Andy Kerr

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

Jordan Craters

Malheur County Federal Land Legislation Take 4, Part 1: The Good, the Whatever, and the Bad

July 24, 2023 in 30x30, Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Counties & Federal Lands, Deserts, Federal Lands, Legislation, Livestock Grazing, Other Federal Agencies, Wilderness

With a few critical tweaks, Senator Wyden’s legislation could be a net gain for the conservation of nature for the benefit of this and future generations. Without those tweaks, the bill as drafted is an existential threat to the conservation of federal public lands and should not be enacted into law.

Senator Wyden’s Owyhee Wilderness, and More, Legislation

October 03, 2022 in 30x30, Congress, Bureau of Land Management, Livestock Grazing, National Monuments, Wilderness

third try may be the charm in Senator Wyden’s long effort to enact public lands legislation to conserve wildlands in the Owyhee and lower Malheur Basins in Oregon.

National Parks in Oregon, Part 4: Will the Inertia Continue?

May 15, 2020 in Bureau of Land Management, Antiquities Act, Congress, Federal Lands, National Monuments, National Park Service, National Park System, National Parks

I am bearish on the prospect of establishing any new national parks in Oregon, save perhaps one that would be a hell of a long shot. I am semi-bullish on the possibility of modest additions to Oregon’s only national park. But I am bullish on the chances of designating several new National Park System units in Oregon.

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.