158 - Earth's Tree news

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Today for you 41 news items about Mama Earth's trees. Location, number and subject listed below. Condensed / abbreviated article is listed further below.Can be viewed on the web at http://www.livejournal.com/users/olyecology or

by sending a blank email message to earthtreenews---Alaska: 1) Logging concerns require residents to be flexible--British Columbia: 2) Five tribes bribed out of treaty claims, 3) China moves into pulp mill business, 4) Salvage Logging ruining Marten trapper's fur supply, 5) Big Betty is sued by loggers she once opposed, 6) Pope and Talbot chipping ancient forests, 7) Will they log more in Clayoquot? 8) Mountain Biker's oppose logging, --Washington: 9) $81 million for Farms and forests, 10) Island Center Forest gets bigger,--Oregon: 11) Jeld-Wen buys 440,000 acres of timber, 12) Legal Victory doesn't save the forest it was meant to save, 13) Ghost forest on the shoreline, 14) Logging of Mt. Hood --California: 15) Solar trees in Google's parking lot--Montana: 16) Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation makes logging plans with FS--Wisconsin: 17) Killing 6,000 Ash trees to 'save' them, 18) Inventory and Analysis--Massachusetts: 19) Old growth islands throughout the state--Connecticut: 20) Thames River Watershed losing its forests--South Carolina: 21) Save the Longleaf pine--Maine: 22) 4,000-acre parcel added to Baxter state park--Canada: 23) Forest product futures in Ontario--Armenia: 24) Lake's vegetation issues, 25) Pace of logging is rapid,--Iran: 26) Save the Almond forests--Brazil: 27) Deforestaion in a fishbone way is better? --Uruguay: 28) Pulp mill site moving away from protesters,--India: 29) Tribal rights Bill, 30) forest cover increases while dense forests decline,--Bhutan: 31) Non Wood Forest Products (NWFP)--Sumatra: 32) Tiger likes to attack forest monitoring cameras--Malaysia: 33) Seeking donors to help buy land, 34) preserving tribal communities,--Philippines: 35) Illegal cutting for Hospital project,--New Zealand: 36) Save the Northland coastal forest, 37) 38) Illegal logging policy,--Tropics: 39) Key to offset global warming is to expand tropical rainforests--World-wide: 40) FSC complaints still unacknowledged, 41) Northern Trees don't offset climate change,Alaska:1) WASILLA -- " It's not a you-shall, you-shall ordinance, " he said. " It's a you-look-and-figure-out (ordinance). ... I wrote it to put into code what is common sense. " Swanson said the ordinance is less about mandating hard and fast rules than trying to find flexible solutions to lessen the impact on area residents. …Valley residents could soon have more say over how large timber harvesters operate in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, including setting limits on what time of day logging trucks can run on local roads, how much noise can be generated and even what types of vehicles can be used. In particular, Assembly members asked to see fees set up to help the borough pay the cost of enforcing and monitoring compliance with the new requirements. They also asked for monitoring to be required instead of optional. Borough Community Development Director Ron Swanson said the ordinance is an attempt to deal with concerns about major logging operations in the Upper Susitna Valley. The Mat-Su has seen a growing interest in and concern about large-scale logging in recent years since the arrival of NPI LLC, a Port MacKenzie-based company, which exports wood chips. The company requires large amounts of wood for its operation and has acquired timber leases on thousands of acres of privately and publicly owned land from Talkeetna to Glennallen. Earlier this year, the borough imposed a moratorium on putting any more borough timber up for sale until new regulations could be put in place. That ban was prompted in part by residents' concerns about the impact of logging on wildlife and homes, as well as fears that wide-scale harvesting could hurt tourism-dependent businesses. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/8488871p-8382673c.html

British Columbia:2) Five Vancouver Island native bands initialled a treaty Saturday worth almost $500-million, which includes more than 24,000 hectares of land, some of it bordering majestic Pacific Rim National Park near Tofino. The Maa-nulth First Nations live on the west coast of Vancouver Island near the communities of Bamfield, Port Alberni, Ucluelet and Kyuquot. The deal must still be ratified by the 2,000 Maa-nulth people and the federal and B.C. governments. The Maa-nulth are part of Vancouver Island's 14-member Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, but the five bands decided to negotiate a treaty as a separate group. The financial component of the Maa-nulth treaty includes cash in lump sum and timed payments. The federal and B.C. governments initialled a land, cash and fish deal Friday with the Tsawwassen First Nation near Vancouver. The two governments also initialled a land, cash and fishing treaty with the Prince George area Lheidli T'enneh band less than two months ago. The three ceremonies come after almost 15 years of slow-moving, expensive talks without a single deal. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061211.BCTREATYBOX11/TPStory/TPNational/Brit

ishColumbia/3) A First Nations-owned logging company says it's content to sell wood to a Vancouver Island pulp operation for now, but what it really wants to do is sell that wood to the Chinese company that wants to re-open the closed Prince Rupert pulp mill. Gordon Sebastian of the Gitxsan Chief's Office in the Hazeltons made the comment leading up to the purchase last week of a forest licence in the Hazeltons from the same Chinese company Sun Wave Forest Products, which is owned by the China Paper Group. Newly-formed Gitxsan Forest Enterprises made a $250,000 down payment to Sun Wave December 9, representing part of the total $1 million purchase price. Harvesting rights amount to approximately 390,000 cubic metres of timber annually. Sebastian said a re-opening of the former Skeena Cellulose pulp mill in Prince Rupert will boost the area's economy. "We met with them and it was pretty close to a guarantee that the mill will open," he said, adding that China Paper has set an April 2007 date for the event. "It is a local pulp mill and will put local people back to work," said Sebastian of the mill. He said the Gitxsan have established a strong relationship with the Chinese which began when they bought the licence as part of their purchase of former Skeena Cellulose assets. "They made it clear they didn't want to be in the logging business and that they simply wanted to buy the fibre," Sebastian added. http://www.thenorthernview.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=142 & cat=23 & id=792538 & more=

