144 - Earth's Tree News

[Guest guest]

Today for you 34 news items about Mama Earth's trees. Location, number and subject listed below. Condensed / abbreviated article is listed further below.

 

--Alaska: 1) Restoring Tongass National Forest fisheries--British Columbia: 2) Another perspective on the Great Bear Forest, 3) Conference on Pine Beetle and rural economy, 4) Save Echo Heights forest, 5) cutting in Surrey, --Oregon: 6) Wallowa-Whitman NF logging increases, 7) N. Thomas Hirons 1940-2006,--California: 8) Judi Bari's greatest victory,--Arizona: 9) wildest, most scenic and secluded lands,--New Mexico: 10) FS job loss means more jobs, 11) Santa Fe Municipal Watershed--Colorado: 12) 530 acres between Vail and Piney Lake--Minnesota: 13) Public access turns to land leases--Rhode Island: 14) honored with the name " Twig, " --New York: 15) A stand of old growth white pine, 16) bleeding beech canker,--Pennsylvania 17) Bethlahem's eco-friendly plan to log didn't sell--South Carolina: 18) Old sewer line not an excuse for cutting trees--Florida: 19) $1 billion a year for conservation--USA: 20) Enviros ask federal judge to overturn FS management rules--Spain: 21) Reforestation along river Alberche--Russia: 22) Duma has new forest rules--Kenya: 23) coalition of 15 rainforest nations--South Africa: 24) A substantial agreement to reduce deforestation by next year--Argentina: 25) Save the Mbya Guaraní people by saving there land,--India: 26) Sacred trees saved from the axe--China: 27) Biodiversity overview--Vietnam: 28) planning to increase its cacao acreage--Indonesia: 29) Forest fires a health menace, 30) Fire Prevention, 31) Burning bogs, --New Zealand: 32) Huge private forest land holdings change hands,--Australia: 33) Helms Forest is being logged, 34) protesters chain themselves to truck, 35) Government against ban on illegally logged timber,--World-wide: 36) idea of " avoided deforestation "

 

Alaska:

 

1) Trout Unlimited is taking a lead role in restoring southeast Alaska fisheries damaged by logging. From fighting erosion caused by clear-cuts and road-building to replacing culverts vital for fish passage to spawning sites, the TU Alaska Program is reminding anglers everywhere that in spite of its apparent remoteness, the 17-million acre Tongass National Forest is a public treasure. "This is a near-pristine area owned by every American," said Scott Hed (rhymes with 'made'), outreach director for the Sportsman's Alliance for Alaska. "When sportsmen think of Alaska, this is the ultimate dream, the last of the last best places." Prince of Wales Island is a microcosm of what's happening throughout the Tongass and Alaska wildlands in general, said Tim Bristol, Juneau-based director of the TU Alaska Program.Even though logging is in decline on Prince of Wales, the U.S. Forest Service continues to stress logging over the growing recreation and sport-fishing industries. "The old-line Forest Service doesn't want to give up its logging subsidies," Bristol said during a tour of clear-cut areas on Prince of Wales. "Most of that goes into road building, yet many of the roads are closed because the Forest Service doesn't have the money to maintain them." Logging has declined for several reasons, including competition from cheap foreign timber and the 1997 shutdown of the pulp mill in Ketchikan. "The best (lumber on Prince of Wales) has already been cut and no one wants the rest," said Bristol, explaining that roughly one-third of Prince of Wales's 2,600-square miles is rock and snow, one-third muskeg and one-third timber. "Only 4 percent of the timber was commercially desirable, high-volume old-growth lumber, and 60 percent of that has already been logged." Although none of the big logging companies show interest in the remaining lumber, the Forest Service subsidizes the Tongass timber industry to the tune of $40 million per year, according to Hed. http://www.gjsentinel.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2006/11/01/11_1_OUT_TU_in_Alaska_side_WWW.ht

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British Columbia:

 

2) At 15.5 million acres, this rainforest is the size of Switzerland. A third of it, about the size of New Jersey, is now entirely protected from logging (selective cutting is permitted on the rest). The Great Bear is home to only about 25,000 people -- and also a fifth of all the wild salmon on the planet. It is a rugged coast of narrow fjords that reach so far in from the sea, the water becomes glassy, as though in a lake. That water reflects steep mountainsides and glacier-smoothed peaks, their flanks cloaked in untouched coastal rainforest marked here and there by lighter patches of alder where rockslides have churned the landscape. Humpback whales breach in the shadow of ancient cedars and rare spirit bears -- a local variety of black bear with fine, white fur -- scoop salmon from pristine rivers. It's just obvious that it shouldn't be clear-cut or mined or paved. The deal was so revolutionary that an entirely new type of land management was brought to British Columbia to encompass it. Already, the Great Bear is being hailed as a model around the world, from Chile to Tasmania. But now things get interesting. Having protected the forest on paper, these strange bedfellows have to work together to achieve something none of them has ever tried before: creating a sustainable future for the region. While they iron out their partnership and plans, they must also fend off an oil-transport project that could change everything. " Our first ten years of work were really a campaign -- negotiations to try and save this place, " says Paglia. " The next ten years are to make sure that deal gets enforced. It's changed the way we think about our work, because if the Great Bear isn't there in 20 years, then we haven't achieved anything. " http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/11/01/dicum/index.html

 

3) Stand Up for the North Committee spokesperson Peter Ewart said the aim of the conference is to start a grassroots movement to address the impact of the mountain pine beetle epidemic. " We are definitely going to get people out for this. People are concerned about what we're going to do in the wake of the pine beetle, " Ewart said. " This is a public meeting, it's open to everyone - not just people who are involved in the industry. " The seminars include a cross-section of speakers and panelists from big business, small business, labour, government, researchers, environmental groups and First Nations, Ewart said. Some of the panel discussions scheduled for the two days include: scenarios for the ecological future of B.C.'s pine forests; effects of the pine beetle infestation on jobs, families and community infrastructure; raw log exports, super mills and corporate and government reinvestment in the region; diversification of the forestry and wood industry; and empowering the region. Some of the speakers and panelists at the conference include B.C. NDP forestry critic Bob Simpson, Sierra Club forest campaigner Rob Duncan, West Fraser Timber chief forester Bruce McNicol, forestry contractor Ben Wilson, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives analyst Ben Parfitt, Ministry of Forests spokesperson Dave Coates, First Nations Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative CEO Dan George, and Prince George city councillors Don Zurowski and Brian Skakun. http://www.pgfreepress.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=26 & cat=46 & id=763627 & more

