Coast Range Radio

So I was all set to release a really thought provoking set of interviews exploring the highly controversial plan to kill thousands of Barred Owls every year in a hail mary effort to save the spotted owl from extinction... But I just learned this week about an incredibly consequential bill quietly sneaking its way through congress, and time is of the essence on this one so the barred owl debate will have to wait.The so-called Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (or “BAAJA”) is framed as an effort to accelerate permitting for infrastructure projects, including renewable energy.But environmentalists and climate organizations and activists, including no less than Bill McKibben, say it would likely have the opposite effect, entrenching fossil fuel projects for years or decades to come and further eviscerating environmental protection in order to do so.The Western Environmental Law Center, also known as WELC, is one of the groups sounding the alarm about this bill, which Republicans could sneak through after the elections.To learn all about BAAJA and what we can do to stop it, I’m joined by WELC’s executive director, Erik Schlenker-Goodrich.Say hello! Send feedback to [email protected], we respond to every email.Show notes:https://westernlaw.org/WELC Analysis of BAAJA: https://westernlaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026.10.23-BAAJA-Policy-Analysis.pdfBill McKibben Substack on why we need clean energy fast, but this bill is not the answerhttps://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/

Wes Siler, author of the creatively named “Wes Siler’s Newsletter”, recently published a series of articles on the Trump administration’s secret plot to gut the National Parks, and I’m delighted to have him on the show today. We’re also going to get into his thoughts on the forest service, the roadless rule, and the opportunity this moment of crisis provides us.https://wessiler.substack.com/p/leaked-documents-reveal-trumps-planhttps://wessiler.substack.com/p/on-public-lands-could-chaos-be-aAnd if you’re hearing this by October 6th, you still have time to make your voice heard on the Trump Administration’s proposal to repeal the so called “Roadless Rule”, which protects over 45 million acres of public land from commercial extraction.  Go to roadless.org for a guided comment writing tool.Our email is [email protected]://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/

I’m joined today by Aya Cockram from the Breach Collective and Dylan Plummer of the Sierra Club to talk about the Eugene Clean Energy Fund, or ballot measure 20-388.The Eugene Clean Energy Fund is modeled after the wildly successful Portland Clean Energy Fund, and would impose a small tax on mega corporations to help fund clean energy projects in Eugene.But whether or not you live in Eugene, the Eugene Clean Energy Fund is absolutely worth following and getting involved with.  We spend so much time fighting to stop bad things from happening, it is inspiring to see meaningful progressive policies that will actually make a difference in people’s lives.https://www.eugenecleanenergyfund.org/I would love to hear what you think of the show, and what you want us to cover, and who we should be talking with!  Email me at [email protected]://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/

If you are hearing this before September 21st and you care about public lands, they need you to act!The Trump Administration is attempting to open 45 million acres of protected public lands to destructive road building, logging, and mining, by repealing something called the Roadless Rule.This has fortunately gotten a lot of press, but if you aren’t familiar, here;s a quick primer:Since 2001, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (or simply The Roadless Rule) has protected over 45 million acres of public lands, and the wildlife that rely on them, from commercial exploitation. There are about 4 million acres of forests covered by the Roadless Rule in Oregon and Washington alone, including iconic Oregon landmarks like Larch Mountain, Iron Mountain, Mt. Hebo, and many more.I am re-airing part of an interview I did with Len Montgomery, Director of Environment America's Great Outdoors Campaign and one of the leaders of the coalition to protect the Roadless Rule.Len and I get into all the reasons that you should take action to help us protect the Roadless Rule from Trump and his fascist goons, but it all boils down to this:The administration had a legally required comment period open until September 21st, and we need your help creating an absolutely massive show of resistance.I know comment periods are not exactly storming the beaches of Normandy, but they are incredibly important for helping inevitable lawsuits, discrediting the administration’s actions, and showing politicians that public lands are a winning issue.So whether or not you listen to the rest of this show, please go to one of the following websites TODAY and submit a comment telling Trump to keep his disgusting hands off public lands:If you just want to sign a quick petition, great! Go to https://saveroadlessforests.com/. You’ll be done in less than a minute and no one will collect your information unless you give them permission.If you want to check out a truly amazing resource that will help you create your own unique comment, go to https://roadless.org/. Roadless.org has maps, research, an interactive comment writing guide, and everything you need to write a brief and passionate or deeply researched and nerdy comment.The deadline to comment is September 21st, but again, TODAY, not tomorrow, but TODAY, go to saveroadlessforests.com to sign the petition or roadless.org to write a detailed comment.  Like I said, no organizations will keep your information unless you give them permission.Ok, my email is [email protected], let’s learn more about the roadless rule with Len Montgomery!https://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/

Have you ever heard of a June Hog?? June Hogs were legendary, gigantic summer run Chinook salmon that could weigh up to 100 pounds on their way up the Columbia river. These days, the average Chinook caught on the Columbia weighs between 10 and 20 pounds.  So what happened to these giants?You may be familiar with some of the reasons: dams, overfishing, habitat destruction, climate change, and hatchery fish. But what about where the fish are caught?I’m joined today by Misty MacDuffee of Raincoat Conservation Foundation and Nick Gayeski with the Wild Fish Conservancy to talk about new research of theirs examining the effects of ocean based fishing on Chinook size and populations.Please take just a minute and leave us a rating and review, and share this show with a friend or two!  Thank you :)Show Notes:https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-49054-5https://www.raincoast.org/2026/06/how-harvesting-chinook-shrink-size-106500/https://www.newsdata.com/clearing_up/environment/study-ocean-fishing-reduces-chinook-size-sustainability/article_024b1c2a-83d0-4a53-908d-559d08b5d2fb.htmlhttps://wildfishconservancy.org/staff/dr-nick-gayeski/https://www.raincoast.org/team/misty-macduffee/https://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/

