Guest guest Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 --Today for you 30 news articles about earth's trees! (414th edition) --Periodic tree news thoughts texted to your phone via: http://twitter.com/ForestPolicy --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-USA Index: --North America: 1) Pine beetle as an Anti-biotic resource --British Columbia: 2) 25% of Cathedral Grove attack backed by BC government investments, 3) Protesters shut down logging of Cathedral grove! --Canada: 4) Police attack indigenous children & elderly, 5) Gov creates Climate Change and Energy portfolio, 6) Deforestation books printed on trees, --Colorado: 7) Steamboat Ski Area is being logged, 8) 2/3 of citizens would prefer protection for pristine national forest land, --Wisconsin: 9) All about Aspen, 10) 25% of family-owned woodlands will be sold, --Wyoming: 11) Greater Yellowstone wilderness' red trees are dead trees --Michigan: 12) Lotsa large wind turbines in the Huron-Manistee National Forest? 13) Trying to accelerate development of old-growth forest? 14) 83 year-old tree planter is relentless, 15) It nests and breeds in only a handful of specially managed places --Iowa: 16) .02 percent of their original oak savannas remain --Nebraska: 17) 330 acres of park forest were selectively harvested and thinned --Arkansas: 18) My entire life has been spent watching great trees destroyed by exploiters --Virginia: 19) Our forests could provide double the current harvest --New York: 20) Enviro Bruce Kershner named after new old-growth law, --New Jersey: 21) Bill would establish new forest stewardship program in the DEQ --New Hamshire: 22) Two roadless areas on chopping block --South Carolina: 23) Desecrating Charleston's Angel Oak Park, --Kentucky: 24) Long live the last 2 Burr Oaks! --Eastern Forests: 25) Recognition of the altered state of these ecosystems grows! --USA: 26) Implications of Climate Change for Conservation, Restoration and Management of National Forest Lands, 27) " No timber harvest " scenario on public lands results in annual increase of 17-29 million metric tonnes of carbon (MMTC) per year, 28) US more open to to slow global warming through investing in tropical forests than EU, 29) Supreme Court judges will rule on citizen's right to participate in FS rule making, 30) Increased funding for fire suppression, Articles: North America: 1) Local pine beetle experts have welcomed a study that suggests pine beetles devastating large tracts of North American forests could be a treasure trove of new antibiotics. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Harvard Medical School have isolated a new antibiotic compound in the bacterium associated with the southern pine beetle, a close relative of B.C.'s mountain pine beetle. The finding could yield " intriguing possibilities " in the medical field, said Dezene Huber, Canada research chair in forest entomology at the University of Northern B.C. " The idea is if we start looking at some of the microbes associated with insects, it could lead to a new drug that can selectively kill fungi or bacteria, " said Huber. " That's a fantastic thing. It could potentially benefit people. " The pine beetle is associated with a beneficial fungus that burrows underneath tree bark and provides food for the beetle's larvae. But mites attached to the beetle's shell bring along their own fungus that competes with the beetle fungus for nutrients in trees, much like a " weed in the beetle's fungal garden, " said Cameron Currie, evolutionary biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of the study, published Thursday in the journal Science. Coming to the rescue is a bacterium also carried by beetles that wields an antibiotic compound called mycangimycin, which protects the insect's fungus by inhibiting the growth of the enemy fungus. It is still unknown whether the antibiotic compound has any application for human medicine, said Currie, an Edmonton native.But the implications of a new possible source of antibiotics are promising, especially at a time when soil-sourced antibiotic compounds are being exhausted and resistance to existing antibiotics is rapidly increasing. The southern pine beetle is the third type of insect -- after leaf-cutting ants and European beewolf wasps -- to be associated with antibiotic-wielding bacteria. The potential health boon might come as little consolation to B.C. communities ravaged by the marauding mountain pine beetle, which devoured 13.5 million hectares of pine stands last year. But the fact that the pests might be a medical wonder is merely " biological reality, " said Huber. " If it has a bacteria that produces antibiotics that might be useful, then great, " he said. per http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=6e7c5ea3-4c94-4fdc-b1ba-cfb\ be2399a82 British Columbia: 2) Cathedral Grove is under attack again, this time by a company that the BC government owns 25% of through a numbered company in Manitoba. Does the public know that the same government responsible for protecting this unique old growth forest is logging a provincial park? The BC government is the largest single investor in Island Timberlands, since bcIMC bought 25% of all shares for Island Timberlands in 2005, when the logging company was first established by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. However, Brookfield is listed under the heading of Real Estate on the bcIMC website not as Forestry. The investment is being made through a numbered company based in Manitoba. In 2005 Island Timberlands was created with private land holdings that had previously been publicly owned as part of Tree Farm License #44. Despite the fact that Madam Justice Lynn Smith of the BC Supreme Court in Hupacasath First Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests) found that the Province had a duty to meaningfully consult the Hupacasath about their claimed rights and concerns in regard to 70,000 hectares of private timberlands within their ancestral territory before deciding whether, at the request of then-owner Weyerhaeuser, to remove those lands from Tree Forest License 44 (TFL 44) The old growth forest that is being logged by Island Timberlands is separated from the main trailed park by several meandering canals of the Cameron River. Due to the steep slopes to the south, this leaves little room for the 300-meter buffer the logging company claims they will be leaving between their clear-cut and the park boundary. A wind-assessment conducted for BC Parks states: " ...the sheltering effects of the stands to the south and west should be maintained. This could be accomplished by acquisition of adjacent lands as noted in the park Master Plan. " This same forest has been considered for purchase by The Nature Trust of British Columbia. In the past week there has been a public outcry that reflects the local, national, and international passion for the Old Growth forest of Cathedral Grove. The locally elected representative for this riding has tried to raise public concerns. MLA Fraser explained " I couldn't question the government directly because they have cancelled the fall session of the legislature. So, I went into the offices for the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Transportation but they weren't there. " Island Lens #110 3) PORT ALBERNI -- Island Timberlands has put plans on hold to log 7,500 cubic metres of old-growth forest near the border of Cathedral Grove park. The forestry firm says, however, there are no guarantees the area won't be harvested in the future. Protesters concerned about the logging of the old-growth forest threatened to interfere with the harvesting and had held two protests, one at Cathedral Grove park last weekend and another outside the company office in Nanoose. Protesters representing several groups, including the Friends of Cathedral Grove, announced they would use non-violent means to protest and slow down the harvesting. Timberlands