Guest guest Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Today for you 37 news items about Mama Earth's trees. Location, number and subject listed below. Condensed / abbreviated article is listed further below.Can be viewed on the web at http://www.livejournal.com/users/olyecology or by sending a blank email message to earthtreenews---British Columbia: 1) Transboundary Watershed Alliance, 2) Revelstoke Mountain Caribou Research Project, 3) Reproductive secretions in conifers, --Oregon: 4) Klamath Siskiyou Wild--California: 5) Civil suit against Trees Foundation, 6) Pacific Lumber deals one of the last company towns, 7) Logging in Sequoia Monument protested, 8) Save Mount Diablo, 9) Beckwourth RD proposes fire salvage,--Arizona: 10) Water and air in arid forests--Montana: 11) Swan Lake state forest logging questioned--Colorado: 12) District Ranger leaves for PNW, 13) Beetle impacts estimated --Pennsylvania: 14) Michaux State Forest, 15) Big Trees of Pennsylvania--Virginia: 16) Columbia Helicopters fascinates rural folk--Alabama: 17) 150,000 trees for Bankhead National Forest--Florida: 18) Protecting invader trees --USA: 19) BLM overhaul blunders along--Canada: 20) Logging a town to protect it from forest fires--European Union: 21) Biomass Action Plan--UK: 22) Carbon offset orgs--Germany: 23) Calculating forest production --Czechoslovakia: 24) Cloning the world's champions--Guyana: 25) Log shipment investigation--Tanzania: 26) Planting trees questioned--Belize: 27) An eco-warrior who's helping--Haiti: 28) Surviving without having to cut down trees --Honduras: 29) Two local forest defenders killed --Brazil: 30) Filling the shoes of a murdered forest defender--India: 31) Swamp Deer Forest--Philippines: 32) Legal victory saves largest logging concession --Indonesia: 33) Succeeded in eradicating illegal logging?--Australia: 34) Senator Brown always says save 'em! 35) Priced out of camping? 36) Kayak marathon to stop Pulp mill,--World-wide: 37) Annual Dust Storms from Northern Chad grow trees in the Amazon, British Columbia:1) Voting for Citizen's Bank Shared Interest Grants closes on January 15. These funds allow important social and environmental projects to further their work in important areas. The Transboundary Watershed Alliance (TWA) works to protect the large abundant and intact watersheds along the BC – Alaska border. These lands are incredibly valuable habitat for wolves, moose, mountain sheep, caribou, and grizzlies, among many other species; and the rivers in the region support all five species of wild Pacific salmon. In addition, as large intact wilderness regions, these lands provide carbon sinks and fresh water resources, resources which are increasingly important and difficult to find at this scale. These lands are also home to First Nations who have been their stewards for hundreds of years. A vote for the TWA is a vote to defend the ecology and cultures in this vast, incredible, and unprotected region. Don't forget to vote! a vote for the Transboundary Watershed Alliance is a vote for Northern mountain caribou! Please go to http://www.riverswithoutborders.org2) Panel consultant Rob Serrouya, a member of the Revelstoke Mountain Caribou Research Project, says neither he nor his peers on the panel recommended any one particular course of action. That, said Serrouya, will be up to the government to decide. "We just came up with options, and they range from the most constraining on the land base, to the least constraining," said Serrouya describing the options as a scale, ranging from none, to significant human intervention. "The most constraining option is to have caribou self-sustaining in the long term, and self sustaining means we don't need to do any intensive intervention … that option called for no logging in caribou habitat. "The important point is that under any option, no matter which option is chosen, one that ends all logging or one that allows some logging, the predator system will have to be altered," said Serrouya. "And generally environmentalists buy in more to predator reduction if the habitat is also protected.We have to look after the habitat better, and that means controlling the logging and preserving as much as possible," said Cooperman. "And this is a good time to be doing something like this because the forest industry is in huge decline … they say they won't be able to get their heads above water for years now because the price of lumber is so low, and at the same time they're washing beetle wood, so it's not like they don't have enough wood supply. So if there's ever a time to preserve habitat, it's now." http://www.saobserver.net/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=29 & cat=23 & id=802455 & more= 3) "We were studying reproductive secretions in conifers that are basically involved with protecting the tree when they're being pollinated," he explains. "When the pollen comes in, it's totally coated with bacteria, viruses and fungi, so we were studying defensive compounds in these ancient trees." A tree has to remain "receptive" to pollen for reproduction to be successful, but that means it also gets exposed to lots of microbial agents that could potentially cause disease. The secretions that Poulis is studying help protect the tree from those "foreign invaders." Although the substances are produced by fir trees, Poulis postulates that their germ-fighting characteristics may offer benefits to people as well. "When you study things that are anti-viral, anti-bacterial or anti-fungal, they have certain traits that are applicable across all different types of viruses, fungi and bacteria," he explains. "If you can find some broad-spectrum anti-microbials, then there's definitely an application to human health – for pathogens that affect us... "We found some anti-microbial compounds that definitely show some potential for protecting (people) from certain disease pathogens. We're also developing a method to make them on a commercial relevant scale." Poulis recently teamed up with his former PhD advisor (Patrick von Aderkas) to form a new company called FloraPure BioSciences Inc., in order to take advantage of the commercial potential of his findings. UVic's Innovation and Development Corporation (IDC) also has a stake in the new venture since much of the research was conducted in facilities located on campus. http://www.esquimaltnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=10 & cat=23 & id=804755 & more= Oregon:4) In the past month alone, federal courts sided with KS Wild on four different BLM old-growth logging proposals in the Cow Creek drainage, stopping three timber sales before they could be logged. And in a bittersweet victory that nonetheless sets strong legal precedent, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the Mr. Wilson timber sale, which was logged in 2003, illegal. We were also part of the legal teams that successfully sued the Bush Administration in order to restore both the Roadless Area Conservation Rule and the Survey and Manage requirements of the Northwest Forest Plan. We continue our strong advocacy for at-risk wildlife, like the Oregon cougar, grey wolf and the newly discovered Scott Bar salamander. Our legal victory in September forced a federal review of dwindling wolverine populations in the Lower 48. In December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responded to our request to protect the rarest plant in the Klamath-Siskiyou (the magnificent Siskiyou mariposa lily) with a Conservation Plan. Perhaps most importantly, Congress adjourned in 2006 without passing a bill that would have weakened the Endangered