Earth’s Tree News 116

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Today for you we have 37 news items from: British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Michigan, Illinois, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Carolina, West Virginia, USA, Canada, Russia, Colombia, Brazil, India, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and World-wideBritish Columbia: 1) 'This government is setting us up for a war in the woods market backlash, the likes of which we've never seen and it's just starting," said Simpson last Thursday. He was in Ladysmith as part of a tour of Vancouver Island. "It's only going to take a few video shots and pictures of those logging practices on the world wide web," he said. Simpson points to buildup of waste left on the ground due to lax utilization standards that allow logging companies to decide what they want to take and pay for what they leave behind on Crown land. It's cheaper just to drop it on the ground, avoiding hauling costs and waste buildup in mill yards, he said. Apart from wasting a valuable resource, this debris poses a significant fire hazard. On private lands, the story is different, but no rosier. Simpson maintains that private forests are being liquidated for cash for log exports and for development, particularly on Southern Vancouver Island. "If you want some interesting bedtime reading, go online and get the annual reports of Timberwest and Island Timberland because they make no bones about the fact that they are land developers first and log exports come second. Both companies have indicated that over the next three to five years they're going to accelerate their cut," said Simpson. He said that the Forest Act is so weak now there's not a lot the Forests minister can do to control bad practices. "I've stood in cutblocks up to my shoulders in waste. What does that do for wildlife, water quality, biodiversity and the next crop?" he asks. http://www.ladysmithchronicle.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=18 & cat=23 & id=695309 & more=

2) It's easy to celebrate the technologies that will serve as tools in a better version of the world. But there's no substitute for forests. And no matter how much analysis is applied to an issue, scientific facts alone don't always win arguments. Neither do tree-sits, direct actions, or boycotts - especially when livelihoods and massive corporate profits are on the line. Working to preserve land is a fundamentally human concern. It has a lot to do with how people get along. Here, then, is the activist's challenge: while you may always have to generate attention - make noise, pull in the media, sit in trees - to really win you'll eventually have to switch gears, and balance politics and economics with local interests and personalities. Including your own. There's no hacking or leapfrogging this process. All of the people that I've spoken to who've been involved in the Great Bear project over the last ten years have been forthright about the long and hard work involved. My friend Darcy Riddell, who worked on the campaign at various points over the last decade, looks at the Great Bear project through the lens of integral ecology. Put simply, she points out that enormous systemic change demanded more than just protests or boycotts, or even dialogue or negotiation. It needed people who saw themselves as solution-builders instead of just outside agitators; it needed a plan to support the flourishing of First Nations communities; and it needed new tactics that pushed the influence of markets. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/004716.html3) On the northern tip of the Island Cape Scott Park, after a serious four-hour hike at the end of the logging roads, provides incredible sandy beaches and rugged coastlines with a stunted and deformed bog forest. If you want to drive right up to the campsite and experience similar coastline try Raft Cove Marine Park in the same area. Schoen Lake Park is a hidden gem tucked between three spectacular mountains that was protected from logging through the efforts of some very committed people in the early 1970s. In the 1990s, logging companies were allowed to blast a logging road through the park to access publicly owned forest land. The forest around the lake is intact. Time and time again provincial parks have been compromised. Strathcona Park, the first provincial park established in 1911, is a prime example. It is still the largest park on Vancouver Island but has not maintained anything like the pristine wilderness status that was intended by both the public and government of the day. Compromises or corruption, depending who is delivering the speech, have allowed industrial use of the land inside the park for the profit of a few corporations. A zinc mine, logging, industrial roads, and a highway have all been allowed to eat into the land mass of Strathcona Park. Portions of the park have been taken away from the initial boundaries in exchange for smaller parks. Environment Minister Barry Penner, whether he listened to public concerns or made up his mind independently, came to the right decision to order the removal of a house built inside the park boundary of Squitty Bay Provincial Park. The public can only hope that his decision marks the turning over of a new leaf for the Liberal government. Perhaps his ruling in that case will set a precedent so that no private developments will be allowed in the future in any provincial park throughout British Columbia? http://www.pqbnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=50 & cat=46 & id=694367 & more=

4) My favorite destination for the past10 years has been Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park established after thousands of British Columbians demanded its protection. Half-way between Bamfield and Port Renfrew, these two valleys provide some of the most spectacular trees on the planet, within a three-hour drive of Oceanside. Biologists have determined that this area has the highest biomass on earth, even greater than the rainforest found in the Amazon basin. The Carmanah trails and campgrounds are maintained by contractors for BC Parks while the Walbran trails were built by volunteers. The Carmanah is home to the tallest Sitka Spruce in the world and provides an incredible look at a westcoast temperate rainforest. Giant Sitka, six metres around and up to a hundred metres tall, burst out from the lush undergrowth towering over trees of many species and sizes. Their trunks, covered with moss and lichens of a multitude of colours, stand straight and true with no branches until a height of 50 metres. The dense canopy provides aerial gardens, rich with ferns, huckleberry and a variety of other fauna. Rivers wind their way through both valleys in this park which is a true wonder rain or shine. The Walbran Valley provides many more gigantic Pacific Red Cedar which split into multi-topped candelabras. Waterfalls and a small lake highlight this rich valley bottom-forest. Unfortunately, the upper portion of the Walbran Valley is outside of the park, as are many of the largest cedar in an area dubbed 'castle grove' where one tree measures 18 metres in circumference. Logging continues unabated. The Walbran Valley provides many more gigantic Pacific Red Cedar which split into multi-topped candelabras. Waterfalls and a small lake highlight this rich valley bottom-forest. Unfortunately, the upper portion of the Walbran Valley is outside of the park, as are many of the largest cedar in an area dubbed 'castle grove' where one tree measures 18 metres in circumference. Logging continues unabated. http://www.pqbnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=50 & cat=46 & id=694367 & more=