spokeswoman Makenzie Leine confirmed the planned harvesting of the section of old-growth timber is on hold. " We are not going to be harvesting it right now, but the area is prepared if we do harvest in the future, " Leine said. She added the decision to hold off on the logging is not related to the protests, but instead is a reaction to market volatility. " We will log some time in the future when the markets improve, " Leine said. Trees that have been felled are only those that needed to be cut to construct a road into the area, she said. While environmentalists are relieved the harvesting is on hold, they are calling on the provincial government to step in with a firm strategy to protect the old growth forest remaining in the province. Annette Tanner of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee wants to meet with representatives from Island Timberlands to forward talks with the aim of preserving some of the old growth stands the company owns. Those opposed to the logging say Cathedral Grove boasts some of the largest trees remaining on Vancouver Island, habitat for Roosevelt elk and other rare species, and that logging in the area leaves trees vulnerable to blowdown and erosion. Tanner agrees with the sentiments of Alberni/Qualicum MLA Scott Fraser, who recently said the provincial government must step in and enact legislation that protects old growth forest in B.C. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/capital_van_isl/story.html?id=6\ ace1e2d-8a75-4abf-90ab-aae1f8667757 Canada: 4) Quebec police fired teargas or some kind of irritant at children and attacked elderly demonstrators when they cleared an aboriginal blockade on Highway 117 north of Maniwaki, Barrière Lake Algonquins said yesterday. The Sûreté du Québec charged nine people, including two juveniles, with mischief yesterday after officers cleared a pile of logs from the highway that links the Outaouais to the Abitibi region. Police released the accused on condition that they keep the peace. Sgt. Melanie Larouche said police fired canisters containing a chemical irritant, not teargas at the crowd. She said paramedics determined afterwards that no one was injured. The blockade began at 6:30 a.m. and police began removing the protesters and barricade from the highway at about 4 p.m. Michel Thusky, a spokes-man for the Barrière Lake Algonquins, said police fired canisters into the crowd of 74 adults and about 40 children after reporters left the blockade. The band said the police roughed up a 59-year-old woman when they removed protesters and an Algonquin man in his 20s struck by a canister was treated in hospital for neck burns yesterday. Martin Lukacs, a volunteer who works for the band, said children were on the highway because the blockade was a community event and the Algonquins did not expect a violent confrontation. He said the police struck while the children were eating. The Algonquins of Barrière Lake want the Indian and Northern Affairs Department to recognize their traditional council and chief and a federal-provincial treaty that would give them a share of natural resource profits on their land. The unemployment rate in the community of 650 people, 300 kilometres north of Ottawa, is about 90 per cent. In 1991, the Barrière Lake Algonquins signed an agreement with Canada and Quebec to sustainably develop its 10,000-square-kilometre territory. Since 1996, the federal government has recognized a minority group and chief that oppose the agreement. http://greninja.livejournal.com/114637.html 5) The Trust welcomes the creation of the Climate Change and Energy portfolio - this new department should guarantee greater focus of action across all government departments, which will be particularly important when the Climate Change Bill receives Royal Assent and the commitments held within it become legally binding. For too long defra was a lone voice in championing actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change. We hope that in creating this new Department, Government does not become distracted from the vital need to adapt to climate change. Policy must offer both people and wildlife the best opportunities to adapt and where necessary move to more suitable conditions. Trees and woodland are crucial in an adaptation strategy as they provide habitat, support flood alleviation, and improve air and water quality. Let's hope that these reorganisations allow Government to play their vital role in delivering a sustainable future for all of us. http://wtcampaigns.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/a-new-way-of-governing-prime-ministe\ r-reshuffles-his-pack/ 6) I noticed something rather perplexing the other day, while I was in a local library. There's an entire section of books on Deforestation. I kind of figured that there was going to be, but a little voice inside my head said, 'Hey, I wonder if these are printed on recycled paper.' Sure enough, I spent about an hour and a half looking through all of these books, and only about 40% of them were printed on recycled paper. I sat there, staring at these massive stacks of tomes, at a loss. I was undeniable baffled. So, why the hell are there so many books exclaiming that we need to save our forests, when the publishers don't think about putting them on recycled paper. The freaking logging industry continues to cut down over 290,000 hectares of forest in Quebec, 185,000 hectares in Ontario and 67,000 hectares of forest in Alberta annually. And paper consumption in Canada has doubled over the last 20 years, to about 20, 000 pages per person a year. http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2006/11/10/tech-paperless.html OK, so here's where I stand on this. I'm kind of girl that loves camping, bonfires, hiking, and all that outdoors jazz. In fact, my most memorable camping trip was to Algonquin National Park in Northern Ontario. I saw two black bears, moose, deer, and lovely little chipmunks that liked to steal my cookies. But I'm losing myself. I love the outdoors, the smell of the trees, feeling the dew on your face when you wake up to a crisp morning in the middle of the forest. I'm in my element when I'm hundreds of kilometers away from civilization. So you can imagine the disdain I may have for these publishers who continue to print on non-recycled paper. http://deathbyspelling.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/canadian-deforestation-and-the-i\ rony-of-it/ Colorado: 7) Several Mount Werner hiking and biking trails have been closed for the remainder of the fall while the Steamboat Ski Area and U.S. Forest Service work to remove dead and dangerous trees before the slopes open to skiers and snowboarders for the winter. Nine hundred lodgepole pine trees, victims of a mountain pine beetle epidemic, will be removed by resort crews and local contractor Rogue Resources through the end of the month. The removal is a stopgap measure to eliminate the most hazardous trees while the Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. and Forest Service develop a long-term mitigation plan for the epidemic that greatly has affected the resort's lower slopes. " This is going to be mitigation that goes on for several years, " said ski area spokesman Mike Lane, who said this year's focus is on trees that have the potential to fall on lift lines, trails and structures. " This one right here is just the hazard trees. " Vice President of Mountain Operations Doug Allen said the resort also is removing the trees whose red tint is most dramatically visible from town. Allen said Rogue Resources is removing the trees from the property and using the lumber as it sees fit. " It's my hope that over the winter, we will come up with a truly environmentally sensitive plan (for the trees being removed), " said Allen, who guessed the 900 trees being removed this fall make up only 5 percent of the resort's dead lodgepole. " It's going to take several years. My