4) A trapper in the Fly Hills area, southwest of Salmon Arm, complained that salvage logging due to the mountain pine beetle epidemic was impacting marten habitat. The complainant had previously transplanted marten in the area and the Okanagan-Shuswap LRMP had set habitat retention targets. The complainant was concerned that areas that would make good habitat corridors might be logged before retention plans were done. In addition, the complainant observed the harvest of non-pine trees and green pine. The complainant was concerned that stands with little pine were being harvested as part of the salvage operations. The investigation determined that the licensees Tolko and Federated Cooperative Ltd. (FCL), had largely met and exceeded LRMP guidelines for landscape-level habitat retention. Non-pine trees and green pine were being harvested along with beetle-killed trees within salvage cutblocks, however the stands were predominantly pine. The board found that retention within older salvage blocks has been low but licensees have taken steps to improve retention, as observed in some recently harvested cutblocks. The board remains concerned with the impact that the accelerated harvesting may be having on marten habitat particularly in those areas that are developing into large aggregate cutblocks. http://www.fpb.gov.bc.ca/complaints/IRC122/IRC122.pdf

5) There is a rare and unprotected ancient Douglas fir named " Big Betty " in tribute to the activist whose 2003 Walbran blockade was located on a nearby logging road. The crude-cruel treatment of Betty by a province in Canada sadly known for its subserviance to multi corporate greed will be revealed to Europeans during her lecture tour in 2007: "The kind of law suits that Hays logging (surrogate for MacMillan Bloedel) will be pursuing against me is called a SLAP suit. These suits are used in BC with the help of the courts to keep citizens out of our own woods. SLAP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. Isn't that an apt title? Isn't that beautiful? Again, Gordon Campbell thinks so. He canceled the NDP anti- slap suit legislation that was just beginning to take hold in BC as soon as he got into office. And Mr. Wally Oppal promptly informed the press that SLAP suits, piggy backed with court injunctions and charges of contempt of court would remain the preferred way to curb environmental protest. But can Canadians, on sovereign Canadian soil, slap back at these foreigner invaders and destroyers who are protected by slack minded politicians and vacant eyed underlings who steal away living Canadian treasures? Of course we can. More later." --Betty K contact: betty_krawczyk | 604.255.4427 http://bettysearlyedition.blogspot.com

http://www.cathedralgrove.se/text/09-Related-Stories-1.htm6) A MAJOR pulp producer is ramping up its northwestern presence using portions of former Skeena Cellulose facilities now owned by a Chinese company. Pope and Talbot already ships out approximately 200,000 cubic metres of chips a year from the northwest to its Harmac kraft mill at Nanaimo on Vancouver Island but calculates it can double that by putting in a whole log chipper in the Hazeltons. In turn the chips will be trucked to Prince Rupert and loaded on to barges at the long-closed Skeena Cellulose pulp mill location now owned by Sun Wave Forest Products which is also part of China Paper Group. And, Pope and Talbot officials expect a good portion of the fibre to come from forest lands in the Hazeltons which used to be controlled by Skeena Celluolose. That fibre is held under the Carnaby forest licence Sun Wave acquired when it bought Skeena Cellulose assets but it was sold over the weekend to a company controlled by Gitxsan hereditary chiefs on whose land the licence is located. Transporting chips from the northwest down to Nanaimo is expensive but Pope and Talbot doesn't have much choice, says company official Mike Hovey who is in charge of buying fibre for Harmac and for its other B.C. pulp mill in Mackenzie. He said it's important to realize that people are now working and more will be going to work because of what Pope and Talbot is doing. "This wood would not otherwise be moved," said Hovey. "The wood I'm hoping to bring down in nine years out of 10, wouldn't be moved out." Hovey said Pope and Talbot is, for now, benefitting from a strong pulp market and expects that to continue into the next year. http://www.terracestandard.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=33 & cat=42 & id=790062 & more=

7) Joe Foy, campaign director for the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, says his organization is getting all riled up about B.C. Timber Sales plans to log the Upper Kennedy River watershed and Island Timberlands plans to log in Clayoquot Sound near Cannery Bay. Foy said the Upper Kennedy is home to an ancient rainforest, thousand-year-old trees and a hiking trail known as the Witness Trail, while the lower Kennedy Valley is culturally significant to First Nations. " There is no way we can let this area be logged without one heck of a fight," said Foy. Foy provided no specifics on how WCWC plans to fight the logging plans. However, he said his organization is discussing how it can revitalize the Witness Trail with the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, the band claiming the land as part of its traditional territory. " This area has great cultural significance to the TFN and their wishes must be taken into account before any logging goes forward, " said Foy. Last month, representatives of B.C. Timber Sales, a division of the MoF, briefed the Clayoquot Sound Central Region Board on preliminary Forest Stewardship Plans for Clayoquot Sound and Sproat Lake. Kathryn Willis, a B.C. Timber Sales representative, said the Clayoquot plans encompass 11,000 hectares of the 20,000 hectare Upper Kennedy Watershed, and would allow contractors to log 36 hectares per year for five years for a total of 180 hectares. " That will be the maximum harvest level in the Upper Kennedy watershed, " said Willis. The Upper Kennedy Watershed is located on the west side of Sutton Pass and is home to the Clayoquot Valley Witness Trail. So far, Forest Stewardship Plans do not specify individual cut blocks. Earlier this fall, Island Timberlands representatives laid out plans to harvest 50,000 cubic metres in 2006 and 30,000 cubic metres in 2007 from its three Clayoquot, five Port Albion and one Toquart Bay cutblocks.http://www.westcoaster.ca/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=1436

8) SQUAMISH - A logging operation near Squamish's popular Powerhouse Plunge mountain bike trail is meeting stiff resistance in the community, which fears the move could harm the town's growing tourism industry. " We're concerned because this is a high-value economic area, " Mayor Ian Sutherland said in an interview. " And we're concerned because there's been no meaningful dialogue with either B.C. Timber Sales or the Ministry of Forests. They don't understand the value of this asset. " Sutherland referred to an economic impact study that said mountain biking generates $1.7 million a year for the community. The annual Test of Metal race, which features the Plunge as a highlight in its 67-kilometre course brings in $900,000 alone. " And could we face the same situation elsewhere if the trail is relocated? " The Squamish Offroad Cycling Association (SORCA) is strongly opposed to the logging, which is already underway. " This is pointing to a much bigger picture, " SORCA vice-president Craig Davidiuk said in an interview. " The big picture is that 70 per cent of our trail system is slated for development. And there's not going to be much left for riding trails. " http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=b7191aea-d8d7-4013-92f7-de4a40f5801b & k=52

