169 - Earth's Tree News

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Today for you 37 news items about 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---British Columbia: 1) Leave Beetle infested stands alone, 2) Quesnel's economy, 3) What's wrong with the GBR, 4) People want Caribou protection, 5) Elaho history, 6) Tletinqoxt'in Band get more logging rights,--Pacific Northwest: 7) Marbled Murrelet still threatened,--Oregon: 8) Save wild Rogue, 9) Stimson Lumber land scam, 10) forest biomass, --California: 11) Save Siskyou Mountains salamanders, 12) Families protest Big Creek lumber / SJ Water Co., 13) Rubber sidewalks save trees, 14) Climate threat for oak-dappled hills, 15) $5.38 Billion park bond explained, --Montana: 16) Blackfoot Cooperative Landscape Stewardship Pilot Project,--Michigan: 17) Catastrophic loss of trees in southeastern Michigan --Wisconsin: Sand mine under the guise of making a lake for a park,--Indiana: 18) Department of Natural Resources holds comment opportunity,--Vermont: 19) How Merck once saved a forest, 20) Cutting parks for a new town hall,--South Carolina: 21) About all them logging roads--European Union: 22) Growing demand for biofuels and traditional use--Czechoslovakia: 23) Windstorm gets loggers going--Guyana: 24) Large scale pilot sustainable forest management project--Brazil: 25) Farmer's impacts estimated, 26) Save Cristalino State Park,--Peru: 27) Free Trade Agreement--Central America: 28) Mesoamerican Biological Corridor--India: 29) Forest Act revised to give quasi-judicial powers to local authorities--Nepal: 30) Community Forest User Groups--China: 31) Newsprint is less expensive for US publishers, 32) 650 hectares for Cathay, --Cambodia: 32) Corruption linked to highly-placed government officials, 33) Abundant Forest Enterprise, 34) Community protection committee losing forest under siege, Australia: 35) UK talks about stopping illegal logging, 36) Submission writing workshop, 37) 8,000 hectares of pine plantation salvage,British Columbia:1) PRINCE GEORGE -- Stands of trees killed by the mountain pine beetle still provide environmental benefits and potential timber value if left-standing, concludes a special report by the B.C. Forest Practices Board released Tuesday. The board -- a watchdog agency at arms length from the provincial government -- also found that trees that survived the pine beetle attack grew faster than before the attack, and may represent a source of mid-term timber supply. The report examined pine stands affected by the 1979 pine beetle attack in the southern Quesnel forest district. The trees left standing or re-grown since that outbreak have developed unique structural features that now provide valuable wildlife habitat, 26 years after the original beetle attack. The Ministry of Forests and Range is conducting further studies to determine if the results are valid for the moisture climate zones, the areas the current epidemic is hitting hardest. The mountain pine beetle epidemic, the largest of its kind ever in Canada, now covers about 8.5 million hectares, an area more than twice as large as Vancouver Island. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/index.html2) For many decades now, the forest industry has been the economic driver of Quesnel's economy. The city has pulp mills, sawmills, panel mills and a leading value-added wood product manufacturing facility among others. As a result, it is expected to go through an extremely trying period in the next five or ten years as the present logging boom is followed by the logging bust. In Quesnel's case, however, the pain may be even more extreme than that experienced in other Interior communities. First, the forests around Quesnel were already subject to significant " uplifts " in logging rates in decades past due to earlier insect attacks. Now, as we all know, the forests surrounding the community are experiencing an unprecedented rise in logging activities due to the current mountain pine beetle outbreak. A combination of past and present logging activities that well exceeded what can be sustained, means that the reduction in future logging rates will be all the deeper; and with the reductions, the likely closure of many mills. http://www.policyalternatives.ca3) Campbell's widely-lauded-in-the-corporate-media " Great Bear Rainforest " (GBR) deal has left only 30% of this " largest intact temperate rainforest " on the planet protected, (although trophy-hunting, mining and hydro-development continues to be allowed in that 30%). The so-called " Eco-System-Based Management " (EBM) by which the remaining 70% is to be logged has not at all been defined (and will not commence until 2009), -allowing for the free-for-all industry massacre of the most precious biodiversity hotspots and valley-bottom sites which is occurring right now. Even the science upon which EBM was to be based was compromised, -during the 7 year closed-door negotiations, the scientific team consensus was that 45-70% of the forest would require outright protection in order to preserve its biodiversity. The 30% so-called " protected " aspect of the deal reverses the scientific geographical/ecological equation. Nobody has any idea what EBM will look like, but what is known is that the standard of logging will be much less stringent than the Forest Stewardship Council principles and criteria for ethical, sustainable logging. And to add insult to injury, during the negotiations, Campbell's enviro-partners agreed to suspend any protest for ramped up logging on Vancouver Island and forests across the province. If anyone has any doubts about just how much damage this logging onslaught will wreak on the Great Bear Rainforests before the " newer, gentler EBM logging techniques " kick-in in 2009, they should take a fly-by of the now updated Google Earth images of East Creek on Vancouver Island, (at the northern foot of the Brooks Peninsula), which was untrammelled intact wilderness until LeMare Lake Logging pushed a road into it just three years ago. While you're cruising Google Earth, take a shocking flight around Vancouver Island which has been virtually entirely stripped of its once magnificent forests. Of its 91 watersheds, 85 have now been roaded and gutted by industrial logging. -- Ingmar Lee ingmarz4) As the BC government begins a public consultation process to find out what British Columbians want to do about the province's endangered mountain caribou, a new poll has already answered the question: Eighty six per cent (86%) of British Columbians say they want the BC government to protect the animal's habitat – the land needed for the species to survive -- from logging and other industrial uses. The poll was conducted by Synovate and released today by ForestEthics, an international environmental organization with offices in Canada, the US and Chile. "These numbers show that British Columbians are very much aware of the link between mountain caribou habitat loss and extinction," says Candace Batycki of ForestEthics. "They're saying loud and clear that the survival of mountain caribou is important to them, and that its time for the government to step up and protect the necessary habitat." The government's Species At Risk Coordination Office (SARCO) has developed a proposal for mountain caribou recovery, and is taking comment on the proposal until the end of February. The public comment period opened on Friday, January 12. The proposal has come under fire for its emphasis on killing the animals that prey on caribou – mostly wolves and cougars – rather than protecting caribou habitat. http://www.mountaincaribou.ca5) The thirty-year-old activist (and comrade of mine) was convicted of obstructing justice in December 2006. A BC Supreme Court judge refused to believe police endangered his life in a tree-sit one hundred and fifty feet off the ground. He is facing nine months in jail at his sentencing in February 2007. "Even had someone died six years ago, it seems the courts would have found that it was our own fault." s the battle raged six years ago, it looked like the old-growth forests of the Elaho Valley were doomed. Eighty percent of the area had already been logged. A priceless grove of record-setting trees was about to fall. Wilderness advocates from the coast and across the province pledged to help defend the area. Hundreds visited and fell in love with the canyonlands along the Elaho River in British Columbia's Coast Mountains near Whistler. But International Forest Products (Interfor) kept marching on. Each year, chainsaws and bulldozers chewed through whole mountainsides full of cedar, fir and hemlock, leaving massive scars on the steep slopes and filling fish streams with silt. Repeated appeals to the government and Interfor failed, so forest advocates took to civil disobedience and peaceful protests to stop the logging. I was with Zarelli and other forest defenders on the frontlines of Interfor's logging operations for months at a stretch. We built a protest camp at the end of the road from downed trees and tarps, and took turns cooking communal meals, hauling water, and playing cat-and-mouse games with the loggers. By the end of July. two dozen people were camped at the road's end. http://zoeblunt.gnn.tv/blogs/21270/Shaking_the_tree_an_eco_defender_s_ordeal