Washington:5) Thirty years ago, White was among the Whidbey Island residents who fought to preserve the 255 acres of towering trees known as the Classic U forest. The controversy got so heated that activists blocked bulldozers from building roads through the trees and filed a lawsuit to stop the forest from being logged. Now, she and other people who were in the 1977 battle worry that the sale of 7.3 acres of private land that borders part of the Classic U will restrict access to the forest. " It's sort of like the sacred cow that's been threatened here, " said White, 61, who lives in Langley. The 0.8-mile Wilbert Trail leading from Smugglers Cove Road to the Classic U crosses the private parcel that's now for sale. The trail is well-used by park visitors and provides easy access to a nearby giant Western red cedar that stands hundreds of feet tall and 27 feet in circumference. White also worries that if the private land is sold and logged, some old-growth trees on park land would be at risk for wind damage and other ecological imbalances. The current owner said she can no longer afford the taxes on the land and is looking for a buyer who will preserve the forest. The State Parks Department has been interested in buying the land for years, but says it doesn't have the money and is looking for help. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003144271_forest22m.htmlOregon:

6) Yesterday, June 24th, The Mount Hood Stewardship Legacy Act (HR 5025) was passed by the United States House of Representatives. This bill would create 77,500 acres of new Wilderness and 25 miles of Wild & Scenic Rivers, including the rugged backcountry of the Roaring River watershed, 1000-year-old cedar trees in Big Bottom, and the wild whitewater of the South Fork Clackamas River. HR 5025 is the first Wilderness bill for the Mount Hood area since 1984, and Oregon's first forest Wilderness bill since 1996. Your calls and letters helped to make this possible - THANK YOU SO MUCH! There is still much work to be done. Now that legislation has passed the House, attention turns to the US Senate. Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith both support new Wilderness on Mount Hood and are crafting legislation now. They need to hear from you. Oregon Natural Resources Council has praised HR 5025, but looks to the Senate to expand Wilderness and Wild & Scenic River protection to stunning forests and waters that have immense local support. In a statement to the news media released earlier today, ONRC Executive Director Regna Merritt explained that: "Fifty years from now, future generations will thank us for the wild places we set aside and protect as a legacy. We hope the Senate is able to build on the momentum and include protections for important natural treasures not included in the House bill." http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/70043233397) "Our land-use lawyers have determined that this can be a simple process," says Rob Fussell, chief of staff to County Chairwoman Diane Linn. "If there is an emergency, the Forest Service can call the port and say, 'Cut the trees down, we need to land our planes.'" Chainsaw-wielding work crews could take the trees down in two to three days, Fussell says. Normally, he adds, it takes time anyway for the airport to gear up for firefighting operations. About 300 to 500 cottonwood trees currently are obstructing the flight path at the airport, which has been used in the past as a critical base for air tankers that battle forest fires. Because of local, state and federal land-use and environmental regulations, the proposed removal of those trees has been delayed for months. Forest Service officials and others are worried that, as the Northwest's peak forest-fire season arrives, the air tankers must be diverted to airports farther away. http://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/story.php?story_id=1153859134521794008) The Giant Spruce stands at a height of more than 185 feet from its 40-foot diameter base. Concrete staircases have been constructed on either side to let visitors circumnavigate the landmark as it juts from the hillside near the creek bank, and agile admirers may opt to crawl underneath the behemoth through a tunnel in the root system - partly a result of the Christmas flood of 1964 that washed away much of the bank. At an estimated age of 565 to 585 years old, the Giant Spruce is acknowledged by area foresters as the oldest and largest tree in the Cape Perpetua Regional Scenic Area. As it approaches its 600th birthday, the Giant Sitka Spruce at Cape Perpetua, affectionately known as the " Silent Sentinel of the Siuslaw, " has been designated as an Oregon Heritage Tree through the Oregon Heritage Tree Program, a registry that recognizes, protects and promotes trees of historical significance as important to the heritage of Oregon communities. The Giant Spruce at Cape Perpetua is the first Lincoln County tree to be included in the program. The campaign to secure Heritage Tree designation for the Giant Spruce was spearheaded by Yachats residents Sally Lockyear and Joanne Kittel, who compiled extensive information documenting the tree's role in the region's history. " It was Sally's dream of many years to have the Giant Spruce become an Oregon Heritage Tree, " noted Kittel. " Sally, a self-taught naturalist, knew how special not only the Giant Spruce is, but how unique and special its surrounding ecosystem is. It was Sally's quiet determination that led to pulling together this nomination. " http://www.newportnewstimes.com/articles/2006/07/21/news/news01.txtCalifornia: 9) Congress is returning to the political thicket of Sierra Nevada logging. A San Joaquin Valley lawmaker wants to speed logging on several Sierra Nevada forests. Environmentalists say they fear for the fate of the Giant Sequoia National Monument and vulnerable species. Soon, House members will have to sort out the renewed conflict. " We need legislation to clear this up, " said U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia. On Thursday, a House subcommittee will conduct the first hearing into Nunes' controversial logging legislation. Newly minted but months in the making, the bill would essentially streamline several timber projects on the Sequoia and Sierra national forests. Some of the logging would be on the 327,769-acre Giant Sequoia National Monument, established by President Clinton in April 2000. Some would be part of what's called the Kings River Project, a nearby forest thinning and restoration plan covering 131,500 acres on the Sierra National Forest. For Nunes and representatives of Sierra Forest Products near Porterville, the legislation is a reasonable way to keep forests healthy and sawmill workers employed. " If they are not able to harvest the timber, the plant is going to close, which is sad, " Nunes said. But for environmentalists, the bill represents an end to necessary forest protections. " Mr. Nunes apparently wants all (legal) challenges to end and wants to allow the extraction of trees up to 30 inches in diameter to be allowed without being concerned about any other laws, " said Selma resident and environmental activist Richard Kangas. http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/15104662.htm10) Environmental groups planned to file a challenge today to the blueprint guiding the four national