Sources & Further Reading

Project & partner material

• David Mildrexler, PhD / Eastern Oregon Legacy Lands — public comment submitted to the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision (October 2025). The source of the six priority landscapes and the reserve-system recommendations.

• “Logging is a False Solution to Wildfire and Community Safety” — Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project

• Camas to Condors — the Nez Perce-led connectivity partnership in the northern Blue Mountains.

Peer-reviewed science

• Law, B.E., et al. (2021). Strategic Forest Reserves can protect biodiversity in the western United States and mitigate climate change. Communications Earth & Environment. doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00326-0

• Law, B.E., et al. (2022). Strategic Reserves in Oregon’s Forests for Biodiversity, Water, and Carbon to Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.1028401/full

• Mildrexler, D.J., et al. (2023). Protect large trees for climate mitigation, biodiversity, and forest resilience. Conservation Science and Practice. doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12944

• Mildrexler, D.J., et al. (2020). Large trees dominate carbon storage in forests east of the Cascade crest in the United States Pacific Northwest. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change.

• Watson, J.E.M., et al. (2018). The exceptional value of intact forest ecosystems. Nature Ecology & Evolution. doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0490-x

• Bradley, C.M., Hanson, C.T., & DellaSala, D.A. (2016). Does increased forest protection correspond to higher fire severity in frequent-fire forests of the western United States? Ecosphere. doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1492

• Stephenson, N.L., et al. (2014). Rate of tree carbon accumulation increases continuously with tree size. Nature.

• Radeloff, V., et al. (2023). Rising wildfire risk to houses in the United States, especially in grasslands and shrublands. Science.

• Balch, J.K., et al. (2024). The fastest-growing and most destructive fires in the U.S. (2001–2020). Science.

Forests & Water

• DellaSala, D.A., Karr, J.R., & Olson, D.M. (2011). Roadless areas and clean water. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 66(3): 78A–84A. doi.org/10.2489/jswc.66.3.78A

• Hassett, M.O., Fischer, M.W.F., & Money, N.P. (2015). Mushrooms as Rainmakers: How Spores Act as Nuclei for Raindrops. PLOS ONE, 10(10): e0140407. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0140407

• Elbert, W., Taylor, P.E., Andreae, M.O., & Pöschl, U. (2007). Contribution of fungi to primary biogenic aerosols in the atmosphere. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 7: 4569–4588. doi.org/10.5194/acp-7-4569-2007

• Liu, N., et al. (2022). Quantifying the role of National Forest System and other forested lands in providing surface drinking water supply for the conterminous United States. USDA Forest Service GTR-WO-100. Source of the 136-million Americans figure.

• Ellison, D., et al. (2017). Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world. Global Environmental Change, 43: 51–61. doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.01.002 Standard reference on forest–water interactions and moisture recycling.

• Sheil, D. & Murdiyarso, D. (2009). How forests attract rain: an examination of a new hypothesis. BioScience, 59(4): 341–347. Accessible introduction to the biotic-pump hypothesis (Makarieva & Gorshkov).

• Spracklen, D.V., et al. (2012). Observations of increased tropical rainfall preceded by air passage over forests. Nature, 489: 282–285. doi.org/10.1038/nature11390 The classic empirical observation that air over forests yields more downwind rain.

The Forest Plan Revision

• U.S. Forest Service — Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision (Umatilla National Forest): fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla/planning/blue-mountains-forest-plan-revision

• U.S. Forest Service — Blue Mountains Plan Revision (Wallowa-Whitman National Forest): fs.usda.gov/r06/wallowa-whitman/planning/forest-plan/blue-mountains-plan-revision