 

 

4) The North Cowichan council does not want to " discuss " Echo Heights development, they want to " inform " the people of Chemainus what kind of development they are planning for Echo Heights. When the now more than 300-strong Chemainus Residents Association heard of the meeting it asked to make a presentation explaining the results of ecological and socio-cultural studies they have already done and are doing. The head planner informed CRA executive that not only would they not be able to make a presentation but that CRA members would not be permitted to discuss leaving the trails, the trees, the wildlife and flowers as they are. But this is an excellent example of a recovering forest, one trying to shake off the damage done by humans. Located as it is, surrounded by dairy farms and a rapidly growing urban residential area, the Echo Heights forest is a treasure no amount of money can buy. North Cowichan is acting just like the logging company TimberWest, owner of some 300,000 hectares of forestry land on Vancouver Island. They are cutting the trees and exporting the logs to be processed in U.S. mills, then they sell the bare land on the real estate market. Most North Cowichan councillors agree the municipality can use the money from logging and land sales to help pay for many other projects. Echo Heights is not meant to be a manicured city park. It is an urban wilderness area. Granted it is small for that designation but that is the feeling one gets once the 52-acre forest surrounds you. http://www.cowichannewsleader.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=9 & cat=48 & id=762350 & more=

 

 

5) Major tree cutting continues seemingly unabated in Surrey despite a public outcry two years ago. In 2004, The Leader reported Surrey issued tree cutting permits for almost 50,000 protected trees in four years. The reaction from the public was fierce and the city promised better environmental stewardship and a stronger tree protection bylaw. Until that point, record residential development resulted in the loss of an average of 9,100 significant trees annually between 2001 and 2004. That average excludes a huge cut in Campbell Heights in 2004, which amounted to 14,000 protected trees lost. (Protected trees include several unique species and any tree that is 12 inches in diameter at chest height. Removal of all protected trees requires a civic permit.) Figures obtained by The Leader last week indicate the city continues to issue thousands of permits, despite the public opposition. In 2005, the city issued permits to cut down 10,906 protected trees and up to Oct. 25 this year, 8,513 trees have been removed. Surrey is also falling behind in its own goal of two-to-one replacement. The city was averaging just over one-to-one until 2004 when the Campbell Heights clearcut occurred. In 2005, the city experienced a further net loss with an average of .66-to-one. This year the city bounced back to 1.19-to-one replacements. How Yin Leung, Surrey's acting manager of planning, said the drop in replacement trees in 2005 is likely due to an increase in smaller housing lots, which don't have as much room for full replacement. http://www.surreyleader.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=73 & cat=23 & id=762191 & more=

 

 

Oregon:

 

6) A newfangled type of national forest logging project that debuted six years ago in Baker City's watershed has continued, and the two most recent of these projects helped to boost the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest's volume of sold timber to its highest one-year total since 2000. Even so, the Wallowa-Whitman's timber sale program remains a mere splinter compared to what it was in the 1970s and '80s. During the past fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the forest, which has its headquarters in Baker City, sold 25 million board-feet of timber — the most since fiscal 2000's total of 33 million board-feet, said Carla Monismith, the Wallowa-Whitman's timber sales officer. Between 1976 and 1990, by contrast, the Wallowa-Whitman sold an average of about 203 million board-feet per year. The forest hasn't sold more than 54 million board-feet since fiscal 1992. Since then, several factors have contributed to the dramatic decline in the Wallowa-Whitman's timber offerings. For instance, in 1993 the Forest Service, as part of a compromise with environmental groups that had vowed to sue the agency, agreed to stop cutting live trees bigger than 21 inches in diameter in Eastern Oregon national forests, including the Wallowa-Whitman. Forest officials also have had to trim timber cutting plans to protect habitat for Snake River salmon and steelhead, which have been listed as threatened species since the early 1990s. Nonetheless, after three particularly lean fiscal years — 2002, 2003 and 2004, when the Wallowa-Whitman's annual timber sale average was 16 million board-feet — the forest's program has grown, albeit modestly. http://www.bakercityherald.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=4174

 

7) He was known during the timber wars as the most open minded of the loggers: N. Thomas Hirons June 2, 1940 - November 1, 2006 - Tom was president of North Fork Logging and later owned and operated Mad Creek Logging for over 30 years. Tom was a timber activist, traveling many times to Washington D.C. to testify before Congress on behalf of loggers. He was once named Logger of the Year. He started Communities for A Great Oregon, a grass roots organization. He worked tirelessly to educate the public on the logging industry. He felt it was important for everyone to know that a logger was a true environmentalist, and that it was an honorable job done by honorable people. Tom was an authority when it came to discussing history. He had well over 1,000 books in his library. He especially enjoyed books on the Civil War. He was on the board of the Paul Bunyan Foundation, Associated Oregon Logger, NRA, and a member of Queen of Peace. Pahtoo

 

California:

 

8) Forest for the Trees documents the efforts of Dennis Cunningham to prosecute a lawsuit on behalf of Earth First! organizer Judi Bari. The film captures Cunningham—whose career highlights include cases on behalf of the Black Panthers and the Weathermen—in the twilight of a seemingly quixotic struggle to clear the name of a sincere and charismatic activist. The case arose after Bari struggled against increasingly antagonist and sinister interference from the FBI (including false arrests, slander and harassment) due to her Earth First! activities in the summer of 1990. Directed by Cunningham's daughter, Bernadine Mellis, Forest for the Trees captures the lawyer and his team with their guard down, allowing a look behind the brave fronts that the men present to the press and the courtroom. The film begins in 2002, just as the government has finally deigned to allow Bari her day in court—after 12 years of stonewalling and even Bari's death (after surviving a 1990 car pipe bomb—which the FBI accused her of planting—she died of breast cancer in 1997 at the age of 48). Cunningham's weary visage approaches the iconographic as he slogs through the mountainous obstacles stacked against him—he appears to bear the full weight of a lifetime of fighting injustice. Unlike so many of the self-satisfied and self-righteous activists in the world today, Cunningham never stops fighting long enough to toot his own horn or make pretentious claims about the power of the human spirit. If anything, Cunningham seems prone to self-criticism, snappishness and disillusionment, which, paradoxically, is somewhat refreshing. http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3252/8164/

 

Arizona:

 