forests in Southern California, arguing it lacks teeth to protect trees, soil and wildlife and might increase the scale of fires. Coming on the heels of a similar appeal by Gov. Schwarzenegger's administration last week, the groups say the U.S. Forest Service's 15-year management plan for the San Bernardino, Cleveland, Angeles and Los Padres national forests will harm rather than help sustain their natural resources. The plan, they said, paves the way for construction of more roads and a hydroelectric plant in the Cleveland that could flood a pristine canyon. " They're increasing the activities they know are causing damage, " said Monica Bond, a biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. The group, based in Joshua Tree, planned to file the appeal along with the Sierra Club and seven other groups. Matt Mathes, a regional Forest Service spokesman, said officials struggled to balance competing uses in the heavily used forests when they issued their final plan last September. Mathes said the plan opens about 25 percent of roadless areas to limited off-roading and firefighting routes. " What we're attempting to do is close user-created routes and replacing that spaghetti-like network with one well-constructed loop trail that will take care of the (recreational) demand, " he said. The plan also zoned part of the Cleveland National Forest to allow a hydroelectric plant to flood Morrell Canyon, the appeal said, although Mathes said the project must undergo an environmental review first. http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_plans19.1fdb79e.html

11) The residents of Elkwood Street joke that the name of their cul-de-sac should be Falling Limbs Lane. Every summer, the muscular branches of the hulking liquidambars planted decades ago by the city have sagged lower as they've aged and gotten heavier. But this summer's unrelenting heat has sparked an epidemic of limbs that snap off with exhaustion, crashing onto front lawns and car hoods. The sound of tree branches falling in Los Angeles' urban forest is being heard loud and clear, along with residents' complaints, officials said. The city's Bureau of Street Services has received 3,800 emergency calls for fallen tree limbs this summer, a 50-percent increase over last year, said William Robertson, director of Bureau of Street Services. Most of those calls are from the San Fernando Valley, which has experienced a record-breaking heat wave. " It's referred to as summer limb drop syndrome, " Robertson said. " Normally during the summer, there's branch failure. We're aware of it, and we prepare for it every year, but we've never experienced this (many) before. " The city spends about $5 million annually for tree trimming, plus $1.3 million more to outside contractors. That level of service means a city-owned tree gets trimmed every eight years, Robertson said. " The unfortunate thing is not only do we have the largest urban forest in the United States, but we are the most diverse, " Robertson said. " Many of those species require trimmings every two to three years. We can only trim so many trees so many years. We would love to trim a tree every three years. " http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_4081620Idaho:12) The bill will be considered under a suspension of House rules, a maneuver that roiled environmentalists who oppose the measure. The parliamentary move, often reserved for non-controversial measures, prohibits amendments and streamlines voting with a quick voice count. " There are zero business days between the announcement of this and the vote. That means zero days for House members to educate themselves, " [Carole] King said Saturday. " It's bending the rules to ram it through and I think that's because Simpson fears the scrutiny. " …NO to H.R. 3603 ( " CIEDRA " - the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act) The Republic leadership in the House is suspending rules on this public lands bill to avoid debate and amendments. The vote is expected This afternoon or evening. 45 local, regional, and national groups opposing H.R. 3603 because of damage to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, and public lands and waters. Controversies swirling around CIEDRA include: 1) giving away over 5,000 acres of public lands for trophy homes, ORV parks, and other intensive uses 2) designating a 540,000 acre area for dirt bike and snow machine use 3) failing to protect water rights needed by spawning salmon and wildlife 4) removing protections for 130,000 acres of wildlands 5) fragmenting the 300,000 acres of Wilderness designated with motorized trails that will promote increased dirt bike use. Whom to call: Please try to make 2 calls: 1) your member of the House of Representatives or call the Capitol Hill operator and ask to connect you: 202.225-3121 or check the full House list: http://clerk.house.gov/members/mcapdir.html 2) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (and ask for leadership to stop this damaging bill) Call (202) 225-4965 or (415) 556-4862 Email sf.nancyMontana:13) You are invited to attend the Wild Rockies Rendezvous and the Eighth Annual Forest Convention of the National Forest Protection Alliance, on Friday, September 22 to Sunday, 24, at the Birch Creek Center, near Dillon, Montana. The facility is located in the wild and beautiful Pioneer Mountains of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest! The Rendezvous is a gathering of wildland and forest advocates sponsored by environmental groups from throughout the Wild Rockies region of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon. NFPA host the National Convention in a different part of the country to invigorate the national and state effort to protect and restore national forests. http://wildrockies.org/rendezvous/ Colorado:14) Mike Smith of the U.S. Forest Service's San Carlos Ranger district said the unusual combination of insect damage, age and overgrowth of other trees is contributing to the increased number of dying aspen trees in forests throughout Colorado, including the Pike and San Isabel National forests in the Southern Colorado region. Currently, Smith said the Pike and San Isabel forests have roughly 90,000 acres that are dominated by aspen. Aspen trees are a minor component in another 70,000 acres that are slowing being taken over by maturing conifer trees. He said the conifers are growing below the aspen trees and if there are no disturbances (such as fire or clearings) over the next 80 to 100 years, the aspens will be replaced by conifers. " We started being effective at stopping all fires. We were burning up the forests but now we've pretty much put out all the fires, " he said. " A consequence of that is we haven't had a lot of new aspen stands take place. " He said though there hasn't been a study done on how the decrease in aspen trees has affected wildlife, Smith said it definitely decreases the food supply. " Under a coniferous forest there are less berries and other plants for the animals, " he said. " In the aspen stands, there's definitely a rich, productive understory. They provide more groceries per acre. " As insects, age and other trees continue to play a key role in diminishing aspen trees in the state's forests, Smith said they can be replaced, but it will take years and possibly decades for them to return. " This is a long-term process. It will take at least 30 years to make noticeable changes in an area, " he said. http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1153807922/1Michigan:15) Michigan United