coast range

I don’t have to tell anyone reading this that here in the west, wildfires are a fact of life. I’m also sure that most folks are already aware that the climate crisis, combined with more and more homes being built in and around forest lands is creating an escalating cycle of devastation in fire prone communities.

There is a tremendous amount of pressure on politicians and agencies to act, or at least to be seen to be acting, but right now, too many people, including many key decision makers, are looking at the problem backwards.

To talk about the real solutions to protecting communities from wildfires, as well as an exciting piece of legislation making its way through Salem, I’m joined by Ralph Bloemers.  Ralph is the Director of Fire Safe Communities for the Green Oregon Alliance, producer of the award winning wildfire documentary Elemental, and has worked on forest conservation issues for decades. 

He is a wealth of information on wildfires, the right and wrong way to protect communities and homes, and current legislative efforts to address these issues.

You can also email me anytime with feedback, questions, or show ideas at michael@coastrange.org

Show Notes:

https://www.opb.org/article/2023/12/23/jeff-golden-preps-proposals-wildfire-preparedness-funding/

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2024/01/03/oregon-needs-more-money-to-fight-big-wildfires-who-should-pay-for-it/

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2024/01/10/timber-industry-tied-to-proposal-shifting-wildfire-protection-costs-from-landowners-to-public/

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Coast Range Radio interviews troublemaker and writer Carol Van Strum. Carol has spent decades documenting and fighting the atrocities perpetuated on the rural communities of the Pacific Northwest through wanton pesticide use by massive chemical corporations, the timber industry and the federal government. Carol is the recipient of the David Brower Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the author of A Bitter Fog: Herbicides and Human Rights, No Margin of Safety, The Oreo File and other works. Carol was also instrumental to the creation of the Poison Papers.

In 2017, her work was instrumental in Lincoln County’s voter-approved first ever ban of aerial pesticide spraying in the nation. The ban was overturned, and that decision is being appealed. Carol is featured in the new documentary film, The People vs. Agent Orange. To find local screenings and to learn about the film visit www.thepeoplevsagentorange.com.

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In episode 3 we speak with Dan Pennington of Myrtle Glen Farm (an organic farm and B&B nestled in the foothills of the southern Oregon coast range mountains) and Coast Range Forest Watch (a grassroots organization of community members concerned about the health of forests and watersheds in Oregon’s coast range) in Coos County. We discuss the important forest protection and anti-aerial spray work of Coast Range Forest Watch, farming during covid-19, and the interconnected nature of forests, water, and climate change. 

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