June is National Rivers Month, and supporters are calling for greater protections of the Olympic Peninsula's rivers and landscapes.

The Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in Congress would protect more than 126,000 acres as wilderness and designate 19 rivers and their tributaries as wild and scenic.

The legislation has received support from local elected officials, tribes, businesses and conservation groups.

Ashley Nicole Lewis, owner of Bad Ash Fishing on the Olympic peninsula, and a member of the Quinault Nation, explained the value of the designations.

"Protecting these forests, protecting these watersheds are super important culturally," Nicole Lewis emphasized. "Because salmon and steelhead fishing really is the bedrock of my culture as an Indigenous woman, and also as somebody who works in the ecotourism field."

She pointed out rivers in the region are some of the most productive salmon and steelhead waterways in the country.

Nicole Lewis argued safeguarding the landscapes now while they are still in good condition is crucial. She noted the measure will protect fishing, boating and hunting without closing down access to any such opportunities.

"It protects the Olympic Peninsula's ancient forests, free-flowing rivers and salmon streams for the future," Nicole Lewis stressed. "But it also permanently protects some of the last healthy upstream salmon and steelhead habitats left on the peninsula."

Nicole Lewis stated the bill has benefits for the region's endangered orcas as well, which need the salmon from the peninsula's rivers to survive, and believes everyone has a reason to care about it.

"From the point in which a salmon swims up the river, dies, brings nutrients from the ocean into the forest, creates healthy forests, which creates cleaner air," Nicole Lewis outlined. "Every point of this is important and connected to anything that we care about in the Northwest."

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Deforestation remains a concern in the U.S. but success stories are emerging and Minnesota advocates said new achievements bode well for all residents.

The Conservation Fund, which works to preserve natural resources across the country, recently announced it has protected more than 1 million acres of working forest lands across the country, including Minnesota.

Kim Berns-Melhus, Minnesota state director for the fund, said regional examples include the purchase of 72,000 acres in Minnesota from a timber company. She explained they will hold onto the land for the next decade as permanent solutions evolve under public stewardship.

"When land is held in smaller parcels, privately held instead of large tracts, either by the county, the state or in tribal hands, that really limits the ability for the public to use those forests and to enjoy those forests," Berns-Melhus pointed out.

And if sustainable management practices are not used under private ownership, she cautioned the lands become more vulnerable to climate change, with far-reaching environmental fallout, including habitat loss, increased carbon emissions and flooding. Efforts like these come as forests rapidly disappear, with the U.S. losing more than 4 million acres in 2021 alone.

Berns-Melhus acknowledged not all private ownership of forest lands has negative consequences but emphasized they have to be nimble and keep pace with smaller purchase opportunities as they surface so they do not snowball into a loss which is hard to overcome.

She argued forests are part of Minnesota's identity and they do not want it to change.

"Our forests mean a lot to the state of Minnesota and the people of Minnesota in so many different ways," Berns-Melhus stressed. "Conserving these forests is something that Minnesotans see as a priority."

Minnesota is among the Midwest leaders with nearly 35% of its land covered by forests. The Conservation Fund has a specialized program to facilitate land purchases. Commercial development is seen as one of the biggest threats to sections of wilderness and there are predictions as many as 13 million acres in the U.S. will be lost in the coming decades.

Conservation advocates say a new Bureau of Land Management final Environmental Impact Statement takes positive steps toward developing a management plan to conserve public lands in Northwest California.

The Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan will manage more than 380,000 acres in Butte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity counties for at least the next two decades.

John Haschak, vice chair of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, said the plan will help protect both endangered habitat and at-risk communities from the impacts of climate change, including wildfire.

"It provides some of the protections for some of these areas that are very sensitive, like Eden Valley, which is very environmentally fragile areas, and then also the Eel River. It's a wild and scenic river, so just making sure that these are managed properly is very important," he explained.

The lands covered by the plan stretch from the North Coast to the Central Valley and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They include isolated redwood groves, oak woodlands, rivers and streams, and are home to elk, bald eagles, sandhill cranes, salmon and steelhead. BLM officials say the plan is a collaborative effort of communities, Tribes, local governments and other partners.

The BLM's final plan establishes management areas to protect recreational uses, including miles of trails for hikers, hunters, anglers, mountain bikers and equestrians, as well as some of the best non-expert canoeing and kayaking in California.

Steve O'Bryan, owner of Pullins Cyclery in Chico, said he has several decades of experience in the region, and he hopes the management plan will keep it in pristine condition.

"I'm pleased to have been a part, maybe, or have some effect on this decision to preserve the land because I've gotten to utilize it most of my life," he said. "And we need to make concerted efforts to conserve some wild spots for the future generations that are headed our way."

A BLM spokesman said the plan will address changing use patterns, provide a broad array of recreation uses, plans for wilderness management, and will protect wild and scenic rivers and areas of critical environmental concern.


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Recent bouts of heavy rain are not just leading to flooded basements in Minnesota, they are reducing access to state parks just as summer demand picks up.

Officials with the Department of Natural Resources are offering guidance and safety warnings, as quite a few parks have trail closures due to recent flooding and in some cases, park roadways have been washed out. There are also campground closures in some state forest areas.

Sara Berhow, parks and trails public relations supervisor for the agency, acknowledged the timing could not be worse for safety alerts to go out.

"School has just let out in the last two weeks and a lot of families are wanting to get out and do their summer camping trip," Berhow pointed out.

The DNR said it has to put the safety of visitors first. Berhow urged the public to check a park's website before leaving to see the latest updates. When getting to a site, visitors are asked to obey closure signs for affected areas. In some cases, staff may have not been able to inspect all locations. If a flooded area has not yet been closed off, visitors are asked not to go through it.

Berhow noted it has been a while since early-season rains have impacted a larger collection of state park trails. While some areas might already be in the clear from dangerous conditions, she emphasized they will be in wait-and-see mode for certain spots.

"Once the flooding has receded, we'll need to give park staff time to assess those areas, do any cleanup that's necessary and make sure they're safe to reopen," Berhow outlined.

She added they will move as quickly as possible to get outdoor attractions ready for visitors again. As for campers with reservations, they can make changes through the DNR website, if needed, including looking for another campground if the original site they booked is off limits right now.


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