6) The Tletinqoxt'in Band located at Anaham Flats near Alexis Creek took a significant step last week towards co-managing the forest and range resources in its traditional territory. Chief Gerald Johnny signed a five-year, non-renewable Forest and Range Opportunity agreement with Chilcotin District Forest Manager Mike Pedersen last week to log 370,000 cubic metres of timber. Steve Capling, a forestry consultant for the band said the agreement can be renewed after five years. Johnny said the agreement involves both the Tletinqoxt'in Nation and Sigurdson Brothers Sawmill. "We have our own logging company, Klatassine Logging Resources," Johnny said. "It's managed by Willie Meldrum. He's looking after the logging show for Sigurdsons." Johnny said his community is excited about the agreement because the Tletinqoxt'in have been left out of the loop for too long on the beetle kill program. "We need to be involved," he said. "And that's happening by signing this FRO agreement. Now we're waiting to put in a forest stewardship plan." http://www.wltribune.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=37 & cat=59 & id=816944 & more=

Pacific Northwest:7) The marbled murrelet is considered a seabird, but it lives a double life, spending most of its time on the ocean but flying inland to lay its single egg in the high branches of old-growth trees such as Sitka spruce and Douglas fir. The bird is about the size of a robin, with fluffy, black-and-white speckled feathers. During the nesting period, a male and a female bird take turns guarding their single egg. Once every 24 hours, they switch places, one mate returning to roost while the other flies out to sea to feed on small fish and crustaceans. Murrelets can use their wings to propel themselves underwater, but unlike penguins they also are excellent aviators, flying 50 miles per hour and nesting as far as 40 miles inland. They travel mainly during dawn and twilight hours, making them difficult to track. Because they live on both land and sea, murrelets exist in a state of double jeopardy. They're threatened by gill net fishing and oil spills on the one hand, and logging and urban expansion on the other. Murrelets are one of a number of species that relies on old-growth forest to survive – only large old trees, surrounded by dense growth, can protect them from predators such as falcons, crows and jays. Like the spotted owl, murrelets are perched in the middle of the never-ending tug of war between environmentalists and the timber industry. Because of their dwindling numbers, marbled murrelets qualify for protection from the federal government. However, they are listed as threatened rather than endangered, meaning they are not subject to the highest level of protection afforded by the Endangered Species Act. The policies that shape their future are open to interpretation. Hence the lawsuits. Both timber industry representatives and environmental groups have sued the government over its handling of the marbled murrelet. In the past century, the northern populations of marbled murrelets fared better than their southern relatives in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. Only the southern population is listed as threatened, and many believe that the northern and southern murrelets, if counted together as one single population, would not qualify for protection. But studies suggest that northern murrelets are not thriving. For instance, in Glacier Bay, Alaska, the number of murrelets has decreased by 65 percent over the past two decades, according to a USGS report. Ironically, the northern murrelet's loss could be the southern murrelet's gain, now that continued listing of the birds as threatened may hinge on their total numbers, north and south. http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=116950911342993600

Oregon:8) The Wild Rogue area is one of Oregon's most pristine, scenic, and rugged landscapes. Located in Southern Oregon and nestled in the Siskiyou Mountain Range, the Wild Rogue area is home to the famous Rogue River. The area is one of the state's premier recreational spots, attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year and contributing millions of dollars to the local economy. The Wild Rogue also provides important salmon and steelhead spawning and rearing habitat, providing the backbone for one of Oregon's most important sport and commercial fisheries. Despite the importance of this unique landscape, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is threatening to turn bulldozers and chainsaws loose into the unspoiled old-growth forests of the Wild Rogue area. In one logging project, the BLM plans to clear-cut hundreds of acres of old-growth forests in the Zane Grey Roadless Area. The logging and necessary road building would destroy ancient forests, impair water quality, degrade spawning habitat for wild salmon and steelhead, and scar a once pristine landscape. The threats to the Wild Rogue area serve to underscore the importance of establishing permanent protection for this pristine landscape. Under the federal Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Acts, the Wild Rogue area would receive lasting protections that safeguard the land's fish and wildlife, scenery, and recreational values. Click here http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=270740704 & url_num=6 & url=http://www.democracy

inaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/oregonwild/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6524 & t=eNews-Hikes-Alert

