Earth's Tree News - 108

[Guest guest]

This week we have 36 news items from: Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, Kentucky, US Eastern States, Maine, USA, Canada, England, Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, and Brazil.

Alaska:1) It took mere seconds for Lieben to dissolve into laughter. But she carefully angled the kayak to conceal nearly all of her assets -- except bare legs, shoulders and face -- from the clicking cameras. Lieben was one of about a dozen women who recently posed strategically nude on Gravina Island near Ketchikan in their Xtratuf rubber boots. The women had gathered for a stress-reliever weekend at a rustic homestead on the north end of the island. Their goal: to produce a nude calendar that will showcase scenes from the Panhandle's coastal rain forest and raise money for the Ketchikan grass-roots environmental group Tongass Conservation Society. To preserve some modesty, the women took turns changing in and out of Lieben's wool poncho as they prepared for their turns in front of the cameras. They also took advantage of props at the homestead, ranging from a field of tall primroses to Tongass National Forest timber documents and a Kubota front-end loader. With their saucy project, the women also hope to crack a few smiles in Ketchikan. For the past 10 years at least, environmentalists, including some of the posing women, have been a focal point for anger in the southern Panhandle town. Old wounds still fester in Ketchikan over the Tongass Conservation Society's decades-long battle against the now-defunct Ketchikan Pulp Corp. -- which employed roughly 500 residents -- and the mill's 50-year timber contract with the U.S. Forest Service. Local anger against environmentalists peaked in the mid-1990s, when Ketchikan Pulp shut its doors amid financial woes, timber law reform and parent company Louisiana-Pacific Corp.'s strategy to exit the pulp market in Alaska. " The Tongass Conservation Society has been diabolized in this town, " said Carol Cairnes, a Ketchikan activist who posed for the calendar. http://www.adn.com/news/environment/story/7913725p-7807358c.html

British Columbia:2) Councillors Ruth Hartmann, Dave Haywood, and Anne Murray say there are lots of parks north of the Chemainus River. Based on his 37 years in the forest industry (35 at the Crofton pulp mill) Haywood claimed Echo Heights is just scrub growth and Askew Park is a real Cathedral Grove. Hartmann is offended some people believe development will destroy the Echo Heights forest. Good God, what does she think will happen to the trees, the shrubs, the wild flowers and animals and insects and everything else we so unconsciously pass by without noticing, when we build houses, streets, driveways, manicured lawns, a shopping area and parking lot? Melissa Hailey believes that development could "provide homes for those with lower incomes." Murray chimed in with a pitch for "attainable housing" for young, first-time home-buyers. Neither councillor explained how North Cowichan would build this low-cost housing when experienced builders are not able to do it. Maybe North Cowichan will give the lots away free to keep the selling price of the house below market value. Accusing the public of not having facts straight, Hailey seems to honestly believe housing and natural forest areas can exist happily together. Wonder if she can give us some examples? Murray said, "I believe it is the job of responsible politicians to fulfill the expectations of our constituents." Then she stated she was not elected to represent the desires of the community, but "we are elected for our judgement". Councilors justify their actions by chanting Echo Heights was zoned for residential development 20 years ago. Must we do something foolish because they made a mistake two decades ago? Haywood noted that in four election campaigns he has never heard Echo Heights discussed. You're absolutely right, councillor. It was not mentioned because no one dreamed politicians would be imprudent enough to destroy something many municipalities would spend a lot of money to buy. Councillor Haywood can be sure of one thing, he will be answering a lot of questions about Echo Heights in the next election campaign.

http://www.cowichannewsleader.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=9 & cat=48 & id=678362 & more=Washington:3) Beal, who launched the non-profit I'M A PAL Foundation (International Marine Association Protecting Aquatic Life) won more than 40 awards for his environmental restoration work. Beal loved being outdoors, camping and finding solace in the woods that reminded him of Vietnam, said his wife of nearly 40 years, Lana Beal. After getting what he thought was a death sentence, he went down to Hamm Creek, which winds through 3.5 miles of industrial and residential land from White Center to the Duwamish River just south of Seattle. " It was full of garbage, trucks tires, everything you can imagine " Beal told the P-I in 2000. " I decided that instead of laying down dead, I'd start picking up the garbage ... And if I died in the process, so be it. " After hauling tons of trash out of the decimated stream, he set about trying to bring back fish, Lana Beal said. But he soon realized that there weren't any organisms to support them. He started working on building the biological part of the ecosystem, she said, scooping up rocks from the Green River with larvae on the underside and transplanting them to the creek. Along the way, Beal worked with hundreds of volunteers and schoolchildren, telling them that restoring urban streams requires more commitment than planting a tree and never thinking about it again. " That was a big part of what he was telling groups -- it had to be monitored, it had to have stewardship, it was a never-ending thing, " Lana Beal said. His work paid off, with salmon coming back to spawn in the creek in the 1980s. Beal also turned his attention to the greater Duwamish River watershed. He got a boat and patrolled the outfalls where companies released pollution into the water. He went door to door asking companies to clean up their practices, but wasn't afraid to videotape violations, threaten lawsuits and take water samples. Liana Beal, 38, said her father could be a thorn in people's sides -- he had things he wanted done and got upset when that didn't happen. Recent struggles with the city of Seattle over the wetlands violations took a particular toll on him, friends and family said. But he often said to them that he had a deal with God and that you can't just resign from a job when he's your boss. " He was just like a one-man show, and everybody thought he was crazy, and he didn't care because he loved the stream, and he wanted to see it healthy, and he wanted to see the salmon come back, " Liana Beal, of Burien, said. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/275336_bealobit26.html

