432 - North American Tree News

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--Today for you 30 news articles about earth's trees! (432nd edition)

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Index:

 

--Canada: 1) Chignecto Game Sanctuary needs wilderness protection, 2)

Sensitive forest secured in Lake Simcoe Region, 3) Nat-Geo on

Muskwa-Kechika, 4) AbitiBowater to sell off 190,000 acres in Quebec,

5) Common ground in a pristine wilderness? 6) Logging plan will

destroy critical woodland Caribou habitat, 7) Hundreds of protesters

marched through to: " stop the tarsands, "

--Michigan: 8) Tree cutting for new airport

--Illinois: 9) RAN takes on ADM at shareholders meeting

--Indiana: 10) Relationship between critters and trees,

--Louisiana: 11) Save the Cypress forest!

--Massachusetts: 12) State policies encourage clearcutting,

--New York: 13) Phytoremediation: got a diesel spill, no problem just

plant willow trees

--New Jersey: 14) New bill to protect private forests,

--Maryland: 15) $1.4 million in grants

--Vermont: 16) Town forest model featured woodlands magazine, 17)

Gibbs lacks the background needed to run parks & forests,

--Pennsylvania: 18) Destroying a forest to pay for an environmental

center, 19) Forestry for the Bay,

--North Carolina: 20) Study of forest impacts caused by global warming

shutdown, 21) Regrowing Brosnan forest

--Alabama: 22) Condo builders clearcut trees without permission

--Kentucky: 23) Ancient forests in Harlan county

--Maine: 24) New trail thru ancient forest in south Portland

--USA: 25) Insect-and disease-caused tree mortality has quadrupled,

26) Link to deforestation and Biofuels not made according to EPA, 27)

End an 8 year nightmare, time to dream anew, 28) Oppose national

forest certification, 29) Save the last ancient forests, 30) Lame duck

president may give away too much to corporations,

 

Articles:

 

Canada:

 

1) The list of groups calling on the province to upgrade the

protection offered in the Chignecto Game Sanctuary is growing. On

Thursday, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society became the latest

organization to call on the province to declare the 22,092-hectare

sanctuary a protected area as defined in the Wilderness Area

Protection Act. " The province needs to step up now and make the

designation as quickly as possible. They must act before we lose one

of the few precious wilderness areas we have left in the province, "

Chris Miller, the society's national manager of wilderness

conservation, said in a telephone interview from his Halifax office.

" Until that's done the sanctuary will remain vulnerable to

clearcutting, open-pit mining and development. " The society joins

Cumberland Wilderness, the Ecology Action Centre and a Facebook site

called Don't Drill for Oil at the Chignecto Game Sanctuary in urging

the province to declare the site a protected wilderness area. With

20,000 members and 13 offices, the society is Canada's leading

grassroots, non-government wilderness conservation organization. Mr.

Miller's comments come two weeks after it was learned that Eastrock

Resources of Calgary had received a permit to carry out seismic

testing inside the park's boundaries in a search for natural gas. The

testing was allowed because the sanctuary's protection level forbids

certain types of hunting but does not protect habitat. Upgrading it to

a protected wilderness area would prohibit forest harvesting, mining,

road building and other types of development, Mr. Miller said. The

society " has been scientifically examining the ecological significance

of the Chignecto area for three years and concentrated on the park for

the last year, " Mr. Miller said. " Our studies lead us to believe the

Chignecto Game Sanctuary is nationally significant. Not only is it one

of the few remaining strongholds for the endangered mainland moose,

but it contains some of the best remaining examples of intact Acadian

forest ecosystems (diverse tree types) in eastern North America. " The

sanctuary is also significant for its large interior forest,

old-growth forests and ecosystem diversity, he said. " It has one stand

of old-growth sugar maples that are the best I've ever seen. "

(Interior forests are large tracts of undisturbed forests populated by

different species and aged trees while old-growth forests are

generally made up of trees that are 100 years old or more.) The

province has known for several years ago that the public wants game

sanctuaries better protected, Mr. Miller said. " It's time they acted

on the Chignecto Game Sanctuary because it is one of our province's

last, best wilderness areas and must be protected, " he said.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1089176.html

 

 

2) Two conservation easement agreements covering over 81 hectares (201

acres) of undisturbed environmentally sensitive forest were secured by

the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. These agreements will

guarantee these ecologically sensitive areas in Georgina to be

preserved in perpetuity. The Deer Park (54.6 hectare and New Forest

(26.7 hectare) properties are both within 300 metres of Lake Simcoe in

the Roches Point area. The landowners have requested the two protected

areas be jointly referred to as the Arnold C. Matthews Nature Reserve.

" We wanted to protect these lands forever and encourage other

landowners in the Lake Simcoe watershed to work with the LSRCA to take

similar steps with their properties, " said Jack Gibbons, speaking for

the owners of the Deer Park and New Forest properties. " We're hoping

that more landowners in the Roches Point area will sign easement

agreements and add their lands to the Arnold C. Matthews Nature

Reserve. " Authority representatives are pleased with these agreements

and what they mean for the health of Lake Simcoe and its watershed,

said Authority chairperson Virginia Hackson. " These agreements ensure

that these lands will always provide habitat for wildlife, as well as

vital forest cover needed to combat air and water pollution. " In a

conservation easement, landowners retain ownership and responsibility

for all maintenance and taxes, while the conservation authority is

responsible for monitoring the restrictions set out in the easement.

The agreements are a partnership between the fractional owners of the

properties, the authority, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the

Regional Municipality of York. The properties are also designated as

environmental protection areas under the Town of Georgina's Official

Plan. The conservation easements are together valued at almost $1.3

million. The landowner groups have also agreed to provide an endowment

fund for each property towards the annual monitoring requirements. In

recognition of their contribution to the environment in the Lake

Simcoe watershed, the conservation authority honoured both ownership

groups at its annual Conservation Awards ceremony last week.

http://www.georginaadvocate.com/News/Georgina/article/83931

 