Species Act. With our treasured plant and wildlife habitat under assault from the administration and the resource extraction interests that support its campaigns, an ambitious and strategic approach to protecting the KS region's biological riches is desperately needed. To meet this challenge, we will be deeply grateful if you would generously donate to support our important work. We understand that this is a big request, but we think the results - vibrant healthy ecosystems and communities - are well-worth it!. http://www.kswild.orgCalifornia:5) The first hearing in the civil suit against the Trees Foundation took place on Wednesday, December 20th, 2006. After a brief debate about whether paperwork was filed on time, the conversation took an interesting turn. The defense lawyer claimed that the Trees Foundation would not have accepted the donation if it had been earmarked for NCEF! Media. Yet, as some of you may be able to attest to, the Trees Foundation was the conduit for tax-deductible donations to North Coast Earth First! and North Coast Earth First! Media for nearly two years. NCEF! activist Shunka Wakan had a long-standing relationship with the Trees Foundation, running the NCEF! Media office and instructing donors who wished to make tax-deductible donations to do so through the Trees Foundation. For those of you new unfamiliar with this issue, a donor is suing the " Trees Foundation " for fraud, contending that a $185,000 donation, intended for North Coast Earth First! Media, never made it to its destination and was instead misappropriated by the Trees Foundation. NCEF! activist Shunka Wakan is among the donor's witnesses in this case, and we are all very upset by this situation, and hope for a quick resolution. http://northcoastearthfirst.org/NCEFContacts.htm6) SCOTIA - Along with the scent of freshly cut redwood, an air of uncertainty hangs over this idyllic Northern California logging town. After 141 years as Scotia's only employer, landlord and property manager, Pacific Lumber Co. is getting out of the real estate business. Citing declining timber prices and a need to raise cash, its Houston-based parent company, Maxxam Inc., plans to sell Scotia's 270 homes, stores, pair of churches, hotel, museum, movie theater and recreation center in 2007. PalCo, as the company is known, hopes the rest of its holdings 137 miles south of the Oregon-California border - from the fire department and street lights to the power plant and sewer system - will be annexed and governed by the adjoining town of Rio Dell - a community as scruffy as Scotia is spic-and-span. If the city council decides against annexation, Humboldt County officials could insist on it anyway. Another option is for Scotia to be run as an independent, unincorporated district that contracts for municipal services, but it's unlikely the town would generate enough property tax revenue for that, said Kirk Gothier, who works for the county commission that must approve any changes in city boundaries. Wood pointed to the high-tech saw mill Pacific Lumber built in 2004 as evidence that it sees a future in the redwoods it would still own after unloading Scotia. The company is also renovating the site of one of its old mills into a light industrial park it hopes would attract other businesses, such as a brewery. " It's a great piece of ground, and there will always be somebody here to run it, " he said. Yet Wood's sunny prediction came the same day the company quietly laid off another 90 workers. Berti, a veteran city councilman in nearby Fortuna, heard about it from workers who came into Hoby's Market. " It's sad to see such a beautiful community go out the window, " he said. " But time moves on. You have to go along. " http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/16352659.htm7) GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT, CA - A group of protesters claims the US Forest Service is cutting three dozen protected groves inside Sequoia National Park. Giant Sequoia National Monument was created in 2000 by President Clinton to preserve the trees. Minimal logging operations have continued since then, and the forest service just issued a plan calling for some removal of young sequoias to thin overgrown groves. http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local & id=48995808) When botanist Mary Bowerman and engineer Art Bonwell founded Save Mount Diablo in 1971, the state park they set out to expand covered 6,778 acres at the summit of Contra Costa County's iconic mountain. Today, as the organization marks the end of its 35th year by adding another 207 acres of protected land on the mountain, Mount Diablo State Park covers more than 20,000 acres. The park is the centerpiece of 29 local, regional and state parks that now span nearly 90,000 acres of the northern Diablo Range and comprise almost 10 percent of the Bay Area's open space. That swath of parkland has determined the course of growth in a county that since 1971 has doubled its population to more than 1 million. " The mountain speaks for itself when you compare it to Mount Tam and the development that's happened there, " said Mark DeSaulnier, county supervisor and assemblyman-elect. " While we've had lots of development in Contra Costa County, Save Mount Diablo was able to save much of the mountain and the surrounding ridgelines, and we can be proud of the work they've accomplished. " Save Mount Diablo has not worked alone -- the East Bay Regional Park District, among others, also deserves credit -- but it has been the most visible and vocal advocate for open space in Contra Costa County. " We've really been able to rely upon them as partners in preserving open space, " said Beverly Lane, an East Bay Regional Park District board trustee. " The advocacy of Save Mount Diablo has been significant. " The organization has long lobbied for park bonds and regularly weighs in on development projects, but it has in recent years grown more active in regional land use policy. It also joined environmentalists, city planners, developers and others in drafting the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservation Plan. That proposal, awaiting final approval, identifies 30,000 acres of prime wildlife habitat. Under the plan, developers will pay to help preserve the habitat in exchange for a streamlined permitting process. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/29/BAGDNN9PKS1.DTL 9) The Beckwourth Ranger District is proposing a fire salvage and reforestation of the Grease Fire. The wildfire started on July 16, 2006 and was contained by July 23, 2006. Approximately 350 acres were burned by the Grease Fire. The Grease Fire Salvage and Reforestation project is intended to recover economic value of fire killed trees and to reforest the burned area. There will be approximately 212 acres salvaged and reforested. No trees over 30 " diameter breast height will be salvaged. The Grease Fire Salvage and Reforestation project location is approximately 14 miles north east of Beckwourth, California. The project is on the Beckwourth Ranger District, Plumas National Forest. Comments concerning this action will be accepted for 30 calendar days http://www.plumasnews.com/news_story.edi?sid=4790 & mode=thread & order=0 & thold=0 Arizona:10) In a forthcoming paper in the Journal of Arid Environments, which is available on the http://authors.elsevier.com/offprints/YJARE1769/0dee34d6306f9059b870583e03a193bd , she reports the first results of a study designed to characterize the surface exchanges of water and carbon dioxide in a forest in the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson, Ariz. Mountain