best guess right now is we'll be at this for at least 15 years. " Through a special order of the Forest Service, all hiking and biking trails around the Thunderhead Express chairlift, Rough Rider Basin, Vagabond Saddle, Why Not road, and lower Valley View were closed Monday for the rest of the month. The parking lot near Thunderhead Express and Mount Werner's disk golf course also has been closed for the season. http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2008/oct/07/logging_ski_slopes_under_way/ 8) Nearly two-thirds of all Coloradans would prefer to protect pristine national forest land rather than increase oil and gas production in those areas, according to a new poll conducted for the Pew Environment Group. In a teleconference with reporters Tuesday, the nonprofit public-policy research organization announced the findings of a phone survey conducted Aug. 18-24 by Denver-based RBI Strategy & Research. It comes right before a federal advisory committee is expected to review Colorado's controversial roadless rule proposal in Utah Thursday. That blueprint for managing the state's approximately 4.4 million acres of essentially pristine public land is loaded with loopholes that would allow more than 100 new oil and gas leases, " long-term temporary " roads to service those leases, and increased logging and ski-area expansion, according to critics. The Pew poll, which surveyed 700 Colorado residents — 250 of them on the state's Western Slope, which is dominated by national forest land — found that fully 70 percent of respondents felt that the state's high number of unused oil and gas leases was reason enough not to grant the industry additional ones on largely untrammeled public lands. And 56 percent said drilling in such places wouldn't lower gas prices anyway. " The results indicate that the majority of Coloradans are skeptical about a new push to open up some of their best backcountry to new drilling, " said Jane Danowitz, U.S. public lands program director at Pew Environment Group. " They want a time-out until they can fully assess what increased drilling could mean to their way of life. " http://coloradoindependent.com/10662/poll-majority-of-coloradans-value-pristine-\ forest-land-over-energy-production Wisconsin: 9) Common and scientific names of Wisconsin's two most numerous aspens are indicative of references to leaf characteristics. The quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides, calls attention to the small, broadly egg-shaped leaves, which tremble or otherwise move in the lightest of breezes. The flattened petioles, which attach the leaf blade to the plant stem, is a primary cause for these leaves moving during the lightest of breezes. When the wind catches the flattened petiole, the leaf quakes. Further, a flattened petiole provides less support than rounded stalks on many other leaves. Foresters, among others, have reported that at least 500 organisms, including deer, beavers, grouse, as well as insects, fungi and viruses feed on trembling aspens. Dense stands of trembling aspens are prime habitat for woodcocks and ruffed grouse, too. The grouse commonly use the tree buds as survival food during the winter, and other times, when little else is available. The dense stands provide good nesting cover for many birds. Stands of aspen that are cut or burned send up innumerable sucker sprouts from roots several inches below the soil. Soon, a dense forest of aspens reappears after just a couple years. Pulpwood production is the main used of trembling aspen, beyond wildlife habitat. The large-toothed aspen, Populus grandidentata, has larger leaves than quaking aspens. Larger leaves, with somewhat flattened petioles, leads to more stationary leaves during light breezes. The most noticeable leaf feature is prominent teeth on each margin, hence the name, grand teeth, or grandidentata, or simply large-toothed aspen. In some states, including Michigan, more wood per acre per year can be produced by large-toothed aspen than any other native tree. Like trembling aspen, most of the wood is used to make paper pulp, but some becomes light lumber and even low-value firewood.Depending on the year, both large-toothed aspen and trembling aspen, provide extremely colorful displays of yellows, usually a week or more after the sugar and red maples have come into full color. These two aspens are pioneer tree species and are often lost from forests if fire or logging is not present to help regenerate another dense stand. The loss of aspens from a forest also means the loss of many of the 500 organisms that depend on the tree for food and shelter. Hence, a prime grouse and deer habitat quickly becomes more appealing to turkeys and squirrels as oaks replace aspens. http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/outdoors/309082 10) Nearly 25 percent, or one-out-four, family-owned woodlands will be sold, subdivided or converted to another use over the next five years according to a recently completed survey of current woodland owners and their sons and daughters. At least half of the sons and daughters expecting to inherit their parents' woodlands may not be prepared for the challenges of owning and managing a living asset. The study was conducted to learn more about the next generation of Wisconsin woodland owners who are on the verge of inheriting a large portion of the state's forests. " Knowing the attitudes of the people who, in the next few years, expect to inherit a large portion of Wisconsin's forests is crucial in creating the kind of sound public policy needed to sustain Wisconsin's forests now and in the future, " said Paul DeLong, Wisconsin Chief Forester and administrator of the DNR Division of Forestry. The benchmark Tomorrow's Woodland Owners study was undertaken by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources-Forestry Division in partnership with the Pinchot Institute for Conservation and the U.S. Forest Service. More than half of Wisconsin's 16 million acres of forest are in private non-industrial ownership. Roughly 360,000 individual landowners care for 9.1 million forest acres in Wisconsin and 60 percent of them are age 55 or older. Almost half, 49 percent, are already retired. " Given the key role the state's forests play in Wisconsin's economy, environmental health and quality of life, understanding the views and the needs of the next generation of woodland owners is of huge importance, " added DeLong. " Sibling disagreements could have a major impact on continued ownership and management of family forestlands, " says Carol Nielsen, DNR Private Forestry Specialist. " At least half of the multiple-sibling families participating in the study said they disagreed with in three critical areas: in the degree to which siblings wanted to be involved in family forest management; in whether parents would divide the family property among multiple siblings or to an individual; and in identifying the conditions that would ultimately result in the sale of land. " " The data from this survey will help guide the work of everyone who is interested in a economically vibrant, environmentally responsible future for Wisconsin's forests, " Nielsen said http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refID=104174 Wyoming: 11) This is not the picturesque beauty of the northeast's fall foliage. In Wyoming and the rest of the Greater Yellowstone wilderness red trees are dead trees. One species in particular, the white bark pine, is dying at alarming rates and putting the entire ecosystem at risk---but especially the resident grizzly bears and neighboring human communities. Many scientists believe that drought and warmer temperatures caused by global warming are major contributors to the escalation of the die-off by opening the door to an array of new threats. As the west heats up a fragile balance that has existed for millennia is quickly falling apart. Those changes are noticeable at higher elevations