Bark

Bark's mission is to transform Mt. Hood National Forest into a place where natural processes prevail, where wildlife thrives and where local communities have a social, cultural, and economic investment in its restoration and preservation.

Bark is a "place-based" organization. This means we focus our advocacy, fieldwork, and public education programs on a specific geographical place. We work to defend and restore Mt. Hood National Forest and surrounding public lands.

Bark was founded as a forest conservation organization. We are working to dismantle white, settler-colonial supremacy in our approach so that we can center environmental justice and decolonize our work to defend and restore Mt. Hood.

Testimonials

* "I loved spending time on Mount Hood with Bark. I hadn't been there in years, and I had never been to the Timothy Lake area. Looking for beaver dams and beaver chew helped me focus more deeply on my surroundings, from the bright red sundew plants to the bony-looking snags around them. Between eating wild berries, getting water in my shoes, and falling face-first into the grass, I made a lot of sensory connections to the land that has left the experience more vivid in my memory. I also learned a lot by talking to Meg and the other volunteers."

* "It was empowering working with others for a common goal. We shared the mindset of conservation and sustainability. I felt like I was making a difference by
participating in the outings. I felt like I was making an effort to save the forest."

* "I was able to connect my new perspective of the land that I gained in class, and implement it in my time in the forest. As I was walking, I was conscious of the plants and my surroundings. I noticed plants and beings I would have never noticed before. I felt the energy of the forest and the nature around me. I saw the land in a different light. I found a new beauty in nature I haven't seen before. I see myself becoming more connected to the land."

* "I feel like I mostly live for myself, but when I'm doing work in the trees I
feel like I'm working to something greater; protecting trees from a timber sale,
discovering a peat bog, or finding a spot for beavers to be re-introduced. I think
Bark is an organization I want to continue working with."

* "I feel like before doing this I would've felt too nervous or out of place to do something like this on my own. But, after doing it I feel more confident in my ability to go by myself. I'm also excited because before this it had been awhile since I've been outside in this capacity and it felt good to do that again, there's almost a freeness in doing it."