Today’s episode is part two of my interview with Rand Schenk, author of a great new book on history of the Forest Service, its founder, Gifford Pinchot, and over 100 years of forest management and mismanagement in the Pacific Northwest.

The book, “Forest Under Siege: The Story of Old Growth After Gifford Pinchot”,  chronicles the Forest Service’s progressive populist origins, how it abandoned its founding mission of conservation and drove our old growth forests to the brink of extinction, and how, or if, the agency is entering a new restoration ecology era.

In part one of our interview, which you can find on the podcast feed of Coast Range Radio or at coastrange.org, we covered the story of the forest service from its humble beginnings through the era of hubris and destruction, and ended that episode with the creation of the Northwest Forest Plan. 

On today’s episode, we really get into the big questions around how the Forest Service wants to manage National Forests for the next generation, whether they can be trusted, and how we can protect our public lands right now.   

On that note, I’ll be joined by Coast Range Association’s Executive Director, Chuck Willer, for an update on our campaign to protect Mature and Old Growth in the Siuslaw National Forest, so stick around for that!  Learn more at https://coastrange.org/actnow/

Forest Under Siege is available at local bookstores throughout the northwest, and you can order a copy online by searching for Forest Under Siege.

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