3) " There should be one place in the world where you have to find your

own trail, " he says. " All it takes is a little guts. " The shale

beneath our feet is slick with rain and offers about as much traction

as a pile of broken china. It shatters under the weight of the horses'

hooves as they slip and grind, sending shards clattering into the

gorge. A thousand feet below is the tree line, and a thousand feet

above is the pass, threading its way between a pair of hulking

9,000-footers. In every direction glaciers loom, strangely luminous

beneath a heavy gray sky. There are six of us and thirteen horses. But

no one is riding because the trail is simply too steep—at times

pushing 50 degrees. We lead our mounts by their reins knowing that if

one of them loses its footing there is no way we'll be able to stop it

from tumbling into the boulder-filled cataract that plummets headlong

to the valley floor. But it's either get over the pass or take a

hundred-mile detour. This is the Rocky Mountain divide, two degrees

south of the 60th parallel and, just like the people in that plane,

all we want to do is get across. We don't know yet that the way down

is almost as steep, which means we'll still have to lead our

thousand-pound horses, only this time they'll roll right over us if

their hooves fail to hold. This, I realize, is the price of admission

into Sawchuk's world. " I may have pissed away my twenties and part of

my thirties, " he says of the rowdy, hell-bent years he spent logging,

partying, and grizzly hunting in B.C.'s mountainous interior, " but now

I've atoned for some of that. " Sawchuk's atonement, if it can be

called that, is on such a massive scale it makes one wonder at the

sins that inspired it. In the early 1990s the B.C. government was

under pressure to decide, once and for all, how to manage the vast

resources of the province. Sawchuk and others recognized the

conservation opportunity of a lifetime. Although he was still a logger

at the time, he teamed up with George Smith, then national

conservation director for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society,

to launch the Northern Rockies–Totally Wild campaign. They were joined

by an unlikely group of fur trappers, guide outfitters, and

biologists, all of whom understood a basic principle of conservation

biology—that the best way to protect an ecosystem is to keep it

intact. Named for two of the region's biggest rivers, the

Muskwa-Kechika, or M-K, is arguably the biggest well-kept secret in

North America. Stretching southeastward from the Yukon-B.C. border,

the M-K enfolds Canada's northern Rockies in a 16-million-acre

(25,000-square-mile) embrace. Encompassing mountains, meadows, rivers,

and forests, its sprawling wilderness represents the largest intact

wildlife habitat in the entire Rocky Mountain chain. Seven times the

size of Yellowstone National Park, the M-K contains 50 undeveloped

water¬sheds and the greatest combined abundance and diversity of large

wild mammals in North America.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/muskwa-kechika/vaillant-text/3

 

4) AbitibiBowater announced today that it intends to divest three

forest units located in the Mauricie and Bas-Saint-Laurent regions in

the Province of Quebec, Canada. These timberland assets include the

Seigneuries of Perthuis, Nicolas-Riou and Lac Metis, which comprise a

total area of approximately 76,724 hectares (or 189,508 acres) and

have a timber inventory of over 7.7 million cubic meters. Scotia

Capital Inc. has been retained as exclusive financial advisor for the

sale process, and all inquiries or expressions of interest should be

forwarded directly to their attention. AbitibiBowater produces a wide

range of newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp and wood

products. It is the eighth largest publicly traded pulp and paper

manufacturer in the world. AbitibiBowater owns or operates 27 pulp and

paper facilities and 34 wood products facilities located in the United

States, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea. Marketing its

products in more than 90 countries, the Company is also among the

world's largest recyclers of old newspapers and magazines, and has

more third-party certified sustainable forest land than any other

company in the world. AbitibiBowater's shares trade under the stock

symbol ABH on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock

Exchange.

http://thetimberlandblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/abitibibowater-to-sell-190000-acre\

s-in.html

 

5) The general perception is all-terrain vehicle riders and

environmentalists mix like oil and water, but they've found common

ground in a pristine wilderness area on the Eastern Shore. The ATV

club in Lake Charlotte, the provincial All-Terrain Vehicle Association

of Nova Scotia and three environmental groups have jointly recommended

to the Environment Department that ATVs and snowmobiles have access to

a few existing corridors in the proposed Ship Harbour Long Lake

wilderness area. They're also asking that the province add 20 more

parcels of land, totalling more than 2,000 hectares, to the roughly

14,000 hectares first proposed for protection last December. Lyn

Ervin, vice-president of the Lake Charlotte ATV Association, said he

went into the first meeting with the environmentalists with some

" trepidation " but found more areas of agreement than he expected. " As

I say, we were a little nervous about it because from past experiences

and past perceptions of, you know — ATVers just want to go out and

rape and pillage the area, and the environmental people want to

preserve it, " he said. " Well, that couldn't be further from the truth.

It's just that we see it from a different angle. " Mr. Ervin said most

people who ride ATVs are devastated when they see environmental damage

in the woods, and favour a sustainable use of forests. The shared love

of nature was the basis for consensus, with give and take on both

sides, they said. Raymond Plourde, the Ecology Action Centre's

wilderness co-ordinator, said the co-operation was in line with the

" unusual bedfellows " who came together to get the area set aside for

conservation in the first place. Area pulp mill owner Kimberly Clark

had planned to cut in the proposed area early this decade, but held

off after energetic protests by environmentalists. Neenah Paper bought

the mill, in Abercrombie Point, Pictou County, in 2004 but sold it

this past June to Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corp. Several years of

discussion led to last December's announcement that the area would

become a protected wilderness area, making it off limits for

development and in most cases, vehicles. Mr. Plourde said he thinks

it's possible the type of dialogue and co-operation between the

environmentalists and ATV groups could be a model for other areas of

the province. He said he sees the potential for the template through

protected areas consultation and ongoing work on a natural resources

strategy. " Folks from different perspectives, you might even say

traditional enemies, are dialoguing more than perhaps they ever have

in the past. " And what's emerging is that yes, there are definitely

differences — some of them quite strong — but there are also areas of

common ground that are maybe a little surprising to everyone, and I'd

like to think that this model could be repeated, " Mr. Plourde said.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1089791.html

 

 

6) The Ontario government has approved a controversial logging plan

that will destroy critical woodland caribou habitat and undermine key

conservation commitments by Premier McGuinty, say Greenpeace and

Earthroots. Every tree logged in the Ogoki forest will be pulped to

make toilet paper, junk mail, and other disposable paper products.