169Washington:9) After unveiling her proposal for Puget Sound, Gov. Christine Gregoire traveled to an Eastern Washington winery Wednesday to unveil an $81 million budget package to help protect and expand the state's farm and forest economy. Gregoire said farms and forests need help to ward off encroachment from development. Her plan includes $57 million for Eastern Washington water projects as well as biofuel and crop research, stronger marketing efforts and a new long-range plan to keep the farm economy strong. The governor said state products are " the global standard for quality " and generate $29 billion a year for the state economy. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003476753_pugetside14.html

10) "The vision from the outset is that it would be the centerpiece for open space on the Island. There's a ton of community interest," said Benj Wadsworth, natural lands planner for King County's Departmment of Natural Resources and Parks. "I think there's potential to do some really progressive and interesting management, where you're improving the ecological health of the site, allowing recreation and doing some ecologically sensitive forestry, with a lot of wood staying on the Island." Island Center Forest is made up of three parcels — 200 acres that were owned by DNR and transferred to King County, 80 acres currently owned by the county's Solid Waste Division as a buffer to the Island's transfer station and 83 acres on the east end of the property that include some of the most ecologically sensitive lands, currently owned by the Vashon Maury Island Land Trust. The bulk of the forest — DNR's 200 acres — was transferred to the county in 2004, using a state lands acquisition fund called the Trust Land Transfer Program. Islanders were successful in making that happen, forest backers say, largely because they brought diverse groups to the table and presented a unified vision. The steering committee included representatives from the hunting community, the equestrian community and a mountain bike-riding club; the local Audubon club was there, as well as the Land Trust, Forest Stewards, local landowners and the Vashon Maury Island Community Council. Staff from King County also played a significant role. But because the county has little money these days for park maintenance and park development, Center Forest boosters had to bring something else to the table: a plan for raising money. Thus was born the concept that now governs Center Forest — an expanse of woods that not only provides recreational opportunities but that is also a source of timber, extracted with an eye towards restoration and ecologic health. And in fact, says Warren with Forest Stewards, Center Forest needs this kind of logging if it's to become a more ecologically vibrant place. Now that Vashon's largest contiguous expanse of woods is protected, the diverse group helping to oversee Island Center Forest is beginning to implement a management plan it hopes will make the forest ecologically healthier and more accessible to Islanders. http://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=90 & cat=23 & id=791359 & more=

 

Oregon:11) A recently formed company owned by the founder of one of the largest private corporations in Oregon has purchased 440,000 acres of timber land in southern Oregon for $108 million, officials said. The deal was made by a company called JWTR, a limited liability corporation with a mailing address at the corporate headquarters of Jeld-Wen Inc., the door and window manufacturer founded by Richard Wendt. A press release from JWTR stated it is not related to Jeld-Wen. But in addition to the the mailing address, the land deeds list JWTR in care of Jeld-Wen Inc. Officials at Jeld-Wen headquarters in Klamath Falls did not return calls seeking comment on the deal. The statement released by JWTR did not give any plans for the property in Klamath, Lake and Jackson counties. The release said only that timber management operations historically performed on the land will continue and a majority of the employees were retained. The land was bought from Delaware-based Inland Fiber Group and American Forest Services as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The statement released by JWTR said that Inland Fiber Group and American Forest Resources are related companies. On the property deeds, Thomas C. Ludlow is listed as the vice president and treasurer of both companies. In Klamath County, the land covers several sections southwest of Upper Klamath Lake near Keno. The deal includes both the land and timber rights. The land is mainly zoned forest, according to the Klamath County planning department. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OR_TIMBER_PURCHASE_OROL-?SITE=ORSAL & SECTION=HOME & TEMPLA

TE=DEFAULT12) In early December the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of KS Wild in case involving old-growth logging northwest of Grants Pass. Known as " Mr. Wilson, " this logging project included two hundred acres of centuries-old forest.This victory is bittersweet because while the BLM broke the law, the timber company had already cut down the forest before the appeals court made its decision. KS Wild and friends filed suit in 2002, but District Judge Michael Hogan ruled against us and ordered logging to commence. The BLM would not stop the ancient forest logging, despite our request to allow the higher court to make a ruling. Many people across the nation were touched by this timber sale when a slice from a stump was carried around Oregon to draw attention to old-growth logging. In 2003, KS Wild staff loaded up a truck and carried the slice across the country to Washington D.C. to draw attention to the Bush White House's plans for public forests. The 440-year tree slice (pictured above) became known as the " Shakespeare Tree " since it was born around the same time as famed playwright William Shakespeare. While we cannot put the trees back, KS Wild hopes that this ruling will offer a chance for the BLM to reflect on their penchant for logging old growth. The high court made the point that the BLM cannot evade the law by rushing to log before justice can be served. KS Wild continues to advocate for forest restoration and jobs-in-the-woods to reduce fuels, while defending old-growth from BLM logging plans. Thanks to Ralph Bloemers and the CRAG Law Center for their stellar work representing us in this case. http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/1205/local/stories/too-late-timber.htm

13) Just north of Cascade Head and south of Pacific City, there's a weird wonder nicknamed the " ghost forest. " This downright spectacular oddity is almost a rare sight in Neskowin, but you may not know just how spectacular it is unless you know what it is you're looking at. They look somewhat like old, ragged pilings leftover from something manmade – and a little bit like the ghostly remnants of a woodland. They are, in fact, stumps of a forest some 2,000 years ago or so. As many as 100 are sometimes visible in various shapes and sizes. It's theorized that around 2,000 years ago a massive, cataclysmic earthquake abruptly dropped this forest possibly more than 25 feet. Then, somehow, they were preserved by sand and mud, rather then being destroyed and scattered, as natural erosion might've done.The theory is that either a tsunami brought the sand in or the earthquake rattled up so much soil and sand it covered the forest. The other dynamic here is that these were obviously lopped off by some enormous force - which scientists believe is a tsunami either immediately after the initial event, or one such as the wave that wiped out these shores in 1700. There are similar stumps periodically visible near Newport, although these are quite rare. One, however, is consistently visible sticking out of a cliff in Nye Beach, just beneath the Sylvia Beach Hotel. http://www.beachconnection.net/news/frea121306_01200.htm

