Cascade Forest Conservancy

08/25/2026

Cascade Forest Conservancy’s Executive Director, Molly Whitney, spoke with Fox 12 reporters about how Forest Collaboratives help ensure everyone has a say in how we manage our public lands.

CFC is proud to be a member of the Pinchot Partners and the South Gifford Pinchot Collaborative because our experience has shown that land management decisions made with public input and community buy-in help lead to outcomes that are better for everyone.

A year after the Trump administration announced plans to increase logging on federal land, crews in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest are back at work — and a timber-dependent community is watching closely.

08/24/2026

ACTION ALERT: The Trump Administration plans to reverse protections for 44.7 million acres of critical wildlife habitat and remote backcountry throughout the nation’s national forest system—including 212,629 acres of Inventoried Roadless Areas in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Take action by speaking in favor of the roadless rule by Sept. 21.

WHAT ARE INVENTORIED ROADLESS AREAS

Inventoried Roadless Areas are protected landscapes where natural processes proceed free from excessive industrial incursion and where the Earth is able to retain some of its wildness.

ROADLESS AREAS ARE:

• Critical strongholds of biodiversity and some of the last remaining refuges for species with little or no other suitable habitat left.

• Sources of clean drinking water for downstream communities.

• Places for connection, solitude, recreation, and irreplaceable backcountry experiences on public lands.

• More resilient to wildfire than forests with high road densities.

We need as many comments in favor of preserving the Roadless Rule as possible! Learn more about the Roadless Rule and how to make a difference at https://cascadeforest.org/our-work/roadless/

08/19/2026

The Trump Administration announced a proposed rule change to revoke the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a decision that will put nearly 45 million acres of protected public land at risk from logging, mining, and other forms of development.

📍30% of National Forests lands are now protected from most new roadbuilding, logging, and mining, including more than 200,000 acres of Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest

🦌 Roadless Areas are critical stronghold of unfragmented wildlife habitat rare and wide-ranging species depend on

🛶 Roadless Areas protect access to recreation in some of our most beautiful wild places and backcountry

💦 Healthy forests improve and protect water quality. In Washington alone, the Roadless Rule protects 3,610 river miles supplying drinking water for nearly half a million people

🔥 Opponents of the Roadless Rule say current protections make wildfires worse, but that isn’t the case. The vast majority of wildfire ignitions are caused by humans, and wild landscapes are more resilient than disturbed ones. Studies show that more than 90% of wildfires start within 1.25 miles of a road.

The official comment period opens soon.

Learn more about Roadless Areas at the link in our bio.

08/09/2026

Tickets are on sale for our favorite fun-draiser of the year: Forest Fest arrives Sunday, October 4th!

This year, award-winning author, naturalist, and tour guide, David Williams will join us for a fascinating and fun conversation about his newest book, IN THE RANGE OF FIRE & ICE: A Human and Natural History of Washington’s Cascades, that’s sure to inspire new appreciation and insights about the places we know and love.

Plus:

Games! Silent auction! Raffles! Food! Music! Community! A chance to make a difference!

08/08/2026

Fire crews are making steady progress at fortifying the north and west flanks of the High Lava Fire in the Canyon Creek area. The small spot fires that popped up along Forest Road (FR) 54 late on August 5 have been secured. The fire grew significantly yesterday yet remains within the planned containment boundaries.

Today, a shift in weather is expected to improve air quality across the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area; however, this change may cause fire activity to increase. A multi-mission drone aircraft will fly over the fire later this afternoon using infrared technology to accurately map the new perimeter. An update containing revised fire acreage will be provided later this evening.

Firefighters are continuing carefully planned strategic burn operations along FR 54, working from west to east to stay ahead of the fire’s natural movement. As the fire slowly moves toward FR 34 and the West Crater Trailhead, crews are actively extinguishing fires and conducting defensive firing operations along those containment lines.

More resources, including interagency hotshot crews, Type 6 fire engines, and specialized incendiary drones, are arriving soon to support the ongoing fire suppression and containment efforts.

Fire danger remains “Very High.” Visitors are asked to follow all fire restrictions, including a total campfire ban, before traveling in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Restriction details are available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/giffordpinchot/alerts/fire-restrictions.