" This move undermines everything the Premier has said about the value

of Ontario's Boreal Forest, " said Christy Ferguson, a forest

campaigner with Greenpeace. " When it comes to forest conservation,

Premier McGuinty is giving with one hand and taking with the other. "

In July 2008, Premier McGuinty extolled the global significance of

Ontario's Boreal Forest and committed to protect at least 50 per cent

of its northern reaches. This followed his government's May 2007

announcement of a new Endangered Species Act for Ontario which

included protection for woodland caribou. The newly approved forest

management plan for the Ogoki Forest, northwest of Armstrong, allows

logging company Buchanan Forest Products to log and build roads in one

of the most ecologically valuable areas left in Ontario's Boreal

Forest. Because local sawmills have closed, one hundred per cent of

what's logged will be delivered to the Terrace Bay pulp mill for the

manufacture of tissue and other disposable paper products. The size,

location, and near pristine state of the one million hectare Ogoki

Forest make it critical habitat for the threatened woodland caribou,

while its carbon-dense trees and soils make it critical for mitigating

climate change. In April 2008, environmental groups across the

province requested that the Ministry of Environment conduct an

individual environmental assessment to determine the plan's impact on

caribou before proceeding. The Ministry has denied the request, even

while acknowledging in correspondence that the logging and

road-building activities within the plan may impact woodland caribou

populations. " This is just one example of the problems that persist in

Ontario's Boreal Forest, " said Carly Armstrong, a forest campaigner

with Earthroots. " With logging companies exempt from the Endangered

Species Act, no new protected areas in the managed forest, and the

ongoing approval of plans like this one, it appears that little has

changed. " An Earthroots assessment released today details many of the

problems with the plan and with forestry in Ontario's Boreal Forest as

a whole, including the fact that the forest industry is currently

exempt from the province's Endangered Species Act.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2008/17/c9473.html

 

7) The environment was front and centre for hundreds of protesters who

marched through downtown yesterday afternoon shouting " stop the

tarsands " at the top of their lungs. The demonstration, organized by

the Council of Canadians - a left-leaning advocacy group - called on

the province to put a moratorium on new developments in Alberta's

oilsands. " (It's) dramatic devastation that's been happening there in

a very unrestrained way with very little oversight, " Council of

Canadians spokesman Dylan Penner said. " People across the country are

concerned about that. People see this not just as a Alberta issue, but

something that's impacting the country and, in fact, the world. " He

said the " gold rush " in the Fort McMurray area is not sustainable

either economically or environmentally and a hold on all new

developments would " provide us with a real opportunity to look at this

sanely and rationally and sustainably and choose a different path

forward. " Supporters marched through downtown and down to the

Legislature and shouted slogans like " public rights before corporate

profits, " and " dirty fuel isn't cool, Stephen Harper is a fool, " a

crowd favourite. Reactions from passers-by ranged from a woman who

honked and flashed a smile and a peace sign to a man in a pickup truck

who told those in the march to get jobs as he drove by. " We're not

saying 'stop it,' " said fourth-year political science student Dustin

McNichol of the tarsands. " (We're saying) let's rethink, let's get

some better regulation, let's have some sensible solutions to this. "

During her speech on the steps of the Legislature, Maude Barlow -

senior adviser on water issues with the United Nations and Council of

Canadians chairman - recounted her experiences during a trip to the

Fort McMurray area. " What we saw yesterday on our tour were absolute

dead zones. Zones where no living creature can survive. We saw holding

lakes for toxic water that, if it leaks into the Athabasca (River),

could destroy the Athabasca for miles, " she said. Barlow also

expressed her concern for the First Nations people of the region, who

are reporting exceptionally high rates of cancer. Most people at the

rally, like 78-year-old Louise Swift of the Raging Grannies, believe

Premier Ed Stelmach and other politicians hold the solution to the

problem. " The government has to be responsible for making laws about

pollution, " she said. " Until they do that, there has to be a

moratorium. " http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/11/02/7281366-sun.html

 

Michigan:

 

8) With the recent runway extension project at the Oakland County

International Airport in Waterford about to take final shape, reports

have surfaced of planned tree cutting from Williams Lake Road to the

Pontiac Lake shoreline. Proposals calling for either the clear cutting

of trees in that area or the cutting of a few trees targeted as being

too tall and encroaching on flight paths are being considered. " As

part of the project there, with the runway clear zone or the runway

protection area, we have had in the past a substandard protection

area, " said Oakland County Director of Central Services J. David

VanderVeen. " That was 750 feet from the end of the runway, now we're

extending it to a 1,000 foot separation. There are some trees out

there in that area that penetrate that safety area. " The further out

from the airport you get, the higher the elevation is that is safe, "

he said. " There are some trees that penetrate that area and we do have

to take those down. We're examining the process right now. There was

one proposal we've talked about with the (Department of Natural

Resources) where all the trees would be taken out, and replaced with

prepared grass. But we're studying another approach now and that's

likely the one we'll use. That is just taking down those trees that

are penetrating and leaving the other ones alone. " Last year, the

county airport received a federal grant to extend the main runway

roughly 300 to 350 feet at the west end of the airport. The extension

reportedly will help outbound planes fill up with more fuel in order

to get to their final destinations without stopping for refueling.

Additionally, the runway safety area for the east-west runway will be

improved, and that includes removing certain tall trees in the safety

area. The airport was also given a $34,300 grant for the actual

extension of the runway, as well as a $103,000 grant for the

engineering, design and relocation of instruments and paths used to

guide landing planes toward the main runway. A noise study was

required before the work started, and VanderVeen said he's gotten

reports that the tree cutting won't have a big impact on the amount of

airport noise heard on nearby Pontiac Lake. " I think that's the fear, "

he said. " Our noise consultants say that's not going to be necessarily

so. With the proposal we're looking at, there will be other trees

left. "

http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/Articles-i-2008-10-29-56402.113117_Airport_off\

icials_mulling_tree_cutting_options.html

 

Illinois:

 

9) Former Maui County Environmental Coordinator Rob Parsons joined

protests by Rainforest Action Network (RAN) at the annual shareholders

meeting of Archer Daniels Midland Co. in Decatur, Ill., on Nov. 6.