14) Local eco-watchdogs fear an upcoming report could lead to more logging of the Mount Hood National Forest and several other public forests.The U.S. Forest Service is studying how close its management practices at six sites, including the 1.1-million-acre acre Mount Hood National Forest and two other public forests in Oregon, come to meeting independent 'green' certification standards.Those green standards are ordinarily sought by owners of private forestland to demonstrate their environmental bona fides. But enviros worry that the assessment of Mount Hood, the coastal Siuslaw National Forest, and Lakeview Federal Stewardship Unit on the Fremont-Winema National Forest in eastern Oregon could ultimately open public forests to more logging under the guise of environmental friendliness. Why look at whether a public forest meets certification standards if you have no intention of applying those standards to logging, asks Alex Brown, executive director of Bark, a grassroots forest-preservation group. Brown notes the Bush administration has proposed cutting several pieces of the national forest system's $1.4 billion annual budget for recreation, wilderness and heritage-site services while increasing money dedicated to timber sales and forest products by 11 percent. 'It just doesn't make sense,' Brown says. http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3305/8327/

California:15) Planting solar trees in parking lots is far easier -- and cheaper -- than retrofitting rooftops with panels, Noble and Chadima agree. " We can design a structure that works for the installation rather than trying to fit things on buildings that have elevator shafts and air conditioning units, and roofs that people will need to get at for repairs, " Noble says. Parking lots are the traditional wasteland of the suburban biosphere -- flat, ugly, resistant to landscaping and immune to whatever aesthetic ideals animate the adjoining architecture. But now these asphalt acres are getting their day in the sun, with search giant Google joining other companies in planting groves of pole-mounted solar panels between the rows of Saabs and SUVs, generating clean power and providing a little shade at the same time. Google's Mountain View, California, headquarters is getting a 1.6-megawatt solar system -- enough to power about 1,000 homes -- that will feed about 30 percent of the complex's power demand. Envision is also planning to enter the residential market next year, scaling its solar trees back for smaller buildings and homes, and turning them into a line of two- and four-car solar carports that ordinary consumers will be able to erect as a do-it-yourself project. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72292-0.html?tw=wn_technology_2

Montana:16) The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation signed agreements today with the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management to conduct two 10-year habitat stewardship projects on nearly 260,000 acres of federal land in Montana and Wyoming. Signing the agreements opens the door for the Elk Foundation and its partners to begin work to improve wildlife habitat on 85,000 acres of Forest Service Land bordering the Blackfoot Clearwater Wildlife Management Area near Ovando, Montana, and 174,000 acres of BLM land in the Wyoming Range west of Pinedale, Wyoming. Stewardship contracting is a relatively new authority that Congress granted to the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to manage and restore federal lands. This authority allows agencies to reinvest some or all of the value of commercial timber or other forest products into habitat stewardship projects, accomplishing more on the ground for wildlife and other resources than is possible with congressionally appropriated funds alone. In a time of increasing budget constraints for federal agencies, stewardship contracting allows habitat projects to proceed that may otherwise not have been possible. The two projects, officially called stewardship agreements, put conservation concerns at the forefront, but still acknowledge the importance of harvesting timber. The projects provide all parties the opportunity and tools to study a landscape and develop a long-range plan that will help meet objectives for healthy forests, biological diversity and habitat conditions for desired wildlife. "Stewardship contracting is a new way for federal agencies, communities, conservation organizations and industry to work in partnership for the benefit of the land and wildlife," said Peter J. Dart, President and CEO of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. "The Elk Foundation is truly honored to be the partner to lead these important, landscape-scale projects." The Forest Service agreement with the Elk Foundation is on the Seeley Lake Ranger District of the Lolo National Forest — an area that provides a key migration corridor for elk and mule deer between their summer range high in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and their winter range on the 57,000-acre Blackfoot-Clearwater Game Range. http://www.clarkforkchronicle.com/article.php/20061215124038441

Wisconsin:17) Beginning Dec. 14, workers will start to fell approximately 1,400 ash trees (sample trees) and check for signs of an EAB infestation. On another 4,400 ash trees (detection trees), workers will remove a ring of bark around the base of the tree in a process called girdling, but leave those trees standing as " EAB bait " until they are taken down next fall and winter. The girdled trees act as a lure, making it easier to detect the beetle if it's in the area. The survey area includes all or parts of 30 counties, some of which include: Adams, Brown, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Juneau, Manitowoc, Marquette, Milwaukee,Ozaukee, Racine, Rock, Sauk, Shawano, Sheboygan, Walworth, Waukesha, Waupaca and Winnebago. " The reality with emerald ash borer is that the earlier you can detect the pest, the better chance you have at stopping it in its tracks, " said Adrian Barta, EAB program coordinator with DATCP. " Until researchers give us more options, this survey is the best tool we have to locate an early infestation. " http://www.wiscnews.com/rtp/news/11107018) This is the sixth time in state history that federal and state foresters have completed a full census of both public and private forests, which is known as the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA). Foresters are gratified to see these latest data because they indicate the commitment to sustainable forestry, which provides environmental, economic and social benefits to us all. There are many challenges facing our forests, including invasive plants and pests, fragmentation and parcelization, development in fire prone areas, recreational demands, challenges regenerating some species and increasing globalization to name a few. Because just 7 percent of Wisconsin's forests are owned and managed by the DNR, DeLong says it is critical that other public and private landowners share the commitment to protect and sustainably manage their forests. n fact, the vast majority, nearly 70 percent, are under private ownership mostly by individuals and families. Most of the timber harvested in Wisconsin also comes from these private forest lands. The survey also reveals that Wisconsin's forests continue to be dominated by hardwoods, with the maple/ birch/beech, oak/hickory and aspen/birch forest types together making up approximately 70 percent of total forest lands. FIA data also shows that state forests are increasing in average girth, with the acreage of the seedling/sapling size class having decreased, while acres of larger saw timber have increased. http://www.dunnconnect.com/articles/2006/12/13/outdoors/outdoors02.txt

