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Bark Defending & restoring so-called Mt. Hood National Forest since 1999. Watchdogs for Mt. Hood National Forest!

Today is your LAST CHANCE to comment on the Roadless Rule rescission! Your voice is needed to protect 44.5 million acres...
10/06/2026

Today is your LAST CHANCE to comment on the Roadless Rule rescission! Your voice is needed to protect 44.5 million acres of National Forest System lands across 39 states. That includes nearly 2 million acres of Oregon's national forests and 118,000 acres (11%) of the most ecologically intact lands remaining in Mt. Hood National Forest.

The Roadless Rule is vital for Mt. Hood because...

🌲Mt. Hood National Forest has 118,000 acres of Inventoried Roadless Areas, which makes up 11% of the forest. If the Roadless Rule is rescinded, these lands would be opened up to road construction and timber harvesting.

💧Roadless areas safeguard the headwaters that supply water to communities across Oregon. Mt. Hood has already closed or decommissioned 400 miles of roads in municipal watersheds like Portland’s Bull Run to protect this resource.

⛺Over 4 million people visit Mt. Hood National Forest annually to hike, ski, camp, fish, climb, and simply enjoy the peace of nature. Rescinding the Roadless Rule would remove protections for much of this backcountry recreation, including stretches of the Pacific Crest Trail.

🔥New research shows wildfires are 4× more likely to start in roaded areas than in unroaded forest. Mt. Hood already has approximately 2,845 miles of roads, and building more will only raise the risk.

🦉Many threatened and endangered species depend on the intact nature of Mt. Hood’s roadless areas, including the Northern Spotted Owl, Red Tree Vole, and Chinook and Coho salmon. Removing protections for roadless areas would further imperil these rare and culturally important species.

We made commenting easy. Head to the link in our comments for our full comment guide, and a link to the comment portal. Your voice is needed to defend the Roadless Rule – comment by TONIGHT (10/6) at 9pm PST!

Join us on Mt. Hood this Sunday for a Beaver Habitat Survey Field Day! 🦫 No experience necessary, and carpool is availab...
10/05/2026

Join us on Mt. Hood this Sunday for a Beaver Habitat Survey Field Day! 🦫 No experience necessary, and carpool is available!

🔗Sign up at the link in our comments!🔗

Given the scale of degradation within streams and wetlands and throughout the West, we need all partners mobilized to restore these systems. Beavers are our greatest ally! But for this ecosystem engineer to successfully create resilience against drought & wildfire, they must be able to safely build and maintain their natural infrastructure while expanding their numbers and distributions across the state.

This is where Bark comes in. During our beaver habitat survey field days, we scout out areas where we could do restoration projects to improve beaver habitat in hopes they will recolonize the area on their own. We also look for areas to relocate beavers from areas where they are not welcome to areas on Mt. Hood where they can thrive.

Staff and volunteers at Bark play an important role in finding and verifying suitable habitat on Mt. Hood to share with our partners. Together we form a chain of dedicated beaver stewards!

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Bark is supporting the Indigenous-led program of with habitat restoration at thei...
10/01/2026

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Bark is supporting the Indigenous-led program of with habitat restoration at their 80-acre site! Join us on Friday, 10/9 to plant willows, which are a primary food source for beavers and other animals. By ensuring adequate food in wetland areas, we can encourage beavers to return to unpopulated wetlands and/or uplift habitat for potential beaver reintroduction in future years.

Parrott Creek’s Cultural Ecology Project focuses on restoring an 80-acre site to be a space where Indigenous people can safely gather natural resources such as foods, medicines, and weaving materials while connecting with the land and their communities and traditions. In addition to restoration field days, they hold community workshops on topics such as cedar pulling for basketry and regalia; cattail, hazel and vine maple harvesting; lamprey and beaver surveys, and more. Given that many Indigenous peoples can’t easily access these sorts of natural and cultural resources in places like the lands now known as Mt. Hood National Forest, this project provides urban Natives with culturally appropriate access and education in Indigenous Traditional Knowledge that ensures their cultures’ wisdom can be actively practiced and passed down for generations to come.

Sign up here: https://bark-out.org/event/recognizing-indigenous-peoples-day-habitat-restoration/

This Saturday is 🌲National Public Lands Day!🌲 This national holiday is all about mobilizing our communities to care for ...
09/24/2026

This Saturday is 🌲National Public Lands Day!🌲 This national holiday is all about mobilizing our communities to care for the shared public lands that nourish us in so many ways, from providing us with clean water and air to giving us amazing places to relax and recreate. Bark and our community of dedicated volunteers work year-round to protect and restore Mt. Hood National Forest, and we couldn't do it without your support!

Your gift of $25, $50, or $100 goes a long way in helping us continue to bring volunteers into the forest to groundtruth timber sales, map and protect wetlands, and survey for beaver habitats and restoration sites. Support our efforts to protect Mt. Hood at the link in our comments⬇

Of course, we need boots on the ground to make this work happen, too. In honor of National Public Lands Day, we have a special Groundtruthing Field Day this Saturday. We hope you'll join us!

Can't make it on Saturday? We have a bunch of Beaver Habitat Survey Field Days coming up in October! See you in the forest🌲🦫

Our collab with finally has a new date! We hope you'll join our drag-themed hike to Bald Mountain🌈🌲When: Saturday, Octo...
09/22/2026

Our collab with finally has a new date! We hope you'll join our drag-themed hike to Bald Mountain🌈🌲

When: Saturday, October 10th, 10am-1pm
Meet at 9:45am (exact location will be shared with attendees in reminder email)
Sign up here: https://bark-out.org/event/bark-x-drag-me-outside-bald-mountain-hike/

Wildlife professional Thespis D. Light and environmental scientist Efemmera Gendera of Drag Me Outside will lead this drag nature hike to Bald Mountain from Top Spur. We’ll hike through old-growth noble fir forest and bands of huckleberries to reach views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams. We’ll learn about the flora and fauna of the area along the way!

