Guest guest Posted February 24, 2007 Report Share Posted February 24, 2007 Today for you 39 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) GBR story behind the GBR story, 2) Tl'etinqox-t'in First Nation gets $s for deforestation, 3) last ditch effort for Caribou, 4) Dunster Community Forest --Washington: 5) Another try for Wildsky, 6) I married the Lorax, 7) Devil's Head ruin,--California: 8) Pacific Lumber in Handcuffs, 9) Big Bear Lake history, 10) Mattole skillshare March 11-18, 11) Judi Bari Remembered, --Montana: 12) Politicians may force bonds for eco-litigants, 13) Lawyers and science, 14) Forest thinning on private land, --Louisiana: 15) Cypress survival--Maine: 16) End of local furniture production, --USA: 17) Former Forest Service Chief speaks, 18) Investors eye forestland, --Canada: 19) Save the Boreal, 20) Save the boreal with protest ads, 21) More Boreal, --UK: 22) Eco-warriors from Titnore Woods, 23) Set to take over a popular woodland --Scotland: 24) Beaver freedom returns--Poland: 25) A Trans-European highway through a protected forest,--Georgia: 26) Illegal tree felling and cases of corruption--Russia: 27) Production of wood products to increase in 2007 --Costa Rica: 28) Dry forest ecology--Ecuador: 29) Blueprint for other indigenous communities facing similar challenges--Guyana: 30) Iwokrama has survived so far, 31) Log export debate continues, --Grenada: 32) Rare Doves threatened by resort developer --Porgera gold mine: 33) Porgera gold mine--Indonesia: 34) Fire destroys confiscated Teak, 35) World Bank report, 36) Uncontrolled logging, 37) Forests plus logging equals devastation,--Malaysia: 38) Penan logging blockade has fallen--New Zealand: 39) Tradeable permit regime to manage deforestation --Australia: 40) White cypress pine forest management, 41) Direct Action in Weld Valley, 42) Direct Action reaction in Weld Valley,British Columbia:1) To millions of people around the word, this is a nice story about " saving the Great Bear Rainforest. " For the rest of us B.C. residents, whether we realize it or not, it's the biggest aboriginal land settlement in the province's history, as well as one of its biggest park dedications. It hands substantial control over an area twice the size of Belgium to remote coastal native communities, and does it without a treaty. For Art Sterritt of the North Coast First Nations and his Central Coast counterpart, Dallas Smith, it's about one last chance to save their civilization. B.C.'s latest job creation numbers are impressive, but unfortunately they don't mean much in Sterritt's hometown of Hartley Bay, or the people Smith represents in Alert Bay or Bella Bella. While populous areas of B.C. enjoy full employment, and the employment rate for off-reserve aboriginals has increased 5.5 per cent to 58.5 per cent, Central Coast communities still have unemployment of 70 to 80 per cent. On the North Coast it's worse than that. Pilot projects are under way for shellfish farms, and low-impact logging, much of it done with helicopters. Log harvesting can extend even into the protected areas, which will continue to be a source of monumental cedar for traditional use as they have for 10,000 years. With little fuss, last year the forests ministry issued a log export licence to the Heltsiuk First Nation to help establish a log sort north of Bella Bella that will enable small-scale commercial logging. The need for jobs is more urgent than the usual gripes over logging, or log exports. The reasons why are vividly set out in a new book called Dances With Dependency, by a North Coast aboriginal lawyer named Calvin Helin. Helin doesn't pull any punches in recounting the history and the current state of aboriginal life in his native B.C. and around North America. He details how aboriginal populations are rising rapidly at a time when the general population is aging. A resource boom centred on northern and western Canada means the aboriginal workforce is urgently needed. http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/2) The Tl'etinqox-t'in First Nation will receive $3.4 million and access to 367,000 cubic metres of timber through a five-year forestry agreement reached with the Province, Forests and Range Minister Rich Coleman announced today. "This agreement will help create new jobs and new economic opportunities for the Tl'etinqox-t'in people," said Coleman. "First Nations are important partners in our ongoing effort to recover as much economic value as possible from mountain pine beetle-attacked trees." Timber for the agreement will come from the Williams Lake Timber Supply Area and will help support the band's harvesting company, Klatassine Resources Ltd. The Tl'etinqox-t'in will also supply logs to the Sigurdson Bros. Sawmill located in Hanceville. The company has been working with the First Nation for nearly 20 years, and currently employs 15 to 20 band members. "The deal reached with the Province will strengthen our ties to the local forest industry and help support our long-term economic development goals," said Chief Gerald Johnny. "It also gives us a role in addressing the mountain pine beetle infestation within our traditional territory. We now have an opportunity to participate in managing resources, realizing we were not involved in the past. We appreciate the efforts and assistance from Sigurdson Bros. in moving forward on forest stewardship and employment for band members." The Tl'etinqox-t'in First Nation, also known as the Anaham Band, is located 100 km west of Williams Lake near Alexis Creek. Since 2002, the Province has reached agreements with 120 First Nations, sharing $158.8 million in revenue and providing access to 23.5 million cubic metres of timber. http://www.firstperspective.ca/fp_template.php?path=20070220bc3) The province's last ditch effort to save the red listed mountain caribou population could cost McBride's community forest about 20% of their annual allowable cut and approximately $6,000,000 over the next 25 years, reports Marc von der Gönna. Von der Gönna, the community forest's general manager, said he's just received a detailed analysis of what government plans could mean for their annual allowable cut, and there is an impact on the community forest. "It affects 67% of our forest land base," he said. While the larger portion of the Robson Valley, from a few kilometres east of McBride through to Valemount, is essentially unaffected by the government's plan, west of McBride is affected. The community forest sits within a planning cell containing one of the province's few remaining caribou herds. Von der Gönna has been meeting with licensees and spent several thousand dollars analysing what effect the proposed changes would have on timber supply. Those results are back and suggest that the community forest would experience a 12,000 cubic metre drop in their annual allowable cut. "Obviously we have an issue with that," he said. "In our area they have kept Bell Mountain, Lucille, the Renshaw open to snowmobiling. They haven't closed any areas to heli-skiing, and yet we are being restricted from harvesting." Von der Gönna said he'd like to see the areas east of the West Twin Protected Area remain open to logging. He suggests that west of the West Twin the community forest should be allowed to experiment with modified harvesting techniques. He said partial harvesting and heli-logging don't open up areas to predators, and could preserve the forest's old growth characteristics. http://www.robsonvalleytimes.