Guest guest Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 --Today for you 33 new articles about earth's trees! (408th edition) --Audio and Video version of Earth's Tree News: http://forestpolicyresearch.org --To Subscribe / to the world-wide email format send a blank email to: earthtreenews- OR earthtreenews- In this Issue: BC-Canada PNW-USA Index --British Columbia: 1) Keep the Promise! 2) Slow blowing over of Cathedral Grove begins today, 3) Industry has been mismanaged for far too long, 4) New assault on the Waugh Lake Watershed, 5) Keeping It Living: Traditions of Plant Use and Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America, 6) New version of Save Clayoquot Sound, 7) misleading info about how forestry influences Global Warming, 8) 111,000 direct and indirect jobs lost in just four years of " improved " policy, --Canada: 9) One-tenth of world's forests are on Canadian soil, 10) Gov. plans will destroy forest nurseries, 11) Harper wants to crack down on eco-harms but he's the real eco-harm, 12) Making policy without consulting environmental scientists? --Alaska: 13) Cutting a 200-acre strip through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, --Pacific Northwest: 14) More meddling planned as Marbled Murrelet edges closer to extinction --Washington: 15) Nalini Nadkarni's latest greatest tree book! --Oregon: 16) They annually spray herbicides on 67,000 acres of private timberland in Lane County, 17) HCP for Elliott State Forest has been released, --California: 18) Power line tree cutting crews in Santa Cruz seem to make many mistakes, 19) Board of Forestry sends owl rule back to committee, --Colorado: 20) Logging on 1,000 acres of national forests around Keystone, 21) 7,000 Lodgepole pines to be cut down at Vail Mountain resort, 22) Pyramid Lumber to ease a growing fire danger, --Montana: 23) Plum Creek finally realize counties wanna get in the way of back door subdivision agreement with feds --Wisconsin: 24) Save the birds! --Minnesota: 25) Conservation easement " preserves " 80 square miles --South Carolina: 26) Developers want to cut every tree right up to the edge of the giant Angel Oak --Florida: 27) Our forests are the backbone of the region's rural economy --Maine: 28) Four Earth First! protesters locked together in protest of plum creek subdivisions, --USA: 29) Native speak out about hundreds of threatened sacred places throughout the US, 30) Supreme Court set to decide if public can challenge illegal government regulations on public land, 31) Wood chip costs in Western US are 25% higher, 32) Eshoo introduces plan to protect national forests & refuges from aggressive logging, 33) Mature trees in your landscape increase value of your home, Articles: British Columbia: 1) Keep the Promise! Two years ago, after a ten year struggle, a promise was made by the BC government to protect Canada's rainforest - the Great Bear Rainforest - the world's largest temperate rainforest, and home to the mysterious " Spirit Bear, " the rarely seen white form of the black bear. Keeping the promise and implementing all elements of the package is essential for the health of the Great Bear Rainforest. With a March 31st, 2009 deadline fast approaching, decisive action by the provincial government is required: 1) To finalize a regional ecosystem plan that includes a new set of high-bar logging regulations; 2) To create conditions for First Nations and stakeholders to build a thriving conservation-based economy. 3) To provide funding for collaborative planning and adaptive management into the future; 4) To ensure world-class protected areas are not threatened by inappropriate developments -- The fate of the Great Bear and its promise to future generations is a story that can only be written by us. Send an e-message to the BC government today! Keep the promise! http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5139/t/1900/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=703 2) Island Timberlands plans to log along the boundaries of the BC Provincial Park " Cathedral Grove " starting at the end of this week Oct. 1-3/2008. Island Timberlands would like to make sure the public does not get alarmed that they are actually logging in the park which they won't be doing. Island Timberlands will simply be logging ancient trees along the boundary of the park which are located on private land which they own and will begin to log by the end of this week. Simple: no cause for alarm. Private land formerly owned by Weyerhauser and sold to Branscan a new company was created, named Island Timberlands, which is now owned by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Brookfield is a global asset manager focused on property, power and other infrastructure assets with approximately US$95 billion of assets under management. http://www.brookfield.com/ Since so many thousand of people stopped the BC government from logging inside the park to put in a parking lot, I have continued to take many walks around Cathedral Grove. In the past 2 years I have noticed that many of the old growth trees inside the boundaries of Cathedral Grove Park have been blowing down due to extensive logging along the borders of the park. Island Timberlands will also soon be logging the headwaters of the Cameron River at Labour Day Lake, with ribbon in place that come very close to the water. Heli-logging by Island Timberlands in Cathedral Canyon, just up stream from Cathedral Grove Park, may continue at anytime. Downstream, along the Town of Qualicum Beach Boundary, the floodplains of the Little Qualicum River continue to be in peril from logging and development by Island Timberlands. Island Timberlands appears to be focusing a lot of attention on the last stands of Old Growth Trees along this watershed. Check out the new website! http://cathedralgrove.eu/ 3) Forestry is an industry which has been mismanaged for far too long. In the early 1990s when polarization was at it's height in Clayoquot and the North Island those opposing the practices of the large logging companies were pointing out that job losses, mill closures and abandoning commitments to true silviculture and communities were on the horizon. Now we have passed that point and the coastal forest industry is in a downward spiral. Employment in the woods is at an all time low, while logs are harvested and exported at unprecedented rates. It is time for the unions, workers, woodlot operators and mills to get behind the Green Party, stop raw log exports, reinvent the forest industry, employing more people in smaller-scale harvesting and value added processing and we can start here in Vancouver Island North. This election is being called one of the most important in Canada's history and one might go further and say that with the impending climate crisis, skyrocketing oil prices and US economic collapse it may have global significance. Canada has been a world leader in the past and we can return to that role by taking our growing green values and committing to that vision by electing Green MPs. Throughout this campaign and during the 2005 Provincial election I have demonstrated a depth of understanding of this riding, a level of passion and the ability to speak and communicate on difficult issues that is unmatched by any of the other candidates. All the political parties have good ideas but only one party, the Green Party, and one candidate in this riding, Philip Stone, is going to be able to work with such a diverse community to represent it and help lead it forward to a prosperous future. Some people are concerned that by voting Green they will allow one of the old party candidates to win. This is no way to vote. We must have courage in our convictions. http://www.canadian-election.com/2008/09/29/a-message-to-north-islanders-2/ 4) At the moment, we face a new assault on the Waugh Lake Watershed. We've know for some time that BC Timber Sales had earmarked two blocks in the watershed for bidding. That bidding is over and on Aug 15, 2008 the contract for logging those two blocks was awarded to a Sunshine Coast logging company. Those two blocks