9) Some of the wildest, most scenic and secluded lands in Arizona stand a scant 40 miles east of downtown Phoenix. The Superstition Wilderness holds nearly 160,000 acres of backcountry beauty, with dramatic cliffs, rugged canyons, sweeping vistas and mesmerizing rock formations. It also boasts legends of lost mines, tales of prospectors and reports of murder most foul.But there's much more to the Superstitions than that. The eastern side seems an entirely different world, higher in elevation and much softer, its rolling hills carpeted with thick stands of piñon, sumac, manzanita, alligator juniper, Emory oak, even towering ponderosa pines in some places. There are plenty of cliffs, canyons and craggy rocks, but they're not nearly as dramatic or numerous as those in the western half. And because the eastern trailheads are harder to reach, you'll find far fewer hikers, giving you more of a wilderness experience. The central feature of the eastern Superstitions is Reavis Ranch, a remote, secluded valley named for Elisha Reavis, the recluse whose unkempt beard and ever-present rifle earned him a reputation as an eccentric to be avoided. Some folks said he only pretended to be insane so that people would leave him alone and was, in fact, well-educated and a generous host. In the 1870s, he built a farm and orchard along the creek that runs through the valley, and sold vegetables and fruit to nearby towns and mining camps. His grave stands just a few yards off one of the main trails into the area. Although much of the land along Reavis Creek is brushy, there are still some good camping spots. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/1103reavis1103.html

 

 

New Mexico:

 

10) ALBUQUERQUE - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced that the Forest Service is undertaking the most significant change to its business practices since its founding in 1905 by centralizing many of its business operations, including human capital management, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. " Centralizing the Forest Service's administrative services makes good common sense and aligns with the President's goal of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs, " said Johanns. " This change enables the Forest Service to redirect crucial funds from administrative functions back to mission-critical programs. " Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Mark Rey, U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and Congresswoman Heather Wilson today joined Johanns at the Forest Service's Albuquerque Service Center (ASC) to tour the facility. The facility occupies 92,455 square feet in a 3-story building located near Interstate 25, north of downtown Albuquerque. The Service Center currently has 109 employees providing human resource services to 4,530 Forest Service employees. By September 2007, the center will have 360 employees located in Albuquerque serving approximately 39,000 Forest Service employees. The Forest Service is expecting approximately 100 positions at the Albuquerque center to be made available for employment opportunities in the near future. http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/.

 

11) The estimated $5 million, five-year-old project to reduce fire hazards in 7,500 acres of the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed has almost been completed. Ponderosa pines, crowded 500 to 1,000 per acre, have been thinned to between 50 and 100 trees per acre, mirroring the historical look of the watershed, according to scientists. The trees were hand-cut and piled for burning or crunched down by a big masticating machine into chunks that were scattered around the forest floor as soil-building mulch, according to Española District Ranger Sandy Hurlocker of the Santa Fe National Forest. But thinned and piled branches and scraggly trees that are spread over 3,000 acres still need to be burned, Hurlocker told a handful of people who gathered at the downtown Santa Fe Library to hear an update on the watershed project. The event was sponsored by the Santa Fe Watershed Association. The watershed encompasses 17,384 acres of forest, city and privately owned land, much of it a rugged canyon that funnels rain and snowmelt into Santa Fe's two main reservoirs. It's been controversial at times, yet most of the people still involved with the project call it a model of collaboration. Dozens of scientific studies started before the thinning project will continue now that the thinning is finished. http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/51542.html

 

Colorado:

 

12) EAGLE - Logging trucks may start carrying beetle-killed wood through Vail next summer. An infusion of federal money had let the local U.S. Forest Service office get ready to seek contracts to cut wood on about 530 acres between Vail and Piney Lake, District Ranger Cal Wettstein said. That project may begin next spring or summer if a logging company puts in a bid for the work. Wettstein said there haven't been bids for some logging parcels in northern Jackson County, north of Walden near the Wyoming border. Getting bids can be a problem, Wettstein said, especially for areas so far from Montrose, home of the only industrial sawmill in the region. Another proposed logging project, on about 270 acres of forest on the hillsides to the south of Eagle-Vail, is currently in bureaucratic limbo due to an appeal filed by Minturn resident Michael Heaphy. The appeal could delay the project into late 2007 or later, Wettstein said. Just getting ready to ask for contracts has cost the local Forest Service office nearly $300,000. Commissioner Peter Runyon asked Wettstein why it costs so much just to get an area ready for logging crews. The up-front costs come with precisely marking the boundaries of an area to cut and marking the trees that can be chopped, Wettstein said. That work is done by private contractors. There may be more money coming to prepare more areas for logging. Gary Severson of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments said federal officials have freed up another $1 million to prepare more sales next year in the areas hardest hit by beetles: Summit, Grand, Jackson and Eagle counties. Another $4 million may be coming, he said.http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20061101/NEWS/111010044

 

Minnesota:

 

13) " I knew the land like the back of my hand. My concern was, what if somebody else gets it and we can't go there anymore? …I'd hunted that ... going back to when I was 12 years old, " Wognum said. Wognum and his party acted quickly and secured themselves a piece of deer-hunting property. But other deer hunters haven't been as fortunate. Increasingly deer hunters are finding themselves caught in a squeeze over land access. Large paper companies are selling or leasing thousands of acres across Northeastern Minnesota. Other privately owned land is being sold for rural real estate development. And some hunters are finding road access to hunting lands gated or blocked with earthen berms by state or federal agencies. As a result, many hunters are finding access to hunting land more difficult. More " No Trespassing " and " No Hunting " signs are springing up across the northern forest. " There are 'leased' signs, fences across roads, " said Duluth hunter Eric Larson. " I've talked to foresters. I've talked to DNR (Department of Natural Resources) people. They all seem to say it's the sign of the times. Things are evolving that way. " " The answer I keep getting is, if you don't like it, you should lease, " Larson said. " But I'm philosophically opposed to it. " One of the largest players in the land-leasing movement is Potlatch Forest Holdings, a part of Potlatch Corp. based in Cloquet. Starting in 2002, the company began leasing land to hunting parties. The lease program has been well-received, with about 150,000 acres leased, said Ed Patrias, Potlach's lease manager. Another 150,000 acres probably will be leased, he said, and 25,000 acres will be offered in 2007. The average lease parcel is 100 acres, Patrias said, and its average lease price is $650 to $750 per year. St. Louis County offers about 600 hunting-shack leases on its land, but hunters lease just enough land for the shack, not larger tracts of land. An average lease price is about $200, said Andy Holak, forest recreation specialist for the county. Lease fees will rise as higher fees ($300 to $500) are phased in over the next five years, Holak said. Wognum and his three partners pay $360 annually for their 61-acre Potlatch lease near Ely. " Split up four ways, it's not that big a deal, " Wognum said, " but if it's much higher, some guys wouldn't do it. " http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/sports/15902591.htm