where small changes have huge impacts. And as a foundational species, Whitebark pine are likely heralds of problems we will see throughout the U.S. The trees are being assaulted by mountain pine beetles which are able to move into higher elevations and attack in greater numbers due to milder winters that no longer kill off their larvae. This threat is exacerbated by the increasing rate of infection by a non-native pathogen, white pine blister rust. Over 50% of the whitebark pine forests in the Northern Rockies have been lost in the last 40 years as a result of the new infection. The trees have no defense for the invaders and are now in danger of being functionally eliminated in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in the next 10 years. " So what, " you might say. " There are plenty of other trees to take their place. " Actually, no. These are trees with a special knack for colonizing new spaces and making them available to other species. Without whitebarks, you won't see new trees in this ecosystem. Besides, whitebark pines have a special relationship with one of the region's most iconic species. Yellowstone grizzly bears face an uncertain future without these trees. Females rely on caches of white bark pine cones and their high fat content when preparing to hibernate. And since the pines are an important food source; fewer whitebark pines probably translates into fewer grizzly bears. For folks living in the region, there is a far-more compelling concern---the clear correlation between whitebark pine cone production with human-bear interactions. When there are a lot of cones, bears do not venture as far for food. Fewer cones means more bears out foraging and coming into contact with people. Those contacts are bad for both parties. Bear/human conflicts rarely end pretty… And so, with that in mind, the words of Dr. Jesse Logan hung in the air very eerily for me and the rest of the folks on the tour. We were hiking high in the Wind River Mountains when we heard him state, " These trees are dead. They don't know it yet, though. I guess they are zombie trees... " http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jmogerman/zombie_trees_and_bear_attacks.html Michigan: 12) A subsidiary of BP Alternative Energy, hopes to build 20-28 large wind turbines in the Huron-Manistee National Forest. Last year, the US Forest Service granted White Pines Wind Farm a special use permit to build test towers to measure wind speeds. Before any full-size towers are built, the impacts on plants, animals, recreational users, and surrounding residents will be performed. The environmental impact statement could take a year. Each turbine would be 420 feet tall and the whole wind farm would produce 70 megawatts at peak capacity, which is enough to power 20,000 homes. The wind farm is expected to last 30 years. This is the second proposed commercial wind farm in the Eastern Region of the Forest Service. The Forest Service held two public meetings to receive feedback and concerns from the public. Opponents of the wind farm disagree with constructing turbines in the pristine forest, where the public goes to enjoy activities, such as hunting and fishing. Others find the project a positive change for the area that seems to have little impact and would provide a solution to Michigan's growing demand for clean, cost-effective, renewable energy. The Forest Service will continue to accept public comments until October 12, 2008. For more info, go to http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-20764.htm or http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/09/proposed_national_forest_wind.html 13) CASSOPOLIS - The Edward Lowe Foundation is trying to accelerate development of old-growth forest, a disappearing ecosystem that plays a critical role in biodiversity. " Although some universities and state lands have old-growth stands, these woodlands are generally managed in a hands-off manner with little human intervention, " explains Mike McCuistion, the foundation's director of physical resources. " In contrast, we're taking a proactive approach by creating conditions that mimic old growth. " As its name suggests, old-growth forests have numerous large, mature trees that stand 130 feet or higher. Yet there are also trees of all ages and sizes, creating a multi-layered canopy. Other hallmarks include open, well-lit areas due to trees that either have died or been blown over by wind, large craters resulting from these fallen trees and lots of large, decaying logs. " One of the problems with a hands-off management of old growth is that species change, " he explains. " For example, in today's central region old-growth forests, prevailing species tend to be beech and sugar maple, which don't provide as good a base food chain as oak or hickory. If you want to maintain an oak component on the landscape, you can't do it without some disturbance. " The foundation began its old-growth initiative in 2000 as part of the land stewardship efforts at Big Rock Valley, the 2,600 acres of woodland, wetland and prairie in southwest Michigan that serve as the organization's headquarters. " The initiative aligns with our overall goal to promote biodiversity, which is important from a number of perspectives, " says Dan Wyant, the foundation's president and COO. " For one thing, a loss of biodiversity weakens ecosystems, making them more vulnerable to events like droughts and floods. " For example, he points out, old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest can encompass several hundred contiguous acres while stands in the central United States are generally far smaller and are typically located in isolated pockets and surrounded by farm fields. Of the 750 acres of woodland at Big Rock Valley, about 100 acres are now being managed for old growth. " Essentially, we're trying to jumpstart this ecosystem, " explains Jay Suseland, the foundation's superintendent of grounds maintenance. " In designated areas, we're taking the thought process of what old growth should look like and setting the stage accordingly. " The majority of trees in these plots are relatively young - about 100 years old, compared to conventional old-growth forests where trees are 300 to 800 years old. Thus, a key component of the foundation's old-growth initiative is to encourage larger, older trees. To do so, trees that are competing with larger, healthy ones are selectively thinned. http://www.dowagiacnews.com/articles/2008/10/11/news/dnnews1.txt 14) After spotting a reduced price for Super Blue Spruce trees, Stieglitz, 83, thought they might be a nice addition to the 5-acre piece of land he owns in Oshtemo Township. The markdown indeed was a decent price, at 69 cents per seedling. The catch? You had to buy 2,000 of them. It didn't deter Stieglitz. " I was looking for a bargain, " Stieglitz said. " I've planted shrub oaks, column oaks from acorns, other pines and all kinds of trees throughout the years. This was just a little bit more of an undertaking. " And Mount McKinley is just a hill. Some might think buying trees 2,000 at a time a bit unusual, but Stieglitz is no dummy. He's also not short on energy. He grew up on an Indiana farm during the Depression, and served throughout Asia in the U.S. Army as a medic in World War II. He's a former medical doctor who retired from the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital in 1995, but he won't let people call him doctor. " I was at a seminar once where they said you shouldn't use 'doctor' after you retire, " he said. " Made sense to me, so I dropped it. " Stieglitz didn't so easily drop the idea of sprucing up his property after seeing a newspaper ad informing readers that Treehaven Evergreen Nursery in Elma, N.Y., was marking down the price on Super Blue Spruce trees. He made the order for 2,000, got his special price of 69 cents, and Treehaven threw in an extra hundred, just in case a few died. So far, Stieglitz