Columbia Highlands in the news

Funds for forest grooming good for wildlife, water, fire prevention

The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition worked on the Colville proposal, while the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative was instrumental in the Idaho Panhandle’s proposal. The two groups seek to find common ground among the timber industry, environmental groups, tribes, local governments and other interests.

Feds fully fund forest projects

“This is about jobs. It’s about restoration. And making sure forests are in a position to preserve precious water resources,” Vilsack said.... “We continue to work on collaborative efforts to make sure we have left these forests in better shape.”

Meeting set for caribou habitat coordination

Bonner County commissioners are meeting with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officials on Jan. 24 to discuss the designation of critical habitat for caribou in the southern Selkirk Mountains. “It doesn’t create a wilderness — I think that’s one of the biggest misconceptions just in general of critical habitat,” said Susan Burch of the USFWS.

Wolves confirmed on Colville Indian Reservation

Except for a small strip of land between the Okanogan River and Highway 97, wolves are not considered endangered by the federal government on the reservation. That means the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation — a sovereign nation — will develop its own plan for managing them.

Proposed critical habitat for Selkirk Mountain caribou

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing that 375,562 acres be designated as critical habitat for southern Selkirk Mountain caribou.... It is estimated that there are about 46 caribou in the area, according to USFWS.... Human activities such as road-building and recreational trails can also fragment caribou habitat and facilitate movement of predators into the caribou’s range.

Easement protects working ranch and wildlife habitat near Kettle Crest in Ferry county

Mitch Friedman, Conservation Northwest’s executive director, said, “The Gotham Ranch is providing beef, timber, and livelihoods in a way that is compatible with the needs of wolverine, lynx, and other wildlife. Nestled right up against the Kettle Crest and the potential wilderness lands there, this represents a great balance that I think a lot of people can get behind.”

Critical habitat proposed for Selkirk caribou

Woodland caribou have been on the endangered species list since 1984, and now the federal government is making steps to designate critical habitat to aid in their recovery in the southern Selkirk Mountains.

See grouse and goshawks in remote Pend Oreille wilderness

Salmo-Priest Wilderness, at the extreme northeastern corner of Washington in the Colombia Highlands, is on Audubon's "Palouse to Pines Loop."

Protect special places

A letter to the editor about why proposed wilderness areas such as Kettle Range need to be preserved.

Colville National Forest meeting made irrelevant

Rudeness has been stifling the Colville National Forest meetings set to inform the public about proposed revisions to the forest’s management plans. The meeting at Colville two weeks ago was, as one Spokane man put it, “a freak show” of conspiracy theorists who essentially commandeered the evening with insolence... Let’s insist the Forest Service and elected officials recognize this and pay more attention to the thoughtful comment that will be trickling in.

Proposal would add thousands of acres to wilderness

The Wenatchee World on the Okanogan-Wenatchee proposed revised forest plan: The Forest Service proposal adds only 3 percent of the forest to new wilderness.

Forest’s wild areas may get protection

"People are going to look back and thank us that we had the foresight to protect places for traditional activities and wildlife as our region continues to grow," said Derrick Knowles, director of Conservation Northwest’s Columbia Highlands campaign.

Climate change menaces the future of lynx

In-depth report on Washington's wild cat: "The lynx, like the wolverine, is highly dependent on a persistent snowpack," says Dave Werntz, science and conservation director of Conservation Northwest. Lynx' future in the Kettle Range and beyond depends on habitat connectivity to Canada and a combination of refuges and connections that will enable them to survive until the trees grow back in burned areas.

Letter to the editor - About that wilderness in Kettle Range

Former Chief of the Forest Service Dale Bosworth addresses concerns of cattlemen on wilderness and applauds the collaborative Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition: "Even as a strong believer in multiple use and resource extraction, I feel that wilderness is an important part of balanced management and ought to be represented in the Kettle Range."

Letter to the editor: Wilderness the greatest hurdle with CHI

Adoption of a Columbia Highlands Initiative is in the best interest of everyone, urges the letter writer to the Colville Statesman-Examiner: Rep. McMorris Rogers needs to take leadership and get the negotiating process back on track.

Op-Ed: Forestry coalition proposes wilderness area

Lots of progress has been made since 2002 when the timber industry and the conservation community buried the hatchet and started to work together. The Columbia Highlands Initiative is testimony to the power of collaboration. In the words of Dick Slagle: ”The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition has changed the way many of us think about the national forest here in Ferry County. We can work together to make a better future for our children and grandchildren, support good timber jobs and protect special places like the Kettle Crest.”

Okanagan river most endangered in province

Thanks to development and agriculture, for the second year in a row the Kettle River east of Osoyoos has been named the most endangered river in British Columbia.

Poll shows support for wilderness in Colville National Forest

A recent poll of northeastern Washington voters shows support for new wilderness designations on the Colville National Forest when they’re packaged with stepped-up timber harvests in other areas of the forest and new trails for off-road vehicles. In this poll, even though support from ORV riders was less than that from hunters, hikers, and others, as a whole ORV riders still supported wilderness as part of a balanced proposal. Currently, just 1% of the state's wilderness is in the Columbia Highlands.

Burke Museum's owl show opens a door to a larger view

Seattle Times' Danel Chasen interviews photographer Paul Bannick, who serves as development director for Conservation Northwest, on the ecology of owls and woodpeckers, and a new exhibit. "The area of northern Washington, for which Conservation Northwest is pushing a Columbia Highlands Initiative, probably has the highest owl density in the state."

Landers: Deer recommendation based on misinformation

At a recent WA Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting, Spokane hunter and NE WA Forestry Coalition board member Derrick Knowles delivers some fact: proposed wilderness protection in the Columbia Highlands closes no roads. The coalition’s board is comprised of some of Stevens County’s major employers as well as conservation groups, a partnership that has endured since 2003.

Stop the grasslands war: co-operation is the key

Mar 27 - Collaboration was the message of a forum discussion about the BC Boundary ecosystems, featuring the forests of the Columbia Highlands and Tim Coleman of Conservation Northwest. "It involves a lot of collaboration between community leaders," explained Coleman. "It's a story about how we went from fighting to co-operation."

Forest planning rule uses collaboration to cut lawsuits

Will changes in national forest planning rules proposed by the government improve forest management and foster collaboration? Mike Petersen, The Lands Council director and member of the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition, said the new rules could weaken wildlife protections.

Keeping ranch intact a boon to whitetails

The Spokesman Review reports on a group effort to keep a Colville-area ranch intact for the benefit of the family, wildlife, and the public.

The Columbia Highlands on KUOW's Weekday with Steve Scher

KUOW's Steve Scher interviews Conservation Northwest's Mitch Friedman and author Craig Romano about a special corner of the state between the Kettle River Range and the Selkirk Mountains that many of us hardly know.

Initiative forges unexpected alliance

A Capital Press article by Mathew Weaver on the Columbia Highlands Initiative.