On Monday, April 6, 2026, Greater Hells Canyon Council and Oregon Wild filed a lawsuit challenging the Forest Service’s final decision on the Ellis Integrated Vegetation Project. Without undergoing the required environmental analyses and public engagement, the final decision included sudden and substantial changes to the project that will negatively impact elk and their habitat, and will violate the Umatilla Forest Plan . Speaking on behalf of GHCC, this is not something that

From what we’re seeing so far, 2026 will be a defining year for the future of public lands in our region (and beyond). There are laws governing how even federal agencies can make decisions that could threaten the health of our environment. This process is detailed in the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA.

Across the Greater Hells Canyon Region, roadless landscapes define some of the last truly wild country left in the lower 48. Many of them surround areas designated as Wilderness - Eagle Cap, Hells Canyon, etc., contain precious low-elevation forests, and act as the connective tissue that make up migration corridors. From an outright selloff to easing of regulations, getting public lands into the hands of industry has been a priority of the current administration. Repealing th

PacifiCorp announced to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) in April that the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) transmission line is no longer the “preferred portfolio” in their 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).