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Project Highlights

the green river valley alliance

Mount St. Helens: No place for a mine

The Green River Valley lies at the doorstep of Mount St. Helens (Lawetlat’la). It is no place for a mine. Cascade Forest Conservancy has been fighting proposals to construct a dangerous open-pit mine in this unique corner of the Cascades for more than 15 years.

A mine could devastate an area important to many Tribes, local communities, and people who value outdoor recreation. The mine would replace a place loved by hunters, anglers, hikers, cyclists, backcountry horseback riders, and others, with a permanent scar on the landscape.

Impacts from the mine would threaten forest health, local biodiversity, fish populations, and even the human communities living near the Green, North Fork Toutle, and Cowlitz Rivers.

We have successfully challenged prospecting permits multiple times in Federal court, but after each victory, the mining corporation has tried again. 

We won’t be able to hold them off in court forever. That is why CFC founded the Green River Valley Alliance campaign–a new coalition working towards a solution that can end the threat of a mine here once and for all. Join us today!

The Instream Wood Bank Network

A combination of factors like streamside logging have left many waterways unnaturally free of fallen logs and woody debris. Many species, including salmon, trout, and others, need the deep cool pools and habitat diversity downed wood in waterways create.    

The Instream Wood Bank Network was designed to address two challenges faced by restoration professionals throughout the West; the lack of wood and streams and the difficulty of sourcing the wood needed for restoration efforts. The network sources non-salable wood, then employs local contractors to move wood to a series of wood banks that are set up across the region. These banks then provide logs to restoration groups throughout southwest Washington.

The network also advances restoration in new areas by helping to prioritize, design, and coordinate the installation of wood structures in critical habitat areas. 

The Climate Resilience Guidebook

In 2017, we published the Climate Resilience Guidebook—a detailed look at the ways climate change is likely to impact the unique species, watersheds, and ecosystems of the southern Washington Cascades at the local level. The guidebook also suggests location-specific strategies and restoration priorities designed to preserve biodiversity and rebuild ecosystems to ensure our region is made as resilient as possible to the accelerating impacts of climate change.

An updated and expanded version of the Climate Resilience Guidebook will be released in 2022.    

SPEAK UP FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Since 1985, Cascade Forest Conservancy has been your voice speaking for the areas in and around the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southwest Washington. Join the 12,000 other members who support Cascade Forest Conservancy and are making a difference now.

News & updates

As our climate continues to warm, communities and wildlife are coming under increasing pressure. Last month’s atmospheric river unleashed a deluge of precipitation that swelled rivers and streams, leading to devastating flooding in many towns across western Washington. While southwest Washington escaped the scale of flooding seen farther north, the high flow event, combined with...
Instream work is underway at Salmon Creek! This summer, CFC installed more than 30 woody structures on two tributaries of Salmon Creek. Our efforts will create spawning grounds for salmon, provide rearing habitat for juvenile salmon and larval lamprey, and improve drinking water quality for the cities of Vader and Castle Rock. This project marks...
In 2017, Cascade Forest Conservancy began our beaver relocation journey with a big-picture approach. The first step was to conduct a spatial analysis across dozens of watersheds in southwest Washington to identify areas with environmental features that create suitable beaver habitat. The spatial analysis highlighted many streams, wetlands, and lakes that could support beavers, but...
The Trump administration is working to reverse the 2001 Roadless Rule that currently protects large areas of intact wildlife habitat from commercial development. The rule is an essential tool for preserving biodiversity and access to unique backcountry recreation opportunities. Reversing the Roadless Rule would allow logging and mining in some of the last protected landscapes...
Parts of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and other national forests possess something increasingly rare in the western United States: forests and river corridors largely free of invasive plants. These places are important refuges for native plant communities, including many rare and threatened species.  This is not something we should take for granted. As collaborators...
The 2001 Roadless Rule created a new type of land designation called Inventoried Roadless Areas and is responsible for protecting a large number of un-roaded landscapes across a wide range of regions and ecosystems throughout the national forest system. In total, the rule safeguards 58 million acres of intact wildlife habitat and backcountry, more than...