has received his money's worth. It's hard to keep a constant vigil on 2,100 trees, but most of them have grown from 6 inches high to about 12 since Stieglitz and local builder Jeff Stoops teamed up to plant them in August 2007 -- 36 inches apart, in rows 36 inches from each other. http://www.mlive.com/kzgazette/news/index.ssf/2008/09/oshtemo_townships_lawrence\ _sie.html 15) The half-ounce bird, which sports a yellow breast and bluish-gray head and tail plumage, has such strict habitat requirements that it nests and breeds in only a handful of places -- primarily jack pine stands in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula. Those forests are managed to meet the warbler's needs, while a campaign is waged to limit the population of its enemy, the brown-headed cowbird, which lays eggs in warbler nests. " We've gotten the bird to more sustained levels, but it's still a battle every year, " said Chris Mensing, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in East Lansing. That may be the case for most of the 1,353 animals and plants on the federal endangered species list. While the Endangered Species Act calls for helping them reach the point of living and reproducing on their own, it's easier said than done. Just 22 have been removed from the list since the law took effect in 1973. Among them: the bald eagle and gray wolves of the western Great Lakes region, which were dropped last year. Before delisting a species, government biologists must conclude their populations have recovered, with sustainable numbers and distribution. Also, threats must have been eliminated or controlled. Mike Scott, a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Idaho, contends the Kirtland's warbler illustrates why it no longer makes sense to think of endangered species as simply recovered or not recovered. He proposes a new category of conservation-reliant species, which could be removed from the endangered list but still get long-term protection. " With all the habitat loss and invasions from nonnative species, you'll see more and more cases where the threat cannot be eliminated, it can only be manipulated, " Scott said. In a report to Congress this year, the Fish and Wildlife Service described only 8% of listed species as improving, meaning their numbers are rising or threats have abated. http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refID=104016 Iowa: 16) Only 0.02 percent of Iowa's original oak savannas remain, victims of clearing for farmland and timber, of grazing and neglect. And while the lost prairies have gathered much of the attention in Iowa in the last 20 years, the oak savanna is today an emerging cause among conservationists. Oak woodlands could disappear from Iowa's landscape in the next 150 years, said nature historian Connie Mutel. The Browns' land is a shining success story. A report on their property by Conservation Research Institute scientists claims they are the first in Iowa to restore an oak savanna on this large a scale. Much of their 200 acres are now turned into open, airy woodlands, the kind an 1847 land surveyor could drive a horse-drawn wagon through. Open timber has been transformed from tangled scrubs and invasive species to a thriving ground that nurtures the whole cycle of nature. Native wildflowers that bloom through the sun-dappled woods feed the insects that in turn feed the neotropical birds and small animals. They did it by lighting fires. Locals once thought them pyromaniacs. Now the Browns are seen as healers of the earth. Their work is a healed land can lead to a higher quality of life. Surrounding the Browns is the land as it once was. Sibylla Brown knocked on doors in southern Iowa, where in 1985 the land was cheap. It's not as if she was a city slicker, wannabe outdoorswoman in her late 50s looking for a deep connection with nature. She wanted a place in the country. It reminded her of the hills of Germany where she was born, where her mother gathered fruit and mushrooms after World War II. " The Browns have really transformed their land into a truly functioning system, " said Gregg Pattison of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. " If they had elk and bison it would almost be as if it was a presettlement landscape. " They also have spurred a southern Iowa movement, leading an association of landowners interested in oak woodland restoration, the Southern Iowa Oak Savanna Alliance. Pattison's position with Graceland University was added in 2006 and today he helps 20 landowners in restoration efforts. The Browns say their land is rare but there could be more in southern Iowa. In Decatur County alone, up to 20,000 acres are suitable for restoration, Sibylla said. Bill says being out here has put a balance in his life. Every day they watch the land heal, the bugs and birds return. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081006/LIFE/810060303/-1/ENT05 Nebraska: 17) CHADRON — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in cooperation with the Nebraska Forest Service (NFS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will conduct a prescribed burn between Oct. 20 and Dec. 31 at Chadron State Park (SP), depending upon local weather conditions. The Commission's primary goal of this burn is to reduce logging slash and accumulated fuels available for a possible wildfire in the ponderosa pine forest at Chadron SP. Approximately 330 acres of park forest were selectively harvested and thinned to reduce forest density from 2001 to 2005. By incrementally eliminating the remaining logging slash and other accumulated fuels on the thinned forest acres over the next five to 15 years, the Commission hopes to provide additional fire protection for the park. Burning also will improve the quality of grassland habitat and the quantity of broadleaf plants available as forage to a variety of wildlife species. The Commission will conduct an informational meeting on this project from 7-8:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at the park headquarters. Commission and NFS staff will answer questions. http://www.nefga.org/forum/news-info-nebraska-game-parks/16312-prescribed-burn-s\ cheduled-chadron-state-park.html Arkansas: 18) I have spent my entire life watching great trees being destroyed by Exploiters. First when I was 8 years old, the Crossett Lumber company used decided to gain control of hundreds of acres of my family's land in Arkansas. They went over this land, and girdled thousands of oak tress, many over 500 years old. They didn't even use them. They just girdled them. Eventually they burned them adding to carbon emissions. Two years ago in Arkansas, they logged this land again. They used skidders in the rain, making ruts 4 to five feet deep. I had to leave Arkansas because I was photographing this desecration, planning to expose this desecration of the land and the trees. The hard disk on which these photographs was being kept was stolen from a safety deposit box. The forest despoilers have deep pockets and can buy anyone. I am happy that here in Your community I can join in the active movement to replant lands that are deforested and have become useless. There are millions of acres in the tropics that can be replanted to trees. Land standing idle, covered with useless grasses, devastated lands. lands where soil erosion has taken away all the topsoil. Topsoil can be rebuilt. Tree can be replanted. And we can renew the lungs of our planets. And since the air in the world is in global circulation, planting a tree in Brazil can affect the weather in Your community. The world is one. http://nicholasdcihwdbaxk.