Parsons, who serves as executive vice president of Maui Tomorrow

Foundation Inc., obtained a shareholder's proxy for the meeting in an

effort to try and sway agri-business corporations like ADM away from

imposing biofuel ventures in Hawaii and decimating rainforest lands

associated with widespread mono-cropping of soybeans and palm oil for

biofuels production. " We will remind them that soy and palm

plantations are among the greatest threats to the world's tropical

rainforests, " Parsons said. " The expansion of these plantations spells

a disaster for these biodiverse forest habitats, indigenous peoples'

rights and climate change. " Hawaii is the most petroleum-dependent of

the 50 U.S. states, with more than 90 percent of the state's energy

needs coming from imported foreign oil. Despite abundant potential for

solar, wind and hydropower, the Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO) has spent

the past two years supporting proposals to construct two biodiesel

plants – one by Imperium Renewables Inc. on Oahu and another by

BlueEarth Biodiesel LLC on Maui.

http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2983

 

Indiana:

 

10) MARTINSVILLE, Ind. - Wildlife biologists are counting acorns and

salamanders and following rattlesnakes to their hibernation nooks at

two Indiana parks for a wide-ranging study of the connection between

trees and wildlife. Their project, planned to last 100 years, seeks to

pin down the relationship between tree species and the animals they

support to devise new forest management approaches. Cortney Mycroft, a

Purdue University forest technician who's overseeing the research,

hopes it can find ways to counter the forces that are slowly altering

the Midwest's hardwood forests. Mycroft said different tree-cutting

techniques will be used randomly in the logged areas. That includes

cutting all trees in a particular area, cutting trees of a certain age

or cutting only selected trees. Brian MacGowan, a Purdue Extension

wildlife expert, said he and the other researchers are eager to see

what impact the logging will have on a wide range of wildlife,

including endangered species such as timber rattlesnakes, Indiana bats

and Cerulean warblers. MacGowan has fitted 22 timber rattlesnakes and

25 box turtles with radio transmitters so he and others can track

their movements and periodically catch them to assess their health.

Previous research has shown that the size of an opening created by

nature or man in a forest canopy dictates what tree species will

eventually take hold there. Maples, for example, are well-suited to

growing in shade and quickly take advantage of a new forest clearing.

Mycroft said oak and hickory trees and the protein-rich nuts they

produce are slowly being replaced in woodland areas by maple and beech

trees with smaller seeds that support fewer wild turkeys, squirrels,

grouse and other animals. The study enlisting Purdue scientists, state

wildlife biologists and other researchers will use periodic

tree-cuttings to try to boost the oak-hickory mix, and oaks in

particular. " Our species composition is changing with our trees, so we

definitely have an interest in maintaining oaks, " Mycroft said. " So

many animals feed on acorns. " The study is unfolding in nearly 2,000

acres in southern Indiana's Morgan-Monroe State Forest and nearby

Yellowwood State Forest. The project started three years ago when the

researchers began collecting data on the selected woodlands. One area

in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest that's being studied is a large

tract that was leveled in 1990 by straight-line winds and later

harvested by a lumber company. Nearly two decades later, that parcel

of land is now filled with trees of varying heights and dense

shrubbery that shed light on how forests recover from violent

upheavals, said John Seifert, the head of the Indiana Department of

Natural Resources' forestry division.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in-changingforests,0,22057.story

 

Louisiana:

 

11) The cypress forests of Louisiana have suffered much devastation

from human development, coastal erosion, and exploitation by the

lumber industry. Now, vast tracts are being clear cut for the

production of cypress mulch. A new online campaign —

saveourcypress.org — is seeking to reform the Louisiana cypress mulch

industry. Cypress wetland forests are among the most productive

wetland ecosystems in the world, but with no state laws in place to

protect Louisiana trees, these forests are being logged without

discretion, at a rate of 20,000 acres per year. In the mid-1800s,

Louisiana boasted over two million acres of cypress-tupelo swamps;

currently, fewer than half that number currently exist. Cara Leverett,

of basinkeeper.org, reports that the cypress mulch industry is

responsible for most cypress logging. " Most cypress forests that

remain are between 80 and 100 years old. However, the trees still

aren't very big, which means that they are mostly suitable only for

mulch. " Saveourcypress.org, a coalition of over 160 conservation

groups, religious organizations, gardening clubs, and businesses, is

working to promote awareness of the environmental damage caused by the

cypress industry, as well as to encourage consumers to buy non-cypress

mulch or mulch produced from sustainable tracts of cypress forest.

They are also petitioning for the creation of state-sponsored

conservation incentives for private landowners of cypress forests, as

well as encouraging corporations to stop selling non-sustainable

cypress mulch. Already, Wal-Mart has agreed to stop marketing mulch

produced in Louisiana; Save Our Cypress is currently trying to

persuade Lowes and Home Depot, among others, to follow suit.

http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1105-morgan_cypress.html

 

Massachusetts:

 

12) How interesting that the boom in clearcutting on state land

(Massachusetts) coincides with subsidies available for private owners

to clearcut- both practices supposedly to enhance biodiversity and

wildlife- just when the state wants to increase biomass production.

How convenient! We will soon see far more clearcutting on private land

if not state land (due to increasing public resistance). I recently

talked to a procurement forester from the " far north " who said that up

there in a few years there will be far less lumber being sawn- partly

because the forests up there are wasted- and partly because the

industry is learning how to make products from raw fiber, along with

the increased market for pulp and wood energy. The industry in

southern New England is on the ropes, dying fast- the ones that want

to survive will join this " sea change " - they'll high grade what they

can (sending logs north), clearcut the rest and claim it's all

wonderful ecoforestry. The entire forestry establishment at all levels

are pushing this change. What would make far more sense would be to

use the new demand for pulp and wood energy to thin the forests

intelligently based on great silviculture. It would help if the

forestry establishment discouraged clearcutting! Any help given to the

wood industry should be based on that industry thinning the forests,

not clearcutting them. Huge grants have been given to some firms for

biomass projects- firms with reputations for high grading! Go figure.

Thinning the forests is far superior- resulting in removing low grade

wood while enhancing future high value timber- in the interest of the

forest owner, the profitability of the wood industry, creative work

for licensed foresters and a far better forest ecosystem. I've

uploaded my second video showing the difference between thinning

forests and massacring them. It's all a bit ironic- one would think

that the reality would be about private land being slaughtered while

the state shows how to do it correctly, conservatively, ecologically

intelligent, without damage to recreational and aesthetic values of

OUR state forests- but alas.

http://groups.google.comalt.forestry/browse_thread/thread/7cdab37e39a50e2\

5?hl=en

 

New York:

 

