Coast Range Radio
At Coast Range Radio, we interview folks who work to build just communities that provide for people and the natural world. We are particularly interested in the connections between Pacific Northwest forests, social justice, and the climate crisis.
Coast Range Radio is an independent radio show and podcast hosted by Michael Gaskill. Michael is a lifelong rural Oregonian and climate justice organizer.
Coast Range Radio
Best of (With Updates!): Forest Under Siege, with Author Rand Schenk - Part 2
I’m off this week, so you’re going to hear the second half of one of my favorite interviews, with author and activist Rand Schenk, which I first released in July of 2024.
I loved this conversation, but I feel like it needs a little context at this point, since 2024 seems like a millenia ago, and the fierce arguments forest defenders and policy makers were having about forest management now seem like friendly disagreements.
Obviously our politics have undergone a cascadia megathrust level shift since I recorded this interview, and the politics and management of public lands is very much caught up in that devastation.
Some of the topics we covered, like to what extent the forest service is acting in good vs bad faith feel like moot points, and others, like Biden’s Mature and Old Growth Rule and the Northwest Forest Plan amendment, have been scrapped entirely.
With that said, Rand’s book about the history of the Forest Service is just as relevant today, and gives some important perspective on the changing nature of how we value forests.
And I’d like to think that our conversation still holds some relevance as well, but that’s for you to judge.
Speaking of judging, let me know your verdict on the the show! My email is coastrangeradio@gmail.com, and all of our episodes are available for free on any podcast app.
I am also so grateful to be carried on community radio stations across Oregon and even into Washington. I make this show for free, but local media needs your support now more than ever, so please donate to your community radio station, subscribe to your local paper if you have one, and if you have any goodwill left over, tell your friends about Coast Range Radio.
Finally, stay tuned at the end of the show for a song I recorded a while back with my band, The Road Sodas. If you like it, you can download our music for free at https://www.theroadsodas.com/