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=976 & Itemid=46 4) Those in the know say that Dunster is anticipating the offer of a community forest license soon. Representatives of the Dunster Community Forest Association met with deputy premier Shirley Bond and Minister of Forests Rich Coleman in Prince George on Saturday, February 10. Ron Hammerstedt, a forester who's been instrumental in the Dunster community forest and someone who played a key role in developing the McBride's community forest, said he's very optimistic about what is coming next for Dunster. "We have an expectation that something is coming our way," he said. Hammerstedt said that having another community forest, doesn't take away from the wood required by other licensees, like McBride Forest Industries or Valemount Forest Products. "Some people are under the mistaken understanding that community forests take wood away from other operations," said Hammerstedt. "It's important to point out to those who think that this will be taking away from MFI, that for at least 20 years, licensees have never achieved the allowable cut in this valley, by 20% or more," he said. "All of that growing stock has been accumulating all that time." When asked if there was enough wood suitable for harvesting near Dunster, Hammerstedt said there was plenty. He said recent logging in the area was very focused on particular stands. "There is plenty of other stuff around," said Hammerstedt. http://www.robsonvalleytimes.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=972 & Itemid=1 Washington:5) U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rick Larsen reintroduced their proposal, launched in 2002, which has passed the Senate three times only to fail in the House of Representatives. But Democrats now control the committees and California Republican Richard Pombo, a longtime wilderness critic who had used a committee chairmanship to bottle up Wild Sky, was actually swept out of Congress in one of the November election's bigger surprises. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., the new Natural Resources Committee chairman, said, " Wild Sky is the top wilderness bill priority for the committee. " It has been more than two decades since the last new wilderness area was established in this state. It was easier to set up preserves in remote areas where even timber resources were limited or hard to reach. With some 30 percent of its 106,000 acres at lower elevations in eastern Snohomish County, Wild Sky will change that pattern, offering greater wilderness accessibility to people in the entire Seattle metropolitan area. With the White House promising the president would approve a bill, Murray hopes for a bill signing in time for a Fourth of July party. After such a long wait, that would be wildly appropriate. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/304274_edit1.asp6) Fifteen years ago, this coming September, I married 'The Lorax'. For those who may not be familiar with Dr. Seuss, The Lorax is a character in the children's book of the same name. He is a short, round, mustachioed creature who comes out of the cut stump of a Truffula tree. This is NOT to say, that my wife bears any physical resemblance to The Lorax -- she, like him, speaks for the trees and cares very much for the creatures who depend on the trees Earlier this week, some land on the other side of the greenbelt was clear cut. My wife woke (6am-ish) to the sound of heavy equipment and chainsaws. Later in the day, she felt the house shake, heard loud slamming noised and went to investigate. I did not see the machine, but what she described sure sounded a lot like the machines that the Onceler built in The Lorax. This went on for the whole day until there were a mere handful still standing (I lost track of how many were piled on the ground). From what the signs on the other side of the lot say, there are going to be 50+ houses built on the land. I fully understand that people need a place to live. What people fail to realize is that woodland animals need places to leave too. Do we really need to clear cut 100 year old tress to built 50+ houses? Isn't there some way to balance the two needs? Understand here that we live in Washington State -- " The EVERGREEN State " -- so trees are a fixture of daily life. They are, in fact, one of the things that makes this state so inviting to those who move here. If we do not watch out, the moniker will be dated and a lie, there will be fewer trees than in Nevada. That will be a sad day, that I hope we never see. Back to the point. My wife is the embodiment of all that The Lorax stands for and I couldn't be happier. If more of us spoke for the trees and tore down less (trees and people alike) we could maintain a balance between the needs of people and animals. Unfortunately, my story is not unique to my neighborhood and Washington State, it is repeated again and again (drilling for oil in the Alaskan wilderness, cutting down of the Amazon). If more people were like my wife, we might just be able to make a difference and find better solutions to the problem. http://sparehead3.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!94FAEE3178830E6A!407.entry7) Devil's Head, which was pristine forest and timberland until the real estate prices soared and developers started moving in. The zoning around here is very whimsical - one set of zoning laws for the regular people, and another set for the rich people. Devil's Head was always zoned timberland, until a developer bought it and lobbied for the zoning to be changed. The developer had a lot of money, as you might imagine. And the zoning changed, very quickly and very quietly. Imagine the county's secret delight: instead of hundreds of acres of trees, taxed at a rate equal to be about 10% of the rate of the regular residential rate, they soon will have dozens of tax-paying waterfront estates, each valued, no doubt, at a million dollars or more. With that stroke of the pen, logging crews moved in and clearcut 400 acres for the future waterfront homes of the future soon-to-be-moving-here rich people. Well, you can cry about that all you want, but I guess it is the way of the world. What can one goat really do. Rich people have to live somewhere. But so do coyotes. And when they clearcut that 400 acres of Douglas fir forest, one of the last big chunks of woodland around here, all those coyotes had to go somewhere. And where do you think they went? http://goatcentral.blogspot.com/2007/02/downstream-from-devils-head.htmlCalifornia:8) Pacific Lumber Co. owner Charles Hurwitz had a bumpy arrival in Humboldt County after apparently trying to enter a secure gate at the Arcata/Eureka Airport Sunday night and being placed in handcuffs briefly. Hurwitz arrived from Houston, Texas, on a private Learjet chartered by Cockrell Resources Inc. at about 7 p.m. At about 7:30 p.m., a United Airlines employee called a Humboldt County sheriff's deputy stationed at the airport when four men tried to enter the commercial passenger gate instead of the gate for private air travelers. One of the men became verbally uncooperative, according to a police report, and the deputy briefly placed him in handcuffs. Sheriff's spokeswoman Brenda Godsey said she could not release the names of the men, since they weren't cited. The report will go to District Attorney Paul Gallegos. Several sources confirmed that the man who got angry at being redirected to the proper gate and was handcuffed was Hurwitz, the controversial chief executive officer of Maxxam Inc., the parent company of the recently bankrupt Palco. It may be up to airport management to recommend that charges be pressed. http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_52721769) One-hundred miles northeast of Los Angeles lies