Oregon:4) COTTAGE GROVE — Tucked miles away from alpine timber lines and near the Dorena Reservoir dam is the Dorena Genetic Resource Center, a tree-breeding site dedicated to strengthening trees' resistance to non-native diseases. Established in 1966 and administered by the Umpqua National Forest, Dorena pioneered the fight against white pine blister rust, a deadly fungus that chokes life away from various five-needle pines, including sugar pine, western white pine and whitebark pine in the Pacific Northwest. Crater Lake National Park, with its dead and dying stands of whitebark pine, might one day benefit from Dorena's core program advances in crossbreeding trees to fend off white pine blister rust. Dorena Genetic Resource Center collects seeds from healthy trees found within disease-ridden forests and crossbreeds them to galvanize trees against white pine blister rust or other disease. The on-site search for steely trees is a high-speed natural selection process that leaves weaker trees in the dust. By exposing young trees and seedlings to higher concentrations of white pine blister rust than found in nature, Dorena hastily weeds susceptible trees from the "best of the best.We take great pride in our ability to kill trees," said John Petrick, a silviculturist at Dorena. http://www.newsreview.info/article/20060630/NEWS/60630008

5) The Medford BLM hopes to log over 1,600 acres including 600 acres of clearcutting ("regeneration") in the Central Big Butte Watershed west of the Sky Lakes Wilderness Area. This "regeneration logging" would target the biggest and best old-growth left in the watershed. Over 1,400 acres of this logging would involve tractors dragging the trees across the soil out of the timber sale units onto the road system. Only 200 acres of the logging would be accomplished by skyline cable yarding. Can it get any worse than this? It Gets Worse: The Medford BLM has never embraced the idea of encouraging citizen input and involvement in their timber sale planning process, they prefer to simply do the bidding of the timber industry without meaningful public oversight. While this timber sale has been in preparation for months, they have given the public only nine days to provide initial "scoping" comments. The BLM hopes to rush this old-growth timber sale through without your involvement. Please Write a Quick Letter: Medford District BLM 3040 Biddle Road Medford, OR 97520 http://www.cascwild.org6) During its 750 years of life in the rainy Northwest, this Sitka spruce has grown to a whopping 206 feet; its trunk has bulked up to 56 feet in circumference. But its fence tells a bigger story. The giant tree, pictured in a photo by Robert Adams, still has its roots in the loamy soil, but it's no longer a wild piece of nature. It's confined to a preserve, Klootchy Creek Park in Oregon, surrounded by a wooden viewing platform and protected behind wooden slats. A lonely survivor of the lost old-growth forest, the mighty Sitka has been reduced to a tourist attraction, a curio that people visit and marvel over, not something they live with. A big new show at the Center for Creative Photography, Robert Adams: Turning Back: A Photographic Journal of Re-Exploration, is a long lament for the ancient American woods, now vanished. In one photo, another Sitka spruce, in another state park called Cape Blanco, has a magnificent canopy, with branches spread regally out beyond the edges of the photo paper. It's in a real forest, among trees of varying ages and a mulchy earth floor covered with nurturing needles and bark. In another, Adams' wife, Kerstin, luxuriates in the sun-dappled space beneath a sheltering ponderosa pine. These surviving giants are the kinds of trees Lewis and Clark marveled over when they first saw the Pacific Coast Range during their epic expedition of 1804-1806. " The mountains are covered with a very thick growth of timber, " Meriwether Lewis wrote in his diary. The trees, he noted, were a stout 8 to 12 feet in diameter, and rose to a height of 210 feet. Adams tells us that the early settlers who lived in these woods would speak of going " outside " whenever they left its welcoming embrace; " inside, " they enjoyed filtered light and the scent of vanilla. His elegiac photos (most of them untitled) chronicle what replaced this forest primeval. In photo after photo, we see the new forests planted by corporations, their skinny trunks lined up in orderly rows, the better to be clear-cut at a young age in the interests, he writes in a text, of " short-term profits. " http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Arts/Content?oid=oid:83784

California:7) Pass said the Smith's water remains transparent because of the geology that supports the river's banks. As it ranges from steep canyon walls to rocky shorelines, there is a limited amount of natural debris that reach the Smith's waters. " It's a very erosive-resistant landscape, " Pass said. Not only is the Smith considered a gem by local residents, Pass said it is widely regarded as one of the most unique stretches of water in the National Wild and Scenic River System, a federal title that recognizes and protects rivers across the country. More than 300 miles of the Smith River drainage system are designated wild and scenic, a figure that ranks higher than any other river in the country. Pass said the Smith flows freely and naturally, without a single dam, for its entire length – the only major river system in California to do so. Although the Smith River NRA is widely known for its impressive waters, there are more than 450 square miles of densely forested mountains in the area, Pass said. These mountains range from high-desert conditions to the Redwood Forest and are home to remote wilderness landscapes, high-mountain lakes, and rocky canyons. Logging, as in most other parts of the Wild Rivers Coast, was once a very common practice along the Smith River watershed. In recent years, the trade has dwindled substantially. However, some logging continues in the area, including a timber sale taking place on forest service land this summer, Pass said. The Smith River was named in honor of the famous mountain man Jedediah Smith. However, long before the arrival of European explorers, the shores of the Smith River were home to the Tolowa Indians, according to Smith River NRA headquarters. It was believed that Smith only traveled to the area on once occasion in 1828, but was extremely impressed with what he saw. Smith, who often sported a thick, fury beard, is not the only hairy legend that might have traveled near the river. http://www.currypilot.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=13060

8) In a decision that could have broad impact on logging in the Santa Cruz Mountains and elsewhere, the California Supreme Court ruled in a split decision today that local governments can prohibit timber operations in certain geographic areas. By upholding a pair of Santa Cruz County ordinances, the court dealt a blow to logging interests that had argued that local governments have no jurisdiction over their business, since it is regulated by the state. The court said counties may not set rules on how timber operations are conducted, but they may decide where such operations take place. ``This is a major boost for the county's ability to protect its residents,'' said Sierra Club lobbyist Paul Mason, who noted that tension between local residents and timber operations have been simmering in areas where people live in heavily wooded districts that historically were open to logging. While logging companies say they have operated in those areas for decades, some of their operations have been opposed by environmentalists and by homeowners who say the noise and use of heavy equipment intrudes on their rural lifestyle. The case involves a lawsuit by Big Creek Lumber Co., which conducts logging operations in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The company challenged the county's effort to impose stricter limits on logging than were contained in state law. Santa Cruz County had enacted rules in 1999 that banned logging on land not specifically zoned for timber production, meaning timber could not be cut on land zoned for homes or farms. The county also tried to limit logging in areas close to streams and rivers, and restricted the use of helicopters in logging operations. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/14931692.htm