are in the heart of the watershed and they can be viewed by scrolling down this page. Go to the second map under 'Tsain-Ko Logging - Part 3. The two BCTS blocks are the ones outlined in black. These BC Timber Sales blocks made the news in the September 19 issue of the Coast Reporter in a story by Greg Amos. Unfortunately, I cannot link to the story so I will have to type it in. Here goes... Logging Looms at Waugh Lake: A new tenure call from B.C. Timber Slaes for an 11.848 cubic metre logging block within the Waugh Lake watershed near Egmont is causing the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) board to strategize new approaches to dealing with the province. " [b.C. Timber Sales] continue to have tender calls in important watershed areas, " said Area A (Pender Harbour) director John Rees. " It's extremely disappointing. " The tender notice appeared in August, after a July request from the SCRD general manager of community services Paul Fenwick towards B.C. Timber Sales, asking them to stop advertising the sale of timber licences locatd within the Waugh Lake Community Watershed. So far, one bid has been received from Pender Harbour's Sladey Timber. At a Sept. 11 planning and development committee meeting, the committee received word from the province's timber organization that advertising will go ahead as planned. B.C. Timber Sales aslo declined the SCRD's invitation for a representative to attend a meeting with the board. " B.C. Timber Sales has done and will do a very thorough job of planning and monitoring of any operations considering the risks involved. " wrote timber sales manager Bruce McKerricher in response. He also pointed out B.C. Timber Sales has " spent several hundred thousands of dollars rebuilding the public road along Waugh Lake. " Rees said the assurances miss the point, particularly when new water infrastructure is shcneduled to begin operation in the fall. " I'm always disappointed with B.C. Timber Sales and disappointed with the regional district's reaction to these issues, " added a clearly frustrated Rees, who likened the Waugh Lake issues to a " mini-version of the Chapman problem. " The policy of not having logging in watersheds should be pursued equally at every opportunity. " So far, there's been no study looking a the impacts of logging on water quality at Waugh Lake. http://www.saveourwatershed.com/2008/09/bc-timber-sales-waugh-lake.html 5) The events of this weekend were documented by Dr. Nancy J. Turner, an ethnobotanist and professor at UVic, along with Dr. Douglas Deur from the University of Washington. Between them they have written many books on the subject of first nations along coastal British Columbia and their relationship with the environment. They are changing the perception established by early anthropologists, which claimed that local first nations were hunter-gatherers who 'randomly' accessed the land's resources. This theory is being replaced by evidence that first nations actively cultivated the land in order to reap larger crops, altering the natural landscape to increase plant productivity. Together they published " Keeping It Living: Traditions of Plant Use and Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America " based on information provided by Chief Adam Dick who now resides in Qualicum Bay. Known traditionally as Qwaxsistalla, he is the Clan Chief of Kawadillikala (wolf) Clan of Kingcome Inlet and was educated in the ways of his people by the Chiefs and his grandparents who sheltered him from the residential schools imposed on his generation. This system, imposed by the Canadian government, strictly prohibited indigenous language, culture, and beliefs. The knowledge that remains is now being passed on through events like this harvest celebration. All along the coastline of British Columbia, rivers run through estuaries that were traditionally cultivated by First Nations. Many of these have been destroyed or are being threatened by development, pollution, and other human activities. Locally the estuary floodplains of Englishman River, French Creek, Little Qualicum River, and the Big Qualicum River as well as smaller estuaries such as those of Craig Creek, Shelly Creek, Morning Star Creek, and Kincade are no exception. This Sunday help celebrate BC River's Day. Richard Boyce rcboyce 6) Clayoquot Sound was a historic green victory. But now the coalition that barred forestry from Canada's last, best place has come unstuck. With natives logging for themselves, will things come to blows amid the old growth? By the time I catch up with Gary Johnsen, president of native-owned Iisaak Forest Resources Ltd., at a rustic-chic resto in Tofino called Shelter, the ancient Nuu-chah-nulth notion of hishuk ish ts'awalk--everything is one--seems lost in the bustle of Clayoquot Sound. The obvious disconnect is between Shelter's lychee-martini-sipping tourists, the ones staying at the $800-a-pop lodges, and the impoverished First Nations residents of Opitsaht, whose weather-worn houses can be spotted across the passage from our swank restaurant. The wealth chasm has been growing in the half-decade or so since the global jet-set discovered Mini-Maui on the west coast of Vancouver Island. But I am more interested in another division, between the tree huggers who put Clayoquot on the map 15 years ago and the natives who stood by them on the blockades. Back then, greens and natives united to protect Clayoquot--one of the world's last great tracts of ancient temperate rain forest, with majestic, 1,000-year-old cedars--from the industrial logging that had turned much of the rest of Vancouver Island into a crazy quilt of shaved mountainsides and skinny, second-growth trees. Now, the First Nations and environmental NGOs have become entrenched, if reluctant, adversaries. I've come to find out why. In the decade and a half since Clayoquot entered the national consciousness, the big lumber companies, Weyerhaeuser and Interfor, have packed up their chainsaws and left, tired of the hassle and unable to make a profit operating under the strict environmental rules imposed by a British Columbia government scientific panel in 1995, not to mention the spotlight effect of the area's designation in 2000 as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080923.rmcclay0923/BNStory/\ specialROBmagazine 7) Several leading environmental groups are criticizing a B.C. Government publication containing misleading information about how forestry contributes to Global Warming. The groups are David Suzuki Foundation, ForestEthics, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS),Pembina Institute and B.C. Spaces. The booklet, entitled, " Tackle Climate Change, Use Wood, " promotes the use of wood products and burning trees for energy as effective climate change strategies. " The government should be promoting forest protection to tackle climate change, not logging, " said Chris Henschel with CPAWS. Logging results in a sixth of Canada's annual greenhouse gas emissions. Further, logging in natural forests represents a significant release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that would otherwise be stored for hundreds of years. " The world's expert authority on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has prioritized protection of forests as the most effective and cost efficient thing we can do with our standing forests to fight Global Warming, " said Merran Smith, Director of the Climate Program at ForestEthics. " This promotional booklet is saying the opposite, and is far too simplistic for a complex issue like forests - BC needs to promote a forest conservation strategy along with a program of wood products to ensure longevity and recycling, not disposability. " " Logging natural forests is becoming an increasingly irresponsible act for the climate, " says Mike Kennedy, Senior Resource Economist of the Pembina Institute. Also troubling and simplistic is the booklet's claim that 'bioenergy has no net greenhouse gas emissions.' Wood is a low quality fuel that results in significant carbon dioxide emissions. Proponents