Massachusetts:19) Today, after many decades of concern about forest fragmentation, wildlife biologists are appreciating the ecological value of virgin stands such as Mount Greylock's spruce forest. With this increased awareness many previously overlooked old growth stands have been discovered or identified. Ornithologists and land conservationists are now beginning to backpeddle on their liberal attitudes about logging and thinking more about letting some of the older forests remain, so that they can attain greater maturity and more closely resemble the true old growth stands. In doing so, certain less common species will increase, and diversity will too. Little attention has been given to the age structure of forests. Yet research has shown that older growth woodlands have a greater diversity of species. Only recently has there been a shift from the focus on secondary managed woodlands to the ecological importance of our mature woods and old growth forests. While forest fragmentation is a serious threat to many important breeding neotropical migrants, the continued culling of mature trees is likely to have an effect on populations in the future. Like most of you, I have spent the vast majority of my birding time within the managed forests that comprise the bulk of Connecticut's open space. These are the forests that have grown back from colonial agricultural clearing and have been harvested several times since. In fact, until recently, I probably spent no more than a few hours birding in a real authentic primeval or virgin forest. It wasn't until I began research, more than 10 years of it, for my birding guide to western Massachusetts, that I began to realize that the mature forests were teeming with birds. Places like Robinson State Forest, where the trees are almost 80 years old, turned out to be great birding. Though mature, Robinson State Forest is not a virgin forest or old growth because the forest was cleared for farming and grew back. True old growth forests are few and far between. However, there is one tract on top of Mount Greylock, in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, that I visited often and mentioned in my guide. I was surprised at the number of different birds there and thrilled by the presence of some rare species that I discovered consistently near the mossy wetlands hidden among the towering age old spruce. http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=0dcb04bb-4d25-43a8-86da-b7c70ecdfa6c

Connecticut:The Thames River Watershed, which features 35 towns in Eastern Connecticut and south-central Massachusetts, has lost 7.4 percent of 740,000 acres of unprotected forestland since 1985, according to a Yale University 2004 report, " Dynamic Models of Land Use Change in Northeastern USA. " If the trend continues, researchers at Yale University expect 64,000 acres of forestland in the watershed and surrounding towns to disappear by 2022. The Southeastern Connecticut Housing Alliance in Norwich predicted a 2,000- to 2,500-unit housing shortage once the Mohegan Sun casino expansion is added to other developments in the area. That means more pressures to develop land for housing. The watershed is also known as the Last Green Valley and is designated by Congress as the Quinebaug Shetucket Heritage Corridor, the least developed area within the Boston-New York- Washington, D.C., zone. In the corridor, forest and farmland comprise more than 70 percent of the 695,000 acres. " We've always had a land-based economy, " Charlene Perkins Cutler, the heritage corridor's executive director, said. The state's Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant program, started in 1998, provides towns, nonprofit land conservation organizations and water companies with money to buy land through state bonds and the 2005 Community Investment Act. So far, the state has helped groups and towns secure 22,000 acres with $78 million in grants. The state's goal is to preserve 21 percent, or 673,210 acres, by 2023 through such grants and its own land acquisitions. It has achieved 71 percent of its goal so far, with 480,553 acres already protected. Griswold Planning and Zoning Commission Vice Chairman Philip Anthony said the commission realized a few years ago that pending development of the Route 164 corridor and the housing boom created by the casinos made it necessary to maintain the town's rural character. http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/NEWS01/612120322/1002

South Carolina:21) In 1880, there were 8.5 million acres of longleaf pines in South Carolina, said Bob Franklin, a forestry and wildlife extension agent with the Clemson Extension Agency. About 370,000 acres now exist in South Carolina. A federal conservation program has set aside at least $15 million set for S.C. landowners to restore at least 21,000 more acres of longleaf pines. Across the rapidly developing Grand Strand, the future of longleaf pines and live oaks, two of the coastal area's native species, hangs in the balance - dependent on tighter regulations and new ordinances being developed by government officials. While Georgetown, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Conway are designated as Tree Cities and have ordinances to protect large pines and oaks, some tree protection ordinances are still in draft form in Horry County. A federal conservation program that allows farmers to grow longleaf pines on vacant farmland is available, but conservation experts say the soil along the Grand Strand is not always the type needed to grow the endangered pine trees. Meanwhile, rapid development along the coast threatens longleaf pines and live oak trees, according to environmental experts. In Georgetown County, there are plans to reinforce the live oak tree protection ordinance with stricter fines and more regulations on cutting live oak trees in buildable areas, said Georgetown County Planning Director Boyd Johnson. Because of increasing public concerns, there is also talk of adding new regulations on cutting pine trees, Johnson said. There are no ordinances on the books regarding the protection of pine trees, he said. http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/16235983.htm

Maine:22) MILLINOCKET - A 4,000-acre parcel that includes Katahdin Lake has been added to Baxter State Park, fulfilling its benefactor's vision and providing the ultimate holiday gift to the people of Maine, Gov. John Baldacci announced Friday. The announcement followed completion of the purchase Thursday by the Trust for Public Land, which negotiated the deal with Gardner Land Co., led a $14 million private fundraising campaign and transferred the deed to the Baxter State Park Authority. The deal also includes an additional 2,000 acres north of the lake that will be open to hunters and snowmobilers and be managed by the Maine Department of Conservation. Baxter State Park, a 200,000-acre rectangle that includes Mount Katahdin, was donated by former Gov. Percival Baxter decades ago with the proviso that it remain " forever wild. " Over the years, Baxter had acquired land for inclusion in the northern Maine park but was never able to add Katahdin Lake, seen as a missing crown jewel. In addition to miles of pristine lake frontage, the addition to the park includes old-growth forest and spectacular views of mile-high Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. " We could not think of a better holiday gift for the people of Maine. In a way it is a gift to ourselves, as so many Mainers helped to make this dream a reality, " Baldacci said in a statement released prior to announcements in Millinocket and Portland. " I am pleased that we have been able to deliver Katahdin Lake to the people of Maine, and to salute the conservation vision of Governor Baxter. May we continue to honor this vision, and regard today's achievement as not an end, but another milestone on our journey to keep the special places in Maine special, " the governor said. More than 1,000 individuals, foundations and corporations contributed to the fundraising campaign within the 14-month time period set out in the agreement, said Sam Hodder, senior project manager at the Trust for Public Land. http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/008313.html