 

Rhode Island:

 

14) Acknowledging his mission of arbor preservation, Largess, a certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture, sees himself as part of a larger vision to protect the environment. Largess' accomplishments are many, including the preservation efforts of Oakland Forest, a rare old-growth beech forest over 300 years old in Portsmouth, and the saving of the Nathanial Hawthorne sycamore, an endangered species, in Warwick. Largess is so well-known in environmental preservationists' circles that he is honored with the name " Twig, " dubbed by Julia " Butterfly " Hill, a famous activist for tree safeguarding. " Every forest tree preservationist has a nickname, " Largess noted. The recognition came when Largess worked with a team from the American Society of Consulting Arborists to save Luna, a 1,000- year-old redwood in California, which had been nearly destroyed by vandals. " I like to be known as the tree hugger, " he added. As a boy growing up in Jamestown, Largess cultivated a relationship with the outdoors. A neighbor invited him to grab an axe and saw and work with him in the woods near the Great Creek. " I was probably in seventh or eighth grade at the time. I was hooked, " Largess recalled. http://www.jamestownpress.com/news/2006/1102/News/051.html

 

New York:

 

15) A stand of old growth white pine trees on the Finger Lakes National Forest's Burnt Hill are no longer scheduled for removal as part of a timber sale. Hector District Ranger Michael C. Liu said the 12 white pines, considered to be the largest and oldest of their species on the national forest, are no longer a part of what is known as the Cotton Mill Timber Sale. The district ranger, in a written decision, said, "It is my decision to protect the white pines by removing them from the Cotton Mill Timber Sale and to replace the associated basal area with other hardwoods within the same stands. "This will meet the desired stand density and achieve the identified management objectives. It will also add species diversity and structure to the existing stand while protecting the white pines which hold special value to local individuals who have enjoyed seeing them in the landscape and have developed a sense of place from their presence." Liu said his decision "also honors the spiritual values held by the Iroquois" and other Native American nations. Mike DeMunn of Burdett, a private forestry consultant formerly with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service, pointed out that the old-growth white pine trees range from 100 to 150 years of age. "That is wonderful, just wonderful," DeMunn said Tuesday when told of the ranger's ruling. DeMunn, an expert in the field of old growth trees, said they stand some 50 feet above the forest canopy and are still growing. He referred to them as the "crown jewels of the national forest, and it is unthinkable that all of them were marked for logging." http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061102/NEWS01/611020386/1002/NEWS01

 

 

16) Their most recognizable feature is their size: 140 feet high and 60 feet wide. Among the most beautiful is the European beech (fagaceae sylvatica), but its future could be in question. Several have already been removed in the East Avenue area. The large one in Mt.Hope Cemetery near the fountain was removed last Friday. And more than 50 others throughout the city have been examined for an airborne fungal infection that arborists and horticulturists call " bleeding beech canker. " There is no effective treatment, and it eventually kills infected trees. " They are what we call estate trees, because they really require a huge space, " says Greg Frank, an arborist with Ted Collins Landscaping. " I've seen them get 6 feet wide in the trunk area. Mansions, estates, museums, and parks are typical sites for them, because they need that room. And you can't appreciate them unless you see their full structure. " The bleeding beech canker has been detected on 23 trees in Rochester, as well as trees in other Upstate cities and on Long Island. A research team from Cornell University has taken samples from the trees for further examination. " We are not completely sure what it is or what will happen to the rest of the trees, " says Judy Hubbard, a horticulturist with Cornell Cooperative Extension. " The trunk area will develop a reddish-brown ulcer that oozes, and the cambium or living part of the tree underneath the bark becomes decayed. It's unable to send water and nutrients up the tree to the branches. You'll start to see the leaves on those upper branches discolor and die. " Due to their immense size and elaborately formed trunks, the loss of beech trees could fundamentally change the character of streets like East Avenue and parks like Genesee and Highland. Both Frank of Ted Collins Landscaping and Richard Nolan in the city's forestry department report receiving calls from worried residents who have seen the beech trees being taken down. " I understand their concern, because it's a real problem, and it's hard to place a value on these old trees, " says Frank. " We took an increment boring of the trunk of the one in front of 1600 East Avenue a few years ago. It was easily more than 200 years old. " http://www.rochester-citynews.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A4944

 

Pennsylvania:

 

17) Bethlehem water officials spent more than five years and thousands of dollars on an eco-friendly plan to log the agency's property even though the water system is more than $100 million in debt and plans major renovations. That long-awaited logging venture was supposed to take a significant step forward Thursday when Bethlehem Authority, which owns the land in the Pocono Mountains, opened the loggers' bids. But no one showed. Despite mailings to 60 potential bidders, a tour of the tree stand with a couple of loggers and an advertisement in a Pocono newspaper, not one logger bid on chopping down the trees priced at a minimum bid of $35,000. ''It's disappointing,'' authority Executive Director Steve Repasch said moments after the bid deadline passed at 2 p.m. Authority officials will be calling the loggers to find out why they did not bid on the venture, which at 153 acres is a sizable timber sale in eastern Pennsylvania. Most of what was to be harvested on the authority's property along Hipsy Gap Road in Tunkhannock Townshipwould become firewood, pallets and paper as opposed to furniture veneer. Even though the trees the authority earmarked for sale aren't that valuable, authority forester Don Oaks said the volume of wood makes the project worth at least the $35,000 bid minimum. The authority's bid went out during one of the busier times for timber sale: fall and winter. Experts say loggers like the frozen and dry ground so they can get the equipment in easily and remove the trees. Loggers also like to spread out their jobs in different regions so they can keep busy during bad weather. If it rains in one part of the state, it may not be raining two hours away, said Paul Lyskava, executive director of the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association in Hershey. http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/all-4loggingnov03,0,3864672.story?coll=all-newslocalbethle

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South Carolina:

 