say that burning wood does not cause pollution because trees grow back and remove all the carbon that was originally released. " The problem is that it can take more than a hundred years for a natural forest to take the carbon back from the atmosphere, if it ever does, " said Dave Neads with B.C. Spaces. " In the meantime, switching to woody bioenergy could actually increase emissions in the short-term when emission reductions are most urgently needed. " http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2008/25/c8605.html 8) Nearly 200 mills have closed in just four years, taking 111,000 direct and indirect jobs with them —and Stephen Harper has made a bad situation worse. His softwood lumber sell-out to the US gives up on years of trade rulings in our favour, gives up on $1-billion taken from Canadians, and replaces illegal tariffs with unwelcome border taxes. And by exempting raw logs shipped to US mills, the deal disadvantages Canadian processing and the quality jobs it can support. Since his sell-out, Harper has ignored chance after chance to support struggling forestry communities and producers. Yet he found $50-billion to spend on corporate tax cuts for profitable banks and oil companies that don't need the help. It doesn't have to be this way. It's time for a Prime Minister who will put you and your family first. A Prime Minister who's ready to fight for fair trade—and for a sustainable industry where more local processing means more family-supporting jobs. Jack Layton will be that Prime Minister. http://kerrymcmanus.blogspot.com/2008/09/forestry-renewing-struggling-sector.htm\ l Canada: 9) With an estimated one-tenth of the world's forests located on Canadian soil, it's easy to consider the expansive boreal forest, which encompasses about 35 per cent of Canada's total land area, as the country's most significant natural riches. But more than 80 per cent of Canadians live in urban areas and while the land mass that all those cities, towns and villages represent is less than one per cent, experts say some of the country's most important forested areas actually fall within urban boundaries. " Urbanites across the country might easily fail to recognize the significance of their urban forest. But if you fly into any city at this time of year, you will see a tremendous canopy of green, " said Dave Lemkay, general manager of the Canadian Forestry Association (CFA) in Ottawa. City residents should understand they're part of a forest ecosystem that's no less important than the larger natural forest, he said. This is the forest environment that has the greatest impact on the lives of Canadians, because it is where they live and work on a daily basis, said Michael Rosen, president of Tree Canada, a charitable organization located in Ottawa. The urban forest provides all the same benefits that larger rural forests do -- including air purification, shelter, esthetics and psychological well-being, such as reduction of stress. And this impact can be more immediate. For instance, while all forests remove and sequester carbon, which helps mitigate global warming, " some research studies suggest because trees in urban areas are closer to carbon sources, they can actually be more effective at sequestering carbon, " said Ken Farr, a policy adviser with Natural Resources Canada's Canadian Forest Service in Ottawa. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=000375a0-a438-42a5-be60- 07dcfd90a4eb 10) This year she grew a crop of 22 million young trees, which she harvested and sent off to market. Logging companies bought those seedlings and so did tree-planting contractors. With British Columbia's forests in a massive die-off because of a pine beetle infestation, Ms. Dawes's agri-business should be thriving. But it isn't. It is struggling to survive because of a downturn in the forest industry - and because the federal government no longer recognizes silviculture as farming. Businesses that grow trees for landscaping are considered farms. Even businesses that grow plants for the bio-fuel industry are classified as farms by the government. But to Ottawa, any business that grows trees just to replenish forest lands is, in effect, nothing more than a wood-lot operation. It's forestry, not farming. That means tree nurseries do not qualify for agricultural income stabilization payments from the federal government. The reclassification was made in 2006 when the federal government decided to phase out the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization Program - essentially a form of crop-failure insurance - and replace it with two programs called AgriStability and AgriInvest. Silviculture operators, who until then had been covered by CAIS, thought they would simply join other farmers in a smooth transition to the new programs. Then they found out that not only had they lost their status as farmers - but they also had to pay back any funds they'd been given under CAIS, dating back to 2003. They have been fighting the reclassification for the past two years, without success, and now face a deadline, in January, for paying back the money they got under CAIS. That's why Ms. Dawes is looking out at the millions of seedlings in her greenhouses this fall, wondering if this is her last crop. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080929.BCHUME29/TPStory/Natio\ nal 11) Prime Minster Harper tried to " green " his reputation as a law-and-order tough guy this week by pledging to crack down on polluters and those that flaunt environmental regulations. I have one piece of advice for Mr. Harper to prove to Canadians he is serious about environmental enforcement: Turn yourself in. When it comes to flouting our international environmental commitments - as well as our domestic laws and regulations - the Harper government is seemingly beyond rehabilitation. Lets have a look at a small selection from their rap sheet: Endangered Species: Stephen Harper ignored legal obligations under Canada's Species at Risk Act for preparing recovery plans for over 105 endangered species including the critically threatened Northern spotted owl, whooping crane, swift fox and Vancouver Island marmot. Oil Sands: In March 2008, a coalition of environmental groups successfully argues in federal court that the environmental assessment for the massive $8 billion Kearl tar sands expansion was woefully inadequate. Remarkably the federal and provincial governments had concluded that the project would cause " no significant environmental impacts " even though it would strip mine 200 square kilometers of boreal forest and dig up enough bitumen to dump 3.7 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere every year – the equivalent of 800,000 passenger vehicles. The response from the Harper government to the court's decision ? His cabinet overrode the judge and re-issued the necessary permits within four weeks. So much for respect for our legal system or environmental laws. http://mitchellanderson.blogspot.com/2008/09/harper-to-crack-down-on-eco-crimina\ ls.html 12) " They were making policy without even consulting their environmental scientists, " Weaver charged. " I know that for a fact. " He added that Harper and other top Conservative policymakers have also refused to meet representatives of the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, a national organization that, according to Weaver, has brought Canada to the international forefront of scientific research on climate change. " They don't want to meet them because their policy is not one based on science, " Weaver said. " It is based on ideology and what's best for the Alberta oil-sands industry. That's the bottom line. " In 2007, while Weaver was writing his book, several high-profile developments heightened public interest in climate change. The IPCC released its fourth assessment report, which unequivocally concluded that the planet was warming. It also stated that this was " very likely " due to greenhouse-gas emissions created by human beings. Later that summer, there was a stunning decline in the amount of Arctic ice, shattering