13) About 23,000 willow plants are cleaning up the site of a

164,000-gallon spill of fuel that has been spreading underground for

more than 50 years at the Fort Drum military installation in New York

state, US. Dr. Christopher Nowak, a silviculturist at the SUNY College

of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse, believes it

is the largest phytoremediation effort - the process of using plants

to remediate contaminated soils and groundwater - in North America. As

explained in a SUNY press release, the trees are part of an aggressive

cleanup strategy to remediate groundwater contamination caused by fuel

that leaked from the tank farm along Fort Drum's " Gasoline Alley " . The

military installation, home to the Army's 10th Mountain Division -

Light Infantry, covers more than 107,000 acres. This year, the base is

marking its 100th year as a military training site. No one knows

exactly when the leaks began - perhaps as early as World War II - but

they were discovered in 1988, when the petroleum, which had been

spreading underground for many years, began to foul small creeks on

the base. The plume has been flowing downhill under the Old Sanitary

Landfill, which closed in the mid-1970s. It moved through the sandy

soil and showed up in groundwater that surfaced as creeks in low-lying

areas. The creeks were turning rusty brown with precipitated iron and

bacteria as the petroleum surfaced in " seeps " that brought groundwater

to the surface. Donald Beevers, the installation restoration project

manager, who is employed with contractor Applied Services &

Information Systems at Fort Drum, said roughly $1m (£500,000) has been

spent on the remediation project. He estimated that constructing a

treatment plant would have cost $8m (£4m). The goal is to develop a

phytoremediation model that can be tailored for use at similar sites

across the United States. " We want to transfer the technology, " Mr

Beevers said. " This isn't the only Department of Defense landfill. " Dr

Nowak added: " This is just one military base of many, and it was clear

that what we are doing here could be applied elsewhere. It's tailored

phytoremediation. "

http://takecover08.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/willow-plantation-tackles-massive-fu\

el-leak/

 

New Jersey:

 

14) TRENTON – 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 approved today by the

Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 9-0, with 4

abstentions. 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

stewardship 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 stewardship would go into a dedicated fund, to provide grants

to people to assist in developing forest stewardship plans. " Through

this bill, we want to give forest-landowners the support they need, in

terms of technical expertise and financial incentives, to protect and

preserve their forestlands, " said Senator Smith. " By directing the DEP

to develop a forest stewardship program, we are setting up a system to

share best practices and results-oriented techniques with the people

on the ground, doing their part to preserve forests in the State. "

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/25429/smith-measure-protect-state-forests\

-approved-budget-committee

 

Maryland:

 

15) The three-person board consisting of Maryland Gov. Martin

O'Malley, state Treasurer Nancy Kopp and state Comptroller Peter

Franchot, announced more than $1.4 million in grants for forest and

farm land preservation in Dorchester and Wicomico County through the

Maryland Rural Legacy Program. The first of the approved grants

included $709,571 to acquire a conservation easement on a 292-acre

property in the Quantico Creek Rural Legacy Area. Since 2002, Wicomico

County has received $3.1 million in grants for the acquisition of more

than 1,400 acres. Of the acreage, more than 823 acres are found in the

Quantico RLA. Rick Pollitt, Wicomico County executive, said the county

has been interested in preserving areas from overdevelopment in order

to maintain its rural way of life. " We've been identifying land all

around the county we'd like to see preserved, " he said. " This was an

area the property owners were interested in selling and we were able

to make a deal. " Also approved was $731,000 for the acquisition of a

conservation easement on 271 acres of farmland in Dorchester's

Nanticoke River Rural Legacy Area. According to the Maryland

Department of Natural Resources, the Nanticoke RLA consists of 21,250

acres of land and contains over one-third of all the state's wetlands.

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20081107/NEWS01/811070315/-1/newsfront2

 

Vermont:

 

16) An article in Northern Woodlands Magazine entitled, A Forest for

Every Town, talks about the Vermont Town Forest Program, which aims to

ensure common forestlands for municipalities in Vermont. The program's

idea has grown, in part, out of movements, such as the slow food

movement, that strive to use local products. It sounds like the

program is quite successful so far. From the article: Hinesburg's

forests exemplify town forest potential. They have recreation:

world-class mountain biking trails, along with skiing, hiking, and

horseback riding. They also serve as outdoor classrooms, both for

local teachers and for the University of Vermont, whose students have

conducted dozens of projects there. And the older forest also has

active forest management: one recent harvest took out white ash, which

was then milled and kiln-dried locally and installed to replace the

floor of the Hinesburg Town Hall, which had been sanded so many times

that the tongue of each tongue-and-groove board was exposed. All this

at a total cost of $2.48 per square foot, about what you'd pay

commercially. The great thing is, Hinesburg is only one of many

Vermont communities with town forests. Some towns have had forests for

years, while others are just now acquiring them – a task made easier

by the assistance provided by the Vermont Town Forest Project and the

federal Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program, which

will provide 50-50 matching grants for towns to acquire town forests.

It's encouraging to see support for this project at local, state, and

even federal levels. This kind of institutional networking is woefully

lacking in Japan, making it hard to institute programs like this. It's

a shame, because there is a lot of forestland out there that could be

put to good use by local communities; and there are local communities

that are struggling to survive. Seems a perfect match.

http://otakimura.blogspot.com/2008/11/common-forests-rediscovering-good-idea.htm\

l

 

17) Gibbs worked in public affairs for Fletcher Allen Health Care and

for Boston's Public Affairs for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project –

better known as the Big Dig – before starting to work for Douglas in

his first campaign for governor. He is also the governor's liaison to

the National Governors Association, the Coalition of Northeastern

Governors and the Agency of Natural Resources. " Secretary Wood and

Governor Douglas believe I have the skills and the passion for

Vermont's natural resources to compliment the excellent team that

already exists at Forests, Parks and Recreation, " Gibbs said. Some are

not so sure. " I thought that Jason Gibbs was the governor's

spokesperson. I did not know he had any knowledge of what it would

take to manage state forests and state parks, " said Christopher

Kilian, director of Vermont office of the Conservation Law Foundation.

" He will have to make actual, substantive decisions. That will put him

in a new role. " " I can't say I see a clear rationale to why the

governor would appoint someone with that background to that post. I

would expect he would want someone who has some actual expertise in

this area, " Kilian added. Gibbs' job will be to oversee the management

of the state's park system and management of its forests. Those

aspects of the landscape – and the economic activity related to them –

are important to the state, Gibbs said. " They are also a big part of

who I am as an individual, " Gibbs said. " My focus will be on

protecting and improving these resources and making as much of a

contribution to the Forest, Parks and Recreation team as I possibly

can. " " Jason is smart, energetic and experienced in the intricacies of

policy and government, " Douglas said in a statement.

