December 30, 2004

Environmental icon Andy Kerr touts latest book

Staff reports

Author and conservationist, Andy Kerr, will speak on his latest book, "Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness" on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Ashland Public Library, 410 Siskiyou Boulevard.

The program will include a slideshow leading the viewer through the five million acres of unprotected roadless forests that remain in Oregon, stretching from the rain-drenched shores of the Pacific and Coast range, across the snow-covered Cascades to the Blue Mountains, the Wallowas, and Hells Canyon; from the Deschutes, John Day, Malheur, Klamath, Umpqua, Siskiyou, and Rogue basins to the ponderosa pine forests of the Ochoco, Winema, and Fremont.

These roadless public forests shelter ancient trees, protect our cleanest drinking water, and provide superior habitat for fish and wildlife, including many of the Pacific Northwest's last healthy runs of wild salmon, steelhead, and trout, and numerous species of rare and imperiled flora and fauna, according to Kerr.

Their awe-inspiring landscapes provide stunning views, quiet inspiration, and outstanding recreational opportunities.

In "Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness," Kerr describes these wild forests, using 40 maps based on new research, and features 199 stunning color photographs. The book is both a guide and a celebration; which will be treasured by both hikers and nature lovers from Oregon and beyond. The book is published by the Oregon Natural Resources Council.

Kerr has worked for the Oregon Natural Resources Council from when he dropped out of Oregon State University in 1976, until 1996. At ONRC he was first a field organizer, then served as conservation director and then executive director. He now serves as a Senior Counselor to ONRC. He'd rather not think about it, but the author has spent more than three years in Washington, DC - never more than a week at a time - laboring and lobbying on behalf of the wild.

Time magazine labeled Kerr a "White Collar Terrorist," referring to his effectiveness in working within the system and striking fear in the hearts of those who exploit Oregon's natural environment. In the course of his work he has been hung in effigy and received death threats.

The Oregonian's Northwest Magazine characterized him as the timber industry's "most hated man in Oregon." The Lake County Examiner called Kerr "Oregon's version of the Anti-Christ." He participated, by personal invitation of President Clinton, in the Northwest Forest Conference held in Portland in 1993 for which Willamette Week gave Kerr a "No Surrender Award."

He is the founder and director of the Larch Company (a for-profit conservation organization whose membership are species who cannot speak and generations of humans yet born, where all profits are donated to environmental protection, and as a freelance agitator for the wild through writing, consulting, lobbying and public speaking.

Presently, Kerr is also directing the National Public Lands Grazing Campaign (www.publiclandsranching.org; www.permitbuyout.net). He is also a founding board member of the North American Industrial Hemp Council (www.naihc.org). His first book was Oregon Desert Guide: 70 Hikes.

A sixth generation native Oregonian from the recovered mill town of Creswell in the upper Willamette Valley, he now lives in Ashland, a recovered mill town in the upper Rogue Valley with one wife, one dog, one cat, and one horse. Andy Kerr's Web site is www.andykerr.net.

Copies of Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness will be available for purchase for $29.95. The slideshow is free to the public and sponsored by the Northwest Nature Shop, located at 154 Oak street in Ashland. For more information call 482-3241.

According to a back cover blurb from the book: "Only five million acres of unprotected roadless forest remain in Oregon, stretching from the rain drenched shores of the Pacific Ocean and the Coast Range, across the snow covered Cascades to the Blue Mountains, Wallowas and Hells Canyon; and from the Deschutes, John Day, Malheur, Klamath, Umpqua, Siskiyou and Rogue basins, to the ponderosa pine forests of the Ochoco, Winema and Fremont national forests.

"These public forests shelter ancient trees, protect our purest drinking water and provide vital habitat for fish and wildlife, including many of the Pacific Northwest's last healthy runs of wild salmon, steelhead and trout, as well as numerous species of rare and imperiled flora and fauna. These awesome landscapes offer stunning views, quiet inspiration and outstanding recreational opportunities.

"Oregon's unprotected wild forests are currently threatened by development and management policies. Clearcuts, roads and mining operations destroy old-growth forests and degrade water quality, fragment wildlife habitat, diminish fisheries and waste taxpayer dollars.

"Only a small fraction of Oregon's unprotected forests remain intact. Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness describes these precious wild forests with 40 maps and 168 photographs and is designed to inspire readers to join the Oregon Natural Resources Council and conservation partners in steadfast efforts to conserve them. Working together for wilderness protection, we can leave a legacy for future generations to cherish and enjoy."