the previous record by more than 20 percent. Near the end of 2007, the IPCC and former U.S. vice president Al Gore shared the Nobel Peace Prize. In the wake of these developments, the Harper government decided to muzzle government scientists, prohibiting them from talking about climate change with the media. Weaver writes in his book that new rules required these scientists to obtain authorization from media-relations staff before doing interviews. According to a PowerPoint presentation circulated among Environment Canada staff, reporters must submit questions in writing, and scientists' answers have to be transmitted through media-relations staff. Media-relations staff can ask the expert to respond with " approved lines " or refer the reporter's call to the minister's office or another department, according to Weaver's book. " It's absolutely Orwellian what's going on here in science in Canada, " Weaver claimed. http://www.straight.com/article-163372/expert-says-scientists-muzzled Alaska: 13) Anchorage — Among the many bills Congress is considering before it recesses for the November elections is a proposed land swap between the State of Alaska and the federal government that would allow a gravel road to be built through a remote national wildlife refuge. Environmental groups are lined up against the proposal, saying a road would threaten the pristine wilderness area. Building it would require cutting an approximately 200-acre strip through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge on the Alaska Peninsula, a resting place for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds and other animals. Alaska officials, led by Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, say the road is needed to connect one tiny outpost, King Cove, to another, Cold Bay, so that the 800 residents of King Cove have reliable access, particularly in emergencies, to the all-weather airport across the water in Cold Bay. The issue before Congress is whether to allow Alaska to swap about 43,000 acres of state land for the 200 or so acres in the Izembek refuge needed for the road, which would be a single lane and, though the exact route has not been determined, would require an estimated 17 miles of construction, at $1 million to $2 million per mile. Though the proposed land swap has been a source of debate for years, some opponents are drawing new attention to it as an example of Congressional excess. They have compared it to the controversial Bridge to Nowhere in Ketchikan, Alaska, which was ultimately abandoned but has proved a thorn for the governor, Sarah Palin, in her campaign as the Republican nominee for vice president. Ms. Palin supports the land exchange and the proposed road through Izembek. A road " is going to fragment and irreparably harm one of the most pristine and valuable wilderness and wetland areas in the Northern Hemisphere, " said Nicole Whittington-Evans, the associate director of the Wilderness Society's Alaska office. The 43,000 acres of state land, plus 18,000 more that a local village corporation run by Alaska Natives has offered as part of the swap, cannot compensate, they say. " We're talking about quality versus quantity, " Ms. Whittington-Evans said of the Wilderness Society. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/us/27road.html?_r=1 & ei=5070 & emc=eta1 & oref=slog\ in Pacific Northwest: 14) Amidst the remaining ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest, the marbled murrelet edges closer to extinction. In the final days of the Bush Administration, motions have been made to undo protections in the Pacific Northwest that have been in place for over a decade to protect wildlife and our ancient forests. The proposed removal of one such protection, for the imperiled marbled murrelet, ignores solid science and would open more of our ancient forests to destructive logging, shrinking the habitat of an already threatened species. As an October 2007 editorial by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer succinctly puts it, " when it comes to the environment, the administration's record is remarkably consistent. Whenever possible, the science is fixed around the policy of ruthless exploitation of natural resources. " Let the Bush Administration know that the marbled murrelet deserve to have their critical habitat protection upheld, sign our letter today! http://action.wilderness.org/campaign/murrelet/in8se6r933id8k? If the Bush Administration has its way, the marbled murrelet's protected habitat would be reduced by 254,000 acres -- much of it mature and old-growth forests -- by the end of the year. For a species that depends on these forests to nest, this move would be devastating. Speak out against the reduction of this critical habitat and let the Bush Administration know that they need to continue preserving our mature and old-growth forests! http://action.wilderness.org/campaign/murrelet/in8se6r933id8k? Washington: 15) When I was a little girl, one of my favorite books was " A Tree Is Nice " by Janice May Udry. I didn't care that it had won the Caldecott Medal, although the charming illustrations by Marc Simont still stand the test of time. What really appealed to me was the way this picture book made me think about all of the good things a tree could do. I still have this book and treasure it. It has had a lasting impact on me, inspiring not just a lifelong affinity for trees, but a real allegiance to them. Now Nalini Nadkarni has written what could be considered the grown-up equivalent of that seminal book of my childhood. " Between Earth and Sky " is a thoughtful treatise on the many ways humans interact with and depend upon trees. Nadkarni, a world-renowned tree canopy biologist, is a professor in the environmental studies program at The Evergreen State College. Although she writes about what is happening above our heads, Nadkarni never makes you feel as if you're in over your head. She skillfully blends anecdote, fascinating facts, plain talk and a sprinkling of poetry to reach out to her readers and discuss the myriad cultural, spiritual, aesthetic, social, economic and other connections that we have with trees. There's a chapter on the many different religions that engage trees in central roles, from the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, to the Bodhi tree in Buddhism and the banyan in the Hindu tradition. There's also an interesting anthropological survey of how humans use trees for building shelter. In another chapter, Nadkarni develops an engaging catalog of the sports and leisure activities that make use of trees, ¬from swinging and climbing in them, to making guns, golf clubs, tennis racquets and skis out of them, to shaping them into bonsai. Nail polish, chopsticks, Stradivarius violins and rap music all are incorporated into Nadkarni's generous compendium. But even the most lighthearted of pages in this book contains an undertone of urgency. Nadkarni is campaigning unabashedly for our deeper involvement¬ not only in trees and their well-being, but in nature overall. She worries about humans' increasing alienation from nature in the post-industrial age, and cites that as both cause and consequence of the environmental problems we are facing on a global scale. Adapting a model put forth a half-century ago by psychologist Abraham Maslow, Nadkarni creates a pyramid detailing a hierarchy of human needs that contribute to self-actualization. In Nadkarni's eight-step version, our relationship with trees begins with using them to address our physical needs (food, shelter and oxygen), moves on to include other levels such as tapping trees for healthful benefits (as medicinal sources, stress relievers and even esteem-builders in prison programs), and finally leads to mindfulness of nature and our place in it. http://www.theolympian.com/653/story/599218.html Oregon: 16) In the first eight months of this year the Oregon Department of Forestry received notification of intent to spray herbicides on nearly 67,000 acres of private timberland in Lane County. For decades, industrial poisons have been