9) On the South Trail in Headwaters Forest Reserve on June 17, we were surprised to find evidence indicating asinine vandalism. Truck-tire tracks and black paint remnants, along with other incriminating evidence, were in locations where three heavy steel gates, a building and a large kiosk had been taken out. Who-done-it? Was this vandalism the work of a downsized company employee who was sure that all of his problems were due to tree-sitters and spotted owls, now all that old-growth was off limits in the Headwaters Reserve? Fat chance! Along with BLM property, Palco gates and other structures had been destroyed. A company employee would not mess with company fixtures, and furthermore, Palco does not tolerate malfeasance at lower levels. Considering the damage to Palco gates, was the vandalism the work of an ecoterrorist? Was there someone who was still convinced that much ecological degradation on the North Coast was due to management's cynical disregard of the sustainable logging practices which had been in effect at Pacific Lumber prior to Hurwitz's hostile takeover? Get real! No discerning environmentalist west of Winnemucca would muck about with a kiosk that gave information about old growth and marbled murrelets. Endangered species and sequoias: That's holy ground! In this context, the Kyoto Protocol and the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio demonstrate a burgeoning global consciousness for environmental and social healing. Our own Paul Cienfuegos (a prime mover with Democracy Unlimited) was a keynote speaker in 1999, when tens of thousands demonstrated opposition to devastating World Trade Organization programs. Names like Greg King, Richard Gienger, Lucille Vinyard and Tim McKay will highlight history books long after handles like Hurwitz and Merlo are forlorn footnotes. http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/ci_3993671Arizona:

10) " It feels like a death, " said Gary Dorer, a Sedona resident who hikes the trails regularly. " It's as if somebody in your family had passed away. " The Brins Fire has reduced thousands of pristine acres to moonscape, leaving an ugly scar on the Coconino National Forest. It has chewed through lush vegetation and animal habitats, alarming wildlife biologists. Forest officials also are worried the fire damage will cause serious soil erosion, which can lead to flooding because burned areas don't hold water as well. " These fires are probably the most significant ecological events that have happened to the forests in our lifetime, " said Larry Lesko, acting district ranger with the U.S. Forest Service. A special fire unit is scheduled to tour the burned area today to begin what will be a years-long rehabilitation effort. " Mother Nature heals herself pretty well in this area, " he said. " In the desert, all you need to do is add some water and you get life. When you start to get water on there, there's good seed bed in there that will start producing right away. We just need the moisture. " But although officials expect the forest to recover fully, they caution it could take a decade or more. Starting today, the rehabilitation team will map out the burned areas and assess the damage. Its first step is to eliminate all traces of the fire-suppression effort, rehabilitating fire lines and removing trash. The team will then look for trees that might fall, roads or trails that have become dangerous, and areas that could become flood risks. It will also check on the area's threatened species, including the narrow-headed garter snake and Mexican spotted owl. Over the next several weeks, the team will make recommendations on how to continue with the rehabilitation effort, said Grant Loomis, a forest hydrologist. When the trails will reopen will depend on the extent of the damage, forest officials said. Connie Birkland, spokeswoman for the forest's Red Rock Ranger District, recalled visiting the site of the 1994 Lost Fire in Oak Creek Canyon the spring after it burned. Just months after the blaze, Birkland said, the area was carpeted by ponderosa seedlings.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0627fire-lost0627.htmlMontana:11) The first comprehensive study of U.S. Forest Service land management litigation says the agency wins more often than not when a case goes before a judge, except in the region that includes Montana. The study, published recently by the Society of American Foresters, said the agency was more likely to lose challenges or be forced to settle in Region 1 than any other area in the country. Officials from Montana's wood products industry said the agency's success rate has declined even further since 2002. The study tracked cases between 1989 and 2002. Engstedt said there are two reasons why the Forest Service's Region 1 doesn't fare well in the courts: District Judge Donald Molloy and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "Judge Molloy has been very hard on the Forest Service. ... The 9th Circuit is not a friendly court on natural resource issues," she said. The Society of American Foresters' study examined all 729 legal challenges to Forest Service land management filed in federal court between 1989 and 2002. It was conducted by four researchers: three from the State University of New York and one from the Forest Service. "The Forest Service enjoys an excellent success rate - winning 57 percent of all cases and 73 percent of the cases decided by a judge or panel of judges - especially when one considers that the Forest Service is the defendant in all of these cases and the plaintiffs get to choose the basis and venues for their lawsuits," said Robert Malmsheimer, the study's lead researcher. "It's interesting to note however, that the Forest Service settles more than one in every six cases - almost as many land management cases as it loses," he said. "Clearly both the Forest Service and litigants view settlements as an important dispute-resolution tool." http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/06/27/news/mtregional/znews09.txt

12) About 25 people toured the Benchmark area last week as Forest Service officials discussed plans to do some logging west of Augusta to reduce the odds of a future wildfire destroying area cabins and structures. " I think it's a wonderful idea, " Hall said.The Forest Service project would cover about 740 acres and include a mix of commercial and noncommercial thinning. The proposal is a Healthy Forest Restoration Act proposal. " We know there are some concerns about this project, " said Rocky Mountain Front District Ranger Mike Mu�oz. " And we want to collaborate on this project. " There are about 50 cabins in the area, two resorts, three campgrounds, two Forest Service administrative sites and two packer corrals. Hall has a cabin in the Double Falls area. Great Falls resident Jennifer Smith and her husband have a cabin in the same area. Smith said she went on the field trip to ask questions about supervision of the commercial thinning and other aspects of the proposal. Forest Service officials said they intend to monitor the work, trees that are to be cut will be marked prior to the start of work and the locations of skidder work also will be identified. " I think if this is done carefully, it will be a good project, " Smith said. " But I see the potential for a timber company not being as sensitive as the Forest Service says they would be. " http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060627/NEWS01/606270303/1002