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-are-people-who-will-halt-globa\ l.html Virginia: 19) Our forests could provide double the current harvest for fuel, but they need careful long-term management. The climate change we are facing this century will stress our forests, and we may be faced with extensive replanting, as in the 1930s. The history of Vermont's forests is fascinating. The early settlers of Vermont logged and cleared half of Vermont's forests for agriculture. Some clearing was unwise: Crops and potatoes were planted on hilly land, and much soil was lost to erosion. Vermont experienced several floods in the early part of the 20th century (1927, 1936, 1938), which were made more severe by the reduced forest cover. But people and agriculture moved west; and the forests have now regrown to cover about 80 percent of the state. The Biomass Energy Resource Center in Montpelier has been looking at the availability of wood fuel in our region and estimates that only about 15 percent of the new forest growth is presently being harvested for sawlogs, pulp, firewood and biomass. This means our forests are soaking up carbon dioxide and delaying the warming of the Earth's climate. Of course, a lot of forest is protected or inaccessible. As winters get warmer, it is also harder to work in the woods when the ground is unfrozen. But as heating oil gets costly, demand for firewood, wood chips and wood pellets is growing rapidly. When it was so wet this summer, it was again difficult to cut timber in the forests, so wood supplies may be short for the coming winter. If you end up burning green wood, please take extra care to keep your fires hot. For ten years, when I was younger, I cut and split my own firewood ? it's a lot of work. We need more skilled people working in the woods. But presently few young people are entering this demanding work. http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081005/ENVIRONMENT/810\ 050329/1048/ENVIRONMENT New York: 20) Gov. David A. Paterson has enacted a law named for Buffalo-area environmentalist Bruce Kershner that protects old-growth forests, a cause that Kershner championed before his death last year.The Bruce S. Kershner Heritage Tree Preservation and Protection Act protects forests on state land that are more than 180 years old, adding them to lands in the state Nature and Historical Preserve. A proposal to extend the protection on private land by giving tax credits to landowners was dropped from the final bill because of costs. However, supporters said the measure is a fitting tribute to Kershner, who discovered primeval forests around Western New York, including ancient stands of trees in Zoar Valley. " My father definitely would have been ecstatic, " said Kershner's son Joshua, a law student in New York City. " This is the continuation of a lot of his work. " The law bearing his father's name ensures that future generations will be able to enjoy and study ecosystems that were in place before Columbus' arrival, Joshua Kershner said. " In addition to providing a link to our past, these trees represent an important part of our future, " State Sen. Mary Lou Rath said in a statement. " From a tourism standpoint, people are attracted to these forests and the beauty and sense of wonder they inspire. " It's estimated that 400,000 acres of old-growth forest remain in the state, chiefly in the Adirondacks. Some were identified by Kershner, an Amherst resident whose 12 books include " The Sierra Club Guide to the Ancient Forests of the Northeast. " While forests within some state parks already are protected, the preservation law means that no logging on state lands will touch old-growth forests, said Michael Hettler, counsel for Rath. As more ancient forests are discovered, they will be added to the protected list. Protected forests must be at least 10 acres large and have trees of mature-forest species that are older than 180 to 200 years. While other states have moved to protect defined areas, New York is the first to issue a blanket protection for oldgrowth forests, Hettler said. The measure also allows local governments to designate oldgrowth forests. " As far as I'm aware, it's the first [such] law in the country, " he said. http://newyorkoutdoors.wordpress.com/2008/10/04/law-protects-old-growth-forests-\ honors-bruce-kershner/ New Jersey: 21) A bill sponsored by Senate Environment Committee Chair, Senator Bob Smith, which would establish a new forest stewardship program in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to protect privately-owned forests in the Garden State was unanimously approved today. " When you talk about carbon sequestering and reducing global warming, forests are the number one most important tool in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reversing the global warming trend, " said Senator Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset. " For that reason, the public has a major stake in privately-owned forest land. We need to protect and preserve our forests, and encourage owners of privately-owned forest land to make long-term plans to maintain and sustain our State's canopy. " The bill, S-713, would direct the DEP to establish a forest stewardship program for the owners of forest land who develop preservation and forest sustainability plans that meet national forest management guidelines, subject to approval by the Department. The program would offer financial incentives, including cost-sharing for stewardship activities listed under DEP-approved plans if funding is available, and property tax breaks similar to the current farmland assessment program established by the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964. As amended, the bill would also provide that revenue generated from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction that is dedicated to forest management would go into a dedicated fund, to provide grants to people to assist in developing forest stewardship plans. " In addition to the environmental benefits of healthy forests in the State, so many recreational activities depend on forest land, " said Senator Smith. " Even privately-owned forests provide a huge public benefit, and we need to provide the resources and tools to help forest owners make the ecologically-friendly, socially-beneficial choices to preserve forests in New Jersey. " Senator Smith noted that the bill is especially important given the high density of construction in the State, and the pressure to build on any open space in New Jersey. He added that New Jersey needs to provide financial incentives to private owners of forest land to relieve some of the pressure and stop the spread of suburban sprawl onto forest land. http://www.politickernj.com/jbutkowski/24204/smith-measure-protect-state-forests\ -approved-committee New Hampshire: 22) Roadless areas in the White Mountain National Forest are supposed to be absent of roads and full of trees. But the U.S. Forest Service has for new roads and clear cutting. The two projects in Jackson and Warren are home to 100-year-old trees and wildlife. These roadless areas are outstanding examples of the natural beauty of New Hampshire, and the public has repeatedly and overwhelmingly demonstrated support for their protection. Some say the North Country needs logging contracts to keep local jobs and spark the local economy. But the forest draws more revenue from tourism, like fishing, hiking, and other recreation, than it does from logging. The forest service said recreation activities resulted in more than 1,600 jobs and almost $32 million in revenue while logging created 57 jobs and only $12 million in the White Mountains. Logging the roadless areas will harm these national treasures, decrease tourism revenue and negatively impact the experience for people like me and my family. Further protections are needed, not more logging. I hope one day that my children's children can enjoy the forests just as I have. --PETER A. BENDER http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080927/OPINION/809270352/10\ 29/OPINION03 South Carolina: 23) Though developers won approval Wednesday night to cut down 25 grand trees on property adjacent to Charleston's Angel Oak Park, the trees won't be touched until all inspections have been