unleashed upon the land. Timber companies claim this cumulative chemical soup has no effect on people. People disagree. One woman I know describes herself as " extremely health-conscious. " She grows organic food, keeps bees, and hasn't seen a doctor in a decade. When she learned the Seneca Timber Co. was planning an aerial herbicide spray in Western Lane County, she called and asked if they might reconsider and apply the chemicals manually. Her concerns were dismissed as groundless. Unconvinced, she did her own research and discovered that chemical sprays can drift five to seven miles. My friend thought it was important to share this information with Seneca, so she drove to the company's offices. The guard at the gate said her name was on a no-entry list, and she was turned away. When the helicopter started spraying, it took 15 minutes for the chemicals to reach her. She immediately began experiencing shortness of breath and burning in her throat and lungs. For five days she had no appetite and felt joint weakness and muscle pain, followed by four days of diarrhea. Her period, always regular, came a week early. For five months symptoms persisted: chest and joint pain, and a constant dryness in her throat no matter how much water she drank. Eventually, her symptoms subsided. But the bees died. Chemical spraying is one of the ways timber companies privatize profits while socializing costs. Companies such as Seneca and Weyerhaeuser Co. save labor costs, which the community pays in the form of health care expenses, water treatment costs and suffering. http://www.registerguard.com/web/opinion/141177//story.csp 17) The US Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agency in charge of recovering endangered species, has recently released the long-awaited draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Elliott State Forest. The Elliott is a 93,000 acre, public state forest near Reedsport, OR, and is a stronghold for endangered species, including marbled murrelet, spotted owl and coho salmon and contains a significant amount of older forest habitat. The Elliott is currently ground zero for older forest clearcutting in western Oregon with over 500 acres auctioned off to the highest bidder each year. The Cascadia Wildlands Project is currently ramping up efforts to halt this. Unfortunately, the HCP will sanction even more older forest clearcutting every year for the next 50 years on the Elliott. We have been given a short amount of time to read through this lengthy plan. We are calling on you to help us request a comment period extension of an additional 60 days. Please email the leadership of the US Fish and Wildlife Service Lee Folliard and NOAA Fisheries (fish agency involved) Chuck Wheeler and request an additional 60 days. We need the extended timeline to adequately comb through this voluminous document. For more information on the Elliott, visit http://www.cascwild.org/elliott.html . You can download a copy of the DEIS from: http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/ToolsForLandowners/HabitatConservationPlans/ California: 18) A crew cutting down fire-damaged trees along Trabing Road north of Watsonville toppled the top of a massive eucalyptus tree onto power lines Wednesday. The neighborhood lost power, but a PG & E worker was able to bypass the break and restore electricity to all but a couple of houses along Grizzly Oaks Lane fairly quickly, said Jean Rounds, a PG & E troubleshooter. PG & E hired Davey Tree to remove the trees scorched in the June 20 fire that burned 640 acres, destroyed 26 homes, 48 outbuildings and damaged another 15 structures. Dense stands of eucalyptus trees and poor vegetation clearance were largely blamed for the quick moving fire. In recent weeks, hundreds of trees have been felled, mostly eucalyptuses. Tony Mellor, whose cabin on Grizzly Oaks Lane was one of 26 homes that fell victim to the blaze, said the whine of chain saws is a constant during the day. He doesn't mind, though. He's glad to see the eucalyptuses go. Mellor called the eucalyptuses " little horrors. " He said he had always thought of the dense stands near his home as a " wall of death, " a description that seemed apt back in June when they flared up and spewed sparks to fuel the spread of the fire. As fast as the trees come down, however, fresh sprouts emerge from the stumps that dot the blackened slopes. http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10612145 19) This month the California Board of Forestry was pressured to send their owl rule changes back to committee, making it unlikely that the policies will be adopted for 2009. The overwhelming opposition, including your comments, forced the Board to reconsider the industry-proposed policies. Another pressing issue, this time affecting the imperiled Marbled Murrelet, needs our attention this weekend. Please take a few minutes to read through the action alert from Conservation Northwest, and send in your comments by the end of the day tomorrow, September 29. Please go straight to our action center, at http://wildcalifornia.org/actions/list to send your comments immediately. Colorado: 20) SUMMIT COUNTY — Logging crews will soon start removing hazardous trees and thinning dead lodgepole pines on about 1,000 acres of national forest around Keystone. According to the Forest Service, more than 80 percent of the lodgepole pines in the area have been killed by pine beetles. The three-year, $1.4 million project is aimed at reducing wildfire threats to dozens of homes in the area surrounded by thick stands of mostly dead trees. Some of the neighborhoods most at risk in that area have made little progress in thinning fire-prone trees on private property. " Any kind of treatment is going to be a benefit, " said Summit County wildfire-mitigation officer Patti McGuire. " You have a forest boundary coming close to community. Thinning the trees makes it more possible to knock a crown fire down to a ground fire. " McGuire said her job — to help property owners create defensible space — has been challenging in the Keystone area because of property-line issues. Some lots don't extend far beyond the roofline of the homes, requiring cooperation between adjoining property owners. U.S. Forest Service ranger Cary Green said that, in the past year, property owners in the area have really started to work on trying to mitigate wildfire threats on private property. Logging on federal lands is mainly a question of money, McGuire said. " It's tough. There's a war going on. There's a mortgage crisis. Until there's smoke in the air, or fire along I-70, it's hard to get the money, " she said. The Keystone contract is the second-largest in the county so far, after the Wildernest project. The work will extend to the south side of Highway 6 toward Frey Gulch, around Summit Cove and along Swan Mountain Road to Sapphire Point. http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20080927/NEWS/809269949/1078 & ParentProfile=10\ 55 & title=Logging%20to%20begin%20in%20Keystone 21) Up to 7,000 lodgepole pines will be cut down at the Vail Mountain resort to reduce the risk that a tree killed by beetles could damage a ski gondola by falling or catching fire. Vail Resorts spokeswoman Jen Brown said crews will cut down every lodgepole bigger than 5 inches in diameter in a 16-acre area. The resort covers nearly 5,300 acres. The work is expected to be done over the next month. Spruce, fir and aspen will not be cut. Brown says the area will remain open to skiers after the logging work. A bark beetle infestation has already killed about 1.5 million acres - or about 2,300 square miles - of lodgepole pines in Colorado. The U.S. Forest Service predicts that beetles will kill most of the state's lodgepoles within five years. 