eastside forests.
Kathie Durbin Sept. 19, 1994 From the print edition
Ambitious ecosystem management advances east
The Eastside Ecosystem Management Project seeks to plot a future for the forests of the Interior Columbia Basin.
Kathie Durbin Sept. 19, 1994 From the print edition
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