forests are an important source of water for the rest of such semi-arid regions, and these forests provide relatively isolated conditions where scientists can get a clearer picture of what is happening to the water that so many people depend on. In a desert region, such forests are found only at the tops of mountains because only there does precipitation exceed evaporation enough for forest vegetation to survive. Understanding surface-atmosphere interactions is important to understanding a range of water resource phenomena including predictions about water supplies, Brown said. " This research seeks to characterize the explicit relationship between water availability and photosynthetic activities of the vegetation. This paper is the first step in that process, and it illustrates the seasonal characteristics of the forest vegetation-water relationship as observed during a three-year period during which there were extreme drought conditions in the semi-arid southwestern United States. " In short, winter has a significant impact on the primary growing season for these mountain trees, because moisture is continually available from rain or snow, the tree root zones don't freeze, and there is enough sunlight for photosynthesis. The trees slow down during the pre-monsoon dry season in May and June when water is scarce, and then quickly respond to the sudden availability of water at the onset of the monsoon in July. As unlikely as it may seem, Arizona does experience a monsoon every summer. Certain roads have yellow warning signs posted -- " Do Not Cross When Flooded. " Though these signs may seem out of place in the middle of a desert, they have a serious purpose. http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/4163.htmlMontana:11) We've long backed active forest management, particularly on Montana's school trust lands, and still do. But a planned sale for the Swan Lake State Forest raises questions about how timber sales are planned and what they should accomplish. The Three Creeks project will involve removing 23.7 million board feet of timber over a three-year period, getting much of that timber from old-growth forests, and building 19 miles of new roads. These days, most timber projects in Northwest Montana, particularly on federal lands, go out of their way to avoid old growth timber, and new roads have become rare, often replaced with the use of temporary roads. There's a reason why the Three Creeks project is different: The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation bluntly concedes in its Environmental Impact Statement that the project was designed to meet a state-mandated timber target rather than because of forest management goals. A statewide target was developed through a required, computer generated recalculation of the "sustained yield" that can be harvested off state lands. But rather than looking at the sustained yield volume as a guideline, it has been applied as a firm quota. To provide its share, the Swan Lake State Forest must produce 6.7 million board feet of timber annually. That doesn't necessarily set the stage for sound forest management. Maybe hitting that target makes sense in a particular year on a particular piece of ground. But it might not in other years, in other areas.http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/01/03/opinion/opinion01.txt Colorado:12) Aspen-Sopris District Ranger Bill Westbrook will leave in mid-February to take over as the Zig Zag District ranger in the Mount Hood National Forest near Portland, Ore. Westbrook said budget issues add to the challenges of public land management. He stressed that partnerships with groups like the Forest Conservancy are vital to the agency's success. The Forest Conservancy enlists volunteers to help patrol wilderness and other forest lands, providing volunteer hours worth roughly $160,000 of service to the agency last year, he said. Westbrook urged anyone who wants to assist the Forest Service to contact the Forest Conservancy. Another challenge Westbrook singled out was the consolidation of the Aspen and Sopris districts. Westbrook was initially the Sopris District ranger, based out of Carbondale, in 2001. The agency hired him as the Aspen District ranger three years later just as it decided to merge the two historically separate districts. He credited the staff with performing all their regular duties while enacting the consolidation. Worked well with watchdog group. Sloan Shoemaker, executive director of Wilderness Workshop, the oldest local conservation group and a watchdog of forest issues, credited Westbrook with preventing illegal mining activity in the Crystal River Valley and, overall, being " a pretty good land steward. " Shoemaker noted that timber harvesting could have evolved into an issue in the lands of the old Sopris District, which holds a significant share of the White River National Forest's timber base. Wilderness Workshop was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Forest Service over a timber harvest in Baylor Park, an area near Sunlight Mountain Resort. He said Westbrook helped negotiate an out-of-court settlement. " I found Bill a very reasonable guy and easy to work with, " Shoemaker said. " He wasn't a timber beast [a term conservation groups use to describe rangers who favor logging] by any stretch of the imagination. " Timber harvesting isn't an issue in Westbrook's new district, but the area still has its share of challenges, he said. Like the Aspen-Sopris District, the Zig Zag is driven by recreation issues: " It's kind of the playground for Portland, " he said. http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070104/NEWS/10104004713) An epidemic gripping Colorado forests is largely the work of Mother Nature, and there isn't much humans can do to stop it. But with creative financing, new approaches and potential new laws, state government may be able to help prevent future destruction by the mountain pine beetle, also called the bark beetle. Though much of the destruction affects federal lands, plans are already germinating in Denver regarding how to protect Colorado's lodgepole forests from beetles and possible wildfires. At a pine beetle meeting last month, U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said the fire threat from beetle-killed trees could be " the Katrina of the West " if left unchecked. Not much can be done to save trees under attack, but state lawmakers can match federal forest-management grants, or seed industries that could use wood from forest-thinning efforts and trees that succumbed to the beetle onslaught, state officials said. Joe Duda, forest management division supervisor for the Colorado State Forest Service, said the timber industry, all but dead in Colorado, could help clear the way for younger, healthier trees that could survive a beetle attack. " You could sell trees to a facility somewhere that could make wood (products) out of it, " he said of forest thinning. " Now, you're spending $200 to $1,200 an acre to do that kind of work. " Lawmakers could help foster a market for forest products that goes beyond Christmas trees and firewood, Duda said. By the numbers: In 2006: 644,840 Lodgepole acres affected by beetles; In 2005: 430,526 Acres; There are 22.5 million Acres of forested land in Colorado http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070102/NEWS/101020048Pennsylvania:14) When the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources acquired the lands now known as Michaux State Forest in the early 20th century, the steep hillsides and ridges were nearly completely