Accessibility: This is a 2 mile out-and-back trail with an elevation gain of 550 feet and is considered an “easy” hike. The trail is not paved — it is bumpy and will include tree roots and rocks. What to bring: Water, snacks, comfy shoes, and weather appropriate clothing! This hike is FREE, but tips for Thespis and Efemmera are appreciated and accepted at the hike! Space is limited!

Last week Bark went on a field tour of areas burned the Grasshopper fire. The fire, which grew to 18,000 acres in its fi...
09/18/2026

Last week Bark went on a field tour of areas burned the Grasshopper fire. The fire, which grew to 18,000 acres in its first week, is now at 93,996 acres and 98% containment.

The suppression costs for this fire are at $109 million and still growing. While there is a large pot of federal funds dedicated to fire suppression, there is no dedicated pot of money set aside for recovery efforts. In fact, fire recovery funding must go through specific congressional action. The cost of fire recovery efforts for the Grasshopper Fire alone could be another $50 million.

The next steps for the MHNF include a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessment, and an environmental assessment (EA) for roadside hazard tree project, and could include an EA for salvage lumber projects. Bark will be following these next steps closely.

While driving through areas of bare and blackened trees we could see the forest showing its resilience in bright green. Species like bracken fern, willow, and ceanothus were already sprouting from the ground. When these areas reopen in a few years, we hope to return and see how the forest has restored itself.

Slide 1: The field tour group included folks from nonprofits, state and local government, local landowners, timber industry, and the Forest Service.

Slide 2: A large clearing that was used as a drop point for equipment for the fire. At one point this area was completely packed with trucks, trailers, and equipment.

Slide 4: We saw many large slash piles that were from non-commercial fuels reduction work that had been ongoing over the past year but not yet burned. Firefighters felt it was safer to keep them from igniting during the fire.

The rest: Scenes from the drive through the burned area. You can see green sprouting up in some photos!

National Public Lands day is coming up, and we're going groundtruthing! Come to the forest with us on Saturday, 9/26 to ...
09/17/2026

National Public Lands day is coming up, and we're going groundtruthing! Come to the forest with us on Saturday, 9/26 to appreciate and protect public lands by helping us document on-the-ground forest conditions. No experience required!🌲

Sign up here: https://bark-out.org/event/groundtruthing-field-day-national-public-lands-day-edition/

Bark monitors every timber sale (logging project) proposed on Mt. Hood and uses groundtruthing to document the forest conditions within the proposed project areas. This on the ground data is vital as we engage in the decision-making process and work to influence projects on Mt Hood. There are several projects that we are surveying this summer such as the South Wasco Ecosystem Resiliency Project (SE part of the NF), Nohorn Vegetation Management project (SW part of the NF), and several other smaller scale projects.

ACTION ALERT📣 The Forest Service is also considering changes to its national travel management regulations: the rules th...
09/11/2026

ACTION ALERT📣 The Forest Service is also considering changes to its national travel management regulations: the rules that govern how the agency decides which roads and trails are open to motorized use, which routes are restricted or closed, and where off-highway vehicles can travel.

Comments are due 9/23 – submit yours here:https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FS-2026-0100-0001

Some of the major proposed changes include:

-Shifting national policy toward an “open unless closed” approach. Existing roads, trails, airfields, trailheads, and access points would be presumed open to appropriate public use unless closure or restriction is required by law, valid existing rights, or supported by specific, documented and justifiable reasons based on science-based resource conditions, public safety, conflicts among uses, or maintenance/administrative capacity.

-Removal of national minimization criteria. This is likely the most substantive rollback. The current Travel Management Rule's minimization criteria (the standard used to limit routes/areas to what's needed while minimizing resource damage, conflicts, etc.) would be replaced by an access-oriented framework, with designation/closure decisions pushed to local officials based on "documented local conditions."

-Mandatory annual reviews of closed or restricted routes to consider whether they should be reopened.

-Possible removal of two sections in the federal code of regulations that require public participation for road/trail/area designations as well as coordination with federal, state, county, and Tribal governments.

These changes could have significant implications for Mt. Hood NF. In 2010, the forest specifically amended its Forest Plan to implement the 2005 Travel Management Rule’s guidance to move away from an “open unless closed” approach and toward “closed unless designated open,” while prohibiting cross-country motorized travel. That shift was intended to better balance motorized recreation with public safety, non-motorized recreation, wildlife, and other resource concerns.

Bark is reviewing the proposed changes and will be tracking how they could affect travel management on Mt. Hood. Comments are due September 23.

Would the timber revenue from the Roadless Rule rescission financially justify the destruction of the last ecologically ...
09/10/2026

Would the timber revenue from the Roadless Rule rescission financially justify the destruction of the last ecologically intact areas of the national forest system? Of course not! But take a look at just how nonsensical the estimated timber revenue is compared to the outrageous cost of road maintenance is👀

PS: the Roadless Rule Rescission comment period has been extended to October 6th! Check out our comment writing guide here: https://bark-out.org/news/action-alert-comment-on-the-roadless-rule-rescission-by-9-21/

And if you need support writing your comment, join us at Bark HQ on Monday, September 14th at 6pm for a comment writing workshop: https://bark-out.org/event/roadless-rule-comment-writing-workshop/

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351 NE 18th Avenue
Portland, OR
97232

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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