s.dwt to send an email to your Congressional representative, telling them to " Save the Wild Rogue " by passing Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River legislation! 9) Stimson Lumber Co. has owned Pacific Northwest forests since the 1800s, but the Portland-based company sees itself as part of a modern revolution in the woods. In this new world, the value is in the land as well as the trees. " Timberland has really become a commodity, " company President Andrew Miller says, standing in a boardroom overlooking Pioneer Courthouse Square. " It's no different than this office building. " The company filed Measure 37 applications that would allow housing on 56,000 acres across northwest Oregon, probably the largest request under the 2004 voter-approved law. Stimson officials say they're just keeping options open on most of that land but may develop slivers of it near fast-growing cities. Stimson's approach -- and political backlash against large Measure 37 claims -- speaks volumes about the intersection of Oregon's new law and a rapidly changing timber industry. Elsewhere in the country, companies sell their most scenic land to resort developers or baby boomers seeking a rural lifestyle. They reinvest in more remote forests while turning a good profit for shareholders. Worried that the industry will shrivel, taking wildlife habitat with it, conservation groups scramble to pay for agreements that preserve key properties. In Oregon, the transformation was kept at bay by strict land-use laws meant to protect farming and forestry. But Measure 37 is changing that dynamic. Timber experts described the new business model this month to a task force that is reshaping Oregon land-use planning. " I get the sense there's an exceedingly strong economic undertow, " said the chairman, Mike Thorne, a rancher and former Democratic legislator. " These are some of the pressures that caused Measure 37 to pass. " Voters thought they were helping families build a country home or two, says Zoe Bradbury, project manager for a program promoting local agriculture at Ecotrust, a Portland nonprofit. " The claims from timber companies are really frustrating, " she says. " It takes everything in that direction without any public input or control. " http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/116978011531910.xml & coll=7

10) A runaway train is heading our way, threatening to steamroll nearly every acre of our public forests, and its name is " forest biomass extraction. " Fanning the flames of the current fire hysteria, the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, colluding politicians and even some environmental groups, are setting the stage for a timber industry feeding frenzy in our forests. The corrupted and/or misguided proponents of this most recent attempt by the timber industry to cheat Americans out of their forests, insist that the only response to rejuvenative wildfire should be to aggressively " thin " out every acre of healthy, native forest they can lay their hands on. The end result is unrestricted logging of young trees and stripping away of the vital understory layer, leaving the forest floor sterile and bare as a golf course fairway. Not surprisingly, there is a conspicuous lack of science (not to mention common sense) backing up these claims. In fact, science suggests that these so-called " fuels reduction treatments " have—at best—negligible effects on preventing wildfire, and—at worst—actually INCREASE the risk of fire by opening the forest to sunlight and wind, which dries forests and causes winds to carry fires further and hotter. Ecologically speaking, " forest biomass extraction " removes essential organic matter from the forest; compacts and erodes fertile carbon-storing soil; destroys wildlife habitat; and generally devastates native forest ecosystems. The costs for such " treatments " would be astronomical and would be paid for with taxpayers' money and by cutting large, financially valuable trees. Logistically speaking, " fuels reduction treatments " could never truly be effective as the stripped understory would simply regrow within 10 years of " treatments. " That's like digging a hole only to fill it in again. How could the American people ever allow such widespread destruction of their forests? The answer is they wouldn't. Which is why timber interests have greenwashed the " fuels reduction " fallacy by combining its dubious claims with the concept of " forest biomass " : building biomass energy plants, to be fed by the products of forest destruction. --Josh Schlossberg, Native Forest Council http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/01/352728.shtmlCalifornia:11) The California Fish and Game Commission is poised to take public testimony with regard to the threatened-species status of the Siskyou Mountains salamander under the California Endangered Species Act. The Scott Bar salamander is a recently discovered subspecies of the Siskyou Mountains salamander, and is accordingly protected unless the Commission decides otherwise. With one of the smallest ranges of any western terrestrial salamander, the Siskiyou Mountains salamander is highly imperiled by logging of its old-growth habitats. It needs continued protection. Please write the Fish and Game Commission and ask them to retain protection for the salamander. For more information on these cool critters, see: http://www.wildcalifornia.org/cgi priv/Pages.pl?function=page & page_id=25912) Families against a plan to log trees in Los Gatos protested Friday morning outside of the San Jose Water Company offices. Inside, the privately held company outlined its goal for the land it owns at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains. A hired fire science expert said removing some trees would allow the forest to thrive and helps with fire prevention. " So we strongly advocate this forest management plan because the thinning will actually benefit the forest and make it healthier and more fire resilient, " said expert Dr. David Gantz. " Thinning improves the forest condition... and the larger trees will make it a better forest for all. " The proposed logging area totals a thousand acres stretching along the Los Gatos Creek between Lexington Reservoir and Lake Elsman in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Some 4,000 people live there, many of them opponents who say San Jose Water has teamed up with Big Creek Lumber company in a deal about profit. " Simply put, cutting the largest redwood trees in the forest increases the fire danger. Cut the small ones, that's fine. Do fire mitigation instead of clear out brush, that's wonderful, " said Kevin Flynn of Neighbors Against Irresponsible Logging. " We live in the forest . Nobody's more concerned about fire issues than the people who live there. " San Jose Water says it only plans to log 40 percent of the largest trees, 20 percent less than law allows, and that it would cut in stages with loggers on 100 acre parcels every other year. The families who live there say they won't stop fighting, and will file lawsuits in this more than year long battle if necessary. http://cbs5.com/local/local_story_026154425.html13) It took 26 trees to transform Lindsay Smith from a screenwriter into an entrepreneur. One night in 2001, Smith noticed red Xs on ficus trees in her Gardena (Calif.) neighborhood. The next morning city workers were cutting those trees down because their roots were pushing through the sidewalk and causing it to buckle. Says Smith: " These were healthy, mature trees that were being destroyed. " She persuaded Los Angeles County to give her 48 hours to find another solution. In those two days she searched for sidewalk materials that might coexist with stately trees better than concrete. Her best lead came from Richard Valeriano, the senior public works inspector in Santa Monica. At his urging, U.S. Rubber Recycling Co. had made a prototype of sidewalk pavers from recycled tires. Smith got a hold of the prototype, showed it to county officials, and they left the remaining trees standing. U.S. Rubber wasn't interested in commercializing the prototype, but its CEO encouraged Smith to plow ahead. Smith began development of her product with a $250,000 matching grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Thanks to her excellent credit rating, Smith was able to " match " that sum with her credit cards. " I am not encouraging people to use that model, but without it I wouldn't have been able to use the grant, " she says. She set about improving the prototype, making the rubber look more like concrete and making it more durable. Her biggest challenge was in hardening the prototype, so pedestrians wouldn't have to change their stride if some parts of a sidewalk were concrete and some were rubber. The next year Mann started using Rubbersidewalks to replace sidewalks adjacent to trees. The rubber, he says, " looks similar to concrete and has been well accepted by the public. " She sees other benefits as well. The pavers reduce the number of lawsuits from people who trip or fall over broken concrete. They don't contribute to the so-called heat-island effect, which is the increase in urban air and surface temperatures caused by hot pavements, asphalt, and buildings. And, of course, they help save trees and reduce the amount of rubber in landfills. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_50/b4013074.htm?chan=search