the sparking city of Big Bear Lake. A charming community high in the mountains and surrounded by the magnificent San Bernardino National Forest, Big Bear Lake serves as both a winter ski haven and popular summer vacation destination. The history of Big Bear Lake is almost as rich and layered as the mountains that surround it. First occupied by the Serrano Indians more than 2,500 years ago, Big Bear Lake wasn't officially "discovered" until 1845. At that time, Benjamin D. Wilson (a vigilante in search of thieves) stumbled upon the area and named it Bear Valley because "the place was alive with bears." Despite its ski-friendly mountains and beautiful scenic landscapes, Big Bear was not recognized as a winter resort until the 1920s when logging operations were closed and outdoor sport facilities such as ski lifts and lodges were opened. Today, Big Bear Lake is one of California's most popular vacation hot spots. http://popdex.com/2007/02/20/big-bear-california-2/10) Mattole Wildlands Defenders invite you to join us at our skillshare this spring. Tentative dates are from March 11th to 18th. Workshops will include; Direct Action Training, Backwoods Skills, Tree Climbing, Plant Identification, Fire Building, Shelter Building and Blockading. The gathering will be in Humboldt County, exact location to be announced. People planning to attend are encouraged to call ahead of time.We will be preparing to defend the Old-Growth Forest and waters of the North Fork Mattole River from Maxxam/Pacific Lumber. The company is expected to try and get the watercourse protections weakened this summer to allow logging closer to streams. Contact # (707) 834-310011) Judi Bari, firebrand Earth First! environmental and labor justice organizer, died on March 2, 1997, of breast cancer. The award-winning film, " The Forest For The Trees, " a documentary about Judi and her civil rights lawsuit against the FBI, will be shown for the first time on the Mendocino Coast. Filmmaker Bernadine Mellis is the daughter of Dennis Cunningham, the award-winning movement attorney who was lead counsel in the 12-year FBI suit. Noted historian Howard Zinn said of this film: " [i was] enormously moved. It is a powerful and eloquent document, beautifully done. It brings Judi Bari and the movement to life, and does a superb job on the trial itself...[Dennis Cunningham's] final statement to the jury was a model for such a thing -- warm, human, simple, persuasive. Judi survived a 1990 car-bomb attack and an attempted frame-up by the FBI and Oakland Police. A powerful motion-triggered fragmentation bomb exploded under her driver's seat, leaving Judi crippled and in pain for the rest of her too-short life, but it didn't break her spirit or dampen her activism. Judi and co-plaintiff Darryl Cherney were ultimately vindicated of the FBI's false terrorist bomb charges and media smears when a federal jury in 2002 awarded them $4.4 million in damages from the FBI agents and Oakland cops for violation of their First Amendment right to organize politically for the forests and their Fourth Amendment right to be free from false arrest and unlawful search. http://www.judibari.orgMontana:12) Montana State Rep. Ron Erickson (D-Missoula) called the U.S. Forest Service " incompetent " during floor debate on House Joint Resolution 8 this past week. HJR 8 is a non-binding resolution introduced by Rep. Gordon Hendrick (R-Superior). The resolution encourages the U.S. Forest Service to request bonds for all litigants that sue to stop timber sales. The bonds would be forfeited only if the litigant loses the legal case and if the timber loses its commercial value as a result of the delay caused by the litigation. Rep. Ron Erickson: " Mr. Chairman, in many ways I am reluctant to stand because I understand the passion that Rep. Hendrick has for this issue. But I must point out that the concern here for posting bonds misses the mark. It does turn out that there may well be a problem out there, but I do not think that the problem is that the Forest Service should have the right to force bonds on people who wish to protest their actions. In fact, I got an email recently from a group that does do such protesting, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies. The Alliance for the Wild Rockies members have won 87 percent of their cases against the Forest Service. If they have won 87 percent of their cases against the Forest Service and the Forest Service wants to stop them, they can certainly require a huge bond. But the problem isn't the groups--it's the Forest Service and the Forest Service being incompetent, if you will. If this particular resolution called upon the Forest Service to try to understand how to follow their own rules, I would be really pleased to go ahead and say yes. But as it is, we are going after non-profit groups who are simply trying to make the Forest Service do their job. I think we need to let those groups continue to do that. " HJR 8 passed its second reading by a vote of 61-38 and passed on third reading by a vote of 58-41. It now moves on to the Montana Senate. http://www.clarkforkchronicle.com/article.php/2007022200194134313) BUTTE — An environmental group thinks lawyers and science are a bad combination when it comes to a dispute over logging in the Basin Creek Reservoir area south of here. "If the court wants to supervise scientific disputes through lawyers, I would caution them to think twice about that," said Thomas Woodbury, a Missoula lawyer representing the Native Ecosystems Council. "I don't think it's the right way to re-solve the dispute." Woodbury filed court documents Tuesday asking U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy to end an ongoing legal battle over a proposal to log beetle-killed lodgepole pine on 2,600 acres near the reservoir. The proposal is aimed at reducing wildfire risk. Earlier this month, the U.S. Forest Service asked Molloy to lift an injunction on the logging after completing a soil analysis. The judge requested the analysis in an effort to ensure the federal agency would comply with environmental laws if the timber harvest moved forward. The Native Ecosystems Council appealed after the judge requested the soil analysis. Molloy also rejected a claim by the environmentalists that the logging would affect black-backed woodpeckers, northern goshawks and American pine martens. While that case is awaiting action in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Molloy retained jurisdiction pending completion of the soil analysis. http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070221/NEWS01/70221014/1002 14) "This isn't old-time traditional logging," he said. "It's not about getting the cut out. Nearly all the people we work with are conservation-minded. They just want to do what's best for their lands." Blakely walks by a towering pile of slash that awaits his chipper. "I love that smell of pine in the air," Blakely said. Matt Arno and his brother, Nathan, started the business years before people started seriously talking about forest restoration. Today, about 98 percent of the work they do is on private land, said Matt Arno. "People want to live by a safer forest that looks nice, too," Arno said. "Most of this forest was overly dense. If we waited another 10 years with the kind of beetle kill that we're seeing here right now, I don't think there would be much to work with." The last time the forest in the Grant Creek area burned was about 1916. Since then, the widely spaced ponderosa pine forest has filled in with Douglas fir upstarts. In some places, open grasslands have slowly been overtaken by conifers. All this additional woody material has created the kind of wildfire hazard that makes any homeowner living in the woods nervous every summer. Private landowners in the Grant Creek area have been working to thin their forestlands to help prevent uncontrollable wildfire and to increase vigor in the trees that remain. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/02/20/news/local/news02.txtLouisiana:15) Environmental groups cite a group of scientists who reported that in much of Louisiana's coastal area, high water drowns cypress saplings, keeping the forests from regenerating. The authors of the report, commissioned by Gov. Kathleen Blanco, said something must be done. Landowners and the timber industry contend coastal cypress logging in the state is sustainable. They point to property logged just a few years ago that is already showing signs of regrowth. But the issue is more than the age-old struggle over property rights. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita underscored evidence that cypress forests reduce storm surge — making coastal logging an issue of hurricane protection. Southeastern Louisiana University researcher Gary Shaffer said test plots of cypress planted in the area hit by Katrina withstood the storm well even as surrounding trees were flattened. That's particularly important as state and federal officials design a system combining natural barriers and man-made structures to improve hurricane protection. http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/5944271.htmlMaine:16) After 60 years in business, the state's largest furniture maker will slow its saws and assemble its last sets of dresser drawers as it prepares to close and dismiss its 126 employees. Moosehead Manufacturing of Dover-Foxcroft and Monson is unable to compete with low-priced furniture imported from foreign countries such as China, Mexico and Brazil and will shut down, president John Wentworth said Thursday. Wentworth announced the closing to employees at the end of their shift Thursday afternoon at the company's headquarters and factory in Monson. Moosehead runs another factory and an outlet store in Dover-Foxcroft. " This is going to be emotional, " said Jim Wentworth, vice president of Moosehead Manufacturing, moments before making the announcement with his brother, John. " Our people are aware that we have been struggling. " According to the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Moosehead was the largest privately owned furniture factory in New England at its peak in the late '90s. Until Thursday's announcement, it remained the largest employer in Monson and one of the largest employers in Dover-Foxcroft. http://www.bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=146171 & zoneid=500 USA:17) Now, after six years as chief, Bosworth has called an end to his long career and returned to Missoula with his wife, Carma. We caught up with Bosworth last week and talked to him about forest policy, his legacy and the future of the agency. Do you see that mission being reflected in the budget priorities of the Forest Service? Bosworth: Well I think so. If you go back to the '80s, we were totaling 11 to 12 billion board feet of timber, for example. Through the late '90s, it topped out at about 2 billion. And the big difference is the kind of timber harvest we do today is focused more on thinning and other purposes rather than just producing wood fiber and creating jobs. Its purposes are more focused on improvement of the stand conditions. The Forest Service will still continue to sell timber, but it's going to be at a much, much lower level than it was back during the timber era. Independent: What are the biggest challenges facing your successor, Gail Kimbell? Bosworth: One of the big challenges is the budget. Our budget stayed fairly steady over the last six years, but fire has taken an increasing cut. You know, at one time just a few years ago about 20 percent of our budget went to firefighting. Now about 40 to 42 percent is going to firefighting. That means all the other programs-recreation, wildlife, all the other state and private programs, research-have been diminished and reduced in order to pay for the increasing firefighting costs. It's a huge challenge. Independent: What accounts for that increase? Is it just the cost of doing business going up? Or more severe fires? How much is due to sprawl into the wildland/urban interface and having to protect homes that weren't there 30 or 40 years ago? Bosworth: You pretty well named it. http://www.missoulanews.com/News/News.asp?no=631618) Worried about global warming? I have one word for you. Trees. And if you are the type who only thinks in terms of profits, as in something you can take to the bank, I still have one word for you. Trees. According to an article in The Economist, investors have started to put their money into trees. Endowments and pension funds are now including timber as a " hard asset " in their portfolios. And that's not because they were touched by Al Gore's movie. They are down-to-earth, ROI types. According to The Economist the excitement can be measured in terms of well… ROI or return on investment. " Average annual returns on timber — meaning managed preserves that are eventually harvested — have outstripped those from leading global stock indices, property, oil and gold for the past decade. " Worldwide, timber has attracted more than $20 billion of investment from institutional investors, The Economist reports. Investor interest is strongest in America, where imaginative university endowment funds have embraced timber along with other " alternative " assets. The trend has spread to Europe. Of course, there is the added " feel good effect " for investors in timber. They know they are doing something good for the environment too, preserving biodiversity on lands that might otherwise be logged recklessly. Trees, because they take years to mature, The Economist notes, are particularly attractive to investors with a long-term view like pension funds looking for investments to offset long-term liabilities. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=67809Canada:19) The Boreal Forest of North America is the summer breeding ground for over 300 species of birds we see regularly in urban Canada and the U.S., including sparrows, warblers, woodpeckers, and the endangered Whooping Crane. Now, these birds and our environment are under threat. International oil companies are on a fast track to construct oil and gas pipelines through the Boreal Forest ·the last unspoiled forest on Earth. These pipelines will fuel the Alberta Tar Sands, the dirtiest oil extraction process on Earth, which produces 3 times as much greenhouse gas as conventional oil production, accelerating global warming. We need to ensure that critical habitat is protected before these pipelines are built, or our birds and our environment will suffer greatly. We also need to put the brakes on Tar Sands pollution! Runaway energy development will destroy forest habitat for millions of migratory birds and release vast amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. We are at risk of losing this pristine wilderness forever. Canadian officials have proposals in front of them right now to protect the Boreal Forest. Send a letter today urging them to protect the Boreal and put a moratorium on Tar Sands expansion before any pipeline is built!http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/77318206720) In a series of ads in major Canadian nespapers, Greenpeace and other conservation organizations called on provincial leaders to take measures to protect the Boreal forest. Ads