18) For once, a decrepit city sewer line is a good thing. Richland 1 school district pushed for months to raze a swath of Owens Field Park trees to make room for a running track — and avoid building over a sewer line. But when city engineers heard last month about Richland 1's concern, they pointed out that the sewer line is abandoned. Then, Columbia City Council agreed to pay to relocate the skate park to make room for the track without having an impact on the trees. "This saves the trees, doesn't impair the skateboarders and probably is the best compromise that could be worked out," said Mel Jenkins, one of many Rosewood neighborhood residents who lobbied to save the trees. City Councilwoman Anne Sinclair, who represents the Rosewood area, called the resolution a model compromise and an environmental victory. "I have been very much a proponent of our urban forest program," she said. "The reality is, for a city, this area is unique. It's an urban forest that is loved." Local skateboarders felt excluded from the process, said David Toole, owner of the Blue Tile Skate Shops in Five Points and Irmo. Council voted to move the skate park before skateboarders could speak at the Oct. 18 meeting and present a 250-signature petition asking that the skate park not be moved, Toole said. "We were afraid that if they moved it, we would be out of a park for several months or even years," Toole said. Sinclair and Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said the city will try to make the switch with little downtime for skateboarders. http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/15914519.htm

 

Florida:

 

19) During the past several decades, Florida has purchased spectacular landscapes for preservation -- from dazzling beach dunes that cradle freshwater lakes to ancient scrub lands that shelter some of the state's rarest plants. But the state's Florida Forever program, generating $300 million annually for buying land and other conservation measures, expires at the end of the decade. Instead of just gearing up to plead with the state Legislature to renew that funding, however, a coalition of environmentalists has launched a campaign with a far loftier goal. The Florida Forever Coalition will attempt to secure an astounding $1 billion a year during a decade to buy and protect critical pieces of prairie, forest, wetlands and desert like scrub. The increase is needed to keep up with rising land costs, coalition members say. Proponents of the idea want the additional money to come from the source that now provides for most of the state's current land purchases: documentary-stamp taxes on real-estate and legal transactions. It would just be a bigger slice of the " doc " stamp cash that now goes primarily to the state's general-spending account for health, education and other services. " There's no question that this is an ambitious effort, " said Andy McLeod, interim state director in Florida for the Trust for Public Land, one of 16 groups in the coalition that includes Audubon of Florida, The Nature Conservancy and Defenders of Wildlife. Several state representatives and senators said a request for $1 billion a year will face stiff, but not impossible, competition. " I don't know what the magic number is going to be, " said Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland. " I personally think $1 billion is a very reasonable request. " State Rep. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne, said one argument for increasing spending is to help ensure that Florida is livable in years to come. " The overwhelming majority of people who live in this state say we need to do more to protect our environment, " Altman said. " It sounds like a lot of money, but it's not when you consider the needs and benefits. " http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-landbuy0106nov01,0,4404916.story?coll=orl-news-h

eadlines-state

 

USA:

 

20) SAN FRANCISCO — Environmentalists asked a federal judge Wednesday to overturn the Bush administration's rules for managing the country's 155 national forests, arguing that the regulations illegally weaken protections for wilderness and wildlife. Issued in December 2004, the management plan gave regional forest managers more discretion to approve logging, drilling and other projects without lengthy environmental studies. Lawyers for the environmentalists told U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton that the rules do not include the safeguards for endangered wildlife and forests that federal law requires. The rules allowed forest management plans to be revised without environmental studies and repealed a requirement for forests to maintain " viable " populations of native wildlife.They also argued that the administration failed to study adequately the environmental impact of changing forest management practices and did not give the public enough opportunity to comment on the revisions. " The government must involve the public when it radically changes the management standards of our forests, " said Peter Frost, an attorney for the environmental groups, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, and Vermont Natural Resources Council. Administration officials said the rules allow forest managers to respond more quickly to wildfires, invasive species and other emerging threats. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/15904572.htm

 

Spain:

 

21) Similar to many rivers in Spain, in recent decades the banks of the Cazalegas reservoir have suffered environmental degradation as a result of intense agricultural activity, increased waste disposal and dumping, and reduced water quality. For this reason, during the months of October and November, Torraspapel, in collaboration with the NGO Fundació Natura, will plant 2,000 trees and bushes of indigenous species (willow, ash, white poplar and other species present in the area) to recover the riverside woodlands of the River Alberche, a tributary of the Tagus, some 100 km from Madrid and 20 km from Talavera de la Reina in Toledo. The reforestation project also aims to reproduce and improve the habitat of the banks of the Cazalegas reservoir for the fauna that nests or seeks refuge there. Torraspapel is firmly committed to sustainable development in general, and especially to environmental protection. To this end, it has sought to involve its customers in the "More Than a Paper Tree" project in order for them to participate by giving life to a paper tree. To date, Torraspapel has collaborated in a total of five habitat restoration projects in Spain and Brazil, with over 16,500 trees planted.

 

Russia:

 

22) The Duma had approved the code's concept a year and a half ago. The new version of the code is a founding act in the field of forestry. It keeps all forests in Russia in federal ownership. It says that "citizens may stay in forests and procure wild berries, nuts, mushrooms, edible and non-wood resources freely and free of charge." The code introduces a new classification of forests: protective, operational, and reserve. Forests will be managed by regional administrations. Federal authorities will retain a limited number of management, controlling and supervisory functions. The document also introduces new uses for forests. In addition to traditional seven uses, including logging, gathering of nonwood resources, and hunting, it adds agricultural operations, creation and operation of forest plantations, construction and operation of water reservoirs and other artificial water facilities, construction, reconstruction and operation of power lines, communication lines, roads, pipelines and other linear facilities, wood processing. The code bans monopoly and unfair competition in the use of forests. Now entrepreneurs will not only make a profit from selling wood but will also have to plant new trees to restore forests, State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov said. "We must stop the plunder of forests," he added. Under the code, forest users will have to pay for the felling of trees and for lease. "From the legal point of view, the Forestry Code, which is slated for the second reading in the State Duma, does not say a word about private property, but land basically becomes a subject of turnover instead of forests. In other words, forest turnover will be regulated not by the Forestry Code but by the Land Code, which allows for the purchase/sale of land," the president of the Russian Society of Foresters, an academician of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anatoly Pisarenko said. "Under the new draft, an entrepreneur will make a wood logging plan himself and will only submit a declaration to the state, but it practically impossible to verify it now that forest management functions is divided between federal and regional authorities," Academician of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences Nikolai Moiseyev said. http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=10946289 & PageNum=0