done and required permits are in place. Final plans for Angel Oak Village were approved by the city in July. Wednesday night's zoning hearing was supposed to focus only on whether the trees, described as fair or poor in condition, could be removed. Instead, the three-hour hearing largely became a forum for opponents still hoping to derail Angel Oak Village, which will add businesses and 630 homes to the area. " It may be late. I don't think it's too late 'til they start pouring concrete, " Wadmalaw Island resident Lewis Hay said to applause. He was one of about 60 people at the hearing, which was held in the Charleston County School District's board room at 75 Calhoun St. in anticipation of increased attendance. Opponents might have lost the tree battle, but they seemed committed to continuing to fight the development on 42 acres that wrap around Angel Oak Park on three sides. Its boundaries are Maybank Highway, Angel Oak Road and Bohicket Road. After Wednesday night's hearing, opponent Samantha Siegel promised Robert DeMoura of Angel Oak Development LLC that she'd be seeing him again. Siegel, of Johns Island, started an online petition drive against the plan. The city's Board of Zoning Appeals-Site Design voted 4-2 to approve the request to cut down the trees. Amanda Barton and Joel Adrian voted no. The board focuses on site planning requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, including requirements for tree protection and landscaping, driveway spacing, and parking space design and maneuverability. The board placed conditions on the approval, including: 1) Each grand tree saved and " keeper " trees with slight encroachment must have individual, tailored treatment plans. 2) Chain link fences must be installed as barricades for all trees 8 inches in diameter or greater, except pine trees. 3) The developer must retain an arborist and hydrologist as part of the design team. The developer must plant native species trees to replace the 25 that will be cut down. - Angel Oak Village opponents claim the development endangers the Angel Oak. The Angel Oak tree is within Charleston's fenced, 2-acre park, which would be surrounded by an additional 150-foot undisturbed buffer. Supporters have said the oak is appropriately protected. http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/oct/03/grand_trees_wont_be_touched_until_ins\ pec56620/ Kentucky: 24) One big tree is on the north side of town, one on the south side. Both have stood their ground for perhaps three centuries, since long before there was a Lexington. In the last several weeks, the two " pre-settlement " bur oaks have been threatened by chain saws and bulldozers. The north side tree was wounded but survived. The south side tree probably will be preserved, but it is not yet out of the woods. Just being around living things that have been here for several hundred years, weathering storms, giving shade, producing oxygen and enduring, stirs something in people. The chance of losing them, and others like them, has spurred discussion on how the city can do more to protect the dwindling number of large, spreading bur oaks, chinquapin oaks and blue ashes found in the city and the surrounding countryside. Also a part of the discussion: To what extent are large old trees a community asset, even when they are on private property? The twin threats coming so close together caught the attention of the Lexington Tree Board, which started work last week to protect the " heritage trees. " The board hopes to have an ordinance ready to send to the mayor for Urban County Council consideration in time for Arbor Day next spring. Karen Angelucci, the tree board's chairwoman, talked at a meeting Wednesday about an ordinance that covers trees on public property, and private trees that are nominated by their owners. But Tim Queary, the city's urban forester, said he would like to see something stronger. If a tree has been standing for centuries anywhere in Fayette County, he said, it should get special consideration. " We should be able to say this tree really belongs to the community, and in order to remove it, there would have to be a permitting process, " Queary said. http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/553350.html Eastern Forests: 25) Both structural and functional approaches to restoration of eastern deciduous forests are becoming more common as recognition of the altered state of these ecosystems grows. In our study, structural restoration involves mechanically modifying the woody plant assemblage to a species composition, density, and community structure specified by the restoration goals. Functional restoration involves reintroducing dormant-season, low-severity fire at intervals consistent with the historical condition. Our approach was to quantify the effects of such restoration treatments on soil organic carbon and soil microbial activity, as these are both conservative ecosystem attributes and not ones explicitly targeted by the restoration treatments, themselves. Fire, mechanical thinning, and their combination all initially resulted in reduced soil organic C content, C:N ratio, and overall microbial activity (measured as acid phosphatase activity) in a study site in the southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, but only the effect on microbial activity persisted into the fourth post-treatment growing season. In contrast, in a similar forest in the central Appalachian Plateau of Ohio, mechanical thinning resulted in increased soil organic C, decreased C:N ratio, and decreased microbial activity, whereas fire and the combination of fire and thinning did not have such effects. In addition, the effects in Ohio had dissipated prior to the fourth post-treatment growing season. Mechanical treatments are attractive in that they require only single entries; however, we see no indication that mechanical-structural restoration actually produced desired belowground changes. A single fire-based/functional treatment also offered little restoration progress, but comparisons with long-term experimental fire studies suggest that repeated entries with prescribed fire at intervals of 3-8 years offer potential for sustainable restoration. http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/31089 USA: 26) I am very pleased to pass along notice of a noteworthy new summary study on the current state of research on climate change and national forests in the US: " Implications of Climate Change for Conservation, Restoration and Management of National Forest Lands " This paper summarizes key scientific literature on climate change and forests, focusing on policy and management options for the future. Published by Defenders of Wildlife and the National Forest Restoration Collaborative. The principal author is Rick Brown, and the report is published by Defenders of Wildlife and the National Forest Restoration Collaborative. " Before joining Defenders of Wildlife, Rick worked on national forest management issues for the National Wildlife Federation. Prior to that, he was a biologist on the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon, and started his conservation career with the Oregon Rare and Endangered Plant Project. " Web page: http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/habitat_conservation/habitat_conser\ vation_basics/forestlands/climate_change_and_national_forests.php 27) Our analysis found that a " no timber harvest " scenario eliminating harvests on public lands would result in an annual increase of 17-29 million metric tonnes of carbon (MMTC) per year between 2010 and 2050-as much as a 43% increase over current sequestration levels on public timberlands and would offset up to 1.5% of total U.S. GHG emissions. In contrast, moving to a more intense harvesting policy similar to that which prevailed in the 1980s may result in annual carbon losses of 27-35 MMTC per year between 2010 and 2050. These losses would represent a