Conservation Clubs has announced its intention to appeal the feds' management plan for the Hiawatha National Forest (in the Upper Peninsula) because it gives short shrift to early-age forests. The plan, the first for the forest since 1986, identifies 61,156 acres of aspen suitable for wildlife management. That compares to more than twice that much in the previous plan and, even then, federal forestry officials have done a poor job of attaining their goal. There's no doubt that aspen forest has been in steep decline. According to federal Forest Service inventories, Michigan's landscape supported 5 million acres of aspen in 1935. Each subsequent inventory showed fewer and fewer acres, with the most recent estimate (2004) identifying 3.1 million acres -- an almost 40 percent loss over the last 70 years. Aspen forests have fallen out of favor with some because of the way they are maintained. Aspen is typically managed on a 40- to 60-year rotation when it is clear cut. Other management techniques -- thinning or selective cutting, for instance -- do not produce adequate aspen regeneration and the forests succeeds to other species. During the 1990s, when " biodiversity " was all the rage, anti-cutting forces hijacked the term, making it a synonym for " old growth. " But state wildlife officials generally embraced the implementation of biodiversity into management plans because, by its very meaning, it would guarantee on-going management. http://www.mlive.com/sports/statewide/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1153262416310140.xml & coll=1

Illinois:16) The federal government will provide Illinois with $7.6 million in emergency funding to help the state stop the spread of the tree-killing emerald ash borer beetle, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The federal announcement comes after state officials imposed a quarantine on 51 square miles of Kane County in a bid to contain the metallic-green beetle, which feeds on ash trees, eventually killing them. The $7.6 million will be used to conduct a survey of trees in Kane and other counties in northeastern Illinois, as well as areas in Wisconsin near the Illinois border. It also will pay for education campaigns as the battle against the bug gears up. " This additional funding will help the state of Illinois to begin eradication efforts and outreach initiatives to reduce the spread of the emerald ash borer, " U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said in a statement. Local officials were unsure yet what it means to Kane County, although Drew Ullberg, Kane County natural resources director, said Friday it could mean future financial assistance to the county if needed. " It's like disaster relief, " he said. The beetle first was spotted in Illinois last month in a subdivision near Lily Lake, west of St. Charles. In the past week, the bug has been found in Wilmette and Evanston, communities north of Chicago. Kane County government is not directly involved with the eradication effort yet, because the emerald ash borer has not been found on county property. But Ullberg pointed out there is a stand of ash trees in the Campton Forest Preserve, which is next to The Windings subdivision near Lily Lake, where the ash borer has been found. " We're right in the wind pattern, so we're keeping an eye on it, " he said. " It doesn't mean it isn't going to happen. " http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/top/2_1_AU22_BEETLE_S10722.htm

New Hampshire:17) The proposed timber sale in the 71,387-acre Wild River tract along the Maine border would involve about 473 acres. The Sierra Club said the logging job is the first one to be proposed for a "roadless" area since the repeal of the Clinton-era Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The Associated Press stated that "Wild River is the largest National Forest inventoried roadless area East of the Rocky Mountains." So the Wild River tract is a vast, unbroken swath of virgin forest, sullied by nary a road for miles and miles, right? Wrong. The area has been logged on and off uncountable times since the late 1880s. A major portion of a former logging railroad is now used as a hiking trail. More recent logging jobs took place in the '70s and '80s, some reaching almost to Perkins Notch and No Ketchum Pond. The tract is laced with old and fairly new logging roads and skidder trails. Whether logging should or should not occur in the Wild River tract is a legitimate issue. But "roadless?" Hardly. It reminds me of that old "consumptive" and "non-consumptive" thing. It has become faddish to refer to people who hunt and fish as "consumptive" users, while people who hike and canoe and take pictures are termed "non-consumptive." http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=John+Harrigan%3A+What+do+those+words+really

+mean%3F & articleId=10d44c81-5024-4a30-a1b3-f608bac2410aMassachusetts:18) A National Park Service advisory panel will recommend today that the agency be given the power to designate National Heritage Areas without congressional approval, a move that could give the green light to long-delayed plans for a Heritage Area west of Boston. Recognition as a National Heritage Area -- a geographic area of national historical significance that qualifies for millions of dollars in federal grants -- requires an act of Congress, a process that preservation groups say is often cumbersome and has led to a backup of about 20 areas waiting for federal approval. The proposed ``Freedom's Way " region in New England covers an area of 45 towns in Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that were hotbeds of support for Patriot forces against the British during the American Revolution, as well as for the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage during the 19th century. Plans for Freedom's Way include sites in the Boston suburbs of Concord, Lexington, and Arlington, and extends as far west to the towns of Winchendon and north to Amherst, N.H. Promoting the museums and historical landmarks in the area as a single, nationally recognized historic region would increase tourism, supporters of the plan said. After being designated, however, the landmarks must receive financial commitments from other sources -- including state funds and private sector donations -- in order to receive matching federal funds.The Park Service report, described by officials who have read it, recommends allowing the service to set up a standard procedure for getting applications instead of leaving every decision up to Congress.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/25/park_service_is_1_step_closer_to_creating_heritage_area_in_state/?p1=email_to_a_friendNorth Carolina:19) The smell of freshly cut pines and oaks still hangs in the air in Walnut Cove as workers with chainsaws and bulldozers continue to remove the hundreds of trees and limbs that fell during a storm last week.The town did not qualify for any state or federal aid, but the fact that neighboring towns and cities sent workers and equipment will more than make up for that, Gardin said. " I hope some good lessons have been learned out of it, " he said. " The first lesson is appreciation. I certainly have learned to appreciate our neighbors. " By the first week in August, most things will return to normal, Webb said. There will just be a lot fewer trees. " I've already had one resident tell me how they can tell a difference in their house in the heat of the day, how the air conditioning is running more, " he said. " They lost all the shade trees at the back of the house. " http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle & c=MGArticl