Colorado:13) The Forest Service requires that a permit be applied for in advance of the gathering. And they use any excuse possible to deny a permit application when we manage to submit one. This year their denial was based on the fact that a logging company had a permit to log in a nearby parcel of the national forest, even though there is no logging activity present whatsoever. The site is far remote from any inhabitants -- but still the Forest Service is all over our case. Millions of taxpayer dollars are being spent to block this harmless gathering from taking place. The scariest aspect of all this is how Homeland Security is using these gatherings to perfect their techniques of martial law. Regulations written for the Federal Emergency Management Authority to deal with natural disasters are now being used to crush dissent in this country. Each year the Rainbow Gathering is declared a " National Incident " and federal military law ensues. A Special Agent is appointed " Incident Commander " , with a Delegation of Authority, a large law enforcement " Team " , and huge budget to control the gathering. Qualified Forest Service administrators lose their power, while the county sheriff and other officials are brought into targeted law enforcement actions by inclusion in the Incident Team and other inter-agency agreements. Each year Homeland Security gains more power over the individuals involved. http://www.welcomehome.org

14) Campers are spread out in eight square miles of meadow and forest where up to 60 percent of the trees have been killed by a beetle infestation and are vulnerable to fire, officials said. Forestry officials worry that if a big fire erupts, the narrow dirt access road would become clogged and campers would be trapped. Up to 20,000 are expected. About 250 campers have been cited for camping without a permit, and on Thursday forestry officials banned open fires, except in authorized fire pits. In the Monday incident, about 200 campers surrounded 15 officers and became verbally abusive, Vogel said. As the officers tried to arrest some of the campers, the crowd surged forward, striking at least three officers and pulling the suspects free, she said. Campers piled on top of one suspect, blocking officers from making an arrest. Officers arrested one suspect, drew their batons and used pepper spray as they backed away, Vogel said. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9448635/detail.html

15) It is proven and observable that the American lumber industry is unable to conduct a salvage logging operation without seriously diminishing the forest's natural capability to regenerate itself. " Said Randal McKown, a private property owner in the timber sale area and plaintiff on the lawsuit. The timber sale at issue would cut 29 million board feet (or 7,250 truckloads) of spruce and fir trees from 1,556 acres of high-elevation forests in Conejos County. Nearly 16 miles of inactive and recovering roads would have to be reconstructed to access the trees. The proposed logging area is critical to water production for downstream users that include: recreationists, domestic consumers, agriculture, and wildlife. The logging is in Canada lynx habitat and a popular recreation area. The coalition charged that the US Forest Service failed to follow procedure to protect water resources, has not complied with wildlife requirements, and generally ignored the cumulative effects of the logging. The County Line timber sale is located high in the Conejos River watershed adjacent to the South San Juan Wilderness and the Continental Divide Trail. Several land owners surrounded by national forest slated for logging joined the lawsuit. " The Forest Service is degrading our public assets for the benefit of the extraction industries and disguising the activity as a 'healthy forest' policy. " This is a classic example of the misplaced priorities of the Bush administration. " Said Bryan Bird, Forest Guardians' forest program director. " Here you have a proposal to log remote, relatively pristine forests that are critical for water production and provide recreational opportunities to a spectrum of people from all walks of life. The Forest Service should be focusing its limited funds on protecting communities from wildfire. " Logging to Control Insects: The Science and Myths Behind Managing Forest Insect " Pests. " A Synthesis of Independently Reviewed Research includes a summary of relevant studies on the importance of insects to forest function and the methods used to control forest " pest " insects, and a compilation of summaries of over 150 scientific papers and Forest Service documents. " The findings are very clear, " said Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and author of the report. " A review of over three hundred papers on the subject reveals that logging is not the solution to forest insect outbreaks and in the long run could increase the likelihood of epidemics. " http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0627-21.htm

Illinois:16) The idea of tearing up chunks of forest preserve land to allow for the expansion of the Tri-State Tollway has barely been floated to county commissioners. ut the mere mention of it has put environmentalists on alert, as they prepare to fight a plan that will be introduced next month. The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority wants to purchase 16 acres, in increments, along Interstate 294, from Touhy Avenue to Lake-Cook Road -- a plan being met with mixed response. " The days of agencies just coming in and doing things like this are over, " said Benjamin Cox of Friends of the Forest Preserves. But Cmsr. Gregg Goslin (R-Glenview) said it's " a necessary evil " to give up forest preserve land to allow tollway expansion. " The embankments are being pushed out a little bit because the road's being pushed out, " he said. In addition to paying $2.9 million for the land and $1.7 million for removing 2,711 trees, the tollway would agree to build bio-swales -- large areas for stormwater runoff. The plan will be presented to the county board July 12. http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-forest29.html

New York:17) ITHACA — The Town of Ithaca, with the help of the Finger Lakes Land Trust, recently purchased 10 acres of hardwood forest for preservation. Now called Dress Woods, in honor of Bill Dress who sold the land, the property is a stand of mature forest on Culver Road, which is off of Bostwick Road. According to a press release from the land trust, they were first made aware of the property by forester Mike DeMunn. When they visited the property, they were impressed by the hardwood trees, which they said "represented some of the finest remaining forest in Ithaca." A botanist and land trust member, Dress would only agree to sell the land to someone who would commit to preserve it. Cathy Valentino, supervisor of the Town of Ithaca, said he did this despite development pressures and sold it below the market price. "He really treasured that piece of property," she said. For the town, this was the first time they had partnered with the land trust for this type of conservation. More typically the municipality uses easements or donations to preserve land. Valentino said the property will eventually have signage, and the public will be welcome to visit the parcel. http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060629/NEWS01/606290350/1002

