Join us for our biweekly Community Potluck Dinners and Music Jam Sessions at Mountain Brook Community Library*, 2353 Foothill Road.

The sessions are open to all skill levels and to those wishing to listen rather than play.

We meet on alternating Sundays, with exceptions for holidays and other events, so check the list of dates below for upcoming sessions.

Potluck begins at 5 pm, followed by acoustic music until 8:30 or 9:00.

Upcoming music:

December 18
January 8
January 22
February 5
February 19
March 4
March 18
April 1 (no fooling)
April 15
April 29
May 13
May 27
June 10
June 24
July 8
July 22

*Library rental fees go to restore the historic Mountain Brook Schoolhouse next door.

Words from our supporters!

We issue our Newsletter 3-5 times per year and post a link to view or download it on this web page, along with occasional Action Alerts. Or, you can Subscribe to receive our Newsletter and occasional Action Alerts automatically.

What We Work For:

• To conserve the Peace and Quiet essential to public health and the health of our native ecosystems.
• To ensure timber sale programs on public lands truly sustain water quality, fish and wildlife.
• To pursue these goals through public education and public involvement whenever possible, and through administrative appeals and litigation when necessary.

The snow is light and muffles the sound of movement.

It’s the first snowshoe and cross-country ski trip of the season for the Swan Rangers hiking group. Keith Hammer, who started the weekly hiking group in 2005, said they usually are snowshoeing and cross-country skiing by mid- to late December.

“This year, it’s like we’re at least a month late,” Hammer said. “There’s a lot of trails that up to a few days ago were bare.”

Read the full Bigfork Eagle article.

Bigfork Eagle photo by Camillia Lanham

In research just published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Oregon State University scientists conclude that even in fire-prone forests, it’s necessary to treat about 10 locations to influence fire behavior in one. There are high carbon losses associated with fuel treatment and only modest savings in reducing the severity of fire, they found.

“Some researchers have suggested that various levels of tree removal are consistent with efforts to sequester carbon in forest biomass, and reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels,” said John Campbell, an OSU research associate in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society. “That may make common sense, but it’s based on unrealistic assumptions and not supported by the science.”

Even if wood removed by thinning is used for biofuels it will not eliminate the concern. Previous studies at OSU have indicated that, in most of western Oregon, use of wood for biofuels will result in a net loss of carbon sequestration for at least 100 years, and probably much longer.

Read the OSU press release here.

Download the research paper here.

Under the guise of “National Security and Federal Lands Protection,” the Act by that name would do anything BUT protect federal lands!

Indeed, Act co-sponsor Denny Rehberg brags the Act will allow the Border Patrol to re-open roads other agencies have rightly closed to motor vehicles in order to protect water quality, fish and wildlife. Rehberg falsely claims people cannot hunt, fish or hike on roads closed to motor vehicles! Read Rehberg’s claims here.

HR 1505 would exempt Customs and Border Protection agents from 36 laws written to protect the public, its lands, and its fish and wildlife within 100 miles of the US-Canada and US-Mexico borders. (Including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act)!

Rehberg’s promotion of the Act appears to use the Border Patrol to undo environmental protections and expand access for ATVs and other motor vehicles, ignoring the clear fact that such access makes drug smuggling, poaching and other illegal activities easier.

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