devoid of trees. Roughly 86,000 acres had been clear cut during the previous 100 years to support a booming timber industry and feed iron furnaces that dotted the hillsides. While traversing the forest's gravel roads, Bureau of Forestry ranger Rick Sullivan came upon an area that could have looked eerily reminiscent to the Michaux of 1900. The land, somewhere high up in the forest's ridges, had recently been the site of a " regeneration harvest " to support the Bureau's timber harvest program. Although a majority of the trees were gone, some remained. " The thrust of our management of trees is our timber harvest program, " District Forester Mike Kusko said. During the harvest, Michaux's foresters examine the landscape and decide what areas to harvest. They then contract logging companies and oversee the timber harvest sale. Kusko, who oversees more than 20 full-time employees at the Bureau's district office, said the harvests are necessary for the health of the forest. " This kind of forest is more resilient and less susceptible to insect infestation, " Kusko said. " An old, maturing oak forest is prime for gypsy moths, " he added. " Not all the wildlife in the world wants to live in old trees. " http://www.eveningsun.com/adamsweekly/ci_494260015) I just received the 2006 edition of "Big Trees of Pennsylvania," which was printed by the Pennsylvania Forestry Association. They have been keeping records of big trees, within the state, since November 1888. As our nation grew so did the demand for wood. In 1860, Pennsylvania led all the states in the production of lumber. Lumber production peaked at 2,300,000 board feet annually; however, by this time, Pennsylvania had slipped to third place in lumber production among the states. In 1895, between 800,000,000 and 1,300,000,000 board feet of hemlock were being cut annually. This was regulated by the demand for hemlock bark, which was used in tanning leather and not by the need or demand for lumber. Tanneries were built across Northern Pennsylvania. One tannery, at Costello in Potter County, handled 1,100 hides a day and was the largest tannery in the state. Today, nothing remains except the building foundations. By the early 1900s, practically all the virgin timber within the state had been cut. This woke some people up to the plight of Penn's Woods, and in 1895, the State Department of Agriculture was created, and the Commission of Forestry was within this department. Dr. Joseph Rothrock was the first commissioner, and today, he is known as the father of Pennsylvania forestry. By 1894, Pennsylvania county commissioners were offering 1,500,000 acres of cut-over forest lands for tax sale. In 1897, the Forestry Department was authorized to purchase lands for forest reservations, which were later to become known as State Forest Land. The first 39,277 acre acquisition was all tax sale property, and the price averaged 75 cents an acre. The breakdown of acreage follows: 14,090 in Clinton County; 15,000 in Clearfield County; 1,536 in Lycoming County; 1,244 in Monroe County and 7,407 in Pike County. http://www.sungazette.com/outdoors/articles.asp?articleID=13080Virginia:16) McWhorter gave permission for Columbia Helicopters, an international heavy-lift helicopter company based in Oregon, to temporarily store the logs cleared from the George Washington National Forest on her property. The company also used land that's been in her family since the late 1800s to refuel the two-propeller machine. Many onlookers from Deerfield and the surrounding area came to see the chopper glide above the mountain-line, pick up the logs and then transport them to a field — to be picked up by trucks at a later date. "We don't get this kind of excitement out here too often, " said Aaron's mother, Dana Ramsey. " He's pretty crazy about helicopters. " Five-year-old Ally Shinaberry of Deerfield was just as excited. " They showed us in it yesterday, " her father Lee Shinaberry said. " We knew they was going to do it about a year ago. " This three-day tour ends before dusk tonight, though, the company expects to return for a few weeks in February to finish the project. " We plan to get roughly 1,300,000 feet total, " said Matt Cole, a mechanic for Columbia Helicopters. Fellow mechanic Abe Abel said that it is more cost-effective, faster and better for the environment to use a helicopter to clear the land. " To do what we're doing in three days could take trucks three weeks to three months to do, " he said. http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070102/NEWS01/701020312/1002 Alabama:17) The Bankhead National Forest is in the first group of forests to benefit from a plan to plant 50 million trees in the nation's public lands, to keep the forests from running out of trees. The National Arbor Day Foundation is planting 150,000 trees in North Alabama's Bankhead this winter to help the U.S. Forest Service out of a crisis that has been spiraling downward for more than a decade. The Forest Service has spent so much money fighting fires and forest pests that it has had no money left in the budget to repair the damage left by wildfires or Southern pine beetles. Neither is there money to plant trees and create healthy forests that would be more resistant to such plagues. Billions of dollars have been spent in the last few years in fighting wildfires, " said Kevin Sander, director of corporate partnerships for the Arbor Day Foundation. " It's been one of the worst decades, if not the worst decade, for wildfires. Of course, the federal government only has a certain amount of money for fighting fires and FORESTS2B --http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/11676465108640.xml & coll=2Florida: 18) To scientists worried about humankind trashing the planet, camphors are another in a depressingly long list of foreign invaders that are infiltrating and killing native landscapes. But to people who simply like big trees -- for their look and ability to calm noisy city streets -- camphors are to be enjoyed. Their view prevails for now. The Tree Protection Board, updating the city's tree ordinance, stands 3-2 in favor of maintaining camphors as a preferred species that cannot be cut down without a permit. " They really struggled with it, " said Winter Park parks and recreation director John Holland. " I think some of the largest trees in the city are camphors. " But Stephen Pategas, a landscape architect and Tree Protection Board member, says it's wrong to protect camphors because they are an exotic species and grow like weeds in Florida with little threat from disease or predators that might attack native trees. To make his case, Pategas led a tour of Winter Park's Mead Garden, which bills itself as a " natural historic woodland " and yet is thick with the Asian invaders of all sizes. " It's just mind-blowing how many camphors there are, " Pategas said. " It may be the greatest single species in here. " Camphors are not illegal to transport or plant. And researchers in Florida don't regard them as the worst environmental spoilers among exotic trees and shrubs. That distinction belongs to the likes of Brazilian pepper trees, a South American species once popular for residential landscapes and now driving native wildlife and foliage out of Brevard County and elsewhere in Florida. And there is the melaleuca tree, an Australian import that has devoured several hundred thousand acres of the Everglades. Those invaders have few fans or defenders. But when it comes to how to regard camphors, the choice isn't so clear cut. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-camphor0207jan02,0,7853025.story?coll=orl-n ews-headlines-orangeUSA: 19) Three weeks after he took office, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne stopped the worst parts of a proposed overhaul of national parks management policies. Now he needs to do the same with a proposed overhaul of the Bureau of Land Management, announced to employees Nov. 30. The BLM manages three times as much public land as the National Park Service. The resignation of BLM Director Kathleen Clarke last Thursday gives Kempthorne the opportunity to show that the BLM remains committed to its conservation mission. The BLM is the steward of many of the great landscapes of the American West. In particular, the lands and waters of the National Landscape Conservation System have been called " hidden treasures of the American West. " They include national monuments, national conservation areas, wilderness areas (and wilderness study areas), historic trails and wild and scenic rivers. These great Western landscapes are the sister system to our national parks, but more rugged. They are highly visited. The proposed reorganization would dump a variety of unrelated programs into the National Landscape Conservation System, thus diluting resources that would be devoted to managing the system, which is already strained for resources. Worse, this latest reorganization plan was hatched in secret with no public review and no congressional oversight. No details have been publicly released, although recommendations were presented to employees Nov. 30 by live satellite broadcast. U.S. Rep. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs, and 25 other House members called in a Dec. 20 letter for the BLM to halt the proposed reorganization until Congress examines the implications for the 26 million acre National Landscape Conservation System. For much of its history, the BLM primarily managed its public lands under 19th century traditions of logging, grazing, oil and gas drilling and mining. But today the agency also has another mission: managing premier conservation lands for their scientific, scenic, recreational, ecological, wildlife, historical and cultural values. Members of Congress should make sure that the reorganization is not simply a way for the BLM to back away from the conservation mission. http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/101504.htmlCanada:20) Work to protect the Lake Louise town site from forest fires is expected to be completed by mid-January, even though the Banff National Park village hasn't seen a major wildfire in more than a century. Crews overseen by Parks Canada have been removing and thinning trees since March 2005, concerned that global warming, human use of the area and an abundance of mature forest could fuel a fire. " We're expecting some sort of wildfire around the community of Lake Louise, " said park warden Lee Smith. Workers have already trimmed and removed trees in the village, as well as reducing the forest density and underbrush around local businesses and by the resort hotel Chateau Lake Louise. Now the focus is on clearing stretches of nearby forest to create natural fire breaks, as well as selectively removing and trimming trees in dense patches, said Smith. " In some places we have clear-cut — mainly in that species type where it's that thick lodge pole pine — actually giving a good break in the landscape. And then over in our spruce areas, where there's dominant spruce trees, we've been thinning it out, breaking up the tree crown — the tops of the trees. " http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2007/01/03/louise-forests.htmlEuropean Union: 21) The European Parliament have now voted on the Biomass Action Plan, but the final decision will be made by the European Commission and is expected around 10th January. The Parliament have acknowledged that a lack of clear environmental standards and safeguards could have significant negative effects, such as an increase in tropical deforestation and agriculture intensification and biodiversity losses in Europe and abroad, while failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly. However, the majority of MEPs voted against import bans against 'deforestation diesel' feedstocks, and for rapid market expansion even before any possibly safeguards are put in place. They also voted to abolish compulsory set-asides in Europe - even though the European Environment Agency and conservation organisations throughout Europe have shown that this will cause a large-scale decline in biodiversity across Europe. Finally, there are reports that the European Parliament voted to class peat as a long-term renewable form of energy and biomass. Peat has as much or more carbon per tonne as other fossil fuels, and the International Panel on Climate Change states clearly that it should not be classed as renewable energy or bioenergy. Please tell the European Commission now that they must prevent biofuels from causing ever greater deforestation, biodiversity losses, or evictions and impoverishment of local communities. http://www.regenwald.org/protestaktion.php?id=124UK:22) Based in Oxford, Climate Care is in the carbon-offsetting business. That means, for an optional fee, it claims that it can compensate for the carbon dioxide that you emit when you jet off on holiday. It puts your cash towards carbon-cutting projects in the developing world, and, according to the company, just £2 will ensure that your return flight to Florence is carbon neutral, and £11 for a return flight to New York. Climate Care was set up in 1998 by Mike Mason, a healthcare entrepreneur and convert to the environmental cause, to find realistic, sustainable solutions to climate change. Rather than set up a charity, he decided to create a company without shareholders, with Morton in charge. " We didn't want to be a fully for-profit company, " explains Morton, " because we wanted to remove that conflict between doing the best for the environment and making a financial return. " All the projects that they work on are in developing countries. " We aren't funding projects in countries that have targets to reach under the Kyoto Protocol, " he says, " because if we were doing something in the UK, the way the system works currently, we'd simply be helping the Government to reach its target. We wouldn't be doing anything extra. " And, unlike some of their competitors, they don't focus on tree-planting schemes, which are a controversial source of offsets - the potential for forest fires or changes in local anti-logging laws can make them an uncertain prospect. Instead, they look for renewable-energy projects and invest in environmentally friendly technology. With the treadle pump project, they have been helping a local charity, International Development Enterprises India (IDEI), to set up a market for the pumps - rather than just giving handouts - with manufacturers, distributors, installers and farmers all benefiting. http://www.climatecare.org/http://www.treeflights.com/ http://www.carbonfootprint.com/http://www.carbonneutral.com/Germany:23) Germany has a total land area of 35 million hectares and about 11 million hectares (30%) are managed (public, private, plantation & natural) for forest cover and timber production. On the FAO forestry website for Germany http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/22060/en/deu/ it suggests that the total annual forest timber recovery for 2005 from all sources (measured inclusive of bark) is 60.8 million m3 which divides up as 54.5 million m3 roundwood (pulp & sawlogs) and 6.3 million m3 fuelwood. For comparison with BC measures we should subtract