 

Kenya:

 

23) Avoided deforestation will be a hot point of discussion at next week's climate meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. Already a coalition of 15 rainforest nations[1] have proposed a plan whereby industrialized nations would pay them to protect their forests to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, last month Brazil -- which has the world's largest extent of tropical rainforests and the world's highest rate of forest loss -- said it will promote a similar initiative at the talks. At stake: potentially billions of dollars for developing countries and the future of the world's climate. When trees are cut greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere -- roughly 20 percent of annual emissions of such heat-trapping gases result from deforestation and forest degradation. Avoided deforestation is the concept where countries are paid to prevent deforestation that would otherwise occur. Funds come from industrialized countries seeking to meet emissions commitments under international agreements like the Kyoto Protocol. Policymakers and environmentalists alike find the idea attractive because it could help fight climate change at a low cost while improving living standards for some of the world's poorest people, safeguarding biodiversity, and preserving other ecosystem services. A number of prominent conservation biologists and development agencies including the World Bank and the U.N. have already endorsed the idea. Even the United States government has voiced support for the plan. http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1031-deforestation.html

 

South Africa:

 

24) Pretoria - Southern Africa should have a substantial agreement to reduce deforestation within the next year, British High Commissioner Paul Boateng said on Friday. Addressing a number of key South African government officials, diplomats and non-governmental organisations on the Stern review on the economics of climate change Boateng pleaded for urgent action. " There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we act now and act internationally... but the task is urgent... delaying action, even by decade or two, will take us into dangerous territory, " Sir Nicholas Stern who compiled the review, said. According to the review key steps included emission trading, technology co-operation, action to reduce deforestation and adaptation of climate change policies. Boateng said one area where Southern Africa could start was to reduce deforestation. " The loss of natural forests around the world contributes more to global emissions each year than the transport sector, " Boateng said. New Partnership of Africa's Development (Nepad) Environment Advisor, Estherine Lisinge Forabong, said it was important to inform the masses of people on the impact of climate change. She said it should be explained in simple ways and with examples of the effect it would have on the lives of ordinary people, something the 600-page review did not do. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14 & click_id=143 & art_id=qw1162560961848S516

 

 

Argentina:

 

25) Mbya Guaraní children living in the subtropical rainforests of Argentina's northeastern province of Misiones are dying from preventable illnesses, and extra provision by the government of money, medicine and food seems unable to halt the catastrophe. In the last two months, 21 Mbya children have died from respiratory problems or malnutrition, and another 13 are in the hospital. These are large numbers in proportion to the size of the ethnic group -- 4,083 people according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC), or just over 3,000 according to private counts. deforestation, which is making inroads into Mbya Guaraní territory and destroying their livelihood. Logging, to these people, also means the loss of their " natural pharmacy " , which counts some 150 medicinal plants. Timber companies and pulp mills are intensely active in Misiones. In addition, tobacco and " yerba mate " (a crop used to make a beverage) plantations are expanding at the expense of the rainforest, 1,300 kilometres from Buenos Aires, in the northeast corner of the country which borders on Brazil. Preliminary data from the Complementary Survey of Indigenous Peoples, carried out by INDEC in 2004 and 2005 and released in September, indicate there are 450,000 people who belong to, or are first generation descendants from, 25 indigenous groups in this country with a population of nearly 39 million. Earlier independent estimates gave a figure of over one million. National and provincial officials have expressed concern about child mortality among the Mbya Guaraní, but have avoided making any connection to the impoverishment and loss of their habitat. The Mbya belong to the great Guaraní nation that occupied vast South American territories before the European conquest, in what is today Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Martínez is afraid that the Mbya people, who numbered 100,000 in the 15th century, might disappear completely. Their communities have an average life expectancy of 40 years, and the greatest number of deaths is among children. " They have lost their self-esteem, and now hardly have a future to look forward to, " Martínez said. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35350

 

India:

 

26) A few trees have been saved from the axe because from time immemorial they have been considered sacred. In any village you will find an askwattakatte where nagapratisthe takes place under the sacred peepul tree. It was under one such tree in Bodh Gaya, that Buddha was enlightened. Banni (Accacia Ferruginea) is sacred because it was in one such tree that Arjuna, as stated in the Mahabharat, hid his Gandhiva bow and arrows while in his agntavasa, (one year of total anonymity), when the Pandavas were banished to the forest. Banni trees are worshipped and oil lamps are lit during certain festival months. The banyan tree, because of its sheer size and longevity is venerated and sacred. Devivana and Devarakadu are other places, under the control of the temples or forest department that contain sacred plants some of which have medicinal properties too. Navagrahahavana contains plants associated with each planet that is considered sacred. Such vanas help in biodiversity conservation as these are protected as sacred. A few tribal communities worship trees as manifestation of god. The Vishnoi community protects Khejri trees as these are venerated. http://www.hindu.com/yw/2006/11/03/stories/2006110300450500.htm

 

 

China:

 

27) A powerful national drive towards the expansion and exploitation of resources led the nation towards a great loss of its natural ecosystem. Besides being a peasant himself, Mao's relationship with nature was that of an oppositional one. Mao didn't respect nature and tried to build China and improve the lives of its people at the cost of defeating nature. He believed in the illusion that "men must conquer nature". (Shapiro 2001 a) China holds approximately 600 different types of terrestrial ecosystems, including a wide range of forests. Within these ecosystems, are more than 30,000 species of advanced plants (10 percent of the world total) and over 63,000 kinds of vertebrates (14 percent of the world total), these totals make China the third richest nation in the world in terms of biodiversity. South central China also features 230 rare species of rhododendrons. The region is also home to snow leopards, forest musk deer, antelope, and baileys goral. But the best known resident of south central China is the giant panda. Pandas, once roamed over wide areas in China but their numbers are significantly decreasing due to human induced climate change and habitat destruction. As a result, today there are only about one thousand pandas remaining in the wild and about one hundred in captivity. China's huge population is putting a lot of pressure on the forest areas in the region. Conversion and degradation of vital wildlife habitats are a serious problem in some of the mountainous regions of the south western China, in places such as Dequin. The establishment of various regulations and natural reserves and parks seemed to have served no purpose to prevent the extinction of some of the world's rarest endangered species such as snub nosed monkey. The destruction of forested land and loss of habitat for these animals can be blamed primarily to the fact the locals have a very limited economic opportunity, coupled with the huge population pressure which in turn has resulted to a variety of ecologically destructive practices including illegal hunting, over grazing, firewood collection, logging, expansion of agricultural land etc.( Li, 1990) http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?article=China%E2%80%99s+critical+biodiversity+and+its+impli

cations+on+Tibet & id=14560

 