Canada:23) There are four key product streams coming out of Ontario's forests, and there are for key prices. Ranked, from lowest to highest value, the streams are energy, pulp, wood, and non-timber forest products. Streams with rising prices will do well and the streams with falling prices will shrink. Since we know pulp prices are falling and will continue to fall, we predict that the Ontario's pulp industry is doomed to shrink. The decline of the pulp industry will mean huge disruption for the northern economy. The price of solid wood has been rising for centuries. No one uses solid oak to make charcoal anymore. Even poplar is getting expensive. Lumber production has been growing relative to pulp production since 1950. The price shift in favour of wood has implications for northern communities. If you are producing wood products instead of wood paste, big trees are a lot more valuable than small trees. To get bigger and better trees we have to start adding value to the trees before we harvest them. The next northern economy will have fewer jobs for pulp-mill workers and more jobs for professional foresters. http://www.nob.on.ca/columns/Robinson/12-06-creativity.asp

Armenia:24) Now, however, all a person has to do is look at the disappearing shoreline, to see that Lake Sevan is well on the way to recovery. In fact, last spring the water level threatened to cover the main road to Gavar, on the lake's southwestern border. It is easy to see that the lake has risen; but not so easy, apparently, to calculate it. Official reports say its volume is up by 2.38 meters. National Academy of Sciences reports say about half that much. In any case, the trend heartens environmentalists who, during the mid-late '90s, feared that the republic's very existence would be threatened if the drain on Sevan wasn't corrected. "In those years, plants that used to thicken and enrich the lake were exterminated; many fish, including trout, disappeared," says Rafael Hovhannisian, Director of the Institute for Hydroecology and Fishery at the NAS. "The quality of the water in the lake worsened and as a result became covered in algae, endangering its use for agricultural purposes." The scientist says the reversal of fortune is due to a natural factor – that the recent years have produced more rain and snow; but also that the conscious effort to combat the draining by reducing industrial use, has produced positive results. http://armenianow.com/?action=viewArticle & AID=1908 & CID=1973 & IID= & lng=eng

25) The pace of logging in Armenia's three forest-rich regions – Tavush and Lori in the north-east and Syunik in the south – lead World Bank experts and environmentalists to predict a total extermination of forests by 2036. According to data of the Hyeantar ("Armenian Forests") Closed Joint Stock Company the last census of forests in Armenia was conducted 1993, before mass logging had reached its peak. The company's own data (from 2001, its latest calculation), shows that 11.2 percent of Armenia is covered in forests. Zhirayr Vardanian, head of the Forest Science Department at the Yerevan Agricultural Academy, says that number should be 28-30 percent. The Armenian Forests environmental NGO says nearly 1 million cubic meters of natural wood (nearly 8000 hectares of forests) are illegally cut every year. Senior Forester of Armenia Ruben Petrosian says the last state-organized forest planting in Armenia was in 1988-1989. "In those years there was practically no illegal cutting," he says. "First, there was no energy problem and even the logged trees would remain in the forests, because there was no demand for wood." http://armenianow.com/?action=viewArticle & AID=1908 & CID=1973 & IID= & lng=eng

Iran:26) Leaf rollers are devouring around 3,750 hectares of the mountain almond forests of Baft threatening some plant species in the region with extinction, head of the Natural Resources Protection and Preservation Bureau said. He also referred to Loranthus as another potential danger in the region located in southeast of the nation and said that the pest is plaguing some 175,000 hectares of the jungles covering the area, the Persian service of IRNA quoted him as saying on Tuesday. "If immediate action is not taken most of the wild forests of the region will be destroyed soon", the provincial official warned. Commenting on the funds required for the fight against the plant diseases he maintained that about Rls.200 billion was needed for the task. Oblique-banded leaf roller is an occasional pest of almonds. Its larvae begin to feed on the plant by tying together a number of leaves with silk. Those feeding on developing flower buds do so before bloom and continue to consume floral parts throughout the blossom period. This is when they cause the most damage to the almond crop. The city of Baft is surrounded by a variety of wild forests covering an area of around 350,000 hectares. http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=420385

Brazil:27) A new study suggests that deforestation that follows a " fishbone " pattern may be less damaging from an environmental standpoint than traditional clear-cutting. The reason? Fishbone deforestation patterns may create conditions that increase precipitation levels which help cleared vegetation recover quicker. The research, which will be presented this week by Somnath Baidya Roy, a professor of atmospheric sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, at the annual American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, is based on analysis of deforestation in Rondônia, a state in Brazil where the " establishment of rural development projects has resulted in the construction of orthogonal road networks. " Deforestation, which typically follows road and highway construction, has progressed in a fishbone pattern (see image below). " People often relate tropical deforestation to clear-cuts, " Roy said. " Climate models show that clear-cuts, if they happen on a basin-wide scale, will result in decreased rainfall and bring about a drier, more arid landscape. In the case of fishbone patterns, the deforestation is in isolated segments of the landscape, and our models indicate that it results in increased precipitation over these deforested regions. " http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1211-amazon.html

Uruguay:28) Grupo Empresarial Ence SA, Spain's biggest maker of pulp from eucalyptus, will shift the proposed site of new mill in Uruguay, ending its role in a treaty dispute with Argentina over the plant's potential environmental impact. The plans have approval from both Argentina and Uruguay, the company said in a regulatory filing today. The dispute over how the plant might affect the Uruguay River that marks their border has landed in Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague and delayed completion of the project by about two years. ``I'm pleased that we have been able to solve this problem,'' Ence Chairman Juan Luis Arregui said yesterday, according to the web site of Argentina's Presidential Palace. ``This is good for Argentina, for Uruguay and for the future.'' The Uruguay plant is key to Arregui's goal of tripling triple profit by 2011 as it will account for most of the planned increase in the company's cellulose business. The company is expanding investment in producing energy from biomass. The Madrid-based company now plans to build the plant in Uruguay's southwest in the Colonia region. India:29) The tribal rights Bill can make a big difference in implementing conservation measures. But, only if the local populations are involved in the protection plans for forest areas. The Government of India is considering passing the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005, in the current session of Parliament after accommodating the Joint Parliamentary Committee's (JPC) recommendations. The JPC recommended providing mining rights in addition to food-fuel and fodder and is against restricting benefits to only tribal communities. The JPC also advises against any blanket allocation of land to each family and recommends empowering gram panchayats to settle land disputes. Protected forest areas increase State control over the forest while simultaneously decreasing community control. By and large, forest communities, which have traditionally considered forest as common property, are excluded from access to resources. People care for that over which they have ownership. Forest communities, dependent on the biodiversity of forests to sustain their livelihood, target the forest for unsustainable uses if they perceive to be losing customary custodianship. Thus, protected areas become sources of conflict. If the State enforces conservation within protected areas, they often become islands of conservation amid massive destruction of nature around it. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1865906,00120002.htm