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20081113/NEWS01/811130364/1002/NEWS01

 

Pennsylvania:

 

18) They're marking trees at Governor Dick — up to 100 acres. In 2001

when they first proposed logging to fund their environmental center,

many of us spoke out. We knew the threats. Trees eventually return,

but many forest species do not. With each disturbance biodiversity is

diminished. They've tried many excuses. They even claim they need to

log the forest for money to preserve the forest. What? But they always

return to a need to balance their budget, as they did at October's

board meeting. Their choice of forester says a lot about their

intentions, too. He's no naturalist. Instead, he defends his plan by

talking about wood and paper products and saying damage caused by

logging will be within government guidelines. The problem is they grew

a $6,000 budget to $160,000. Their half-million-dollar environmental

center sits relatively empty and unused. They squander money on extras

like a new fireplace, hardwood floors and pavilions. Now they want the

forest to pay. There's no reason to manage Governor Dick for timber.

It's a preserve! All this money wasted could have been spent on actual

preservation and education. Why isn't it? Ask the trustees

(www.governordick.com). Tell them people don't visit Governor Dick for

the hardwood floors. We come for the forest!

http://www.ldnews.com/opinion/ci_10905687

 

19) To show how their well-managed woodlands can lead to cleaner

streams and rivers, and the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, the

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is encouraging

private landowners to join the " Forestry for the Bay " program. " With

nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvania draining into the Chesapeake,

woodland owners from Lancaster to Bedford, and Potter to Susquehanna

counties must realize their actions directly affect a national

treasure hundreds of miles away, " said DCNR State Forester Daniel

Devlin. " We welcome the chance to promote sound conservation practices

and foster healthier waterways by participating in 'Forestry for the

Bay' efforts. " The program is specifically geared to help small- and

medium-size landowners promote sound conservation practices and

increase vitality of the region's woodlands. Membership in Forestry

for the Bay is free and voluntary. " Whether someone owns 100 acres of

hardwoods or a 2-acre lot of evergreens, the health of those woodlands

directly affects the health of local streams, rivers and, eventually,

the Chesapeake Bay, " Devlin said. " Forest stewards are increasingly

challenged by fragmentation of large woodland tracts into smaller

parcels with diverse ownership. While many educational and incentive

programs are geared for owners of large tracts, Forestry for the Bay

focuses on reaching owners of forests ranging from backyard woodlots

to 25 acres or more. " The Web-based program was developed through

collaboration among the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, USDA Forest

Service and Chesapeake Bay Program. Besides Pennsylvania's Bureau of

Forestry, support also comes from the Maryland Forest Service and

Virginia's Department of Forestry. Program proponents hope to connect

900,000 woodland owners in the Chesapeake watershed region to a wealth

of information about local resources, incentive programs, and

technical assistance for proper management of their woodlands.

http://br.sys-con.com/node/742124

 

North Carolina:

 

20) For more than a decade, the federal government has spent millions

of dollars pumping elevated levels of carbon dioxide into small groups

of trees to test how forests will respond to global warming in the

next 50 years. Some scientists believe they are on the cusp of

receiving key results from the time-consuming experiments. The U.S.

Department of Energy, however, which is funding the project, has told

the scientists to chop down the trees, collect the data and move on to

new research. That plan has upset some researchers who have spent

years trying to understand how forests may help stave off global

warming, and who want to keep the project going for at least a couple

of more years. " There has been an investment in these experiments and

it's a shame we are going to walk away from that investment, " said

William Chameides, an atmospheric scientist at Duke University, where

one of the experimental forests is located. " There is no question that

ultimately we want to cut the trees down and analyze the soil. The

question is whether now is the time to do it. " Ronald Neilson, a U.S.

Forest Service bio-climatologist in Corvallis, Ore., said the

experiments should continue because they still have potential to

answer key questions about how rainfall and fertility affect how much

carbon a forest will store long-term — essential to understanding how

forests may soften the blow of climate change. But the Energy

Department, following the advice of a specially convened panel of

experts, believes that chopping down the trees and digging up the soil

will allow the first real measurements of how much carbon the leaves,

branches, trunks and roots have been storing, said J. Michael

Kuperberg, a program manager with the agency. Ending the experiments

will also allow the funding to be devoted to new research that will

look at the effects of higher temperatures, changes in rainfall, and

variations in soil fertility, Kuperberg said.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5itjv33F83HBx5I_LqkweBGMe3VYAD94CKRK80

 

21) The story begins in the 1830's, when the South Carolina Canal and

Railroad Company (SCCRC) bought a 100,000 acre plot of longleaf pine

forest near Dorchester, South Carolina. Timber from the forest was an

essential element in SCCRC's expansion, development and continued

operation. Not only did timber provide material for cross-ties,

trestles and bridges, but most of the then steam powered locomotives

burned wood to heat their boilers. This meant a nonstop and insatiable

demand for timber which the forest was unable to support. In 1920, the

railway began replanting longleaf and loblolly pines for pulpwood

production. Soon afterward, it began to construct a demonstration area

for local landowners who were interested in reforesting their land.

Southern Railway also opened up its land to forestry students from

Universities all across the South. In 1968 the Forest was officially

dedicated as the Brosnan forest. In 1999 the railway passed another

milestone, and in the interest of the red cocka-ded woodpecker, it

enrolled Brosnan forest in the US Fish and Wildlife Service's safe

harbor program. In August of 2008, Norfolk Southern Railway made the

news when it announced that it would place 12,000 acres of the forest

under conservation easement with the Lowcountry Open Land Trust (the

largest such conservation easement by a corporation in South Carolina

history). It took nearly a century of work, investment and commitment,

but now, where there was once a nearly exhausted collection of small

and shabby trees, their now exists a lush and thriving forest of proud

and tall longleaf pines. The red cocka-ded woodpecker have also made a

comeback and a thriving community of over 80 clusters can be found,

spread throughout the forest. Thanks to Norfolk Southern Railways

(renamed from Southern Railway in 1974) efforts, the Brosnan forest

and the once endangered red-cockaded woodpecker population have been

revitalized.

http://inspiredeconomist.com/2008/11/12/deforestation-apparatus-turned-green-cor\

poration-saves-forest-and-endangered-species/

 

Alabama:

 

22) SPANISH FORT — More than three months after officials here

reprimanded developers of a Causeway condominium development for

clear-cutting protected trees, the city has yet to receive a promised

remediation plan and other requested items. The lack of response from

developers of Shellbank Landing, a 57-unit condo project on 4.5 acres

at the base of Spanish Fort's bluff, prompted the city to send a

letter asking that the plan be provided immediately. Designs also call

for 7 wooded acres to remain undeveloped. The Nov. 4 letter, signed by

Spanish Fort Mayor Joe Bonner, also states that the city has not

received the requested section of trunk from the largest tree removed,

which officials plan to use to set the standard for replacements.