Pennsylvania:18) A portion of West Amwell sits within the Sourland Mountain region and is overseen by the Sourlands Planning Council. The region is home to the largest remaining contiguous forest in central New Jersey and provides habitat for a number of threatened and endangered species of plants and animals. Residents and environmentalists are outraged by the 2.5 mile-long swath of clear-cut trees felled by the utility on Alexauken Creek Road along a state-protected waterway that flows into the Delaware River. They wanted to prevent a small amount of cutting that remains to be performed, but were unable to win the utility's agreement during a meeting at the township building June 22. "There's been a tremendous amount of damage done," said Tracy Carluccio of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, a nonprofit organization that works to protect the river and the watersheds of tributaries. "The faith of the community in the utility is shot." PSE & G representatives said the cutting must go on this year to protect lives and power transmissions. However, the utility agreed to meet with a township committee before next year's round of cutting begins. Still to be formed, the committee of residents and environmentalists will be charged with recommending how best to maintain that part of the township in the future. Ms. Carluccio recommended the collaborative effort, which supporters hope will result in a more environmentally friendly approach. The utility should "do it right," she said, not simply "what you can do legally and not get fined." In urging PSE & G to take a collaborative approach when working in the environmentally sensitive area, she said, "Other places in the country are doing this. This is not a new idea." The Honey Hollow Watershed Conservation Area, along the Delaware River north of New Hope in Pennsylvania, has such an arrangement with an electric company, she said. PSE & G Environmental Policy Manager Donald McCloskey said the utility already does something similar in the Pinelands, where crews go over the ground "acre by acre.Then why aren't you doing it here?" Ms. Carluccio shot back. "Everything doesn't happen overnight," Mr. McCloskey replied. As with Pinelands preservationists, "We're not in opposition to working with the Sourlands council," he added.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16846808 & BRD=1091 & PAG=461 & dept_id=425410 & rfi=6Vermont:19) MONTPELIER -- " It's a victory for all landowners in the state of Vermont. It just so happens that the state was the landowner in the case, " said assistant attorney general Michael Duane. " It sends a message to anyone who is thinking about cutting down their neighbor's trees: They better think twice before they do it. " Hyde Park landowner Barrett Singer will have to pay $108,000 for cutting 98 trees in the Green River Reservoir State Park that gave him a view of the water. Singer initially wanted to build a boathouse in 1999 but was turned down by the town and also was told he could not put in a boat access across state land between his house and the reservoir. The lake itself is part of the state park, which stretches for 5,000 acres around the 650-acre reservoir. A swath of trees between the reservoir and Singer's house were cut and a bulldozer created a road, according to court records. " Basically, it created a view for him out on the lake. But our problem was he created a view of the home from the lake, " Forest, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jonathan Wood said. There are only a few homes near the reservoir and they're all screened from the water by trees to maintain a remote character, Wood said. Singer was charged with misdemeanor criminal counts for having the trees removed and he pleaded no contest in 2000. But a civil case was filed by the state to recover damages. Singer was ordered in Washington Superior court to pay $54,000, which was the cost for replanting the trees. He also was ordered to pay punitive damages of $62,500.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2006/07/01/supreme_court_imposes_108000_fine_for_man_who_cut_trees/West Virginia:20) We are committed to working closely with the nation's governors to meet the needs of our local communities while protecting and restoring the health and natural beauty of our national forests," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns commented last week. As long as the national forests are in Virginia, North Carolina or South Carolina, that is. In Virginia, the federal government had been asked, in effect, to consider that areas of the George Washington and Jefferson national forests are extremely significant as wild areas. Yes, they are. But what about the beautiful, important areas of the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia — adjoining the national forests in Virginia? And what about the section of the George Washington National Forest that actually is in our state. Did they somehow become less significant when the state line between West Virginia and the Old Dominion was reached? Why, then, did the government choose to accord special treatment only to Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina? It is a question W.Va. Gov. Joe Manchin and members of our state's congressional delegation should be asking. http://www.theintelligencer.net/editorials/articles.asp?articleID=7797

21) Instead of following the path of an existing access road to reach a new natural gas drilling site in Kanawha State Forest, a gas production company construction crew carved a new mile-long swath through the forest, uprooting hundreds of trees and wiping out a section of Wildcat Ridge Trail. "They made the roadway in the wrong place," said Kanawha State Forest Superintendent John Hendley. "They were supposed to follow an old, established road, but someone in charge of the construction crew went out on his own and gave an order putting the road in the wrong place." The unauthorized Equitable Production road enters the forest via its West Boundary Road and veers across Wildcat Ridge Trail to reach a drill site near the head of Dunlap Hollow. Kanawha State Forest and Equitable officials say an agreement is being finalized to compensate the forest for trees destroyed in building the road. Timber appraisals are being completed to identify a dollar amount for the lost trees' value. "We met with some of Equitable's upper tier of management, and they acknowledged that a mistake had been made, and that while nothing could put everything back the way it was, we were satisfied with what they came up with," said Hendley. "The meeting also allowed us to establish clearer guidelines for future gas development work done here," Hendley said, adding that Equitable is considering remediation work in addition to paying for the uprooted trees. "They are concerned and doing what they can to correct what happened." Kanawha State Forest Foundation Vice Chairman Julian Martin, a frequent hiker in the 9,300-acre preserve, said he counted the rings of one of the felled trees found alongside the unauthorized haul road and found it to be 108 years old. Kanawha State Forest, managed by the parks and recreation section of the Division of Natural Resources, is the only state forest in which timber harvesting is prohibited. A law passed by the Legislature in 2000 outlawed logging in the preserve. http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/News/2006062736?pt=10