14) The golden, oak-dappled hills that dominate much of the Central California landscape could be headed for a dramatic makeover. As the climate heats up, those iconic crooked oaks stand to lose nearly half their range by the end of the century. Much of the remaining suitable habitat likely will shift northward, leaving a very different California in its wake and threatening the work of conservationists. Many of the state's native trees and plants, from the towering redwood groves along the coast to the alpine forests that frame hulking granite domes in the Sierra, could be evicted from the territory they have evolved to occupy for thousands, if not millions, of years. Climate modelers foresee alpine forests shrinking, pine forests being replaced by a mixture of evergreen trees, woodlands and shrublands giving way to grasslands and deserts expanding. The relocation of each species could have ramifications well beyond a single tree or flower moving to new territory. Each plant is part of an intricate network of relationships between different species in an ecosystem. If one tree leaves, other plants and animals that depend on that tree for food or shelter may be forced out as well. Some plant species have already started relocating to the north and to higher elevations in search of the climate they are adapted to. " Some species can live in a broad range of ecological niches, but most can't, " said Lisa Sloan, an earth scientist and paleoclimatologist at UC Santa Cruz. The blue oak, a native California tree found nowhere else, is one of those that can't. " These need particular temperature and precipitation conditions, and not just annually. It's very important for their growing season that in the spring there are certain conditions so that acorns can sprout and so on, " Sloan said. The blue oak currently thrives on a broad swath of land along the flanks of the coast ranges and the Sierra Nevada that circles the great valley like a bathtub ring. They are particularly well-adapted to the hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters in these areas. http://www.contracostatimes.com15) California voters clearly demonstrated strong support for the environment in the recent general election when they voted 53.8% to 46.2% to approve Proposition 84, the $5.38 billion Clean Water, Parks and Coastal Protection Initiative. A yes vote was by no means a sure thing, particularly because a set of so-called infrastructure bonds totaling $37.3 billion was also on the ballot. Prop. 84 continues California's strong legacy in protecting watersheds and the coast, and in conserving habitat, open space, and parkland. One way to look at its myriad provisions is to view it according to broad funding sources. Under this analysis, the bond provides for the following areas of investment: 1) $1,535 million—Safe drinking water, water quality and other water projects. 2) $ 928 million—Protection of rivers, lakes and streams. 3) $ 800 million—Flood control. 4) $ 580 million—Sustainable communities 5) $ 540 million—Beaches, bays, and coastal water. 6) $ 500 million—State parks and nature education and research . 7) $ 450 million—Forests and wildlife conservation. 8) $ 65 million—Statewide water management and planning -- The Impact Report previously addressed the issue of integrated regional watershed planning. The bond requirements for Proposition 84 set a new standard by establishing a rigorous list of requirements under the new planning rubric. 1) Plans shall include performance measures and monitoring to document progress toward meeting plan objectives. 2) Projects must be consistent with an adopted integrated regional water management plan or its functional equivalent as defined in the departmentÕs Integrated Regional Water Management Guidelines. 3) Projects must provide multiple benefits and include one or more project elements from a detailed 11-element list that ranges from water supply reliability and water use efficiency through groundwater recharge, water banking, and ecosystem and fisheries restoration. http://www.jonesandstokes.com/Newsletters/Q1_07/Q1_07_Prop84_Watersheds.htmMontana:

16) The Blackfoot Cooperative Landscape Stewardship Pilot Project was unveiled Wednesday by its diverse backers, who plan to seek funding from Congress this year to implement its far-reaching proposals. Included in the request will be more wilderness designation in the Bob Marshall-Scapegoat Wilderness Complex, additional acreage for snowmobilers and a biomass facility for Pyramid Lumber in Seeley Lake. The plan calls for both sustainable logging and watershed-restoration work. " It's keeping ranchers on the land, " Jim Stone of Rolling Stone Ranch of Ovando said of the new approach. " It's a vision of the community on how to approach conserving the land. " The plan contains recommendations for 400,000 acres in the Seeley Ranger District of the Lolo National Forest, and 41,000 acres of adjoining federal, state and private land. The land is north of Ovando in the larger 1.5 million-acre Blackfoot River drainage. There's no telling where the experimental plan will end up. The document wasn't produced by a government land manager. But Tim Love of the Lolo National Forest's Seeley Lake Ranger District, where much of the land falls, said nothing in the plan is inconsistent with the district's plans for the forest. http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070125/NEWS01/701250301/1002

Michigan:17) I'm getting a little nervous about whether there is any hope in solving the almost catastrophic loss of trees in southeastern Michigan in the past 25 years. Last week, at the annual meeting and trade show of the Michigan Nurserymen and Landscapers Association, I listened to a report about the results of a major study of the condition of the urban forest, conducted by members of the Forestry Department of Michigan State University covering 1980 through 2005. The data needed little interpretation. In that 25-year period, folks in the upper Midwest (the majority of area studied) took less and less care of their trees, leaving them currently in much poorer condition than in the '80s. Fewer trees are being planted each year by homeowners. When trees are planted, there is little variation of the species selected. Arborvitae, silver maples, Norway maples and pin oaks, all mediocre choices today, still predominate. The study just made me depressed. Remember, this bleak information is following on my learning last summer about the study performed by the American Forest Association that looked at the change in the tree canopy, using satellite photos of the seven county area, including Detroit, from 1992 to 2003. It showed that the canopy has been so diminished by development that it is now below the level considered to be minimum for maintaining any kind of healthy ecosystem. Detroit, for example, would need to plant 2 million trees to get its canopy up to minimum standards. http://gardeneryardener.blogspot.com/2007/01/tree-repopulation-plan-isnt-strong-at.html

