Andy Kerr

Conservationist, Writer, Analyst, Operative, Agitator, Strategist, Tactitian, Schmoozer, Raconteur

Figure 1. There is a difference between conventional (business as usual) forestry and that kind of forestry practiced on a Forest Stewardship Council-certified forestland (see below). Source: Forest Stewardship Council.

Certified Wood from National Forests? No. Make That Hell No!

April 12, 2019 in Federal Lands, Forest Service, Forestry, National Forest System, Private Lands

When one has to consume tree flesh, more commonly known as wood, it’s best to use wood certified as coming from a responsibly managed forest. However, one person’s definition of responsibleis another person’s nightmare. Whether forest management is a nightmare or a dream depends on both the reference point one starts with and who owns the land.

Where the Buffalo Roam

December 21, 2018 in Bureau of Land Management, Ecological Reserves, Federal Lands, Grasslands, Livestock Grazing, National Monuments, National Wildlife Refuges, Private Lands, State Lands, Wild and Scenic Rivers

Grasslands get little respect. So easily are they converted to agriculture that grasslands are the least protected biome on Earth.

Wolves of the Minam Pack. Source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

The Public’s Wolves on Public Lands

April 20, 2018 in Wildlife, Private Lands, National Wildlife Refuges, Bureau of Land Management, Wilderness

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) recently issued its annual report on Oregon wolves. It contains great, good, bad, ugly and troubling news.

Defensible Space: The Best and Only Hope for the Homeowner In or Near a Forest

January 12, 2018 in Federal Lands, Forest Fires, Forest Service, Private Lands

If one is going to live in or near a forest, one assumes a higher risk of fire. The best way to minimize that risk is to seriously and continually create and maintain defensible space. It’s not cheap. If it were, it would have been done already.

Energy Exploitation on Federal Public Lands? Not!

October 27, 2017 in Bureau of Land Management, Administration, Department of Interior, Energy, Keep it in the Ground, Private Lands

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and I don’t agree on most public lands issues, including greater sage-grouse, national monuments, fossil fuel energy exploitation, and endangered species to name a few. But we do agree on at least one matter: Solar panels don’t belong on public lands.... While photovoltaic panels can happily and profitably live on roofs in town, bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, and sage-grouse cannot.

Federal Payments to Timber-Addicted Counties

June 02, 2017 in Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Forest System, Private Lands

In 1927, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes noted, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” The timber-addicted counties need to become more civilized.

Public Lands Blog

Blog Posts by Category

A ~1,000-word weekly exposition on some aspect of federal or state public lands in the United States. Some blog posts goes rather deep and serve as a useful (I hope) backgrounders on particular public land areas, matters or issues. Other weeks, you’ll find a topical piece addressing a public lands controversy of the moment. This blog not only defends, but also extols, public lands.

Andy Kerr of The Larch Company (www.andykerr.net) splits his time between Ashland, OR and Washington, DC. He has been significantly involved in the enactment of more than 25 pieces of federal and state legislation and in copious litigation pertaining to public lands. Dedicated to the conservation and restoration of nature, The Larch Company is a non-membership for-profit organization that represents species that cannot talk and humans not yet born. A deciduous conifer, the western larch has a contrary nature.

If you wish to contact me, I will probably be glad you did.