targeting Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty ran in the Globe and Mail national newspaper and were supported by a number of Canadian artists, writers and scientists. A full page ad also ran in the province of Quebec's influential Le Devoir, highlghting the threats to government and political parties if they do not take Boreal forest conservation seriously. http://kleercut.net/en/node/87821) PINE FALLS, Manitoba -- Here on the edge of the silent and frozen northern tier of the Earth, the fate of the world's climate is buried beneath the snow and locked in the still limbs of aspen trees. Nearly half of the carbon that exists on land is contained in the sweeping boreal forests, which gird the Earth in the northern reaches of Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Scientists now fear that the steady rise in the temperature of the atmosphere and the increasing human activity in those lands are releasing that carbon, a process that could trigger a vicious cycle of even more warming. Policymakers are considering changes to protect and expand the forested areas that store carbon; outside the boreal forest, they are experimenting with techniques to bury man-made carbon dioxide in underground vaults and porous seams. The world is both victim of climate change and a possible solution to it, " said Stewart Elgie, associate director of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Ottawa. Carbon is freed from the land in numerous ways. Permafrost melting because of warmer weather exposes peat, deadwood and buried pine needles to decay, freeing the carbon they contain. Fires, raging through forests more often because of hotter and drier weather, send wood -- and its carbon -- up in smoke. Insects thriving in milder winters girdle trees and send them to rot on the forest floor. Miners and oilmen build roads that expose the earth and warm the land, and loggers cut down old forests and replace them with young ones that will take decades of growth to absorb and store the same amount of carbon. As the released carbon rises, it adds to the belt of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, trapping even more heat, which causes more warming. Scientists call it a " feedback loop. " Others have a more ominous term: the carbon time bomb. http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=10659UK:22) Protesters campaigning to save an ancient woodland took to the streets to drum up more support. Eco-warriors from Titnore Woods in West Durrington, near Worthing, marched from Worthing town centre to the police station in Chatsworth Road at 2pm on Saturday to demonstrate their dismay at the draconian treatment' they say they have received from the police. Titnore Emergency Action set up a stall in Montague Street, Worthing, before Christmas for food donations for campers who have been living in the trees at Titnore Woods since May last year but claim the police threatened to arrest them. So far 6,000 signatures have been collected against the development of a housing estate which would consist of 875 homes and an access road, built through the woodland. John Clark, from Protect Our Woodland, said: " The march demonstrated our dismay at the attitude of the police to the stall. " http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.1203717.0.tree_protesters_hit_out_at_draco nian_police.php23) Local nature lovers are set to take over a popular woodland after receiving a £50,000 contribution from its owners. Dunbar Community Woodland Group expects to take ownership of the town's Lochend Wood within eight weeks, after a seven-year wait. Members are waiting for final Forestry Commission checks before realising their dream of clearing and reviving the beauty spot. The current owner, Halhill Developments, agreed to give management of the land to the community, together with the cash contribution, when it bought it more than ten years ago. The 100-member community group was formed seven years ago. Convener Isobel Knox was reported to have said: " It has certainly dragged on. Last year we were in despair, because nothing was moving. " But we have been told that the money and the papers are now on the table. " The group holds community events in the woods, including Easter egg hunts, tree plantings and an open-air performance during Dunbar Civic Week. http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=274142007 & bad=386177Scotland:24) " It was pretty gutted. It looked like the trees had been chopped down and the stumps got at with a giant pencil sharpener, there were bits of chipping everywhere, like a chainsaw had been used, " said Mr Moorcock. He was confused. Beavers became extinct in Scotland some 400 years ago. But then it emerged that enthusiastic supporters of the campaign to reintroduce the creature to Scotland were keeping European beavers in enclosures next door and one had escaped. " It was a bit crazy. I thought, 'What next? Wolves?' " said Mr Moorcock. The female beaver escaped from an enclosure in the grounds of Bamff, an estate near Alyth. Paul Ramsay, the landowner, has two breeding pairs. He said a further beaver had been recently introduced to an extended enclosure but must have been pushed out by the established colonies. " Beavers are territorial creatures. I think that is what encouraged the new-comer to go downstream and break through. " The beaver, which remains on the loose, will now have to be live-trapped and found another enclosure away from the territories of the other beavers. However, Mr Ramsay is hoping for the reintroduction of the beaver in the area in the long run. He argues that the creatures are good for biodiversity, as they create wetlands and purify the water of nitrates and phosphates by introducing more plant life. Also, in an area with flood problems like Perthshire, the creatures can slow down the water by building dams. However, Michael Clarke, 32, a neighbouring farmer, was less supportive. He said the escaped beaver had caused nearly £1,000 worth of damage. He said: " I think it's terrible they have destroyed someone's garden. If I had fruit trees, I would be very afraid. " http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=272282007Poland:25) Polish authorities on Wednesday said they would begin building a section of trans-European highway in a protected forest and wetland region, despite an EU warning that it would breach environmental rules. " We will start tomorrow, " Polish highway service chief Tadeusz Topczewski was quoted as saying by the PAP news agency. Environment Minister Jan Szyszko visited the planned construction site in northeast Poland on Wednesday, and decided it was too late to opt for an alternative route, PAP reported. EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said Tuesday that he had sent Warsaw a written warning, threatening to request a European court order to halt the project if Polish authorities did not revise their plans. If Warsaw stuck to its guns, Dimas warned, it would represent a " major catastrophe in this precious area of Poland. " Dozens of activists have pitched camp to try to halt the construction in the Rospuda Valley, a swathe of near-untouched peat bogs and woodland near the border with Lithuania. The area is home to protected birds including cranes and black grouse, as well as otters, beavers and lynx. It also boasts rare orchids. The European Commission launched an initial round of legal action in December against Warsaw over its plans to build parts of the so-called Via Baltica road corridor from Finland to Poland in various protected areas. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Poland_Threatens_Fragile_Forest_Despite_EU_Warning_999.htmlGeorgia: 26) 2007 is to be the year of the forest, announced Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources David Tkeshelashvili, writes the newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika. " During the last fifteen years there has been nothing undertaken in this direction. Illegal tree felling and cases of corruption should be ruled out once and forever. The new reforms in the sphere aims to establish effective management in this field that will help farmers living in the villages to solve their problems easily, " explained Tkeshelashvili. According to him, forestry reform will attract private investments, including parcelling out forests for long term leases. Although it focuses mainly on the conservation of existing woodland, the new plan also envisages replanting areas of forest that have been destroyed. The money for the conservation scheme has been made available from the budget and the World Bank. http://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/1299_february_19_2007/ps_1299.htmRussia:27) The Russian production of solid wood products is forecast to increase in 2007 and 2008 due to growing international and domestic demand. Exports of softwood logs, lumber, and hardwood plywood are increasing with China, Japan, and Finland as the major destinations. The continued growth of the Russian economy is leading to an expansion in domestic demand for wood and wood products, primarily from the furniture, construction, and paper/pulp sectors. The Russian government has prioritized combating illegal logging. However, little progress has been made due to rampant corruption and the lack of coordination between government agencies. The new Forest Code entered into force on January 1, 2007, but its full impact on the sector is yet to be seen. Output of softwood logs and softwood lumber is expected to increase by seven and ten percent in 2007 and 2008, respectively. This production increase is supported by strong export demand, mostly from China and Finland, and by the rapid expansion of domestic demand from the wood processing industry, as real disposable incomes continue to grow and retail sales remain strong. http://www.ihb.de/fordaq/news/Russian_production_solid_wood_14504.htmlCosta Rica:28) Guanacaste National Park in Costa Rica is usually hailed as the prevailing example of how dry forests can be saved and care of them placed in capable, educated hands of native peoples. Ecologist Dan Janzen began with a simple problem - why does the guanacaste tree produce so much fruit if it just lays around - found a simple answer - it had evolved to rely on herbivores like camel and ground sloths to disperse its seeds; unfortunately, those animals were hunted to extinction 10,000 years ago - and then used this knowledge to set up a system to save the tree - by introducing domesticated herbivores to the park - and encouraging the Costa Rican people to preserve their lands. Janzen called it a " biocultural restoration. " http://thevoltagegate.blogspot.com/2007/02/know-your-biomes-iii-tropical-dry.html Ecuador:29) The project in south-eastern Ecuador is being seen as a blueprint for other indigenous communities facing similar challenges around the world. One of those who hopes to benefit from the venture is 20-year-old Angel Etsaa of the Achuar tribe - he has found a new job to support his wife and one-year-old daughter. He has just become a guide at the Kapawi Eco-lodge. He earns $150 (£75) a month and wants to study management to help run the business in the future. The commercial venture is being handed over piece-by-piece - by 2011, the Achuar people should be the sole owners. It is a 20-day walk from Kapawi to the nearest town. Its 20 cabins sit on stilts on a lagoon where special plants which prevent mosquito larva breeding in the water have been planted to make visits by tourists more enjoyable. Sixty-five percent of the lodge's employees are from the Achuar tribe. The business is supporting a local economy in a community which is only just getting used to using money. But it is not just about providing work beyond living off the land. This place is the gateway to the Amazon Basin rainforest, one of the largest biodiversities anywhere in the world. The Achuar want to protect it along with their own culture. The lodge is financing the Achuar's political struggle. Money is given to the Nationality of Achuar Ecuador (NAE) federation. Cristobal Callera runs the NAE office in Puyo, the provincial capital, a 45-minute flight north-west from Kapawi. The federation is using its funds to help protect its people and to campaign to prevent oil extraction in the territory. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6354887.stmGuyana:30) The Iwokrama International Centre had its origins in an offer made in 1989 by then President Desmond Hoyte at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malaysia to donate nearly one million acres of forest in central Guyana to show how tropical forests can be conserved and sustainably used for ecological, social and economic benefits to local, national and international communities. At a time when environmental issues were of increasing global concern it was recognised as a valuable contribution and was acknowledged as such at more than one international meeting. Its achievements are well known. As noted in its Business Plan that covers the years 2006-2110, it has acquired an international reputation for research into community inclusive rainforest conservation, has established comprehensive ecosystem inventories of the Iwokrama forest and the Rupununi wetlands, has created a model for commercially sustainable management of tropical forest assets and resources and has developed international academic links including for future research into mitigation of climate change by tropical forests. Iwokrama has survived so far, largely with grants which are increasingly hard to get. This is a bold and creative effort by the new Board to move towards national self-sufficiency. It is a project of which all Guyanese can be proud and one must hope that the funds can be raised to kick-start the plans and that Mr Glover's bold initiatives will bear fruit. http://guyanaforestry.blogspot.com/2007/02/iwokrama.html31) In what appears to be a pointed attempt to quell a protracted row between forest producers and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) over the country's log export policy the Prime Minister has strongly suggested that the industry adopt a balanced and practical approach to shaping a policy on log exports. " We certainly don't have the markets in Guyana to which we could sell our wood products and therefore, partnerships, alliances with countries are essential. We wouldn't get anywhere with just selling our wood products to ourselves, " the Prime Minister told the forum. The Prime Minister's remarks coincide with what appears to be an increasingly futile lobby by local forest producers to forestall a phased ban on timber exports being recommended by the GFC. At last Saturday's consultative forum organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and the GFC forest producers urged that two options proposed by the GFC for the phased banning of logs be reviewed and that its own " third option, " for the implementation of phased restrictions on log exports be seriously considered as a way forward in the shaping of a local log export policy. http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_business?id=56514745Grenada:32) After the damage done by Hurricane Ivan, half of all the remaining