Wisconsin:18) Rural Spring Green residents and members of the Sauk County Finance Committee Tuesday said a big " whoa there " to a Parks Committee proposal to mine sand and construct a lake in the county-owned forest. Last month Supervisor Virgil Hartje, chairman of the Transportation and Parks Committee, presented a rough plan to construct a 30-acre lake and recreation area on 80 acres of the Sauk County Community Forest west of Spring Green along Highway 14/60. During Tuesday's meeting area residents spoke against the sand mining proposal. Marcus Weston said it would take 20 years of mining sand before the 30-acre lake would be complete. The project is also a threat to the wells of nearby residents, he said. " The people don't want development there, " Weston said. " I think it would be destructive. " Town officials are frustrated with the proposal because Parks Committee members did not talk with them before moving ahead, said Mary Merlie, chairwoman of the Town of Spring Green Plan Commission. The lake is only the most recent proposal for using the land, after county officials considered making an all-terrain vehicle park and promoting housing development there. http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr/news/114265Indiana:INDIANAPOLIS -- Hoosiers will have a chance to comment on the operation, funding and staffing of state forests at open houses scheduled February through May by the Department of Natural Resources. The meetings will include displays about recreational activities, budget issues, staffing, major projects, invasive species control and forest resource management. Those who attend can talk with DNR staff or submit written comments concerning forest and recreation management and programs. http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070123/NEWS02/701240523

Vermont:19) Fortunately, New Jersey's George Merck of Merck Pharmaceuticals fame had the vision to preserve a large tract of land for local and urban dwellers to enjoy. " He was a very scientific thinking guy so he took a compass, the old-fashioned kind with a needle and pencil on either end and drew a circle around the Albany train station, covering everything within a two-hour drive, " Smith said. " Then he sent a secretary up to find a farm within that radius. They found this farm and he liked the area, so he bought it. In 1950, local farmers were struggling and you could buy land in Vermont for $3 per acre. " " There was no tourist industry at the time. The roads were all dirt and mud. I remember my grandfather saying he could have bought the entire state of Vermont for $10,000 in 1950, " Smith said with a laugh. Thanks to Merck's foresight, the forest and farmland center attracts more than 10,000 visitors per year to its peaceful, serene setting that affords 100-mile views to the northern Adirondacks. However, the nonprofit organization also has a serious mission, that of teaching people how to protect and preserve their own property with sound forestry and farmland practices. " Everybody knows how to lose money in farming and forestry, " Smith said. " We try to demonstrate ways people can generate income in a sustainable way. " Out of necessity, Merck's staff members lead by example. In addition to camping revenues, roughly one-third of the center's $600,000 budget comes from timber and agricultural goods produced on site — eggs, beef, pork, lamb, maple, timber. http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070126/NEWS/701260301/1014/FEATURES11

20) HINESBURG -- When town officials decided to put new flooring in the Town Hall, they chose not to do it the easy way. Instead of taking a trip to the lumber store, the town is returning to its roots by using not-so-readily available resources from the Hinesburg Town Forest. Logger Bill Torrey spent this week toiling in the forest, cutting white ash trees. The new floor will be constructed this spring from the wood he is harvesting just a few miles from the Town Hall. " When the Town Hall was built, all the materials were probably harvested right around here, " said Rocky Martin, Hinesburg director of buildings and facilities. " It was built in 1901, so we wanted to look into the possibilities of doing the same thing. " So, 106 years later, Torrey is working to prepare town floor No. 2. It will replace the original spruce floor, which has been sanded and refinished so many times that it has become too thin for the treatment. http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070124/NEWS02/701240305/1007

South Carolina:21) Although the original purchase of land for the Franics Beidler Forest contained almost 1800 acres of virgin, old-growth forest, the rest of Four Holes Swamp has been logged. Some logging roads were built out into the swamp. They remain and their effects, mainly the impediment to flowing water, are easily seen. Skidder tracks are harder to discern, except when rain water collects in the low areas (see image). Elsewhere in our state and country, forest roads appear to have a negative effect even after they have been abandoned. Dr. Raymond Semlitsch, professor of biology at the University of Missouri, studied and reported (here and The Forestry Source, Dec 2006) the effect of forest roads on woodland salamanders. Plant ecologists have documented that road edges receive more sunlight and wind, which has a drying effect on the micro-climate. The study of marco- and micro-invertebrates near roads showed that the " road-effect zone " extended farther than the 35 meters Dr. Semlitsch determined for the salamanders. Since salamanders eat the invertebrates and prefer a cool, damp environment, the absence of food and suitable habitat would certainly have a negative effect on the salamanders. " The big implication is that, not only do existing roads have effects that go beyond their roadside boundaries, but that these 80-year-old roads that have been abandoned have long-lasting effects, too, " Semlitsch said. " So, if you're constantly laying down new roads, you're fragmenting the forest into smaller and smaller parcels. " He suggested reusing forest roads, since the footprint has already been established. http://beidlerforest.blogspot.com/2007/01/old-forest-roads.html

European Union:

22) The capability of European forests to meet both growing demand from biofuels and the more traditional uses of wood such as timber, pulp and paper came under scrutiny at a workshop organised by the United Nations and forest-based industry organisations on 11-12 January in Geneva. Over one hundred particpants in the workshop noted with satisfaction that, despite increasing demand for wood, forest growth in Europe still far exceeds the volume of wood harvested. The increase in forest volume offers more habitats for biodiversity, a wide array of timber and offers employment opportunities, the participants agreed. However, they warned that the intensified use of forests may have some unwanted side-effects: 1) Forests help to protect soil from erosion, and play an important role in the water cycle and in water quality. However, intensive logging may impair these functions; 2) more intensively used forests may pose a problem for biological diversity. Tree species composition may be less varied, as choices concentrate on fast-growing species, leading to a reduction of genetic diversity; 3) increased demand may mean that the growth of food and the provision of other non-wood goods and services on lands will be less attractive, and; 4) increased extraction of trees may lead to a risk of nutrient imbalance. http://www.euractiv.com/en/sustainability/forest-sector-ngos-warn-unchecked-biofuels-growth/ar

ticle-161154Czechoslovakia:23) A windstorm which caused a big damage to forests in the Czech Republic at the end of last week has paradoxically provided work for logging companies, daily Hospodarske noviny HN writes today. Logger work has been paralysed since the start of the year because state-run forest company Lesy CR, the owner of the forests, failed to sign in time contracts with logging companies, the paper said. However, now it is a priority to get the wood out of the forests as soon as possible before its quality decreases and the trees are attacked by bark beetles. Owners of private and municipal forests estimate the damage in their forests at up to 3 million cubic metres of wood. They log some 6.5 million cubic metres of wood annually in their forests. The calculations of the damage are only a speculation for now, Josef Vovesny of the Association of Municipal and Private Forest Owners (SVOL) told CTK today. The damage is different in the individual regions. Forests in west and south Bohemia were hit the hardest, while in south Moravia damage is put at less than 20 percent. " More precise figures will be released in a week, " Vovesny said. SVOL members are some 1,000 forest owners with 330,000 hectares of forests. http://www.praguemonitor.com/ctk/?story_id=w50531i20070123;story=Wind-fallen-trees-to-provide-wo

rk-for-logging-comps----pressGuyana:24) Because of its priceless ten years of scientific work, Iwokrama already possesses a large scale pilot sustainable forest management project able to demonstrate that poverty reduction, maintenance of environmental balance in forests and sustainable economic development are not contradictory but can be reconciled and even made mutually reinforcing. So all that quiet work behind the scenes and early donor investment has not been wasted; instead an extensive knowledge base has been built. Iwokrama will now be able through its expertise, shared with others around the world, to make available one potential and early solution to mitigating climate change. But in this harshly competitive world, which extends to international donor funding, the Centre still has to be financially independent. Money for climate change research does not grow on trees, even though their value as a carbon sink may be increasing. With the encouragement of our Patron the Prince of Wales and the continuing support of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Government of Guyana, the British Government and other donors such as ITTO and KfW, and following months of hard work and investment advice in London, the Director General and I will be announcing early next month in Georgetown at a public forum how we intend to take forward Iwokrama's original mandate and to earn income from four financially self-sustaining businesses to pay our bills. The trustees wish to end dependence on others. http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_letters?id=56512351

Brazil:25) Brazil's Amazon region lost 13.3 percent of its virgin forest from 2000 to 2003, the government statistics agency IBGE said in a report. Deforestation wiped out 665,945 square kilometers of original vegetation in the period as farmers developed cattle pastures and soybean farms at a time Brazilian exports surged to consecutive records. Logging has also been responsible for destruction of the forest. The deforested area is equivalent to the size of Italy and Germany together, the agency said. ``Deforestation has been responsible for changes in great potions of areas covered by native forest,'' Guido Gelli, director of Geoscience research at Brazil's statistics institute IBGE, said in a phone interview from Rio de Janeiro. Gelli said the IBGE's report, based on 2003 data from satellite images and surveys, is the first comprehensive study on the impact of human development and economic activity in the region. The Amazon region has 25,000 kilometers of navigable rivers located in 7 million square kilometers, out of which 4 million square kilometers are located in Brazil. He said growing farming in the region will probably continue to aggravate deforestation. Brazil's soybean production will rise 5 percent this year on favorable weather conditions and rising demand worldwide, according to IBGE data. Brazil, the world's second-largest soybean producer after the U.S., may harvest 54.9 million metric tons of soybeans in the 2007 calendar year, compared with 52.2 million tons in 2006, the IBGE said on its Web site. Soybeans are the second-largest commodity export in Brazil after iron ore. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086 & sid=a1mUal2NtsrM & refer=latin_america

26) What is at stake is the strength and permanence of protected status for ancient rainforests under Brazilian law. The Cristalino State Park is a world-renowned ecotourism destination, whose 184,000 hectares are home to over 550 species of birds, and protects endangered species like the white- whiskered spider monkey. Some 27,000 hectares of its forest will now lose protected status; becoming vulnerable to logging, cattle ranching and agribusiness. State Governor Blairo Maggi initially vetoed the reduction of the park on the grounds that it would " be seen as endorsing illegal occupancy and deforestation of public lands " , and that it would suggest Brazilian environmental law can be flouted. The veto was short- lived, however, as members of the Mato Grosso House of Representatives immediately overturned it. Mato Grosso has suffered the highest rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and yet it looks like the State Government is manipulating this particular situation for political gain. Please contact key players in Brazil's Federal and State governments, and let them know that removal of protected status so easily from preserved Amazonian ancient rainforests is simply unacceptable. TAKE ACTION NOW at: http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=brazil_reserve

Discuss this alert at: http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2007/01/brazil_approves_deforestation.asp

Peru:27) The Peru Free Trade Agreement would sanction the destruction of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest -- home to jaguars, long-haired spider monkeys, blue-headed macaws, giant river otters and other endangered species -- by failing to address the illegal harvest and trade in mahogany. Free trade shouldn't mean illegal trade! Send a message to your Representative and Senators urging them to reject the Peru Free Trade Agreement by filling out the form below. https://secure2.convio.net/dow/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage & page=UserAction & id=623 & autologi

n=true & s_einterest=C3C4 & JServSessionIdr001=ayud0cd7b1.app20aCentral America:"The proposed Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC) is an ambitious effort to stem the erosion of biodiversity in one of the world's biologically richest regions. The intent is to connect large existing parks and reserves with new protected areas by means of an extensive network of biological corridors within Mesoamerica/Central America to create an environment which provides better prospects for the long-term survival of native species while also addressing the region's socioeconomic needs. While the forest types in northern Central America generally receive some dry season rainfall, in the proposed protected regions, however, it is unclear whether current rainfall has been altered by regional land-use change. Based upon climatological rainfall records at 266 stations in Guatemala and adjacent areas, dry season rainfall in March is markedly lower in deforested areas than in forested areas of the same life zone for each of the widespread life zones. In general, dry season deforested habitats have higher daytime temperatures, are less cloudy, have lower estimated soil moisture and lower values of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) than do forested habitats in the same life zone. The result is hotter and drier air over deforested regions, with lower values of cloud formation and precipitation. http://climatesci.atmos.colostate.edu/2007/01/26/effect-of-deliberate-landscape-management/