22) " We have almost 90% mortality in lodgepole pine around town " said Fichtler. " With the combination of drought and competition for moisture by trees put a lot of stress on them which makes them more susceptible to bark beetles " commented Gordy Sanders with Pyramid Lumber. So, the Bureau of Land Management teamed up Pyramid Lumber to ease a growing fire danger by thinning some 300 acres of dead trees, starting in the middle of town and working outward about a half mile in every direction. " We realized fire was inevitable and would be part of this area at some point in the future so we could either get out in front of it let the town burn down " said Fichtler. " In 2000, during the Ryan Gulch fire there were crews up here doing protection for the town and there was a risk we'd lost it " explained BLM Fire Ecologist Shelagh Fox. " We were blessed because the wind shifted. " Planning and scouting before the project began revealed an historic silver lining, " We found old cabins, old hand tools like pans and picks and a lot of placer mining " said Fichtler. Among the never previously found evidence, were hand-stacked rocks, which were moved by miners so they could clear the waterway below and pan for gold. So, as part of the tree removal project, workers will now build almost two miles of trails so visitors can see the historic sites first-hand. Back in town, the meticulous, yet nerve-wracking work continues. " If one of the machines snaps the tree and it comes apart and crashes on a building, we don't replace them " said Fichtler. " They're gone. " The project does not waste any of the wood as the sawdust goes to a particle board plant, smaller trees to a pulp mill to make paper, larger trees for lumber, and tree tops and bark will be fuel burned in giant kilns. If all goes as planned, the entire project, trails included, should be wrapped up by the end of October. http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=8573787 & nav=menu227_1 Montana: 23) At issue is whether homeowners who buy land from Plum Creek can use Forest Service roads to get to their property. And if they can, are there consequences for the county? Plum Creek and the Forest Service have been meeting with county commissioners across western Montana all this month. Missoula is one of their final stops. Quite honestly, some members of the tour expected that this meeting might be difficult. Since Missoula officials have questioned how the Forest Service handled the Plum Creek easements. And the meeting did feature blunt questions from county commissioners and the county attorney. They asked whether the easements must follow federal environmental law. And they asked about the impacts to forest land, and county services, when Plum Creek turns timberland into residential subdivisions. " Going from logging trucks part of the year to having passenger vehicles going over these roads every day of the year, " said Fred Van Valkenbert, Missoula County Attorney. " I'm not saying that won't happen. That'll happen with or without the easement. We're going to have changing land uses. We're going to have changing patterns of use. That's going to happen, " said Tom Suk, U.S. Forest Service. http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/global/story.asp?s=9094669 & ClientType=Printab\ le Wisconsin: 24) A global report on the state of the world's birds has implications for Wisconsin, say state conservation organizations. The report, issued by the organization BirdLife International, (birdlife.org), details the decline of global bird populations. As the official International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List Authority for birds, BirdLife says its 2008 assessment of all the world's birds reveals that more than 1,226 bird species (12.4 percent, or one in eight) are considered threatened with extinction. " Overall, larger-bodied species and those with low reproductive rates (owing to small clutch sizes) are more likely to be threatened. Although extinction is a natural process, current and projected extinction rates are estimated to be 1,000 to 10,000 times the natural background rate, " the report says. In 2002, a number of world governments made a commitment to achieve a significant halt to the decline of biodiversity by 2010. Two years away from this deadline, BirdLife is studying what birds tell us about the current chances of achieving this ambitious goal. The messages are mixed, BirdLife's website states. " We know much more about the state of biodiversity. And the world has become more aware of the environmental challenges that we face, particularly in the light of climate change. Despite this, our data show that the state of the world's biodiversity, as reflected by its 9,856 living bird species, continues to get worse. " In Wisconsin, a coalition of conservation groups are looking at the decline of global bird populations as an environmental barometer for the health of the planet at large. The National Resources Foundation, the Madison Audubon Society and the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative are responding to the report by working to raise awareness of the value and vulnerability of Wisconsin's birds. " In Wisconsin, " said Charlie Luthin, the executive director of the Natural Resources Foundation in Madison, " our wetlands, lakes and rivers—and our unique geography between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes—make Wisconsin a globally important place for breeding, feeding and migrating birds. Unfortunately, loss of habitat, pollution and global warming all threaten the birds that enhance our quality of life. " http://newsofthenorth.net/article.cfm?articleID=24246 Minnesota: 25) MINNEAPOLIS -- A landmark conservation easement that preserves wildlife habitat, protects jobs and ensures public access to almost 80 square miles (200 square kilometres) of rich forestland in northern Minnesota has won Forest Capital Partners LLC the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Inc. (SFI®) and Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) Wildlife Stewardship Award. Forest Capital Partners, which acquires and manages working forests across North America for long-term sustainability, received the award today at the annual SFI conference in Minneapolis. In 2007, the company signed a conservation easement with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources restricting development on more than 51,000 acres (20,600 hectares) of its privately owned, and SFI-certified, forestland in Itasca and Koochiching counties -- the single largest conservation project in Minnesota in 30 years. " The Koochiching-Washington Forest Legacy Project demonstrates one of the rewards of good forest management -- enhanced wildlife diversity and abundance, " said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of the independent SFI forest certification program. " Forest Capital Partners' Minnesota division negotiated an agreement that ensures private forestland is available for economic benefits and to support local jobs, while protecting wildlife habitat and providing public access. " " The project will help preserve the indigenous and migratory wildlife of the region by keeping their habitat intact, " said CSF Vice-President Gary Guinn. " The property will be open for fishing, hiking, hunting and cross-country skiing, and allow snowmobiles and ATVs on designated trails. " The land is near a state natural area and a state park, creating more than 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of uninterrupted conservation territory. The nomination letter included a comment from Peggy Ladner, director of The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota, who said saving 51,000 acres of forest is great work " but when those lands combine with existing public natural areas to create a conservation area that approaches 500,000 acres, it's an absolutely incredible and enduring accomplishment. " Forest Capital Partners worked closely with the Minnesota Forest Legacy Partnership to facilitate the creation of the conservation easement. The Partnership, a public-private coalition created by The Nature Conservancy and the Blandin Foundation to help conserve Minnesota's Northwoods, includes the Trust for Public Land, which facilitated the transaction, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which will hold and monitor the conservation easements. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/forest- capital-partners-wins-wildlife/story.aspx?guid={91AA55B9-F3BD-460E-B4F7-03184503\ A2D1} & dist=hppr South Carolina: 26) Charleston - There's debate over what should happen to two dozen grand trees near the Angel Oak Park on Johns Island. City zoning officials will decide whether to bend the rules and allow a developer to cut them down during a hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Those who don't like the idea are already upset over the proposed development on the Johns Island 42-acre site. " The Angel Oak needs its surrounding forests. Number one, that's the most important thing, " said Samantha Siegel, a passionate Johns Island resident who is leading the charge against cutting the trees. If approved, 24 grand trees would be cut. The trees sit in a buffer zone, more than 150 feet from the Old Angel Oak tree, thought to be the oldest in South Carolina. Developers who will plan to build condos in the area are requesting an exception to the rule which doesn't allow grand trees to be taken down, unless they're deemed as damaged. " If they cut down any of these trees, it's going to be exposed to harsh winds and sunlight than it had not been exposed to before, " Siegel said of the health of the historic Angel Oak. Siegel questioned the efforts and pointed to a 2005 letter from the U.S. Department of the Interior that states, the " wildlife in the area would be better served by conserving the entire tract of land proposed for development. " Siegel also questioned the expertise of city-hired tree expert. But Robert DeMoura, who represents the developer, said you couldn't get a more unbiased man with unquestionable credentials to look at the health of these trees. " We felt comfortable that his opinion of these trees we're going to be independent and unbiased and the City of Charleston felt the same, " DeMoura said. We're already saving plenty of trees, he said. DeMoura pointed to the buffer zone where nothing can be built within 350 feet of the Angel Oak as a sign that his company is trying to compromise. Siegel said she had thousands of signed petitions online supporting her cause. But DeMoura said the site was misleading because it claims his planned development threatens the Angel Oak. http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=9102470 Florida: 27) Florida's forests, which dominate North Florida's landscape and provide the backbone for the region's rural economy, can play a key role in meeting these goals. Florida's forests cover over 15 million acres (almost half the state), and 19 of Florida's 67 counties, all of them in North Florida, are more than 75 percent covered by forests. For example, Leon County is more than 50 percent forested, and most of its neighboring counties are more than 75 percent forested. North Florida's forests offer a huge opportunity for this region. Our forests already store significant amounts of carbon and offer an excellent opportunity, through good forest management and reforestation efforts, to sequester even more. In addition, wood and other biomass from our forests already provide renewable energy, and our forests are poised to step up with even more. It is thus critical to our state's environmental and energy goals, and to North Florida's economy, that programs developed to address climate change and our renewable energy needs include a significant role for our forests. North Florida's forests and the region stand at the cusp of this exciting moment in time for our state and can play a key part in this transformation of Florida's environmental and energy policy. Gov. Charlie Crist has proposed reducing Florida's greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, and both major-party presidential candidates have publicly supported similar reductions through implementation of a cap-and-trade program for carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. Florida's forests can play a key role in meeting these reduction goals. Any state or federal climate change program should encourage forest landowners to store and sequester more carbon as a means to reduce overall carbon emissions. http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080928/OPINION05/8092803\ 12/1006/OPINION Maine: 28) AUGUSTA -- Four Earth First! protesters, locked together by bicycle locks, were arrested Monday after being forcibly removed from a state office building. The protesters, all women from central Maine, entered the Land Use Regulation Commission office building, locked themselves together with large U-shaped locks generally used to secure bikes, and refused to leave as part of a protest against LURC's favorable review of a development plan for the Moosehead Lake region. Dozens of Maine State Police and numerous other police responded to the scene, joining about a dozen Earth First! protesters outside the building, on the former grounds of Augusta Mental Health Institute. The building was locked down for most of the day in response to the protesters. Last week, LURC approved its own staff's recommendation to approve Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber Co.'s modified development plans, and rezone a large tract of land on and near Moosehead Lake for development of nearly 1,000 house lots and two large resorts. In protest of that ruling, protesters sang songs, chanted and blew a horn while locked together in a hallway of LURC's Augusta headquarters on Monday. The four who were locked together were joined by several other protesters inside the office. All but the four left when told by police they would be arrested if they didn't. " We're staying here until (LURC staff) give us an explanation to justify their actions, " Megan Gilmartin, one of the four women locked together, said by cell phone from the LURC office. The protest, which lasted from just before 11:30 a.m. until approximately 4 p.m. -- and the large police response to it -- disrupted work in the LURC building but also, it appeared, in the many other surrounding state offices, where several workers watched the goings-on from their windows. " They're chanting and blowing horns and pounding on the walls and floors, " said Jeanne Curran, public information representative for the state Department of Conservation. At one point Monday, Department of Conservation Commissioner Patrick McGowan had a heated exchange with a protester in which McGowan accused a protester of saying he knew where McGowan lived; the protester denied saying that. " You better not show up at my home! " a red-faced McGowan shouted at protesters outside the main entrance to the building. He moved inside at the urging of state police troopers. Each refused to walk, and so was removed from the building on a stretcher. Then they were put into the backs of two waiting Kennebec Sheriff's Office vans as police tried to block the view of their removal from other protesters, who shouted and cheered. http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/5461441.html USA: 29) From the Call to Action below: " Article 12 of the Declaration [united Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples] affirms that " Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practice, develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies and the right to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites. " … " Tribal Nations and Native rights organizations are aware of hundreds of threatened sacred places throughout the US and are highlighting two critical threatened sacred places as evidence for immediate political action: The Medicine Lake Highlands located in California and the San Francisco Peaks located in Northern Arizona. " Please fax a brief letter to Senate Indian Affairs Committee urging that a hearing be held on these issues as soon as possible. The Committee fax number is 202-228-2589. Advocates for the Protection of Sacred Sites; Save the Peaks Coalition; Indigenous Environmental Network; International Indian Treaty Council; Seventh Generation Fund; Vallejo Inter-Tribal Council; Morning Star