Grenada Doves recorded were in the Mount Hartman Estate and surrounding forest. - total current population is fewer than 200 and possibly fewer than 100. he Park shelters approximately 90% of all the Grenada Doves recorded on protected land. Established as a refuge for the dove in 1994, the Mt. Hartman National Park comprises only 154 acres of the 429 acre, Government-owned Mt. Hartman Estate. The current Government of Grenada now intends to de-gazette the National Park and sell off the entire Mt. Hartman Estate, to make room for a sprawling new Four Seasons Resort, including hotel, conference centre, golf course, and hundreds of luxury villas. If developed as currently planned, this new high-end tourist resort would probably cause the extinction of the Grenada Dove, since there is no other remaining area of undeveloped dry forest habitat of comparable size anywhere on the island. Please send a message to the people making these decisions. This link will take you to a sample letter and a link which will send your letter to these people: Isadore Sharp, Peter Hodgson,Bill Gates, the office of the honourable Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, the honourable Mr. Tillman, leader of the opposition and Michael Pemberton, the developer AND... please forward the URL of this site to five friends. http://www.grenadadovecampaign.com/Papua New Guinea:33) The giant yellow trucks lumbered on six-foot high tires to the cliff's edge. The driver, in a cabin high above the ground, raised the 200-ton beds and released a massive slide of rock and mud debris hauled from the Porgera gold mine. Big muddy bulldozers, the size of a small house, emerged from the evening cloud cover to push more dirt into the valley below. And so it goes all day every day in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. After 14 years, the mine waste has slowly torn the hills from under the local inhabitants and turned the small valley below, an extension of the Porgera Valley, into a choked river of dirt creeping toward the Coral Sea a thousand miles away. Papua New Guinea, one of the world's largest island, has fortunes in gold under its lush green mountains. Called the " Last Great Place, " it is home to hundreds of unique species of animals and plants from tree kangaroos to orchids of unearthly beauty, as well as to upward of 820 languages. It is the closest thing you may ever see to paradise: forested mountains surrounded by shining South Pacific seas, where clean water springs from rich volcanic soil. And that makes the poverty of its inhabitants and the destruction of its ecology all the more heartbreaking. Between 8 and 14 people have been killed in fights between company security men and alluvial miners, depending upon whether it is the company or the locals making the count. Many people pan for gold in and around the mine, and as the mine itself has grown bigger and bigger, and the local population exploded and clashes have erupted over access to the precious yellow ore. When would-be gold panners get near company property, guards fire at them, claims Akali Tange Association (ATA), an organization that advocates against human rights abuses in the area. The mine claims that locals attack the guards with clubs and rocks and are trespassing in the first place. http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14381Indonesia:34) The Forestry Industry Organisation (FIO) will launch its own investigation into the fire that destroyed a large number of high-grade teak logs kept at Adisorn army camp in Saraburi province. FIO acting managing director Manoonsak Tantiwiwat yesterday said the agency would inspect the teak storage site at the camp this weekend to find the exact number of damaged and destroyed teak logs and seek more information from the army about the cause of the blaze. The FIO reported on Thursday that at least 4,000 cubic metres of impounded teak logs worth around 400 million baht were destroyed in the fire. However, after receiving a report from the army yesterday, it said the amount of burnt and damaged logs came to only 1,250 cu m, worth around 37.5 million baht. The logs were some of around 14,900 logs that were confiscated from illegal loggers in the Salween National Park and wildlife sanctuary in 1997. Maj-Gen Suebpong Paowarat, Cavalry Centre commander at Adisorn army camp, yesterday confirmed that the fire was an accident likely to have been caused by flaming debris from explosive tests.The Department of Special Investigation and the FIO will be invited to investigate the accident, he said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/24Feb2007_news07.php35) Environmental groups lashed out at a new World Bank report on Indonesia's forests Wednesday, saying it is an endorsement of a government plan to create vast timber plantations that would damage local ecosystems and livelihoods. But the World Bank said the proposed strategy for the nation's resource-rich tropical forests until 2009 will "contribute to growth, rural livelihoods and environmental protection." A sustainable logging industry, the World Bank said, will create jobs and reduce logging of endangered forest. Indonesia's tropical forest reserves are the world's largest after the Amazon and the Congo basin, but the sprawling archaeologic nation has lost around 40 percent of its canopy to loggers in the last 50 years. At the present rate of deforestation - with an area roughly the size of El Salvador being cleared annually - lowland trees on Sumatra island and neighboring Borneo will disappear by 2010,conservationists say. Indonesia asked the World Bank to help devise a forestry plan and in June 2006 it released a 44-page outline. Wednesday's paper was a supplement to that strategy. Activists with Friends of the Earth International,Environmental Defense and Indonesia's WALHI accused the global lender of prioritizing a government goal to create 5 million hectares of industrial timber plantation. http://www.savetheorangutan.co.uk/?p=22636) The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is not empowered to act on uncontrolled logging in forests that are not gazetted as forest reserves, said its Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Sazmi Miah today. He said what the ministry could do was only to advise state governments to adopt prudent forest management. " Any action to be taken is the right and responsibility of the stategovernment, " he told Bernama at the end of a two-day seminar on sustainable forest menagement and natural environment conservation in Gunung Aais Forest Reserve at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia. He was commenting on an exposure he made about two months ago that uncontrolled logging activities had been detected in several water catchment and high land areas in Kelantan. Uncontrolled felling of trees should stop and be replaced with inventory management, he said. Sazmi said the inventory management concept called for the participation of the local community to provide information to the authorities. " Through the involvement of the local community, forest management in each state will be more dynamic because information gathering and follow-up action can be taken more systematically, " he said. http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=896737) When people talk about forest conservation in Indonesia, their discussion is based on a simple equation: forests plus logging equals devastation and the loss of biodiversity. The timber companies have long been considered the number one enemy of the conservation movement, and for good reason. But is it in our best interests for that