Let’s talk about something hopeful for a change!The ongoing renewable energy revolution is probably one of the most under-reported narratives in the story of climate change, and the American west is a literal hot bed for one of the most important green energy innovations - geothermal power.Geothermal power taps into the functionally limitless energy generated by earth’s molten core.  It  uses a fraction of the space that other green technologies like wind and solar require, and delivers the holy grail of renewable power - steady, 24/7 baseload capacity.So what’s the true potential of geothermal power in the Northwest, are the environmental concerns, and what are the barriers to deploying geothermal at the speed and scale we need?To answer all these questions and more, we reached out to Dr. Adam Schultz. Adam is a professor of earth sciences at Oregon State University, as well as the founder of Enthalpian Energy, a geothermal consulting and engineering company.Today’s episode comes via Coast Range Radio volunteer co-host Griffin Reim, who will be leading most of the interview. Send me your questions, critiques, book recommendations, and guest ideas at [email protected] Notes:Enthalpian Energy: https://enthalpion.com/index.html https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/06/super-hot-rocks-geothermal-technology-renewable-energy-three-rivers-mazama/https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/12/oregon-washington-green-energy-bonneville/https://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/

Amidst the barrage of direct attacks that the Trump administration and their allies have been waging on public lands and the environment, you’d be forgiven for missing a potentially seismic shift in the Forest Service.On March 31st of this year (2026), the US Department of Agriculture, the agency which the Forest Service is a part of, quietly announced a dramatic restructuring of the agency which manages almost 200 million acres of public land.Responses have ranged from ‘Trump is destroying the Forest Service and we need to save it’, to ‘this isn’t that big a deal’, to ‘RIP and good riddance, Forest Service’!So to understand what is actually happening with this so-called “reorganization” and the real implications it could have for public lands, I’m joined by Kevin Hood, Executive Director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics.My email is [email protected], reach out anytime and let me know what you think of the show!Show Notes:FSEEE: https://nationalforestadvocates.org/USDA Press Release: https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/newsroom/releases/usda-prioritizing-common-sense-forest-management-moves-foresthttps://www.andykerr.net/public-lands-blog/the-death-and-rebirth-of-the-forest-serviceMore concerned perspective: https://morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/breaking-trump-administration-ordersLess concerned perspective: https://wessiler.substack.com/p/the-sky-is-not-falling-on-the-foresthttps://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/

Today’s show features the second half of a fascinating conversation I had with Patrick Hunnicutt, Assistant Professor of Environmental Administration at the University of Oregon.Patrick is the co author of a yet to be published research project called Poisoning the Well: Process, recognition, and opposition to environmental policy in rural America.His research argues that grievances rooted in procedural injustice, for instance, the perception of resource extraction dependent communities that they are excluded from meaningful participation in land management decisions affecting them, is a key and overlooked factor in rural resentment and environmental obstructionism.This is one of my favorite conversations I’ve had in a long time, and while Patrick and I disagree in places, I think the arguments he makes are so important for environmentalists to grapple with.Today in part two, we get into lessons the environmental community can learn from the history of the Timber Wars, why supporting rural timber workers is good strategy, and a lot more. Patrick's Book Recommendations:Rise of the American Conservation Movement: https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-rise-of-the-american-conservation-movementAnatomy of a Conflict: https://www.ubcpress.ca/anatomy-of-a-conflictStrong Winds and Widowmakers: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p086823https://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/

My guest today is Patrick Hunnicutt, Assistant Professor of Environmental Administration at the University of Oregon.Patrick is the co author of a yet to be published research project called Poisoning the Well: Process, recognition, and opposition to environmental policy in rural America.His research argues that grievances rooted in procedural injustice, for instance, the perception of resource extraction dependent communities that they are excluded from meaningful participation in land management decisions affecting them, is a key and overlooked factor in rural resentment and environmental obstructionism.This one of my favorite conversations I’ve had in a long time, and went a bit long. So I’m going to share the whole interview, spread out over two episodes.In part 1, we’ll go deep on Patrick’s research, his impression of the fights around Oregon’s State Forests, and how exclusionary public processes foster divides and resentment.As always, I would love to hear your thoughts about the show.  My email is [email protected], please reach out anytime.https://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/

Oregon forests recently got a big win in court.Earlier this month, a US District Court Judge ruled that the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, had broken the law during the planning of its so-called “Blue and Gold” timber sale, and threw out the entire project.The “Blue and Gold” is a nearly 3,500 acre tract of mature and old-growth forest on the eastern slopes of the Coast Range between Eugene and Roseburg.I actually visited the Blue and Gold forest a couple years ago. It was immediately clear that it was a special place deserving of protection, and I’m grateful to the organizers, lawyers, and activists who worked for years to do just that.I think it’s always worth taking time to celebrate our victories.But the details of the BLM’s behavior in pushing this timber sale were shocking, and I wanted to make sure that the details of their actions don’t get lost, especially as they prepare to radically change their management plans to maximize industrial timber harvest at the behest of the Trump administration.So I invited Nick Cady, Legal Director for Cascadia Wildlands to talk with me about the lawsuit, why he thinks the BLM is unfit to manage public land, and why he is so optimistic about defeating Trump’s maximum logging agenda.I would love to hear your thoughts, email me anytime at [email protected]://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/