" Please be reminded that the city of Spanish Fort takes this violation

very seriously, " the letter states. " You are hereby directed to

provide a written response within 14 days of your re ceipt of this

letter, outlining your response and proposed remediation plan. " Ray

Hix, a company representative, said a landscape architect is working

to establish " a sustainable landscape plan. " " I am sure they will be

providing it to us and the city very shortly, and I am sure it will be

in line with everything that we talked about with the city, " Hix said

Wednesday. " We are going to do whatever we can to make it beautiful

down there. " On July 24, Spanish Fort Building Official Bruce Renkert

issued a stop-work order to Shellbank Development LLC after learning

that the company removed 11 trees — two cypress and nine oaks — that

were to be preserved under plans approved by city officials. When city

officials investigated, they also learned that the site plan being

followed by the contractor also strayed slightly from the one the

city's Planning Commission approved in October 2006.

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/1226657727153890.xml & \

coll=3

 

Kentucky:

 

23) In the early 1990s, Marc Evans was looking at aerial photos of

Eastern Kentucky when he saw something that made him think his eyes

were playing tricks. There, on the side of Pine Mountain in Harlan

County, was what appeared to be more than 2,000 acres of really big

trees. Evans, then acting director of the Kentucky State Nature

Preserves Commission, had found an expanse of old-growth forest that

somehow had been missed by chain saws and scientists. Many of the

hemlocks, oaks, beeches, tulip poplars, maples, black gums and birches

are hundreds of years old, and they form the largest old-growth woods

left in what was once a wilderness. Evans persuaded the heirs of

Grover Blanton to sell the land. Then, with Hugh Archer, he formed the

Kentucky Natural Lands Trust to pay for it. On one fund-raising hike,

someone kicked up ground-nesting wasps, and Evans assumed that he

would get nothing from that group. But two girls on the hike persuaded

their grandmother to give $500,000, anonymously, and the James Graham

Brown Foundation of Louisville chipped in an equal amount. Then a

neighbor gave $400,000 worth of land. Many more people contributed,

and the state put up $1 million. Today, the trust owns more than 3,000

acres known as the Blanton Forest State Nature Preserve, and it has

plans to preserve 6,700 acres. To learn more, go to www.knlt.org or

http://www.naturepreserves.ky.gov/stewardship/blanton.htm

 

Maine:

 

24) The Maine Conservation Corps is completing a trail-blazing project

this week in South Portland that carves a path through woods by Long

Creek that have been undisturbed for more than 150 years. The one-mile

hiking trail contains old-growth oaks and pines that tower five and

six stories high. Yet the site is located in Maine's busiest shopping

hub. " It is a surprising and delightful place, right in the middle of

the city, " said Richard Rottkov, president of the nonprofit South

Portland Land Trust. Hidden in plain sight, the swath of woodland runs

parallel to Long Creek and can be seen from a distance by motorists

traveling on Interstate 295, near Exit 3 and the Maine Mall. Thanks to

the efforts of the land trust, city of South Portland and developer

Richard Berman, the woodland is being opened up for the first time for

recreational use. Despite the rapid commercial growth of South

Portland's west end, City Councilor Tom Blake said the woods largely

have been untouched since the state acquired the property in the

1800s. The land was part of the former Maine Youth Center and is now

leased by Berman for the Brick Hill development of apartments and

businesses. The trust gained an easement from Berman to use the

property for public recreation. Blake noted that there was a barn for

livestock, vegetable gardens and brick-making on the grounds of the

Youth Center. Broken pieces of crockery, old bricks and other remnants

of South Portland's rural history are easily spotted along the trail.

Most impressive to Blake are the stands of old-growth trees, some of

which he estimates to be 150-200 years old.

http://www.keepmecurrent.com/Community/story.cfm?storyID=60477

 

USA:

 

25) Drought-stressed trees can't fend off pests and pathogens like

healthy trees can, according to an August report by several federal

scientists. The report said that from 1997 to 2003, insect-and

disease-caused tree mortality quadrupled to 12.2 million acres in the

United States. It also said the amount of forestland hit by bugs and

disease each year is far greater than the amount that burns in

wildfires. The national numbers have dropped since 2003, but they

remain far above the levels reported in the late 1990s, according to

the most recent federal data. Scientists said the effect of climate

changes on forests is compounded by other factors, including decades

of fire suppression that have left some forests too dense for the

water available. " For as long as people have been looking at such

things, we have never had the series of attacks on forest health all

occurring at the same time that we are currently experiencing, " said

Alex Woods, a forest pathologist in British Columbia. Of particular

concern in the West are bark beetles, a large group of insects that

includes some very aggressive species. " Several of the current

bark-beetle outbreaks across North America are the largest and most

severe in recorded history, " said Barbara Bentz, an entomologist for

the Forest Service in Utah. In British Columbia, mountain pine beetles

have infested more than 30 million acres. Bark beetles in Southern

California reached epidemic proportions five years ago, when they

killed drought-stressed trees across tens of thousands of acres and

provided fuel for the catastrophic wildfires of 2003. Over the past

six years, the number of invasive bark beetles detected in California

has doubled to 20 species. Scientists expect the trend to continue as

insects from Mexico and the Southwest spread north.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20081025-9999-1n25forest.html

 

26) At issue is whether the carbon dioxide released when faraway

forests and savannas are converted to farmland should be included in

the E.P.A.'s carbon footprint calculus for biofuel production in the

United States. Biofuels supporters say the cause-effect relationship

has not been established, and so those emissions ought not be

considered until more research is done. Opponents say the science —

and the law — is clear. " By law, E.P.A. must consider indirect land

use change emissions, " Ms. McMahon writes (see her full comment here).