Vietnam:

 

28) Vietnam is planning to increase its cacao acreage to some 20,000 hectares by 2010 from current 7,320 hectares, becoming a cacao producer and exporter. Of the existing acreage, 1,000 hectares are in harvest season with a yield of nearly 1.2 tons of cacao fruits per hectare, the Planning Department under the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development told Xinhua on Wednesday, noting that some 35 tons of cacao beans have been exported in the first 10 months of this year. A kilogram of dried cacao beans is currently priced around 20, 000 Vietnamese dong (nearly 1.2 U.S dollars) in the domestic market. Vietnam is estimated to have some 8,100 hectares of cacao trees, mainly in the southern and Central Highlands region, by late 2006. Its agencies and foreign ones from the United States and the Netherlands are actively selecting suitable cacao varieties, mainly imported ones, producing more seeds and seedlings, and transferring cultivation techniques to farmers. " We are seeking more outlets for local growers. The world demand for cacao stands at over 3.1 million tons each year. Western European countries, the United States, India and China consume great volumes, " Vietnam's National Institute of Agricultural Planning and Production told Xinhua recently, noting that the country will develop its cacao processing industry in the long term. Cacao trees were first grown in Vietnam's southern region in 1878, but were not adored by local farmers due to their low profitability. The tropical trees' fruits are manufactured into various products, including cocoa butter used in fine soaps, cosmetics and medicines, and cocoa used for beverages and flavoring. Chocolate is a product in which the cocoa butter has been retained. http://english.people.com.cn/200611/01/eng20061101_317320.html

 

Indonesia:

 

29) From asthma attacks and sore throats to scarring and abnormal development of lungs in children, Southeast Asia's annual haze is a health menace that affects millions of people and costs regional economies dearly. Apart from fuelling a surge in work absenteeism and medical costs, choking smoke from Indonesia's forest and peat bog fires since mid-Aug has scared off tourists and hurt airlines, hotels and shop owners in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. This year's haze was among the worst in the past decade and health experts say the effects of repeated exposure grow over time, and can even stunt lung growth in children. " At levels of pollution much lower than what we are talking about here, young people in the most formative stage of their development experience stunting of lung growth, " Anthony Hedley, professor of community medicine at University of Hong Kong said. " I think that is a very likely outcome of these repeated intermediate to long-term exposures of the populations in Indonesia, Malaysia (and Singapore), " he told Reuters. The fires, lit deliberately by farmers and plantation owners on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and large parts of Borneo to clear land, emit particulates, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, all of which can injure the heart and lungs. This year's haze brought air pollution indices to worryingly high levels and forced many to stay indoors. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/T354571.htm

 

30) There has been technical collaboration between the Ministry of Forestry in Indonesia and Japan Cooperation Agency (Jica) known as Forest Fire Prevention Management in Indonesia (1996-2006). The project aimed to improve early warning and detection systems, support forest fire prevention activities as well as training to local communities and local government staff to develop effective forest management techniques. The projects have made some improvements. For instance, the early detection systems have increased Indonesia's ability to detect hot spots thus allowing officials to be notified of forest fires swiftly. More than 6,000 hotspots have been detected throughout Indonesia this year, including those in remote areas. Another project with positive outcomes is the joint venture by Wildlife Habitat Canada and Indonesia's Forest Protection and Nature Conservation directorate. The project was aimed at battling peatland fires a common source for forest fires and regional haze by irrigating dry peatlands. This is done via simple local methods of blocking existing canals that surround peatlands with logs and sandbags. This project proved to be a success as not only has it put an end to fires but also allowed forests to recover and created a new food source with fishes breeding in the blocked off canals. Although requiring four years to complete, such sustainable solutions with long term benefits ought to have been supported by Asean member states. Regrettably, none of them, not even those inflicted by the haze, funded the project. Rather they have channeled most of their funds to more expensive short term solutions. Cloud seeding costs the Sarawak state government RM50,000 ($21,417.27) per trip. Success is not always guaranteed as it is often difficult to find `rain-bearing clouds' during the dry season. The lack of effective use of funds has also contributed to the current prolonged haze situation. It is perhaps due to the Indonesian government's slow response and lack of effort in addressing the issue that has deterred its neighbours from offering financial assistance. http://www.bruneitimes.com.bn/section/opinion/01Nov2006-3.php

 

31) Drainage of tropical peat bogs is a vast uncharted source of greenhouse gases that may be doing more to stoke global warming than fossil fuels, a conservation group and a Dutch research institute said on Friday. " The figures are alarming... This issue has been overlooked, " said Marcel Silvius, senior programme manager at Wetlands International, a non-profit group whose backers include 60 governments and 15 conservation groups. Silvius told Reuters that a study with Dutch water research institute Delft Hydraulics estimated that " annual peatland emissions from South-East Asia far exceed fossil fuel contributions from major polluting countries. " Indonesia, which is now in 21st place in a world ranking of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, would move to third place behind the United States and China if peat were taken into account, it said. Wetlands International estimated that emissions from Indonesian peatlands alone, when drained or burnt, total 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year -- almost a tenth of world greenhouse gas emissions from human activities led by burning coal, oil and natural gas. Similar figures would apply to Malaysia, it said. Peat is created by dead plant matter compressed over thousands of years in wet conditions that prevent decay. Peat can hold about 30 times as much carbon, a non-toxic gas absorbed by plants as they grow, as in forests above ground. When drained, peat starts to decompose on contact with air and carbon is released, often aggravated by fires that can rage for months and add to a haze that is an annual health menace to millions of people in the region. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L03880917.htm

 

New Zealand:

 