India:29) In a written reply to a question by Congress MLA Fareeda Mir, Forests and Environment Minister Qazi Mohammad Afzal told the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday that various schemes at the district and state level besides centrally-sponsored schemes are under implementation in the State for development of forests. He said, the Forest Act has been revised to give quasi-judicial powers to the authorities for speedy and effective trial in forest-related offences. Afzal said that a first-of-its-kind department of forest protection force has been created by the State Government to help preserving the forest wealth more effectively against organised and armed smugglers. Reporting centres have been set up at the headquarters of all territorial divisions, enabling the staff to act in time on the complaints received for forest-related crimes. The Minister further told the house that a department of Social Forestry has been set up for rehabilitating the degraded forest area and creating village wood lots on community lands to meet the requirements of the rural masses.Regarding wildlife protection, he said anti-poaching squads have been framed at various places, besides constitution of eco-development committees in the State. Mass awareness campaigns have also been launched to make people more aware about the importance of wildlife, Afzal added. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200701240325.htmNepal:30) Community forestry, with its behavioral principles of management with people's participation, has come into practice in Nepal, owing to failure of earlier system of managing forests without people's participation. In this concern, last two decades appealed to change policies, approaches, and methodologies to implement community forest program in Nepal. As result, forest protection by Community Forest Users Groups (CFUGs) over the last 14 years has amplified creation of resource that can now be mobilized for benefit whole community. Yet despite considerable resources, numerous programs focusing community participation, the entire concept is still debatable. It is also taking place in the resource utilization and question is that if it is on right approach or not. Equity in access to forest resource assets to all users without any bias is the expectation from the resource managers and planners. However, the CFUGs and supporting organizations are facing challenges to ensure sustainable utilization of the resources. It is responsibility of scholar to show that the process at grass root levels remains driven by the top, though projects and programs attempt to tackle the issues (elite capture, alienation of poor and marginal groups like women, insure livelihoods, limited economic benefits for remote areas, corruption). FUGs also tend to share forest resources based on equality rather than on needs, resulting in hardships for those marginalized groups who have disproportionate dependence of the forests for their livelihoods. These issues are serious in mountains. The study further analyses on the contribution of community forestry on local rural livelihoods on the basis of people's perception on natural, human, physical, social and financial capital formation due to the community forestry. Different sub hypotheses were set and tested from the strong statistical tools in each capital formation area to analyze the contribution of the community forestry. http://www.forestrynepal.org/sustainable-resource-utilization-and-governance-in-community-fore

sts-of-nepalChina:31) The news is music to the ears of investors, since only personnel costs rival those of newsprint in this stagnant industry. Even factoring in the added cost of shipping, Chinese newsprint is less expensive for many US publishers, especially those with papers on the west coast. The New York Times says the decision is "mainly a cost rationale". But environmental groups worry that where Chinese paper is concerned, even fewer assurances will exist that the pulp comes from legal logging in certified forests than for Canadian suppliers. While consolidated Canadian newsprint producers have been shutting mills, China has been ramping up production. But since the 1998 moratorium on domestic logging in China, much of the country's timber and wood products come from Mynamar, Indonesia and Russia – all widely suspected of at best turning a blind eye to illegal logging. Jim Ford, policy director at the environmental group Forest Ethics, says Indonesia is a major source of fibre for China and that unsustainable sourcing there is a serious problem. But Ford worries even more about fibre for Chinese newsprint that originates in Russia, where he says there are a multitude of sustainability issues in the forest sector. The Tribune says the newsprint it plans to import from China will only be a fraction of its total consumption and the New York Times insists it is still just obtaining paper samples and reviewing the trials of other publishers. But both companies declined to address Ethical Corporation's concerns about whether they had considered the responsible sourcing and sustainability issues related to newsprint from China. http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=4796

32) Cathay Forest Products Corp. said Friday it acquired 650 hectares of standing timber in China and announced a joint venture with Jiangzi Forestry Development Co. Ltd. to develop poplar plantation. The two companies will jointly develop the plantation along PoYang Lake in Jiangxi province, Cathay Forest said. Cathay will own 70 per cent of the venture and Jiangxi Forest, which is responsible for developing forestry in the province, will hold a 30 per cent stake. The poplar is intended to be used as feedstock for one of the largest paper companies in China, which has a pulp mill within 100 kilometres of the lake. Cathy Forest also acquired 650 hectares of standing timber in Hunan Province, adjacent to the timber property acquired in the company's Nov. 22, 2006, announcement. Cathay Forest has 35 years of land use rights on the property. Its shares rose 23 per cent, or 16 cents, to 85 cents Friday on the TSX Venture Exchange. http://www.canadaeast.com/ce2/docroot/article.php?articleID=91124Cambodia:

33) A daunting challenge, says the London-based environmental group Global Witness, is one posed by the corruption linked to highly-placed government officials thriving on the illegal logging trade, which has severely depleted the forests. ''Wherever there is a forest in Cambodia, there is illegal logging,'' Jon Buckrell, forest policy coordinator at Global Witness, told IPS. ''It goes hand-in-hand with systemic corruption. Illegal logging is the preserve of the powerful and well connected -- if you are a poor farmer you cannot simply walk into a forest and start cutting down valuable trees.'' Recent policy decisions by Phnom Penh are expected to worsen this environment, Buckrell said, pointing to new economic land concessions granted ''to create plantations'' in natural forest areas. ''These permits are illegal and designed to provide a pretext for companies to undertake clear-cutting operations and sell the timber.'' Cambodia's loss of an estimated 2.5 million hectares of forest cover between 1990 and 2005 has even alarmed the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Troubled by the rampant scale of illegal logging in the 1990s, the IMF cancelled a 120 million US-dollar loan. Galster, of WildAid, concedes that corruption will be an issue for the newly trained nature crime investigators, ''Corruption is an issue, but half the problem is the lack of skills to deal with the major criminals.'' http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=3627233) Andre's vision for the Abundant Forest Enterprise is to help local forest communities establish a sustainable land-use system with techniques that reduce the impact over the forest and increase their quality of life, allowing land users to produce food, fuel and regenerate the forest, while reducing the pressures on the mature forest. Income alternatives and environmental education develop the co-existence of economic growth and conservation. Chrauk Tiek village, where the Grady Grossman School is the only permanent building, will be the epicenter of his pilot project. Perhaps it will start with a forest science class regarding decomposition and charcoal briquette making. The greater goal is unfolding before my eyes. The series of events that led to this moment prove that change comes through people and the process of networking and relationship building. That's why we must continue toward American Assistance for Cambodia's goal to leap frog the digital divide by installing an internet computer hub. With more people connected to the villagers at Chrauk Tiek, we can provide a witness to the forest, e-learning opportunities to the children, and economic hope to their families. Looking out the airplane window, we are descending over the Mekong Delta, aiming for the steamy runway of Pochentong International Airport. Soon we will disembark into the emotional cauldron that is Cambodia. We have a meeting with Community Forestry International, Flora and Fauna International, and Lutheran World Federation in 3 hours. http://www.gradygrossmanschool.org/wordpress/?p=35

34) A community protection committee of local citizens is charged with monitoring a pilot project of 400 hectares. The forest in this area is under siege on two levels, one is an illegal hardwood logging operation orchestrated by a high ranking former Khmer Rouge. He is a friend of the current Prime Minister, Hun Sen. Where, I asked, is our local Community Protection Area committee supposed to report the forest crimes they witness? The local authority. That, I presume, would be the policeman 3 doors down from the school who collects bribes from the demobilized soldiers driving oxcarts full of tumloap tree trunks and sawn timber to market in Kampong Speu. Humm…with non-existent law enforcement what are the villagers to do? This is why our school director's message said "but we are unable to protect." The second onslaught comes from small scale charcoal production with large scale impact. 75% of the cooking in Phnom Penh is done with charcoal and most of it comes from Kampong Speu, currently the Aural district in particular. The extended families of decommissioned soldiers from Takeo and Svay Reing provinces are newcomers to the region for the sole purpose of the charcoal trade. They collect wood as small as saplings for the kilns. I have seen the denuded forest creep ever closer to Chrauk Tiek on each trip to Cambodia. It has come to the point of consuming the village itself, and the school director's message pleads, "they are cutting down a thousand trees every day, even the small one, we are powerless to stop this action." Who can they report these crimes too? http://www.gradygrossmanschool.org/wordpress/?p=38

Australia:35) Barry Gardiner, Defra's Minister for biodiversity, met Senator Eric Abetz, Australian Minister for forestry and conservation, to discuss how to combat illegal logging and protect forests worldwide. Australia is a major timber producer and unsustainable forestry in other countries damages its industry while the UK is a major importer and can use it procurement policies to influence global markets. The two states agreed to work on a common public procurement code for timber and argued that by persuading other countries to adopt a consistent policy life can be made more difficult for unscrupulous loggers to shift their illegal commodity. " I am tremendously encouraged by Senator Abetz's agreement that Australia and the UK should work together to promote policies that combat illegal timber, " said Mr Gardiner. " Australia is a key player in the Asian and Pacific region and can influence many countries. " Illegal logging degrades forests and damages the environment, leading to the loss of biodiversity. It hurts many of the world's poorest people who depend on forests for their livelihoods, robbing poor countries of revenues that should be used to develop their economies. http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=12510 & channel=0

36) Thirty forest campaigners and community members will engage in colorful protest, with a submission writing workshop being held to encourage community members to take part in the process. Representatives of Beyond Zero Emissions, The Huon Valley Environment Centre and the Derwent Forest Alliance will enter submissions. " The Tasmanian Draft Strategy is a disgrace. It fails to take the issue of reducing greenhouse gas emissions seriously, " said Beyond Zero Emissions spokesperson Adrian Whitehead. " It would seem that the the Government has deliberately left the issue of reducing emissions from logging old growth forests off the agenda. By failing to seek to reduce emissions, Tasmania is failing in its obligations to become part of the international movement to fight climate change, " Mr Whitehead said. " Land Use Change and Forestry is the largest contributer to greenhouse emissions in Tasmania. Logging and burning of pristine old growth and rain forest unlocks vast amounts of stored carbon. Yet this strategy sets no targets to reduce emissions " said Huon Valley Environment Centre spokesperson Will Mooney. " A recent study from ANU has shown that rotational logging of old growth Eucalyptus Regnans forests reduces their value as a carbon store by two thirds, " Mr Mooney said. " The Government's Draft Climate Change Strategy recognises that intact native forests are invaluable carbon sinks. Yet, the strategy fails to provide any real initiatives to enhance carbon storage and reduce emissions by keeping more of our pristine old growth forests in the ground, " Mr Mooney said. " We are calling for the Lennon government to create a fair dinkum strategy, one that recognises that the protection of pristine old growth forests, such as the lower Weld and Upper Florentine valleys, is the best way Tasmania can honor our greenhouse responsibilities, " Mr Mooney said. http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/01/137776.php37) The timber industry in southern New South Wales is working to salvage wood from more than 8,000 hectares of pine plantations burnt late last year. There have been some promising results from a trial to see if the burnt timber can be milled, and if woodchips are suitable for making paper. Peter Styles from the Weyerhaeuser mill at Tumut says removing the charred bark is possible but it is hard on the equipment. " With the trials we've done to date some of it seems to be really cooked on the log so we're increasing pressures and putting in sharper cutting tools and water sprays, " he said. " All those sort of issues we're working through as well as the environmental issues with dust and that side of things. " http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/2006/s1833593.htm