Kentucky:22) People who believe in herbal medicines say slippery elm bark is good for what ails you -- especially problems associated with the skin, stomach and bowels. But stripping all the bark from slippery elm trees isn't good for the trees. It kills them. Thefts of slippery elm bark -- like ginseng and other plants valued as herbal cures -- are on the rise on public lands in Kentucky and elsewhere. In the last couple of weeks, several people have been charged in connection with stripped elm trees in Leslie and Jackson counties in the Daniel Boone National Forest. In Leslie County, three people were charged twice in one week. The second time, they told officers they were trying to make money to pay fines for the first offense, Forest Service spokeswoman Kim Feltner said today. Slippery elms, also known as Ulmus rubra or red elms, are found in southern Canada and across the eastern United States. In Kentucky, they grow along creeks, where they are an important part of the ecosystem. The yoke of the Liberty Bell is made of slippery elm wood, but it is not considered a valuable timber tree. It is said that George Washington and his men survived at Valley Forge by boiling and eating slippery elm bark. Deborah Hill, a University of Kentucky extension forestry professor, said she knows little about the slippery elm bark trade in Kentucky, but in other states, she has seen " generic brokers " who might deal in ginseng, slippery elm and scrap metal. Long vertical strips of bark can be taken without killing the trees, she said. But Forest Service officials say people stealing bark in the Daniel Boone often strip as much bark as they can. " They will often girdle the tree and then pull the bark as far up as they can until it breaks, " said John Strojan, the ranger in charge of the Daniel Boone district office in London. http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/14931825.htmUS Southern Forests:23) June 29, 2006 marked the first anniversary of a landmark agreement between Bowater, Inc, one of the Southern United States' largest paper producers, and environmental groups Dogwood Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The agreement set forth a plan to preserve and protect the unique forested landscapes of the Cumberland Plateau and the Southern U.S. The accord marked the first commitment by a large paper producer to dramatically alter its forest management practices, including ending conversion of native forests to sterile pine plantations. Over the last year, Bowater has already taken dramatic and important steps toward altering its most damaging practices. Most importantly, Bowater has nearly eliminated conversion of native hardwood forests to pine plantations on company lands and the company has begun the process of educating landowners it purchases trees from that Bowater will no longer accept fiber from land that has been converted to plantations after the end of next year. In addition implementation of tighter controls on Bowater's aerial spraying operations, have included notifying local land owners of intent to spray and switching from fixed wing airplanes to helicopters in order to exert tighter control over applications. The company has also conducted a study of thousands of acres of its holdings in conjunction with the state of Tennessee in order to identify areas in need of greater protection and has not logged or put any of these lands on the market for sale with its other landholdings pending completion and full analysis of the study. "We congratulate Bowater on its good faith effort to adhere to the agreement and substantially improve its forestry practices," said Andrew Goldberg, Implementation Director for Dogwood Alliance. "Whereas many companies, like International Paper, continue to blow hot air when it comes to the environment, Bowater is really putting its money where its mouth is." http://www.dogwoodalliance.org/Maine:

24) Starting in the early 1900s, a fungus brought in from the Far East and first noticed in New York City in 1904, spread gradually through the country. Within 50 years, most chestnut trees in the country had been killed by cankers or sores that blocked the flow of water and nutrients up the trunks. But cheer up. After years of trial and error scientists have hit upon a cross-breeding method that will eventually produce trees that combine the blight resistance of Chinese chestnut trees, which resist the fungus but are short and less attractive, with the strength and beauty of the American variety. A second approach also shows some promise. Italian and French scientists have developed a new class of viruses, called " hypoviruses, " which attack the fungus, in a case of one disease killing another disease. Still another method being tried employs a bacterium that can attack the fungus. A few old-growth chestnut trees, including about 200 in Maine, remain standing, in isolated areas where they have escaped the blight. The breeding effort is being led by the American Chestnut Foundation, a privately funded nonprofit organization devoted to restoration of the American chestnut. It is growing and cross breeding chestnut trees on a 130-acre tract in southwestern Virginia. Here in Maine, Glen Rae, a forester turned stockbroker, heads a chapter of the foundation. It operates 10 orchards in the Camden-Augusta area, where 2,000 trees are in the fourth generation of cross breeding, as well as a forest in Veazie. It takes six generations to achieve successful resistance. The University of Maine and the U.S. Forest Service have just permitted the foundation to grow chestnut trees on a plot in the Penobscot Experimental Forest at Bradley. Authorities agree that it will be 10 to 15 years before enough blight resistant chestnut trees are produced to permit widespread replanting. http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=136748USA: 25) The travel management policy requires that all 155 national forests and 20 grasslands identify and designate roads, trails, and areas that are open to motor vehicle use. Local entities will then seek public input and coordinate with federal, state, county and local governmental entities, and tribal governments before finalizing any decision. The travel management schedule sets forth the number of acres to be designated each year until 2010. The schedule also indicates the date that each forest and grassland should complete the route designation process, which allows up to four years for the total process to be completed. Each forest and grassland are also required to create motor vehicle use maps to provide documentation of where certain vehicles can and cannot go, which is more reliable than signs. The old off-road vehicle rule allowed for forest- or district-wide exemptions to the cross-country bans for game retrieval and dispersed camping that resulted in 600-foot corridors along motorized routes, which displaced quiet recreationists, degraded wildlife habitat, and threatened clean drinking water. The new directives require forests to allow cross-country exceptions sparingly and only on a route-by-route basis, rather than adopting blanket exemptions applicable to every route across the forest. Although this process will end motorized cross-country travel, the new rule does not require the Forest Service to consider other important issues when designating routes, such as wildlife habitat, quiet recreation opportunities, management sustainability, or ecosystem services, such as clean water. To participate in the route designation process on your national forest, call or write a letter to your local forest and ask to be put on the list for public notification for their route designation process under the new Travel Management rule. To learn other ways to get involved contact Jason Kiely, Natural Trails and Water Coalition, 406-543-9551, or visit http://www.naturaltrails.orgCanada:26) GRASSY NARROWS -- The Superior Court of Ontario has ruled in favour of a Grassy Narrows motion obliging the province to pay part of its legal costs in a logging battle. The northwest community of Grassy Narrows has long complained that decades of logging have poisoned area waters with toxins and all but destroyed their aboriginal way of life. The community wants Weyerhaeuser Co. Ltd and Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. to stop logging on their traditional lands. " This type of clear-cut logging has to stop, or we as a community will risk losing what we have left of our culture, and our local economy, " said band councillor Steve Fobister. The ruling orders the province to pay Grassy Narrows' legal costs for part of the community's claim. Other questions in the case, such as the extent of the impact of logging on the Grassy Narrows hunters and trappers, will be litigated at a later date. " We have always seen this logging as a violation of our treaty and human rights, " said Chief Simon Fobister in a statement issued Tuesday. " It is destroying a way of life for our people. " We now have the funds to resolve the issue of whether the Ontario government has the authority to interfere with our hunting and trapping rights by authorizing clear-cut logging on our traditional lands. " Last fall, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society issued a report that denounced Abitibi for clear-cutting huge tracts land in the region and replanting it with ecologically barren tree plantations.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=c484764d-5a23-48fa-b7c5-c3597bd68788 & k=9279627) A logging company?s plan to clear cut in the Kananaskis region is coming under fire from critics who say that more public consultation is needed before the plan is allowed to go ahead. Spray Lake Sawmills plans to harvest trees surrounding Bragg Creek, a move that could ruin the quality of water for area residents and those living downstream, including Calgary. "This is the life blood of the city," says MLA for Calgary-Moutain view and Liberal opposition environmental critic Dr David Swann. "We should in no way jeopardize this watershed." Swann explains that clear cutting removes the natural debris at the bottom of a forest, debris that acts like a sponge to decrease the severity of floods while naturally filtering the water before it runs downstream. "We are now in a very critical time in our history with expansion in all aspects of industry and population and climate change," Swann says. "All three of those major forces are going to be drawing on our water supply." Spray Lake Sawmills signed a 20-year Forest Management Agreement (FMA) with the province in 2001 and recently released a 1 000 page document detailing their plan for the area. Residents of Bragg Creek were asked for input in a consultation process, with a deadline that passed on Jun 23. Vivian Pharis, director of the conservation group Alberta Wilderness Association, agrees that the public wasn't given enough time to understand the proposal. "We feel it was far too short," Pharis says, adding that the sawmill's plan didn't consider the impact on watershed conservation or climate change. "They don't really give a damn," she says. Gord Lehn, Spray Lake Sawmills' woodlands manager says that many people have misunderstood the plan. He says many factors are considered before harvest, which is one of the reasons the plan was over a 1 000 pages long. "As foresters, we deal with that all the time. We know what we're looking for and we're familiar with it," Lehn says, "To the general public, that must be a daunting task." http://www.vueweekly.com/articles/default.aspx?i=422728) Organized by STRONG (Saving The Region of Ontario North Group) the rally had a twofold purpose -- to demonstrate that the people of the north in general, and the people of Smooth Rock Falls in particular, will not give up their primary industries without a fight; and to demonstrate how government policies surrounding the forests, softwood lumber, resource extraction and energy are affecting northern communities. The traffic on Hwy 11 was reduced to one lane by the police in order for the people to protest against the policies believed to be enshrined in the Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA). Flyers handed to motorists explained that STRONG does not agree with the concept of redirecting wood supplies to mega mills, and maintains that there are many feasible solutions available to keep the forest industry competitive and profitable without destroying the communities. The flyer stated that "our families are suffering tragically as we lose our livelihood, the equity in our homes and businesses, our heritage and everything our forefathers have worked for the last hundred years. We are the watchdogs of Northern Ontario." Each and every one of the appointed speakers gave words of encouragement to the crowd. Besides demonstrators on the Hwy 11, speakers in Kelly Park shared their thoughts. One of those speakers was J.C. Nolet, chair of Smooth Rock Falls' chapter of STRONG, said that "we have to make noise" for government to listen. JC Caron, mayor of Kapuskasing, added, "We need Smooth Rock Falls' business and our support is 100 per cent. The closure of the mills is unacceptable -- the forest is supposed to guarantee prosperity for future generations." http://www.kapuskasingtimes.com/story.php?id=238900