32) The forestry industry is losing a lot of history with the sale of Carter Holt Harvey's forests to Hancock Timber Resources. The sale, expected to finalise early next month, transfers control of the largest forest estate in the country to a Boston-based fund manager that already owns forests here. It is another marker along a journey to a new industry structure, coming on the back of the sale of all the Fletcher Challenge forests and the former state forests in the Central North Island to financial institutions. Independent saw millers who had a bitter history with both Fletchers and Carters, suspecting them of sending good logs to their pulp mills and favouring their own saw mills, are welcoming the break up of the vertically integrated corporate model. But the jury is out on whether life will be any better with financial institutions dominating forest ownership. But the jury is out on whether life will be any better with financial institutions dominating forest ownership. At the very least there are new players. Hancock will be the largest forest owner with the Carter Holt purchase, believed to be about 220,000ha, though the actual owners are its clients. Harvard University's endowment fund was the second biggest owner, but this week's sale of a third of its forest to estate to the New Zealand Superfund was likely to drop it to third, behind Rayonier Deutsche Asset Management. " There was an enormous amount of baggage in this industry, " said Phil Verry, who purchased of Rotorua's large Waipa sawmill, again with little knowledge of the industry. " One of the advantages we have had is we came in without any baggage so we are able to deal with everybody. " http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3 & ObjectID=10408674

 

 

Australia:

 

33) The Helms Forest is being logged by the Forest Products Commission, and the department plans to burn the remaining 3,500 hectares this spring. Wildlife carer Dave Paterson says while nothing can be done to stop the logging, burning will further threaten the existence of wildlife, in particular the black cockatoo. Mr Paterson says the bird's habitat is not being sufficiently protected. " At one end of Helms they're logging 411 hectares and we've also caught them out down there - they've already knocked down two that we've found are genuine nesting hollow trees - two marri trees, probably 300-years-old with hollows in them and they were marked with a 'H' and they've knocked them down and they're logging that area and the other 3,400 hectares they plan to burn it, " he said. The Department of Environment and Conservation says the burning is important as it is close to the town of Jalbarragup and will provide protection for local residents. The department's south-west fire coordinator, John Tillman, says the burning will be carried out under low intensity to remove scrub on the forest floor. Mr Tillman says the birds should be fairly protected. " The cockatoos tend to nest very high in the large over-storey species - marri and jarrah trees, and also the advice we have is that they tend to nest very deep in hollows, so in fact they'll actually be quite protected from low intensity burning, " he said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1778835.htm34) Police have charged a 29-year-old Goongerah man and a 25-year-old Brunswick woman with public nuisance after they were involved in halting a logging truck on its way to a woodchip mill in Geelong. The two protesters chained themselves to the truck in a four-hour protest that created city traffic chaos in inner-city Melbourne. The drama started just after 4am when activists posed as stranded motorists, parking a car with the bonnet up in Swan St, Richmond, near Olympic Park, and waving down the truck driver. As the truck came to a stop, up to 20 protesters sprang atop its load and surrounded the vehicle. As police tried to cut the protesters free, truck driver Steve Reed said the protesters were " bloody terrorists " . " I mean, they came out of the bushes, what else do you call it, " he told theage.com.au. " You don't call a friendly g'day and a cup of tea. " It was a hijack, that's what it was. They came from either side and jumped all over the truck. " He said had also been concerned for the protesters' safety, fearing that if he moved the truck he would " end up in more strife than they're going to be (in) " . Melbourne University student Lauren Caulfield, 25, who chained herself to the truck, said the protest was designed to " send a very strong message to the Premier, Steve Bracks and to Ted Baillieu, the Leader of the Opposition, that's it's time to come out and protect old growth forest, water catchments and threatened species habitats from export wood chipping. " A joint media release from Friends of the Earth and the Australian Student Environment Network said the truck had been " hijacked " to protest the logging of old growth forests. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hijack-outrage/2006/11/03/1162340015941.html

 

35) The Federal Government has decided against imposing a blanket ban on products made from illegally logged timber, instead developing voluntary measures for the industry. A blanket ban would also prevent some legal timber entering Australia, Forestry Minister Eric Abetz said as he released a discussion paper on illegal logging. Among other proposed measures is an awareness campaign about illegal logging, developing purchasing guidelines and increased collaboration with other countries to improve forest management. The industry welcomed the proposals but critics slammed the proposed measures as belated and an attempt to hoodwink the public that the plan would address climate change. Senator Abetz said illegal logging damaged forest ecosystems and cheated developing world governments out of export revenue. " It promotes corruption, bankrolls regional conflict and discourages legal and sustainable forest practices, " he said. " Illegal logging also reduces opportunities for forest industries in countries which have worked hard to ensure their operations are environmentally sustainable, such as here in Australia. " His proposals included working with industry to develop voluntary measures that helped gauge the legality of imported forest products, and to develop voluntary certification and product chain-of-custody schemes for Australian forest products. Opposition forestry spokesman Martin Ferguson said the measures were a step in the right direction but had been two years coming. " Urgent action is now critical, none more so than a formal review into forestry certification and product chain-of-custody schemes to ensure that they will deliver sustainability, " he said in a statement. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20688509-5005961,00.html

 

World-wide:

 

36) One immediate partial climate crisis remedy whose time has come is the idea of " avoided deforestation " whereby countries are compensated for maintaining intact ancient forest ecosystems. This win/win/win/win/lose strategy would maintain critical global ecosystem services, preserve biodiversity and genetic resources, keep existing carbon locked into terrestrial ecosystems, and provide a major source of sustainable development income to forest dwellers. It is only the timber merchants of death that lose, and given their poorly shared benefits from years of ancient forest ecosystem liquidation, frankly they do not count. They will be lucky to get out of the business of forest ecocide alive and not be strung from the few remaining trees for their ecological crimes against humanity. Forest rich, not yet overdeveloped, countries could be paid almost immediately to protect their forests in order to offset greenhouse gas emissions. The economics of deforestation/forest diminishment overwhelmingly support keeping forests standing for their carbon storage - i.e. a rancher destroys a $US7500 forest asset in terms of carbon held to create a pasture and beef that is worth $US300. Paying to avoid deforestation and diminishment of ancient forests means an end to industrial ancient forest development of any type other than continued traditional uses by local peoples. There is no program to save the Earth's climatic system that does not include ending and reversing deforestation and forest diminishment, an urgent embrace of energy conservation and efficiency, dramatically reducing emissions including forgoing the use of coal and other fossil fuels, and reducing humanity's population and consumption inequities. Anything less is doomed to failure. Ecological Internet is in the final planning phases of a campaign targeting those that continue to aid and abet industrial activities in all remaining primary and old-growth forests worldwide, particularly environmental apologists for " green " logging. http://www.climateark.org/blog/2006/11/avoiding_deforestation_now_to.asp