Public Forests as Climate Refuges (with Rick Bass, Yaak Valley Forest Council)

On episode 87 of the Green Root Podcast—the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance—we celebrate the campaign to protect public forests as climate refuges with Rick Bass, Executive Director of the Yaak Valley Forest Council.

Host Josh Schlossberg talks with Rick Bass about his organization’s work defending the uniquely biodiverse Yaak Valley in northwestern Montana; their success in stopping (for now) the U.S. Forest Service’s “Black Ram” old-growth logging project; their strategy to turn the eco-region into a Climate Refuge connected to a globe-spanning “Curtain of Green”; the creation of an acoustic guitar from an ancient spruce (damaged by Forest Service roadbuilding) as an advocacy tool; and the role of music and storytelling in fostering a culture of nature lovers.  

The mission of Eco-Integrity Alliance (eco-integrityalliance.org) is to unite U.S. grassroots ecosystem advocates through common campaigns of mutual support.