England:29) Stolen timber from loggers who plunder rainforests, torture local tribes and rape female workers have been used in the restoration of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. Greenpeace said the hoarding around the column base includes 30 sheets of plywood coated in bintangor hardwood logged illegally in Papua New Guinea, south-east Asia. The revelation prompted London mayor Ken Livingstone, whose office funds Nelson's �420,000 face-lift, to tighten rules for wood used by the Greater London Authority (GLA). But the use of illegal timber in Britain is much wider, a recent Greenpeace report found. Nearly 30% of the plywood on the shelves of UK builders' merchants is produced in China, where most of it is veneered in stolen hardwood. Logging destroys the homes of thousands of local tribes, who own the land and depend on the rainforest for their survival, as well as species found nowhere else. The Paradise Forest is home to the tree kangaroo, the world's largest butterfly (the Queen Alexandra's birdwing with an 11-inch wingspan) and 3,000 species of orchid. The rainforest - the third largest in the world - will be logged out by 2020, according to a study in the science journal International Forestry Review. Mayor Livingstone said his office had asked for wood from a sustainable source to be used in Nelson's restoration. Yet a few weeks ago it came to light the hoarding " was actually not that " . The timber was first imported by Montague L Meyer (MLM) last November, and was then sold on twice before being put up in square. " They won't face prosecution because it's not currently illegal to import illegal timber into the UK, " said Greenpeace director Stephen Tindale. That is " absurd " and " should be remedied by central government " . http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.809608.0.how_rainforest_plunde

r_landed_at_nelsons_feet.php30) In one of the most remarkable signs yet of the advance of global warming, Britain's first olive grove has been planted in Devon. Temperatures have risen so far in recent years that it is now considered possible to grow the iconic fruit of the Mediterranean countries commercially in southern England. Several studies have suggested that, in decades to come, olives, vines and other warm-climate plants will be likely to flourish in a substantially warmer Britain. Now a Devon smallholder has taken the plunge and, in partnership with an Italian olive specialist, planted a grove of 120 olive trees on the banks of the river Otter near Honiton.. Mark Diacono, who is establishing a " climate change farm " on his land, intends his olives to be a commercial crop which will produce Britain's first home-grown olive oil, in five to seven years. He has planted them in co-operation with an Italian gardener living in England, Emilio Ciacci, who has provided the trees from the hills near his home at Maremma, Tuscany. http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article1096452.ece

31) The Trees and Wildlife Action Group (Twag) are delighted at the decision made yesterday to save 7,000 trees in Newbottle Wood, near Houghton – part of the Great North Forest. …. http://www.sunderlandtoday.co.uk THE High Court on Friday ordered developers to stop felling trees in a community forest in north Durham. Friends of the Earth sought an urgent injunction after Durham Estates started cutting down trees in Newbottle Wood in Houghton-le-Spring, between Chester-le-Street and Sunderland. The environmental pressure group claims it is part of the Great North Forest and one of only 13 community forests in the UK. Developers want to fell the trees to prepare for building 20 football pitches, car parking and associated buildings and infrastructure. Last week Friends of the Earth Rights and Justice Centre wrote, on behalf of Trees and Wildlife Action Group, to the Forestry Commission and the developer, Durham Estates. It informed them plans to destroy up to five hectares of the forest would be unlawful without a comprehensive environmental impact assessment being carried out. Friends of the Earth's head of legal, Phil Michaels, who is representing the group, said: " It ensures that these matters can be resolved by the court while the forest remains intact. " It is clear that an environmental impact assessment was required. This forest represents an important green space for wildlife and a resource for the local community. A project such as this should never have been allowed to proceed without a comprehensive environmental assessment. " The scheme won planning approval from Sunderland City Council in November despite an 800-name petition being lodged. Opponents fear as many as 7,000 trees could be felled. Paul Bennet, of Trees and Wildlife Action Group, (TWAG) said: " Local people will be delighted that the High Court has ordered Durham Estates to stop felling these trees. " We can now get on with the campaign to stop this destructive scheme from going ahead. "