e & cid=1149189299738West Virginia:20) The story of the red spruce in West Virginia is one worth telling, and Minney wasted no time discussing it as he drove to one of the spruce planting sites on private land managed by the conservancy in Canaan Valley. "About 100 years ago, there were 500,000 acres of red spruce in this area. They provided a dense canopy over the tops of these mountains where certain types of plantlife and animal species thrived. There are books telling of how there was snow under the thick blanket provided by the spruce well into the summer months," Minney said. "In the 1880s, there were big cuts of red spruce tracts as the railroads came through and took out everything. To make matters worse, cinders from the railroads started fires in the forest — fires that not only burned the land and the trees but also the forest humus. The land at Dolly Sods burned for three or four years — in some places, all the way to the bedrock." This devastation continued through the 1930s, when most of the available timber was harvested. Towns like Cass were made on the logging effort. The end result was that, for the most part, the red spruce in West Virginia was gone. The thick canopy that covered the mountaintops and kept snow around for a few months longer, which would have produced a climate much different from today, was no more. Biologists even believe the red spruce's demise had a drastic impact on the state's waterways. Native brook trout once thrived in many small streams in that area, as the streams were fed with cold water from the continual mountain run-off and covered by the spruce's canopy. With the destruction of the trees, the factors that allowed the trout to reproduce and survive were gone. Some virgin tracts of red spruce remain to this day on Cheat Mountain and a few other isolated areas, where Minney said the red spruce have created their own "microclimate ecosystem," but the damage to the forest was done. There have been some success stories in the past 70 years, with Dolly Sods being perhaps the most notable. The Civilian Conservation Corps planted red spruce there in the 1930s, and today the wilderness area boasts a budding population and improved habitat. http://www.theintelligencer.net/community/articles.asp?articleID=8699USA: 21) A new San Diego State University-led study found that many multispecies habitat conservation plans? a cornerstone of modern efforts to balance development and ecological preservation? have significant informational flaws that limit or overestimate the plans? conservation potential. The report, published in the current edition of the peer-reviewed journal BioScience, reviewed the species selected for coverage in 22 multispecies habitat conservation plans (MSHCPs) permitted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. It found that, on average, 41 percent of plants and animals covered in the MSHCPs were not even confirmed to exist in the plan areas. Furthermore, it also found that many plans lacked specific conservation measures or actions designed to protect individual species, and also lacked data necessary to evaluate a plan?s effectiveness. " While we don?t question the value of multispecies conservation plans, our study suggests that changes are needed to achieve full conservation potential, " said Matt Rahn, lead researcher and SDSU?s director of field station programs. " There are some very good MSHCPs out there, designed around sound scientific methods. Unfortunately, there are other plans which don?t seem to be based on good data or appear to simply pay lip service to meaningful species protection. " Contact: Lorena Nava, San Diego State University lnavaCanada:22) Grassy Narrows First Nation and dozens of supporters today began blocking access to trucks hauling logs from clear-cut logging operations north of Kenora, Ontario, to Weyerhaeuser's Trus Joist mill. Research conducted by Rainforest Action Network indicates approximately 2,500 trees are hauled out of clear cuts via English River Road every day despite strenuous objections from the native community. The English River Road blockade is expected to continue for the next few days, signaling the beginning of a reinvigorated era of roving blockades around Grassy Narrows to stop logging companies Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi from further logging without community consent. The English River blockade is the second protest by the Grassy Narrows community in as many weeks and the latest development in a decade long campaign to end logging without the native community's consent. Supporters from Rainforest Action Network are challenging the " environmentally friendly " reputation of Timberstrand products manufactured at Weyerhaeuser's Kenora mill, most of which supply the booming US housing market. Last Thursday, July 13th, over 80 supporters blocked traffic on the Transcanada Highway. The following day, Ontario Provicial Police officers established checkpoints on Highway 671, arresting 9 allegedly involved in the protest. Supporters criticized the OPP for jailing and interrogating people of color including several First Nations individuals, while Caucasians among the arrestees were released with a citation. Hearings in the case will take place Sept 18th in Kenora. http://www.firstperspective.ca/fp_template.php?path=20060725grassyRussia:

23) " At 4 a.m. my daughter, who lives next door, woke me up, shouting, 'Mom, wake up! Floods have come!' " she recalled. " Overflowing water broke through the ice-covered river surface . Blocks of ice were everywhere. Chickens, pigs and calves were drowned, and wheat and sugar were carried away, " she said. The view from the helicopter flying toward Tokma village in eastern Siberia, Russia, shows that large patches of greenery have been shorn from the boundless coniferous forest since the helicopter first arrived in the Katanga District in Irkutsk Region, where Tokma is located. Along the banks of the snaking Nepa River, about 86 Evenk adults and 24 children--who are a minority in the country--live in about 30 wooden houses. Recently, the villagers have been plagued by floods every spring. Village Mayor Peter Shuvetsuov, 28, explained how the floods began suddenly in 2001. " Illegal logging has left no trees in the upstream area, so snow melts in spring, raising the water level rapidly, " he said. The heavy damage left behind is a vivid reminder of what the floods have done to the village: tilted houses, collapsed levees, and fences tangled with seaweed. The road along the river has been washed away. Olga Shuvetsova, 73, who lives by the riverside, saw floods for the first time in her life five years ago in May. Hunter Dmitry Shuvetsuov, 55, lamented that there are fewer squirrels and sables. Four years ago, former Mayor Nikolay Gordeev, 56, wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking him to ban logging without the consent of indigenous people. He received a response saying that state authorities would dispatch officials to inspect the forest, but no one has ever shown up. Further inquiries sent to the state government have met with no response. Two companies, Yantarles and Igirma Complex Timber Industry Enterprise, have logging permits for an area south of the village, but villagers claim that the companies have expanded their logging to areas for which they have no permission. This year, the companies illegally logged an area 32 kilometers from the village, they said. When the river is frozen and snow piles up allowing heavy machinery to pass, the logging season begins, the villagers said. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20060726TDY04002.htmColombia:24) They had been researching in the Sierra de Perija, some 375 miles north of the capital of Bogota and did not return Thursday as expected. The nine included five researchers from a local government environment office, a cameraman, two guides and a driver. Cesar province is home to leftist rebels and far-right paramilitaries locked in a four-decade civil war. Given that Colombia has one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world, there were fears they had been abducted but no confirmation. Authorities announced the group's disappearance Sunday, but held off from confirming it was a kidnapping before they heard from the abductors. The military said rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, kidnapped the nine on Friday morning. " We are doing major operations in the area, closing off the escape routes and because of this pressure, they were forced to free the hostages, " said Gen. Jairo Pena, who is overseeing the army in the area. The army said some guerrillas surrendered under pressure from the military operations. The rebels told the army they kidnapped the nine for propaganda purposes and to raise revenue by ransom, Pena said. The army estimates some 35 rebels were involved. " We are chasing them now, " said Pena. A resident in the area alerted the army Saturday evening of the abduction and the military immediately began searching for the hostages. The nine included five researchers from a local government environment office, a cameraman, two guides and a driver. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Colombia_Missing_Environmentalists.html25) History has seen attempts to commodify land, food, labour, forests, water, genes and ideas. Carbon trading follows in the footsteps of this history and turns the earth's carbon-cycling capacity into property to be bought or sold in a global market. Through this process of creating a new commodity - carbon - the Earth's ability and capacity to support a climate conducive to life and human societies is now passing into the same corporate hands that are destroying the climate. On Tuesday, October 3 in Mexico City, the Energy and Environment Ministers from the " Group of Eight " (G8) industrialized countries are scheduled to begin negotiating a climate change deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. People around the world need to be made aware of this commodification and privatization and actively intervene to ensure the protection of the Earth's climate. Carbon trading will not contribute to achieving this protection of the Earth's climate. It is a false solution which entrenches and magnifies social inequalities. The carbon market creates transferable rights to dump carbon in the air, oceans, soil and vegetation far in excess of the capacity of these systems to hold it. Billions of dollars worth of these rights are to be awarded free of charge to the biggest corporate emitters of greenhouse gases in the electric power, iron and steel, cement, pulp and paper, and other sectors in industrialised nations who have caused the climate crisis and already exploit these systems the most. Costs of future reductions in fossil fuel use are likely to fall disproportionately on the public sector, communities, indigenous peoples and individual taxpayers. We denounce the further delays in ending fossil fuel extraction that are being caused by corporate, government and United Nations' attempts to construct a "carbon market", including a market trading in "carbon sinks". http://colombia.indymedia.org/news/2006/07/46512.phpBrazil:26) Brazilian soy crushers and exporters will stop buying soybeans grown in the Amazon basin for the time being, industry groups said on Monday, bowing to pressure from activist groups trying to preserve the rain forest. The moratorium, which will last for two years, will apply to soybeans planted as of October 2006 in newly deforested areas of the Amazon, the world's largest rain forest. The initiative, spearheaded by the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Producers (Abiove) and the National Grains Exporters' Association, " seeks to reconcile environmental conservation with economic development, " the groups said in a joint statement. Environmental and consumer groups have long complained that the rapid expansion of Brazil's soy frontier was speeding up the deforestation of the Amazon. Brazil is the world's second-largest soy producer, behind the United States. Until now, Brazil's soy industry had bristled at the suggestion that soy played a role in the destruction of the Amazon, arguing instead that independent loggers and grazers were bigger threats to the rain forest. But with consumers, especially in Europe, starting to demand proof of origin, Brazilian soy industry leaders said it was time to take action to prevent buyers from turning to rival producers like Argentina and the United States. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N24398522.htm27) Marina Silva, a fiery former rubber-tapper who is now Brazil's environment minister, described how the Government was finally cracking down on the felling by seizing illegally cut logs, closing down illicit enterprises and fining and imprisoning offenders. As a result, she says, it dropped by 31 per cent last year. But even so, it has only returned to the levels it was in 2001, still double what it was 10 years before. And it has reached far into the forest after the American multinational Cargill built a huge port for soya three years ago at Santarem, some 400 miles downriver from here. This encouraged entrepreneurs to cut down the trees to grow the soya.India:28) Much of Shimla, particularly the most populated residential areas including downtown areas, is wooded. And instead of burying cables underground, operators nail the wires and tie them to trees. This has angered environmentalists who say it violates law. Hoardings and other advertisements have long been banned from being put up on trees as nails cause irreparable damage. 'For some reason, civic officials are turning a blind eye to the growing number of cable boxes being nailed and wired to pine trees in Shimla,' said activist Rajeshwar Singh Negi. 'We all know how nails and wires slowly dry up trees; which is why the nailing of trees has long been banned everywhere. But cable operators here are allowed to do this and get away scot-free,' Negi told IANS. He said civic and forest officials needed to act fast by removing the boxes from trees to save them from further damage and book cable TV operators for breaking the law. 'Overhead television cables have spoilt the otherwise beautiful skyline of Shimla and this should not be allowed any more,' said another activist. Virtually every home in this town of 175,000 people - numbers escalate during tourist seasons - has at least one television set with a cable connection. http://indiaenews.com/2006-07/16192-cable-tv-operators-killing-pine-trees-shimla.htm