30) Even as the forest cover in India has shown an upward trend, the dense forests, crucial for existence of wildlife, continue to show decline, according to figures with the environment and forests ministry. Based on the findings of two nationwide surveys conducted in 2001 and 2003, the ministry says there has been increase in forest cover by 279,500 hectares during the period. However, the national forest commission, in its latest report, has warned that dense forest cover, which stood at 46.72 million hectares in 1972, has now come down to 39.05 million hectares now and the decline was continuing. Admitting that there has been loss of dense forest coverage, Minister of State for Environment and Forest today said there also has been increase in the overall forest coverage mainly because of the growing awareness among the people and plantation of trees by the people in the open forest areas.The forests are classified according to the canopy area occupied by the trees in a particular area. While open forests have between 10 to 40 per cent coverage, the dense forests have higher canopy coverage. The moderately dense have 40 to 70 per cent canopy coverage and above 70 per cent are considered to be 'very dense'. http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?rep=2 & aid=341129 & ssid=26 & sid=ENV

Bhutan:31) Unlike other Himalayan regions, the forest resource of Bhutan is very rich and diverse. For Bhutanese people, forest is a big source of wood and fuel wood. Before the arrival of hydro electricity, wood was used for heating, cooking and producing lights. Aside from woods, forests provide various products like medicinal plants, gums, various fruits etc. These are known as Non Wood Forest Products (NWFP) and like woods they are important resources for Bhutanese people. Absence of huge population and over development has helped Bhutan to preserve its forest resources. However, the demand for NWFP in the country and international market has created enormous pressure on the country's forest resource. Now, it has become a challenge for the Bhutanese government to meet people's demand and at the same time preserve its current level of forest covered areas. Between 2003 and 2006, Bhutan earned Nu. 115,000 from NWFPs. The dilemma Bhutan's government is facing is present in many other countries in the world. Forests are very important not only for woods but also for clean and healthy environment. For growing population, urbanization, and many other reasons, forests are destroyed. Bhutan's government should come up with some kind of strategies that would help the country maintain its forest resources at the same time meet public demands.http://www.southasiabiz.com/2006/12/growing_demand_of_non_wood_for.html

Sumatra:32) " Fortunately, the photographic evidence survived, " said Sunarto, lead tiger researcher for WWF in the central Sumatran province of Riau, Indonesia. " We developed the film and were able to identify the same individual in each case -- a young tiger that clearly doesn't like having his picture taken. The flash from the camera apparently set him off each time he passed by a camera and he walked over to it and ripped it to pieces with his teeth. " The film in all three incidents revealed a tiger with the same stripe pattern. " We've had camera traps destroyed before by tigers and other wildlife and we've had camera traps stolen by illegal loggers and poachers, " Sunarto said. " But this is the first time we've been able to identify a culprit. Young tigers are curious and adventurous. I've warned our team to be careful working in this area with such a tiger around. " The series of attacks took place in the Tesso Nilo-Bukit Tigapuluh Conservation Landscape, inside the Kerumutan Wildlife Reserve, which is surrounded by land about to be cleared by pulp and paper companies. Conducting research in the remote area is difficult and WWF's tiger teams spent weeks trekking deep into the interior of the reserve to set up the camera traps. " In our interviews with communities and local authorities, only a few people said they had ever seen signs of tigers in Kerumutan, " said Cobar Hutajulu, a member of WWF's tiger team in Riau. " But these photos are evidence of healthy tigers in the area. Unfortunately, we also found a lot of evidence of illegal logging in the area. " Central Sumatra's tiger and elephant habitat has declined drastically in the past two decades, with many animals now isolated from each other in small pockets of forest. WWF is working to stop further clearing of natural forest in the area and to reconnect isolated fragments of habitat via wooded wildlife corridors. There are estimated to be fewer than 500 Sumatran tigers left in the wild. http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=77397

Malaysia:33) A trust established in October to preserve Malaysia's diminishing rain forests is seeking donors to help buy land to create preservation areas for elephants, orangutans and other animals in Sabah State in Borneo. The Borneo Conservation Trust plans to buy 5,936 hectares of land along the Kinabatangan River and 270 hectares along the Segama River at a cost of about 6 billion yen. The trust was the brainchild of Toshinori Tsubouchi, a wildlife specialist dispatched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency to Sabah, and is promoted by Saraya Co., an Osaka-based company producing soap made from palm oil made in Sabah. " We want many companies and individuals to cooperate with us before it's too late, " said Saraya President Yusuke Saraya, who was alerted through an interview for a TV documentary of the damage plantations of the palm oil industry are inflicting on the rain forests. The trust comprises executives of nonprofit organizations, companies involved in the plantation business and Sabah government officials. Sabah is popular with tourists due to its unique wildlife, such as orangutans and Borneo elephants--also known as Bornean pygmy elephants, the world's smallest elephant. Another major industry in the area is palm tree plantations for producing palm oil. Malaysia accounted for 54 percent of the world's palm oil production in 2004, according to the Oil World Annual. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20061214TDY03001.htm

34) Malaysia must focus more on preserving the tribal communities living in its rainforests than on sustainable logging, the EU's envoy to Malaysia has said. " The living conditions of the indigenous people need improvement with full respect to their cultural habits and traditions, " Thierry Rommel said in a speech posted on a Web site run by the European Union. He is scheduled to deliver the speech on Friday in Sarawak state on Borneo Island, where much of the land is covered by one of the world's last remaining rainforests that environmentalists worry are being cut down by loggers. Rommel noted that the focus in the past has been on sustainable forest production. Nonetheless, the social and environmental values of the forest and its dwellers are critical and cannot be ignored, he said in the speech to be delivered to a joint EU-United Nations forests program discussion. The EU is providing Malaysia with a €900,000 (US$1.18 million) grant to promote tropical forest management. Of the 130 such projects funded by the EU in Asia, 20 are in Malaysia, Rommel said. The funds are set aside for the " preservation of indigenous traditions and cultures and forest conservation, " Rommel said. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/14/asia/AS_GEN_Malaysia_EU_Forests.php