http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/display.var.815797.0.court_orders_halt_to_felling_of_community_forest.php32) London mayor Ken Livingstone has vowed to tighten up procurement procedures after it emerged wood used to clad Nelson's Column during renovation work had come from an endangered rainforest. Greenpeace contacted the politician's office after the appearance of the panels raised concerns and later tests suggested they had a wood veneer from an unsustainable source. The boards were found to be faced with a tropical hardwood species called bintangor from the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. Pat Venditti, Greenpeace's senior forest campaigner, said: " The rainforest is the third largest in the world. " Most of the logging is destructive and illegal. It is far beyond sustainable. " Nelson's Column, completed in 1843, is undergoing a �420,000 wholesale makeover which will see stonework repaired and pigeon droppings removed, together with pigeon proofing of minor areas. The statue at the top of the world-famous monument has been cleaned several times, but the whole monument has only undergone restoration on two occasions, in 1968 and in 1986. Mr Livingstone announced today he is tightening up procurement procedures at the Greater London Authority (GLA), to make sure timber used on GLA sites comes from responsibly-managed forests.

http://www.24dash.com/content/news/viewNews.php?navID=2 & newsID=7458Nigeria:33) In Nigeria, in response to rapid deforestation and desert encroachment, a World Bank and Nigerian Government-funded Afforestation Project (AP) was implemented in Northern Nigeria from 1988 to 1996. Twelve states were involved but only the activities of two were documented. The Kano State Afforestation Programme (KNAP) was established in 1988. The Jigawa State Afforestation Programme (JIGAP) was established in 1991. The progamme was adjudged to be very successful with Kano and Jigawa States covering a combined area of 43,000km2 in the Sudan savanna vegetation zone of Northern Nigeria. Also at least 541 km of shelterbelts were said to be successfully established in the two states. Only a trip to these states can confirm the assertion. http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=06/29/2006 & qrTitle=Deforestation%20and%20affo

restation:%20A%20global%20concern%20(II) & qrColumn=ENVIRONMENTAngola:34) Luanda, 06/28 - Angolan Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Minader) is creating a forest research centre in Luanda aimed at the study of tree and its components, said Wednesday here engineer, Marcela In�cio Veloso. According to the specialist of the Forest Development Institute (IDF), a MINADER`s executive organ, the centre will also conduct studies on tree trunk and leave, and tests on the degree of seeds germination. According to Marcela Veloso, the determination of the wood quality will also be dealt with by the institute that is being installed in Benfica, Luanda`s district of Samba since 1996. She stated as well that at the centre, some rapid growth trees, appropriate for production of firewood and coal, has been planted, in addition to a laboratory where some tests have been made. Fruit trees will also be planted in due time at the centre and a kiln for the production of coal installed. http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=451948

Ghana:35) INFORMATION STUMPLE upon by The Chronicle indicates that chainsaw operation, which has been outlawed longtime ago by the government to protect the country's rain forests, has now become a lucrative business in the Western and some parts of the Central Regions. Chronicle investigations have revealed that the chainsaw operators have invaded most of the forest reserves and cutting down the trees in droves for sale at the local market. The chainsaw operators, this Reporter gathered, usually transport the felled logs in the night. Though they pass through various Police check points dotted along their routes, they "escape' arrest by the security agencies. Pieces of information gathered by this Reporter indicated that the nocturnal operations of the chainsaw operators are sometimes aided by some Officials of the Forestry Service Division of the Forestry Commission, who have been charged with the responsibility of protecting the forest reserves. Investigations revealed that the government is losing billions of cedis through the illegal activities of the chainsaw operators who do not pay any tax to the state. The source said looking at the way the government was losing revenue through this illegal operations, it would have been better if the reserves were giving out to certified contractors to extract the logs and pay the due tax to the state. At the moment felled trees seized from the chainsaw operators are sold to the public and the revenue paid into the government chest. But it is only tree that are arrested that the government could get the revenue from them. http://www.ghanaian-chronicle.com/thestory.asp?id=10536Brazil:

36) The Atlantic forests of Brazil, which in the past 400 years have been reduced to less than 8 percent of their original size, could contain as many as 13 million unidentified species of bacteria, a new study has found. Not only do the results point to an abundance of life still remaining the forest, but they indicate a potentially untapped resource for drug development. " Besides the importance of these bacteria in ecosystem stability, they can also be sources of biochemical compounds for the pharmaceutical industry and agriculture, " says Marcio Lambais of the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, whose team published their results in today's issue of Science. The scientists conducted their survey by collecting 20 to 30 leaves from each of nine different tree species throughout the forest. In the lab, the researchers processed about 12 grams of leaves from each tree at a time, rinsing them in special solution that dislodged surface microbes. They analyzed the DNA from the microbes to get a general view of how similar the communities in different trees were to each other. From there, they selected two tree species that had similar bacterial communities and one species that contained a very distinct community. They sequenced a fragment of DNA from the microbes to get a more detailed picture of the different bacteria present and to estimate the diversity in the forest. The team found that even trees of the same species had some variation when it came to the bacterial communities living on their leaves, but there was significantly more variation among trees of different species. Calculations indicated that each tree could harbor anywhere between 95 to 671 different species of bacteria. And when the scientists extrapolated the number to include all leafy surfaces, they came up with 2 million to 13 million new bacterial species. " We were quite surprised and euphoric when we extrapolated the figures. We suspected that the diversity would be high, but not that high. Now we need to understand how these communities function and their roles in the ecosystem, "

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003 & articleID=00039561-4576-14A4-857683414B7F0000