" It is absurd that the biofuel industry, a year after this law was

enacted, would turn around and try to strip away this fundamental

environmental safeguard. " Responding to the letter sent to the E.P.A.

by biofuels advocates, Friends of the Earth, along with the Clean Air

Task Force and the Environmental Working Group, sent their own

dispatch to the agency on Friday. Yet, a growing body of research is

linking the production and consumption of biofuels to increased

competition for land, water and agricultural commodities. Growing

crops for energy in addition to food and feed requires the cultivation

of additional land. In an increasingly globalized food market, the

make-up food often will be grown where land and other agricultural

inputs are the most inexpensive. The result is the conversion of

forests, wetlands, grasslands and other areas in tropical countries —

a process that typically leads to substantial releases of soil and

plant carbon as land is cleared, drained and/or burned to make it

suitable for farming or grazing. According to Alex Farrell and Michael

O'Hare of the University of California at Berkeley, " There is no way

around the effect unless we un-make the global economy. "

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/biofuels-debate-point-counterpoint/

 

27) It's been a dismal eight years for the U.S. Forest Service. When

the Bush administration took office, it immediately suspended a

popular measure to protect 58 million acres of backcountry public

forests from new roads. Instead, the agency became consumed by

firefighting. Since 2001, stopping fire has grown from about 15

percent of the agency's budget to nearly 50 percent today. Without

forward-thinking leadership, the Forest Service agenda will continue

to focus primarily on this one reactionary activity. Yet there is

enormous potential for the agency and its 35,000 employees who manage

public lands that exceed the size of Texas. Agency staffers could be

turned loose to do good work on the ground. The future of the agency

-- and the rural communities that depend on it -- lies in its

recognizing that more frequent fires are a symptom of a warming

climate and an already stressed environment. And while fire fighting

is essential, it is only one part of a long-term agenda. Scrape away

eight years of languor perpetuated by the Bush administration, and the

clear challenge of climate changes stands out. Here's what the Forest

Service could do to lead the way: 1) Protect the highest quality

lands. In a warming climate, national forests, and particularly

roadless areas, are thermal refuges. Protecting these lands protects

fish and wildlife and also reduces the costs of filtering water for

downstream communities. Private ranch-lands also harbor important big

game habitats, many of which are threatened by development. It makes

sense for the departments of Agriculture and Interior to work with

landowners and provide incentives to those who help conserve

high-value lands. 2) Reconnect landscapes. If fish and wildlife

habitats are fragmented, they won't survive floods, fire and drought

predicted to increase with climate change. Identifying and protecting

important wildlife corridors on public lands and allowing rivers to

access floodplains are not only good for fish and wildlife, it's good

for communities. A healthy landscape will recharge and replenish

underground aquifers that supply municipal drinking water, minimize

the potential for downstream flooding, and improve soil productivity

for farmers and ranchers. 3) Engage communities in restoration.

Recovering the ability of our lands to withstand the effects of

climate change is essential. Reconnecting people, children and

communities to the landscapes that provide their food, energy

resources, and recreation opportunities is important to our nation's

well being. Restoration activities such as tree planting, energy

conservation, and thoughtful community planning bind us to the lands

and waters that sustain us. http://www.hcn.org/wotr

 

28) The US Forest Service is seeking comments on forest certification

and its implications for America's national forests. National forest

certification would prioritize commodity extraction over non-market

values such as old-growth forests, roadless areas, clean water, fish

and wildlife habitat, biological diversity, and opportunities for

recreation and solitude. Our national forests belong to all Americans

and should be managed for these values. A letter has been sent to the

Forest Service by 23 conservations groups from around the country

opposing the certification of our national forests. Click here to read

the letter. Take Action: Please take a moment to send a letter to the

Forest Service opposing national forest certification. Comments are

due Monday, November 17, 2008. Click here to send your comments.

Certification is a system that promotes conservation on lands, private

and state owned, which are already primarily dedicated to logging and

whose managers have chosen to participate in certification. Applying

certification to federal forests would undermine conservation efforts

on those public forests where no such commercial imperative exists, to

the detriment of efforts to give greater preference to biological

diversity, ecological restoration, and recreation. The appropriate

vehicles for ensuring proper management of national forests are

federal procedures and laws. The Forest Service claims that they are

looking at national forest certification as a way to help federal

timber compete in a global market, and as other countries consider

forest certification, the Forest Service wants to demonstrate that

they have agreed to similar standards. The Forest Service is

considering certifying the National Forest System using the two

leading forest certification systems: the Forest Stewardship Council

(FSC) and the timber industry's Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1158/t/140/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26218

 

29) Lost in the political excitement of the Presidential election

cycle was the recent introduction of the largest and strongest

nationwide forest protection bill in U.S. history, The Act to Save

America's Forests 2008. The Act, sponsored by Representative Anna

Eshoo (D-CA) and backed by the grassroots coalition, Save America's

Forests, is the latest attempt to change the US Forest Service from

its former role as a handmaiden to the timber industry to a new role

as caretakers of America's public natural forest ecosystems. Among

other things, the Act would prohibit clearcutting, preserve Ancient

Forests and roadless lands, while mandating the agency protect and

restore biodiversity. The Act would also transfer the Giant Sequoia

National Monument from the Forest Service, which persists in logging

in the sequoia groves despite its national monument status , to the

Park Service which has a good track record on preserving the sequoias

in the neighboring Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. The Act

also gained an innovative new section this year which requires the

National Park Service to conduct a comprehensive study of all U.S.

ecosystems to determine where holes exist in our ecological protection

of natural landscapes, and to propose creation of new national parks

in all these areas to correct this deficiency. The Act was first

introduced into Congress in 1996 and has been reintroduced in each

successive Congress since then, most recently this past September.

With the new makeup of Congress and a new President in the Whitehouse,

backers of this legislation feel the time is perhaps right to enact

this sweeping legislation. Besides protecting over 60 million acres of

" core areas " – riparian areas, Ancient Forests and Roadless areas, the

bill specifically bans logging and road-building in over a hundred

other specially designated " special areas " mostly in Eastern and

Mid-Western national forests. These include areas with high biological

value such as wildlife migration corridors, key habitat for rare

species, rare habitats, and areas with high levels of biodiversity,

among others. Other special areas include forests with high

recreational, geologic, cultural, and/or scenic value. Even such

things like opportunities for solitude that previously were not among

the values given protection from logging impacts would be given

consideration.

http://wuerthner.blogspot.com/2008/11/act-to-save-americas-forests.html

 

30) The election is over, but the risk of corporate giveaways by an

outgoing Bush Administration has never been greater. In fact, the Bush

Administration is rushing out long-term plans that would convert the

ancient forests of western Oregon, with their towering trees, rushing

rivers, and superb wildlife habitat, to empty clearcuts. Under these

plans, logging our public forests would dramatically increase, more

than tripling the current level. More than a thousand miles of

damaging logging roads would be built within the forests. Let them

know we're watching. Say NO to the Bush Administration's attempt to

sell off some of our last ancient forests to the timber industry.

http://action.wilderness.org/campaign/ognw/in8se64l38k3j3?