Philippines:35) COUNCILOR Erdolfo Balajadia wants a probe conducted into the alleged illegal tree-cutting activity done by an employee of the contractor of the Baguio General Hospital (BGH) flyover construction project. Certain Engineer Agcamaran reportedly ordered the cutting. The contractor's failure to present a tree-cutting permit resulted to the confiscation of the ax and shovel used, and the six cut logs with an approximate volume of 1.5 cubic meters. The report recommended that the confiscated items be kept in the city's sewerage treatment plant at Sanitary Camp for safekeeping and for use as evidence. The incident was recorded at Station 5 of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) for violation of Section 68 of Presidential Decree (PD) 705 or the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines. Because the report merely recommended safekeeping of the confiscated items, Balajadia, chair of the City Council Committee on environment, in a letter to the chief of BCPO Station 7, asked for further investigation on the incident, with the end in view of identifying the person or persons responsible for the cutting and thereafter to file the appropriate criminal case should the evidence warrant. http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/bag/2006/12/11/news/dad.seeks.probe.on.illegal.tree.cutting.ne

ar.flyover.htmlNew Zealand:36) The Department of Conservation says an agreement with a developer should see the most valuable parts of a Northland coastal forest saved from bulldozers. Landco has begun cutting access roads through native bush to four house sites on the headland, next to the Ngunguru sandspit. DoC says it challenged the subdivision plans because the forest includes a rare grouping of matai and kawaka, or New Zealand cedar. It says the developer has agreed to reserve that part of the forest and to minimise damage. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200612150641/valuable_trees_to_be_spared_in_spit_developmen

t37) The Green Party says new government policy on illegal logging does not go far enough. Under the new policy, government departments and agencies will have to use timber and wood products from legally harvested forests. The policy will see a greater push for regional cooperation in the Pacific and bilateral arrangements to address illegal logging. Forestry Minister Jim Anderton says there are moral, environmental and economic reasons for addressing the illegal logging trade. He says illegally produced wood depresses world log prices by 19% - hurting the legal and sustainable trade. However, Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons, says it is disappointing that the government is not going to stop illegally logged timber being imported. She says the policy has to have some teeth if it is going to have any effect. Mr Anderton says it is very difficult to prove if a piece of wood has been illegally produced or not. He says the process of ensuring wood used in government departments is from a legal source will be difficult at first, but the government will set the example. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200612110739/greens_want_illegal_logging_policy_taken_furt

her38) The Government's new policy will do virtually nothing to halt the importation of illegally logged timber coming into New Zealand, Greenpeace said today. The new policy, announced by Jim Anderton yesterday, is a slight shift from the status quo. The only new thing is that it is now mandatory for Government Departments to seek legally logged wood. "If it's good enough for Government Departments, why isn't it good enough for the rest of the country?" asked Grant Rosoman of Greenpeace. "The only way of stop illegal wood imports immediately would be straightforward regulation. This is a clear and simple answer and, like biosecurity controls, would have been relatively easily implemented,"he said. Instead, the Government will be tied up in bilateral arrangements which will take years to negotiate. The World Bank has warned that 80% of the wood coming from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea is illegal. Meanwhile, hardwood furniture products made from illegal hardwood like kwila are pouring in from China, undercutting New Zealand's own sustainable furniture industry. "The biggest losers in this policy are the forests and peoples of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia – and the New Zealand furniture manufacturers." http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0612/S00148.htm

Tropics:39) The key to using trees to offset global warming is to expand tropical rainforests south of the equator, according to research announced in the U.S. on Monday. Planting forests north of the equator appeared to either " zero-out " or be counterproductive in regard to global warming, according to the researchers. " Our study shows that tropical forests are very beneficial to the climate because they take up carbon and increase cloudiness, which in turn helps cool the planet, " said Govindasamy Bala of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, lead author of the research. Bala cautioned that not all forests appear to have these effects. Forests have been touted by environmentalists for their abilities to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), a notorious greenhouse gas, and for exuding moisture that increases sun-blocking cloud cover. But researchers involved in the study said the tendency for dark forest cover to absorb sunlight, thus warming the Earth, has been overlooked. " The darkening of the surface by new forest canopies in the high-latitude Boreal regions allows absorption of more sunlight that helps to warm the surface, " Bala said. http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?rep=2 & aid=341656 & ssid=26 & sid=ENV

World-wide: 40) It is now six weeks since some 75 leading environmental organisations worldwide wrote to the Executive Director of FSC, Heiko Liedeker, and the International Board, identifying the problem of 'certifier conflict of interest' as being at the heart of FSC's problems, and calling for urgent improvements to the FSC system. As yet, FSC-Watch understands, they have not even received an acknowledgement to their letter. NGOs are beginning to wonder what other priorities Liedeker and the FSC Board might have that are more important than addressing the fact that the credibility of their organisation is collapsing around them... http://www.fsc-watch.org/archives/2006/12/11/Liedeker_and_Board___lost_for_an_answer_

41) Planting trees in mid- to high-latitude locations could actually create a net warming and while aforestation drive in tropical rainforests could help slow global warming worldwide. " This is the first comprehensive assessment of the deforestation problem. It provides a holistic view of the deforestation issue, " said Govindasamy Bala, lead author of the research to be presented on Dec. 15 at the American Geophysical Society annual meeting in San Francisco. For their research, the team constructed models that calculated the carbon/climate interactions and took into account the physical climate effect and the partitioning of the carbon dioxide release from deforestation among land, atmosphere and ocean. Prof. Bala said forests affected climate in three different ways. 1) They absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help keep the planet cool; 2) they evaporate water to the atmosphere and increase cloudiness, 3) which also helps keep the planet cool; and they are dark and absorb a lot of sunlight, warming the Earth, " he said. http://www.dailyindia.com/show/92178.php/Location-of-planting-trees-critical-in-battle-against-g

lobal-warming