Institute. info 30) The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide whether the public can effectively challenge illegal government regulations and in the process will decide whether citizens have a voice in the management of national forests. On October 8, the high court will hear a case that started out as an important challenge to the Bush administration's weakening of the public's right to weigh in on major decisions impacting our national forests. The case began when conservation groups successfully challenged federal regulations issued in 2003 that eliminated the public's ability to comment on and appeal U.S. Forest Service actions such as commercial timber sales, oil and gas development and off-road motorized vehicle use. The victory has been upheld on appeal and the administration's request for a rehearing was denied. However, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the government's request to review the case — not on whether the limitations on public participation were permissible, but on a much larger issue that could make it virtually impossible for citizens to effectively challenge any regulation (not just environmental) issued by a federal agency. The Bush administration is arguing that the courts generally lack authority to hear cases brought by public interest or citizens' groups that challenge federal regulations, and that even if a court can hear such a case, it can't set aside a regulation nationwide, but only within its local jurisdiction. " Right now, timber and mining companies are calling all the shots. Average citizens deserve a voice in how their forests are managed and how their tax dollars are spent. " said Sierra Club representative Aaron Isherwood. " By creating financial and logistical hurdles, the Bush administration is silencing citizens. " " The government knows that the public interest community's resources are limited, and that its position would allow unlawful government action — whether a timber sale or deprivation of personal rights — to go unchecked in most instances, " states lead attorney Matt Kenna from the Western Environmental Law Center. " Citizens must obey the law; there is no reason why governments should be allowed to continue violating the law once their actions are found to be unlawful. " Kenna will be presenting the case to the Supreme Court. The case, Summers v. Earth Island Institute, has garnered significant interest. State government, academic, and public interests have filed amicus briefs siding with conservation groups. The timber and building industries have filed amicus briefs joining the government's argument that a nationwide set-aside of an illegal regulation should be available only to plaintiffs with an economic interest at stake. " Obviously, that is a nonsensical and self-serving position, " stated Jim Bensman of Heartwood. " This case is about whether or not the public has a right to be involved in the most important decisions that affect our public lands. The number one priority for the Bush administration has been to reduce public accountability, and this has been especially true when it comes to logging on our National Forests. " http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2008/summers-v-eii-09-29-\ 2008.html 31) Wood chip costs in Western US, which have been some of the highest in North America, declined 13% in the 3Q, but are currently still 25% higher than a year ago. Another region in the US that has experienced substantial fiber cost changes this year is the Northeast, where hardwood log prices have increased for five consecutive quarters and currently are 45% higher than a year ago. Pulpmills in Maine are struggling to supply their mills with wood fiber, and they now have the highest hardwood log costs in North America. Due to the local fiber shortage, mills are importing logs from neighboring states, Canada and as far away as the Lake States. With the hurricane season more intensive than usual, wood raw-material supply flow for both pulpmills and sawmills in the US South were interrupted in the 3Q. Heavy rainfall that followed the severe winds has drastically reduced both logging activity and the transport of logs. Late summer and early fall is typically the season when pulpmills build their log inventory for the winter season. Unless logging can be increased when hurricane season is over, wood fiber supply may be tight next spring. There is still time to catch up in terms of inventory building, but much depends on when the weather improves. In addition to better logging conditions, there is also the issue of finding enough loggers and truckers to move the wood. This is becoming an increasing problem in the US South and many wood consumers are worried that this will not only be a problem this fall but also in the coming years. However, the current financial crisis and the increasing unemployment rates could potentially make it easier to recruit personnel to the forestry sector. Many pulpmills in the hurricane-impacted regions have reached out further to source their logs this fall. Pulpwood stumpage prices were practically unchanged this quarter, so landowners continue to experience lower stumpage prices for both sawtimber and pulpwood in 2008 than last year. http://pr-canada.net/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=49900 & Itemid=61 32) Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, has introduced a bill in Congress to protect national forests, federal lands and wildlife refuges from aggressive logging tactics. " This legislation bans logging practices that are decimating our nation's forests, " Eshoo said. " The situation has reached the breaking point in America's forests, federal lands and wildlife refuges Congress must step in to protect the biodiversity of these ecosystems before it is too late. The added benefit of decreasing carbon emissions amplifies the need for this legislation. " HR 7090, the Act to Save America's Forests, will end logging in some areas while allowing for ecologically sustainable logging on federal lands. The act would also transfer the Giant Sequoia National Monument from the National Forest Service to the National Park Service. Logging has continued in the monument area but would cease if it became part of the National Park Service. Eshoo said HR 7090 has the bipartisan support of 70 members of Congress. http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=9441 33) Did you know 85 percent of realtors across the country say having mature trees in your landscape can increase the value of your home by as much as 20%. This is especially true if the home's original appraised value was greater than $150 thousand? Planting trees in your landscape today can help you sell your home tomorrow and can also raise the value of your home. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, " The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day. " So how does this translate to you, the consumer? Energy consumption - that's how! Planting shade trees on the east and west sides of your home can directly impact your utility bill by as much as 35%. It doesn't all have to be about energy consumption, however. What about aesthetically appealing landscapes? What about wildlife? Trees serve as bird sanctuaries and food for all forms of wildlife. Many more benefits exist that we will not mention here. In our area, trees do well if planted in the fall of the year. This can be done as early as October here in Northeast Louisiana. Planting trees October through February allows ample time for the roots to establish themselves before the scorching sun and heat arrives in summer. Okay, so you're convinced! You're going to purchase that tree for your backyard. But there is a small problem. You have no idea how to properly to plant it to achieve the best long-term success and health for the tree. That was until you picked up this article, right? http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080929/DELTASTYLE07/8092\ 9019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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