Conservation Alliance grantee Central Oregon LandWatch has succeeded in its campaign to secure a protective designation for the 500,000-acre Metolius River Basin in Central Oregon. The new protections halts two proposed destination resort developments, and ensures a permanent ban on such developments in the future. LandWatch won these protections when the Oregon legislature passed a bill declaring the Metolius Basin an "Area of Critical Statewide Concern." The Metolius is legendary for its fly fishing, and for its headwaters, which literally spring from the ground at the base of Black Butte.

Click here for the full story from The Oregonian.

A group of Conservation Alliance board and staff members visited the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge last week, exploring a spectacular Wilderness that is threatened by proposed oil and gas development. The group -- including board members Adam Forest, Sally McCoy, and Steve Barker, and staffer John Sterling -- floated the Canning River from the Brooks Range north to the Arctic coastal plain. The trip was organized by Zumiez founder Tom Campion, a champion of Arctic protection. The group encountered grizzlies, wolves, musk oxen, thousands of caribou, and a range of birds.

Click here to check out photos and video from the trip.