If you see a new wildfire, call 911.

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CLOSURE NOTICES: To protect the public and personnel during firefighting operations, forest managers have issued a closure order for the High Lava Fire footprint and surrounding area. This closure includes several forest roads and recreation trails, such as:
• Trail #155, West Crater Trail
• West Crater Trailhead
• Soda Peaks Trailhead (west) - the Soda Peaks Trail can still be accessed via the Trapper Creek Trailhead.

The complete closure order and a map are available at the Gifford Pinchot National Forest website: (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/giffordpinchot/alerts/high-lava-fire-road-and-trail-closure).

08/03/2026

Fire risks in the Gifford Pinchot National Forests remain very high. Here’s how you can help crews currently fighting wildfires in the forest and across the region:

• Ensure firefighters can operate safely by complying with closures of forest roads

• Follow current burn restrictions and avoid activities that can cause sparks, like smoking, driving over tall vegetation, or allowing trailer chains to drag

• Immediately report any new ignitions to 911

Photos by: Cody LeClerc - WWIMT Public Information Officer, and Scotty Ireland

07/28/2026

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service recently announced that a petition to list the Cascade Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes cascadensis) as federally threatened or endangered warrants an in-depth status review.

Meet the Cascade Red Fox 🦊

The Cascade Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes cascadensis) is a subspecies of red fox found in the high-altitude eastside forests, subalpine meadows, and parklands of the Washington Cascades. These isolated survivors of past ice ages play a unique ecological role in their high-elevation ecosystems. They are generalists that feed on everything from mid-sized to small mammals, birds, insects, fruit, and carrion.

Population Status and Threats 🌡️

The Cascade Red Fox adapted to cold weather conditions during past periods of glaciation and now survives in cold, high-altitude pockets primarily in the southern Washington Cascades. The species has become increasingly isolated and rare. Climate-driven habitat changes is the primary threat the Service cited in its finding. The petition also noted habitat loss from logging and development, the encroachment of carnivorous species previously restricted to lower elevations, disease and predation, small population size, and vehicle collisions, all of which the Service will evaluate during its 12-month review.

Scientists do not know how many Cascade Red Fox remain, but some recent estimates have put the number as low as 50 individuals.

What’s next?

The Service will now undertake a 12-month findings using the best available science and information to determine if ESA protection is warranted.

Photos 📸

During our 3-year wildlife camera survey project from 2019-2022, the elusive Cascade Red Fox appeared at 5 different camera locations! Although these rare foxes were not one of the target species of this particular study, these images will be submitted to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and will provide data that will help in formulating a protection and recovery plan for this rare and unique species.

07/22/2026

CFC’s executive director Molly Whitney and policy manager Ashley Short attended the June 30 meeting of the Skamania County Board of Commissioners to ask elected officials for a statement of support “in protecting this area from an open pit mine.”

07/03/2026

A Canadian mining corporation is once again working to develop a new mine in the foothills of Mount St. Helens.

This is NO PLACE FOR A MINE

Learn more at www.cascadeforest.org

06/30/2026

Cascade Forest Conservancy's Executive Director, Molly Whitney, recently testified before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture about partnerships and the management of our National Forests.

Molly told Committee members about the positive management impacts that result from collaboration and constructive dialogue between NGOs, like CFC, and the Forest Service.

What’s happening in southwest Washington’s national forests is a clear example of how partnerships can improve land management outcomes. Today, CFC and our local Forest Service are often collaborators. We work on projects to tackle shared habitat restoration priorities and programs connecting volunteers and local students to unique opportunities. We also maintain an ongoing constructive dialogue with agency officials and other stakeholders in local forest collaboratives. By ironing out concerns regarding timber sales and other projects through collaboration, established environmental review, and public input processes, we help ensure projects on our forest meet environmental laws, benefit our communities, and protect the health of our ecosystems—and often do so without costly litigation.

But in our region and elsewhere, long-standing relationships with the Forest Service are now at risk due to uncertainty, organizational restructuring, and staffing cuts originating from the national level. This uncertainty is causing confusion and instability, hampering the Forest Service's ability to plan, collaborate, and execute projects effectively.