Columbia Highlands: A Blueprint for Success

 

In the upper reaches of the Columbia River in northeastern Washington is a magnificent landscape connecting the North Cascades to the BC Rockies, lands that local citizens have labored 30 years to protect. Working collaboratively with a diverse coalition of local citizens, Conservation Northwest and the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition have developed a comprehensive blueprint for the region's future that includes wilderness protection, sustainable forestry, and old-growth forest restoration.

Close on the heels of the blueprint comes the book, Columbia Highlands: Exploring Washington's Last Frontier, a first of its kind, in-depth photographic portrait of this little-known corner of the American West. You are invited on May 2 to Gonzaga University as we unveil the book with a rich sight and sound journey across the Columbia Highlands. Join author Craig Romano as he explores the beauty of the landscape and its rural communities, and highlights one of the most successful community collaborations today in the West.

 

Wildlife Passage Art Contest for Kids

 

It's time for students ages 8 to 11 to tap into their creative side for the third annual "Bridging Futures" art contest. This spring, the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition encourages students in Washington to participate with artwork about how we can make the freeway safer for animals and people. One winner will be chosen from each school district, and the grand-prize winner's submission will run on a billboard along I-90 and near the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. The coalition also plans to create a "Bridging Futures" book to educate people about wildlife passage along this important wildlife corridor in the Central Cascades.

 

Wolves on the Edge

 

The Bush Administration is removing federal protections under the Endangered Species Act for wolves in the Northern Rockies, raising serious concerns about their continued survival. The gray wolf's comeback from the brink of extinction is one of America's greatest environmental success stories. Growing oil and gas development, logging, and other threats are taking a mounting toll on the wildlands that wolves depend upon for survival. Removing protection of wolves now could spell their loss, and prevent recovery in other parts of the region, such as eastern Oregon and the Columbia Highlands in eastern Washington. Now is the time to support–not end–wolf protection.

 

Halt a Hard Rock Mine near Mount St. Helens

 

Just northeast of Mount St. Helens a proposed copper, silver, and molybdenum mine threatens the upper Green River valley in an area important to people and wildlife. The application for a lease on public lands is the spear point of bigger plans by Idaho General Mines of Spokane to develop a 3,000 acre hard rock mine on Goat Mountain, where a popular trail provides hikers and equestrians views of the volcanic monument and the Cascade Mountains. The larger mine threatens old-growth forests, the Tumwater Inventoried Roadless Area, and recreation on the mountain. In this seismically active area of unstable soils, mining seriously risks polluting the water supply for downstream communities and harming already at-risk populations of trout and salmon.

 

Bear Awareness Week

 

Throughout the country, May 14-18 is Bear Awareness Week. We are fortunate here in the Northwest to have in the North Cascades one of the last remaining areas in the lower 48 states that still supports grizzly bears. People in Washington have a unique opportunity to restore the North Cascades grizzly, a North American icon.

In Seattle on May 16 at Hale's Ales, join Conservation Northwest and the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project for a get-together for bears. Or, on the other side of town enjoy a free screening of the film "Bear Man of Kamchatka." In Bellingham on May 14 at Boundary Bay Brewery, taste a brand new Grizzly Beer; on May 16 at Backcountry Essentials, enjoy a free screening of "Bear Man of Kamchatka." And on May 18 in the Boundary Bay Bear Garden join us for a family-friendly evening of music and fun at Groovin' for Grizzlies. REI is featuring Conservation Northwest as "nonprofit of the month" in May in celebration of grizzlies, and we will be tabling in stores across the state. Throughout the month, look for creative products from local businesses in both cities in support of grizzly bears!

 

At Summer's Start: Hope for a Wild Future

 

Join Conservation Northwest for the start of summer on Thursday, June 21, as we host our 4th annual Hope for a Wild Future auction at our new location at the Woodland Park Zoo's North Meadow. Make merry with us as we look to the future of conservation in the Northwest. This is a fun and educational family-friendly event to raise funds to keep the Northwest wild from the Washington Coast to the BC Rockies. The evening features an exciting presentation on the Columbia Highlands Initiative, including images from our newly published book.