about 20% for bark from the Germany statistics resulting in a total timber recovery of about 48.6 million m3. For comparison with the German statistics, the biomass components of the recovered forest such as fuelwood and small diameter round-wood as well as damaged, misshapen or defective logs would not be required to be recovered or recorded in BC. In Germany almost all above ground biomass enters into the economic utilization statistics and on average in BC perhaps 50 percent of the above ground biomass is recovered and utilized by the forest industry. So, if the forests and timber located in Germany were exploited and recovered according to the expectations and practices in BC it would likely total only 24.3 million cubic meters instead of 48.6 million m3. These numbers are simply ball park estimates intended to characterize and provide an illustration rather than an exact analysis. HankoHausCzechoslovakia:24) Unlike people, some trees flourish under stress, and the robust Methuselah tree has done so for 4,783 years in one of the most hostile environments in North America. Discovered in 1957 by Edmund Schulman, this particular bristlecone pine carries the most powerful immune system known, outliving countless civilizations and withstanding mass industrialization, deforestation and climatic changes. Thanks to the employees of 3M ÄŒesko, a seedling from the ancient tree recently made its way to European soil. In celebration of the company\'s 10th anniversary in the Czech Republic, the staff took it upon themselves to personally fund an exceptionally unique and enduring gift for the community. They found willing partners in David and Jared Milarch, third- and fourth-generation tree farmers and founders of the nonprofit Champion Tree Project. The father-and-son team defied years of scientific dogma and shocked experts when they succeeded in cloning various species of the largest and oldest trees in 1996. Determined to restore the dwindling number of old-growth forests and put the superior genes of these trees back into the ecosystem, they have been gathering the genetic material of these " champions " ever since, cloning them and planting them in suburban and urban areas. The grandest champ of them all, Methuselah, is shrouded in mystery. Its precise location in the canyons of California is kept top secret. Because the U.S. Forest Service fears that visitors could do harm, Jared had to obtain special permission in 2002 to collect cuttings and pine cones. Although their effort to clone the cuttings proved unsuccessful, a number of seeds were viable and produced 10 new bristlecones. With this relatively small number of offspring of the natural giant in existence, it's no surprise that it took 3M employees six months of drive and jumping through bureaucratic hoops to get the specimen out of the United States. With the profound Czech love of nature in mind, they took up a collection themselves to bring the national treasure to Europe. \ " It was the idea that our children\'s children will see the tree still growing in the future,\ " says Jan KoÄárek, spokesman for the project. http://www.canada.com/topics/finance/story.html?id=11cf3d5e-32b1-4140-ae1c-ee7a1101c147 & k=829 Guyana:25) Commissioner of Forests James Singh is maintaining that a shipment of logs which left Guyana in December on the vessel 'Rong Cheng' met all of the regulatory body's requirements for export and that the body is not under any obligation to provide requested details. Singh was speaking last week in response to a letter to this newspaper, in which Patrick Jackson questioned this particular export of logs. Jackson said that he called the Guyana Forestry Com-mission (GFC) on several occasions to get answers to questions that he had about the information that he found on a blog. The blog, called Guyana Plunder without Profit, features a number of articles and views on Guyana's forest industry. On a post dated December 15, 2006, the blog shows four photographs depicting logs being loaded on to the Rong Cheng from a barge while in the Demerara River. The blog can be found at http://guy anaforestry.blogspot.com. Jackson said in the letter that he tried unsuccessfully for several days to contact the Commissioner of Forests for answers. But speaking to this newspaper, Singh said that the GFC does not give out details of shipments. He said that the GFC didn't wish to engage in a public debate and that the shipment was above board. Jackson's letter stated: " Through your newspaper, I wish to ask the Commissioner of Forests to name the timber exporter(s) with cargo on the Rong Cheng, what species/volumes/value of logs were being exported, and the names of the consignees. " http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56510894Tanzania: 26) The past six years have occupied an honorable place in the annals of our history. Each year, on January 1 since 2001, Tanzanians in their thousands have planted seedlings to green the motherland. The problem is that not all the seedlings our people plant grow into useful trees of the future. For that is the ultimate. We salute Tanzanians who during these years have bothered to develop nurseries of seedlings; more so those who have planted seedlings and looked after them. Planting a seedling is one thing, making sure it grows into a tree is quite another. Planting a tree, on the look of things, is an action of making a small change on the surface of the earth. But that is not necessarily the case. Planting a tree is a change that could have a big effect on Tanzania's ecosystem and that of the planet. Experts say forests trap moving air, then that air forms clouds and it rains. Therefore, it is simple logic to see a lot of rain where there are many trees. The political leaderships in Tanzania's arid districts and regions should be in the forefront in mobilizing and organizing the people to plant seedlings and nurture them into trees. Rain will follow. But some efforts should be made to have something weird happening every week, every month, besides January 1, each year. Corporate bodies should support genuine, organised efforts directed towards planting trees in our country. Planting trees could be part of their individual social responsibility programs. http://www.dailynews-tsn.com/page.php?id=5122Belize:27) A SWINDON eco-warrior who has been helping to protect wildlife in a Central American jungle has received royal recognition. Chris Minty, who was brought up in Stratton St Margaret, and was a pupil at Grange Infant and Junior schools and at Kingsdown School, has received an MBE for conservation of the Central American Rainforest. The 43-year-old, who works for the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, set up the Las Cuevas Research Station in the Chiquibul Forest of Belize. By opening its doors to tourism, the field station is now able to support research and conserve the area's biodiversity. " Building a research station in an isolated, dense forest has been both challenging and very rewarding, but the real challenge was how we could maintain its long-term sustainability, " said Mr Minty, pictured. " It required the active participation of the local Maya people working alongside our scientists and taking research expeditions into the forest. " Therefore they directly benefit from the work of the researchers and could see that assisting research and conservation is an economically viable alternative to logging, hunting, or slash-and-burn agriculture. " Mr Minty first got involved with the project, which is supported by survival expert Ray Mears, in 1997 when it was funded by the Natural