Vietnam:29) Located in the middle of the high and dangerous Chuoi Pass, surrounded by mountains and running through the Da Huoai River, Madagui forest holds a primeval wonder. The forest is nearly three hours from HCM City by bus along 150km of national highway No 20 towards the Central Highland's Da Lat. Madagui forest, part of the National Cat Tien Park, is an ecological preserve covering about 400ha with different kinds of trees in the Da Huoai District, Lam Dong Province. The area is populated largely by the K'ho and Ma ethnic groups. In the Ma language, Ma means Ma, Da is another way to write the word for river, Da, and Gui is name of the river. Madagui means the Gui river of the Ma people. Although it was opened to the public five years ago, Madagui has only recently taken off as a tourism hot-spot, capitalising on the ecotourism craze. Legend has it that the Gui River was the fairies' preferred bathing spot, hence its name: Suoi Tien (Fairy Stream). The 120m-wide Suoi Tien is so clear that the white and grey pebbles paving the riverbed are visible. Along the two banks are tropical forests, with huge trees spreading into wide canopies. Creepers connect the canopies, creating a forest roof. By water local Ma residents sail in dug-out canoes. Madagui forest also features a unique bamboo garden with more than 40 species, as large as a maze and in a romantic and legendary setting. Officials try to ensure that Madagui's popularity does not damage the atmosphere that attracts tourists in the first place, but for the time being, it remains a spectacularly pristine source of natural beauty. http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=02SUN230706Philippines:

30) The charges stemmed from the joint operation staged by the " Ecological Battalion " last July 7 in Barangay Tambobong, Baguio district to check on rampant slash and burn farming in the area. " Ecological Battalion " is made up of the National Anti-Environment Crime Task Force of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the office of City Councilor, City Water District, National Council for Indigenous Peoples, the City Mayor's Office, and Davao City Police Office. Lieutenant Colonel Rolando Joselito D. Bautista and Major Romeo E. Cabanalan of the 73rd Infantry Battalion, in their joint affidavit, said they found evidence of kaingin activities in the area while they were on patrol after finding cut " almaciga " trees and hardwood species. " Accordingly, the illegal activities was perpetrated by some lumads and illegal 'kaingeros' from Arakan, North cotabato, headed by Datu Enangcob, president of Land Utilization Management Agri-eco Development (lumad) as evident on the signboard placed in the area depicting his ownership of the land, " the two said. Task Force Kalatong-Cenro Team in its report to their Regional Executive Director dated July 11 said that, " the stand of almaciga forest known locally as 'Almaciga Country' were not spared from underbrushing, cutting of all the undergrowth, small timbers and poles of mossy forest species being at 1,500 meters plus above sea level were also perpetrated by the Lumad group lead (sic) by Ruben C. Enangcob. " The Kalatong-Cenro Team recommended that Enangcob and his followers be charged for illegal occupation of 116,005.6 square meters of public forest, and the illegal destruction of 11.102 cubic meter of public forest for a total damage of P105,468 " plus an immeasurable destruction of wildings for future regenerations without the necessary permit from the DENR. " http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2006/07/25/news/environment.agency.sues.datu.for.illegal

..logging.html31) Did you know that the forest trees in Mount Makiling, Laguna, are far more diverse than those in the entire United States? Or that the Philippines has more endemic or native birds than the whole of Europe? It is amazing indeed that a country so small, with a total land area of 30 million hectares and a total coastline of 18,000 kilometers, can be a world showcase in biological diversity. According to Dr. Corazon Sinha and Dr. Lawrence Heaney, authors of the book Philippine Biodiversity: Principles and Practice, recently published by Haribon, " There are many reasons why the Philippines is both high in species richness and endemism. " The reasons are as follow: First, the country is located near the equator or in the tropical region. Countries in the tropics are blessed with good climate that makes them ideal places for life to flourish. Its foggy, mossy and verdant mountains, as well as its warm and shallow waters host a remarkably large number of diverse and unique species found nowhere else on earth. Second, the Philippines is an archipelago of many islands. Its more than 7,000 islands have remarkable landscapes and seascapes of ancient geological origins. It has many ecosystems ranging from forests to freshwater to coral reefs. They all serve as suitable homes for enormous varieties of plants and animals. Third, according to Dr. Heaney, " the ancient geological history of the Philippines contributed significantly to its high biodiversity and endemicity. " The Philippines that we have today was a product of the rise and fall of the sea level, and the appearance and disappearance of the land bridges that connected the then " pieces " of the archipelago. He explained that more than 40 million years ago, the major islands in the country were largely isolated from one another. Million years later, some of the islands merged and came to share many species, but others remain isolated from their neighboring islands. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=45184Malaysia:32) KUCHING, July 24 (Bernama) -- The state government will now strictly monitor the operation of sawmills in Sarawak after the Forest (Amendment) Bill 2006 was passed at the State Legislative Assembly here Monday. Second Planning and Resource Management Minister Datuk Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said during the second reading of the bill that the proposed amendments would provide a better regulatory framework for sawmills. He said these included the requirement that such sawmills be built on sites approved by the state government. " Such requirement is needed to prevent sawmills being built in places where they can purchase logs from illegal or questionable sources and thus could help to curb illegal logging activities, " he said. He said licence holders must keep proper record of the timber purchased for their sawmill operations including the sources as well as a record of their timber output. " Such records would have to be produced for inspection whenever required by the Forestry Director or a person duly authorised by him to demand such inspection, " he said. Opposition leader and DAP Sarawak chairman Richard Wong Ho Leng (Bukit Assek) who spoke during the debate session said he and his opposition colleagues were against the amendment. He said the amendment would open the door to corruption and abuse as it allowed the Forestry Director to suspend or cancel the sawmill operations even before it was found guilty or otherwise by the court of law. http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=209962Indonesia:33) It is misleading to believe the assertion that the logging industry contributes significantly to the economy of PNG. The PNG Eco-Forestry Forum does not think this is true as much of what the industry provides is unsustainable and not genuine. The Forum makes this observation in response to the recent claim by Melbourne-based ITS Global that the logging industry is an important contributor to the economy and that its opposition by environmental groups were dishonest and threatening to the economy. According to the Forum, while logging may generate 5 to 9 percent of GDP and 6 percent of the total taxes for the country, as claimed by ITS Global, its contribution in the employment and rural infrastructural sectors can be described