significant decline (50-80%) in anticipated carbon sequestration associated with the existing timber harvest policies. If carbon sequestration were valued in the marketplace as part of a GHG offset program, the economic value of sequestered carbon on public lands could be substantial relative to timber harvest revenues. Scientists and policy makers have long recognized the role that forests can play in countering the atmospheric buildup of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas (GHG). In the United States, terrestrial carbon sequestration in private and public forests offsets approximately 11% of all GHG emissions from all sectors of the economy on an annual basis. Although much of the attention on forest carbon sequestration strategy in the United States has been on the role of private lands, public forests in the United States represent approximately 20% of the U.S. timberland area and also hold a significantly large share (30%) of the U.S. timber volume. With such a large standing timber inventory, these forested lands have considerable impact on the U.S. forest carbon balance. To help decision makers understand the carbon implications of potential changes in public timberland management, we compared a baseline timber harvest scenario with two alternative harvest scenarios and estimated annual carbon stock changes associated with each. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN & cpsidt=20139874 28) As it inches toward forming climate policy, the United States is more open to attempting to slow global warming through investments in tropical forests than the European Union is, a broker that works on forestry deals said. " There's been this kind of predisposition against forestry on the part of the EU, " Ross MacWhinney, a carbon markets analyst at energy brokers Evolution Markets LLC said at the Reuters Global Environment Summit in New York. " But I think that in the U.S. legislators are looking at forestry as a lower-cost option. " Clearance of forests to create farmland in developing countries emits nearly 20 percent of greenhouse gases blamed for climate change, according to the U.N.'s climate science panel. Trees store the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide when they grow and release it when they rot or are burnt. Ahead of a U.N. meeting late next year in Copenhagen at which delegates from around the world will attempt to agree to a successor to the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, policy makers are increasingly looking at ways to make tropical forest preservation a tradable commodity. Developing countries like Brazil and Indonesia stand to earn billions of dollars from trading carbon credits if the meeting results in forestry deal. Movement in the United States, the developed world's largest greenhouse gas polluter, toward forestry offsets ahead of the Copenhagen meeting could increase the odds the world agrees to such a system. " Everybody is going to stand up and take notice of that " if the United States embraces forestry projects, said MacWhinney. It would also be dramatic since the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, on which carbon credits have traded since 2005, allows some trade in reforestation credits under the Kyoto pact, but not in forest preservation, also known as avoided deforestation. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7846204 29) The administration argues that activists should only be allowed to challenge specific forest-by-forest decisions, rather than overall Forest Service policies in the abstract. This would complicate business for environmentalists. " The standing has to focus on the particular site-specific place where the individual has visited, " Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler argued. Chief Justice John Roberts seemingly agreed that environmentalists faced a " high hurdle .... to surmount " because of prior Supreme Court decisions restricting lawsuits to federal agency decisions that have been " flushed out by some concrete action. " Summers v. Earth Island Institute started with a 238-acre salvage-logging project planned after a devastating 2002 fire swept through the Sequoia National Forest. Using new rules imposed by the Bush administration, the Forest Service declared that no public comment period or administrative appeal process was needed for the Burnt Ridge project. The administration determined that timber projects under 250 acres, forest thinning projects under 1,000 acres and controlled burns under 4,500 acres were all small enough to be exempt from the standard public comment and appeal proceedings. Environmentalists sued, and the Forest Service agreed to withdraw the Burnt Ridge project. Even so, a federal judge imposed a nationwide injunction that blocks the Forest Service's exemptions for small projects. The Bush administration argues the judge's order should be dissolved and the legal challenge dismissed since the original Burnt Ridge dispute has been taken care of. While Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg raised objections, Kneedler argued that only " on-the-ground activity " and not mere " procedural regulation " could incite legal challenge. This means activists such as Kernville, Calif., resident Ara Marderosian might challenge how the Burnt Ridge project was handled, but not how the Forest Service handled public comments and appeals more generally. Environmentalists say they need to be able to challenge the nationwide rules. " These are being applied on every forest on an ongoing basis, " environmental attorney Matt Kenna told the court. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/718468.html 30) Both the House (Roll Call 632) and the Senate (Record Vote 208) passed, and the President signed, a continuing resolution (CR), HR 2638, that will fund the government until March 6, 2009. This was necessary because neither chamber was able to pass all of the 13 annual appropriations bills that are necessary to fund government programs. The CR includes increased funding for fire suppression costs and hazardous fuel reduction. American Lands has previously reported that costs for wildfire suppression topped $1.2 billion dollars and now accounts for approximately half of the Forest Service budget. With more and more money going towards fire suppression efforts, less funding is available for other critical programs including maintaining national forests campgrounds and trails, forest restoration, and other important programs. Specifically, the Forest Service will get $775 million and the Bureau of Land Management will receive $135 million. Of the Forest Service's portion, $500 million will go towards fire suppression, including $400 million to be transferred to the agency within 15 days of the bill being signed into law that would repay emergency wildfire suppression costs for 2008 as well as for previous years. Another $175 million will go to hazardous fuels reduction in areas at high risk of wildfires, including state and private lands. It is imperative that Congress come up with a rational long-term solution to address forest fires in a way that makes sense for the forest, homeowners, and the public. County Payments - Safe at Last Both chambers sought to solve the problems caused by the expired SecureRuralSchools and Community Self-Determination Act (PL 106-393), also known as county payments. Throughout the 110th Congress, Members have been grappling with the expiration of the popular program. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) have been most active on this front, and had introduced several amendments and stand alone bills in an attempt to fund the program and avoid the loss of jobs caused by rural counties' budget shortfall. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2 & c=csGtmLgUAIBS56dbqyCZVK%2F\ H6haCwyXJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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