History Museum. The RBG has since taken over the funding and Mr Minty is now the project's chief executive. " I guess my interest in the natural environment started when I was a child, " he said. " My parents encouraged me to get outside and learn about wildlife and living in Swindon I was very lucky to be surrounded by beautiful countryside. " Also I was extremely fortunate to have teachers who believed pupils should find out about wildlife and took us on some great field trips. " I believe schools should encourage youngsters to learn about the environment because it's this generation who are going to make a difference to it. " http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/swindonnewsheadlines/display.var.1102233.0.eco_efforts_w in_chris_royal_gong.phpHaiti:Extreme poverty locks most Haitian farmers into a vicious cycle of environmental damage, making arable land less productive and more vulnerable to mudslides. With 82 per cent of the rural population in Haiti living below the poverty line, few can afford to feed their families by traditional farming alone. So the vast majority cut down trees, produce charcoal and sell it to others for fuel. This provides vital income but is disastrous for the environment. Now only 2 per cent of forest cover is left. But with the help of an innovative scheme run by a local charity, Veterimed, hundreds of farmers are able to earn enough to feed, clothe and educate their families without having to cut down trees. The project, backed by Christian Aid, The Independent on Sunday's partner in this year's Christmas appeal, is simple yet effective. Poorer farmers in Haiti traditionally looked after cows for their richer compatriots living in the city. In return they were allowed to use the milk for their families and sell it to neighbours. But without a mechanism for preserving, storing and distributing the milk, the income was negligible. In February 2002, Veterimed set up its first milk processing plant. Now there are 10 factories around Haiti. If the project is to make substantial change both to the environment and the lives of farmers, much more money is needed. http://news.independent.co.uk/appeals/ios_appeal/article2114485.eceHonduras: 29) On December 20th, Environmental Movement of Olancho (MAO) activists Heraldo Zuñiga and Roger Ivan Cartagena were shot and killed in the central plaza of Guarizama, in northern Olancho. MAO denounces police sergeant Juan Lanza and other police officers linked to the powerful logging companies for the double murder, which brings the number of environmental activists murdered in Olancho in recent years up to six. In May, after Honduran President Manuel Zelaya declared a logging ban in several municipalities in northern Olancho, loggers blamed MAO for the ban and death threats against environmental activists became increasingly frequent. In the same month, MAO requested protective measures to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; however, these were not granted until December 22nd, after the murder of Zuñiga and Cartagena. The Honduran government must inform the Commission by January 7 of the measures instated to protect the lives and integrity of MAO activists Santos EfraÃn Paguada, VÃctor Manuel Ochoa, René Wilfredo Gradiz, Macario Zelaya, Pedro Amado Acosta and Father Andrés Tamayo. Following the December 4th murder of Association for a more Just Society (ASJ) lawyer Dionisio GarcÃa, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also ordered the Honduran government to provide protective measures for ASJ investigative journalists Dina Meza, Robert Marin GarcÃa, Claudia Mendoza and ASJ President Carlos Hernández. http://www.maoambiente.orgBrazil:30) After the American nun Dorothy Stang was shot to death on a jungle road, he replaced her at the top of the death list that loggers, ranchers, miners and land speculators are known to maintain. It is, of course, a form of recognition that Mr. Feitosa, 35, and his family would prefer he not have. But it testifies to the effectiveness of his work on behalf of Indian tribes, peasant settlers and river-dwellers and to preserve what remains of the endangered rain forest here. Along with other religious and community groups, the entity Mr. Feitosa leads has challenged forged land titles, denounced unauthorized logging and organized peasant farmers to resist land invasions. Recently, those efforts have been rewarded with a government decree establishing a system of nature reserves that, if put into practice, will force many wealthy ranchers and loggers to leave the lands they currently control, without compensation. "We have chosen an option that in this region seems radical, that of keeping the forest standing," Mr. Feitosa said. "That has jolted powerful interests that in every other part of the Amazon have been able to topple the forest." Mr. Feitosa is himself a pure product of the Amazon, born and raised in this frontier town of 77,000 at the junction of the Trans-Amazon Highway and the Xingu River. His mother is a rubber tapper's daughter, while his father, originally a crab fisherman, came here as a sharecropper around 1970, when the highway was being built. "Part of my origin is in the forest and the other part is in the water," Mr. Feitosa said. "I've had offers to go elsewhere, but I've always insisted on living and working here." Mr. Feitosa's mother had once been a nun, and later worked in a medical clinic here that catered to the poor. It was from her, he believes, that he inherited his vocation for social service. "My mother always said that you shouldn't be concerned just with yourself, that you have to worry about society," he said. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/30/world/americas/30feitosa.html?_r=1 & ref=world & oref=slogin India:31) The tiger straddles the top of a food chain. It can survive only if it has enough forest cover to range in and an adequacy of prey species. These prey species, in turn, need extensive self-renewing grasslands to graze in. By preserving such forests and grasslands, rain run-off is prevented, water sinks into the earth recharging the aquifers: the layers of rock and soil able to hold and transmit water. Burgeoning aquifers lead to a growth of natural streams and ponds, the veins and arteries of an eco-system. They spread biological nutrients; sustain an entire web of life. This living web starts from microorganisms that create most of these nutrients by breaking down wastes. The web then reaches up to include more complex forms of life with the tiger at the top of Kanha's food chain. In a well-managed National Park, the wildlife accepts humans as a normal part of their existence and not as dangerous intruders. Kahna, however, has gone beyond this. It has brought the Barasingha or swamp deer of Central India back from the virtual edge of extinction. K. Naik, Director of the Park, told us that, in 1970, only 66 of these animals had been left. Kanha started a conservation project by erecting a protective fence around a large area to keep out predators. The protected Barasingha thrived and increased; a few were periodically released into the wild. Today a basic replenishment stock is still sequestered but now there are 324 swamp deer in Kanha. http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/12/31/stories/2006123100430200.htmPhilippines:32) The recent Supreme Court (SC) decision against the country's largest logging concession is a triumph for environmentalists and a timely act that could prevent disasters in a big swathe of Mindanao, a former environment secretary said Sunday. Heherson T. Alvarez also said the high court's decision against the Paper Industries Corp. of the Philippines (Picop) was very timely, considering the recent events of disastrous floods and the super typhoons. The 58-page ruling, he said, "confirms the need to uphold the rules for environment conservation and security as mandated by the Constitution." The decision penned by Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, dated November 29, 2006, but only recently released, reversed the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeals (CA) and the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QC-RTC) for the automatic conversion of Picop's 75,545 hectares of Timber License Agreement (TLA) No. 43 in Mindanao into an Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA). Reacting to Picop's warning of an impending loss of more than 200,000 jobs, Alvarez said, "Jobs need not be sacrificed if there is sustainable forest management.While we recognize the need to create wealth using our natural resources, this must be done without compromising the environment, public good, and with due respect for the rule of law," he added. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/jan/01/yehey/metro/20070101met1.htmlIndonesia:33) Priority to illegal mining eradication was set, said Makbul, after police have succeeded in eradicating illegal logging. He stated that, the police viewed as successful in the Operation of the Eternal Forest I and II, cooperated with the Department of Forestry. "However, for now and from now on, we will watch exported logs, especially a new way, such as through sawmills in order to be stamped, so that they look like legal logs," he said. The Indonesian Police is prioritizing eradication of illegal mining in 2007. "Any illegal mining such as coal, tin or gold," said Deputy Head of Indonesian Police Commissioner General Makbul Padmanagara during a press conference at the Indonesian Police Headquarters Friday. http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/nasional/2007/01/2-/brk,2007012-90439,uk.htmlAustralia: 34) Now, this needs to be said: although most Tasmanians want the forest saved, both political parties want the pulp mill, both at state level and national level. So left to their own devices, we'll get rolled over. Bring in RAN, bring in international common sense on what's happening in Tasmania, and the odds shift. And that brings us a feeling of strength -- we're not isolated anymore. Gunns is trying desperately to get investment to build this $1 billion pulp mill. And the question is which bank, which commercial group are they going to get to take it on? A lot of investment organizations have had a look and walked out the door. Sooner or later, they have to find somebody who's going to invest, and when that happens, they'll feel more confident about going ahead. http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2007/01/04/brown/index.html?source=daily35) Our annual pilgrimage to the national park camp ground at Bristol Point in Jervis Bay with 25 mates had to be aborted this year after the price of a family campsite more than doubled to about $300 a week. It's a pretty hefty charge for access to a small plot of sandy bushland where the only facilities are a concrete toilet block and a fireplace. You can rent a three-bedroom house for that much in Canberra. A friend is paying $450 to pitch a tent at a privately run park at Seven Mile Beach this summer. Cramming a tent and a camp stove into the station wagon and heading for the beach is a central part of the upbringing of most Aussie children. It's the only holiday many families struggling financially to bring up young kids used to be able to afford. We've found a cheaper camp ground in another national park for this year's get together, but I will be mourning the pristine beaches and shared history we had at Jervis Bay. I'm a great believer in market forces, but markets don't always achieve desirable outcomes. If price rises for campsites continue to soar beyond the reach of ordinary Australian families, we'll be cutting off the blood supply to yet another vital community-building feature of our culture. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20982285-5001031,00.html36) Simeon Michaels pushed off from Manly Cove in Sydney today. Concerned by logging company Gunns Ltd's proposal to build a pulp mill in the Tamar Valley in northern Tasmania, the avid kayaker and environmental businessman decided he needed to make waves if he was to stop the project going ahead. His trip will take two months, with stops at coastal spots along the way, and Mr Michaels hopes to raise $100,000 to establish a Tasmanian round table for sustainable industry. Mr Michaels, from Byron Bay on the NSW north coast, said Gunns should be investing in sustainable alternatives to logging, such as tourism and agriculture. The 35-year-old lawyer is vice president of the Ethical Investment Association and a former adviser to the UN Environment Program. He now runs two businesses involved in sustainable development. " The Gunns mill will consume five million tonnes of forest a year, it will pump 30 billion litres of dioxin-laden effluent into the Bass Strait, and it will pollute the air, " he said. " There are other people who depend on clean air and clean water for their livelihoods - the fisherman, the farmers and the tourist industry. " What we've got here is the case of a big company making money at everyone else's expense. " There are some absolutely crucial environmental issues which I want to raise awareness of. " http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21002204-29277,00.html World-wide:37) More than half of the dust needed for fertilizing the Brazilian rainforest is supplied by a valley in northern Chad, according to an international research team headed by Dr. Ilan Koren of the Institute's Environmental Sciences and Energy Research Department. In a study published recently in Environmental Research Letters, the scientists have explained how the Bodélé valley's unique features might be responsible for making it such a major dust provider. It has been known for more than a decade that the existence of the Amazon rainforest depends on a supply of minerals washed off by rain from the soil in the Sahara and blown across the Atlantic by dust.The data revealed that some 56 percent of the dust reaching the Amazon forest originates in the Bodélé valley. They also showed that a total of some 50 million tons of dust make their way from Africa to the Amazon region every year, a much higher figure than the previous estimates of 13 million tons. The new estimate matches the calculations on the quantity of dust needed to supply the vital minerals for the continued existence of the Amazon rainforest. The researchers suggest that the Bodélé valley is such an important source of dust due to its shape and geographic features: it is flanked on both sides by enormous basalt mountain ridges, which create a cone-shaped crater with a narrow opening in the northeast. Winds that " drain " into the valley focus on this funnel-like opening similarly to the way light is focused by an optical lens, creating a large wind tunnel of sorts. As a result, gusts of surface wind that are accelerated and focused in the tunnel lift the dust from the ground and blow it toward the ocean, allowing the Bodélé valley to export the vast amount of dust that makes a life-sustaining contribution to the Amazon rainforest. Contact: Jennifer Manningjennifer 212-895-7952 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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