as well below expected standards. "Almost all the roads, bridges, jetties and schools that were built by mostly foreign logging companies under the pretext of development no longer exist today," says the Forum. It said there is an overwhelming evidence to prove this all over PNG today in especially those provinces that have once allowed industrial logging into their areas. The Forum said even the findings from numerous government sanctioned and other independent reviews into the industry revealed alarming cases of logging companies operating in defiance of the labour, environmental, and human rights regulations in the country. It said, therefore ITS Global's independent review commissioned by controversial logging giant Rimbunan Hihau (RH) as reported recently is just another cover-up tactic played by RH to deviate attention from the truth about the abnormalities that exist within the logging industry.http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0607/S00443.htm34) The roots of a huge tree begin to creak as ax blows rain down on it. In less than a minute, the 20-meter tree falls with a heavy thud, bringing smaller ones in the surrounding rainforest down with it. Accompanying forest rangers of the Natural Conservation Office in West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia, a Yomiuri Shimbun reporter was able to see firsthand the suspected illegal logging taking place in Kalimantan, Borneo. After a 24-hour boat ride down the muddy Kapuas River, followed by an hourlong walk along riverside trolley tracks, we arrived at what used to be a dense jungle, but where the sparseness of trees now allowed the sun's rays to pour through. Eight men and a female cook live here in a house built with logs and palm leaves. Every day they cut down more than 100 Alexandrian Laurel trees, which are used as construction material and furniture. Since they only usually cut down trees with a diameter of between 40 and 50 centimeters, they do not need to use costly chain saws. The 32-year-old leader of the Ahe tribe said that although in his village he has a paddy field and gum trees, he cannot make a living there. " This job is dangerous, but I have to provide for my wife and my 10-year-old son. I've been doing it for five years, " he said. The forest feels hot as there are no big trees to block the strong sunshine, while the humid wind brings the sounds of logging from another group. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20060725TDY04002.htmAustralia:35) Maroochy Shire Council, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, says some developers may have found a way around council land clearing bylaws. Councillor Ted Hungerford says a stop-work ruling was recently issued to a Rosemount landholder who was clearing trees. But it then had to be lifted when the land owner told the council he was on the State Government's Native Forest Harvesting Register. Cr Hunderford says it is not known how many land owners are on the register. " The department is under no obligation to notify us of how many properties we have, we do know of some but when I asked our officers how many more of these have we got they said, 'we don't know because the department is under no obligation to inform us of how many of these permits exist', " he said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200607/s1696156.htmWorld-wide:36) Only about 5 percent of the world's tropical forests are under " sustainable management " and the rest remain unprotected, leaving some of them subject to illegal logging and other harmful activities, according to the Yokohama-based International Tropical Timber Organization. The group warned Monday that a mechanism is needed for nations to benefit economically from protecting their tropical forests, which help maintain biodiversity and absorb carbon dioxide. " Unless long-term economic benefits are ensured, tropical forests may be (cleared) for agriculture, " said Hana Rubin, ITTO communications assistant. " But how such benefits can be realized remains a stumbling block. " According to the group's latest study on tropical forest management, released in May, about 12 million hectares of tropical forest are cleared each year to make way for crops, pastures and other nonforest uses, with more tropical groves damaged by illegal logging and other practices. The organization analyzed areas of tropical forests that have been sustainably managed to some degree in 33 countries in Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. The areas represent about two-thirds of global tropical forests. The report shows that about 5 percent of the tropical forests covered by the study, or about 36 million hectares, are sustainably managed, and that the rest remain poorly managed. In a more limited 1988 report, which covered 18 countries, sustainably managed tropical forests accounted for about 970,000 hectares. Malaysia, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil and the Republic of Congo have shown " particularly notable improvements, " while Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, both of which have been embroiled in major armed conflicts, have performed minimally, the organization said. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060726f5.html37) There are two major changes that are occurring throughout the world's tropical forests. First, and most obvious, deforestation has led to vast amounts of carbon being released to the atmosphere. Second, and much less obvious, within remaining intact forests there has been an acceleration of forest dynamism that has led to vast amounts of carbon being extracted from the atmosphere. In this editorial we focus on the latter phenomenon, as summarized by Lewis (2006). The increasing dynamism and productivity of intact tropical forests has a long history, with Lewis reporting that " across the paleotropics forest dynamism has been steadily increasing for five decades (Phillips and Gentry, 1994). " Among 50 old-growth plots scattered across tropical South America, for example, he notes that " stem recruitment, stem mortality, and biomass growth, and loss, all increased significantly (Lewis et al., 2004a). " What is more, Lewis says that " preliminary analyses also suggest the African and Australian forests are showing structural changes similar to South American forests (Lewis et al., in preparation). " What is causing this suite of concerted changes? Lewis states that " the results appear to show a coherent fingerprint of increasing net primary productivity across tropical South America, caused by a long-term increase in resource availability (Lewis et al., 2004a,b). " So what " resources " might be involved? Lewis gives four possibilities - increases in solar radiation, air temperature, nutrient deposition and atmospheric CO2 concentration - but after analyzing each of them in detail, he concludes that " the most parsimonious explanation is the increase in atmospheric CO2, because of the undisputed long-term historical increase in CO2 concentrations, the key role of CO2 in photosynthesis, and the demonstrated positive effects of CO2 fertilization on plant growth rates including experiments on whole temperate-forest stands (Ainsworth and Long, 2005), " or as he states in another place in his review, the explanation resides in " the anthropogenic increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, increasing forest net primary productivity leading to accelerated forest growth and dynamics. " http://www.co2science.org/scripts/CO2ScienceB2C/articles/V9/N30/EDIT.jsp