to continue? Granted, no one can deny that the timber industry's activities have led to massive forest degradation and loss, and in many places this continues. Biodiversity suffers whenever forests are cleared. The species found in grasslands and plantations are in no way comparable to those found in primary or lightly disturbed rain forest. In general, timber concessions rarely follow the plethora of forest management guidelines prescribed in government laws and regulations. Logging opens up forests, attracting other operators that illegally harvest even more timber, in turn leaving forests vulnerable to fire. The legacy of decades of " bad " logging in Kalimantan and Sumatra has left, in many places, a degraded landscape. But not all areas were logged heavily, and " good " forest still remains in timber concessions to this day. But how do you ensure that forestry concessions are well managed? One mechanism is to encourage independent forest certification. Four natural forest concessions in Indonesia have obtained forest management certificates from the internationally recognized Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) -- three of them within the last year alone: PT Diamond Raya Timber, PT Erna Djuliawati, PT Sumalindo Lestari Jaya Unit II and PT Intracawood Manufacturing. http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20070222.E04 & irec=3 Malaysia:38) Sarawak - A group of Malaysian Police Force together with the personnel of the Samling Timber Corporation has completely removed the Penan logging blockade in upper Baram, Sarawak on 7th February 2007. The Penan village of Long Benali and several other Penan villages in the interior of Baram district have set up the blockade since 2004. They put up logs and wooden structures tightened with rattans across the logging road. A hut was also built and used by the Penan as shelter while manning the blockade. According to the Penan, immediately after the blockade was removed the Samling timber company moved in with logging tractors and bulldozers. Samling has started building the logging road that encroaches into the customary land of the Penan in Long Benali. The Penan watched from a distance as the company bulldozed their land. Long Benali is a Penan village located in upper Akah River in the interior of Baram District and their area is among the very few remaining virgin rainforest areas of Sarawak. Their survival is very much dependent on forest products within their customary land area. In 2004, the Samling Timber Corporation was granted a certificate for Sustainable Forest Management by the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) over an area of 55,949 hectares that affect the customary rights land of the Penan in Long Benali. The Penan strongly resisted the moved by Samling to carry out logging operation within their customary rights land. At the same time, the Penan does not accept MTCC certification scheme as its scheme given right to Samling to destroy their forest and deprive them of rights to their forest and sustainable livelihood. http://intercontinentalcry.mahost.org/malaysia-penan-blockade-demolished-let-the-deforestation-b egin/New Zealand:39) Forestry Minister Jim Anderton and Climate Change Minister David Parker today released a discussion document on design options for a tradeable permit regime to manage deforestation. " The release of this additional document signals that the Government is giving serious consideration to a tradeable permit scheme. David Parker and I are attracted to a tradable permit regime because it would put in place a framework for managing deforestation while retaining flexibility of land use, which will provide an important competitive advantage for New Zealand," said Jim Anderton. "Deforestation is a major issue, both internationally and for New Zealand. It accounts for around 20% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. As a country we have to work out a way of managing deforestation so that our overall levels of forest cover increase over time," said David Parker. "The expected level of deforestation in New Zealand between 2008 and 2012 will result in 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted. This is far higher than historic rates of deforestation and, if it came to pass, would create a liability for taxpayers of $651 million. The Government wants to create a framework where individuals who cause these emissions face at least some of the true costs of their actions." http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0702/S00432.htmAustralia:40) This project investigated aspects of white cypress pine forest management and utilisation in order to promote retention and management of white cypress pine forests for high value timber production. White cypress (Callitris glaucophylla) is a native conifer principally occurring in the sub-humid zone in a band stretching from southern New South Wales (NSW) into approximately central Queensland. It grows as a small to medium tree and occurs naturally in a range of vegetation associations, either as a pure stand or as a subdominant in mixed forests. It is fire sensitive, however, once established, litter loads are much reduced and with the exception of severe wildfire, fires are generally very mild and do not carry into the crowns or in the understorey. The species is known to regenerate prolifically when good seed years coincide with optimal seasonal conditions. When this occurs, very dense stands or 'wheatfield' regeneration can establish. Regeneration in New South Wales tends to rely more on this method than in Queensland where small amounts of regeneration occur on a more regular basis. The resultant stand types are also different with more 'uneven-aged' stand structures occurring in Queensland although some of this is influenced by management. Twice logged Cypress Stand Inventory information for State forest and some leasehold areas is comprehensive and this provides state agencies with accurate estimates of overall productivity from which to manage harvest levels. Distribution of white cypress outside of State forest and some leasehold land has been mapped by remote sensing and is therefore an estimate only. There is no qualifying information from this mapping in terms of either forest condition or stand composition. Of a total area of approximately 4.1 M ha of forest containing or dominated by cypress pine in both States, approximately 1.3 M ha is on freehold land (870,000 ha in Queensland and 430,000 ha in New South Wales). While much of this is likely to be relatively unproductive, the potential freehold resource is quite significant. http://www.privateforestrysthnqld.com.au/archives/10241) HOBART - Logging in Tasmania's southwest stopped today when an environmentalist chained himself to a tree-harvesting machine for seven hours. The man was arrested in the Weld Valley after police and the State Emergency Service used heavy metal cutting equipment to free him. Fifty protesters ignored police and marched into the Forestry Tasmania exclusion zone, stopping any work being done today. The Huon Valley Environment Centre (HVEC) says the activity will continue and is calling for the federal government to impose fines of A$5 million for logging in an endangered species habitat. " The wilderness quality forest is being logged at an alarming rate in the lower Weld Valley, " HVEC spokesperson Jenny Webber said. " In this day and age of increased awareness about climate change, the government needs to be doing everything it can can to alleviate the impacts of climate change and protecting old growth forests is an answer. " The Huon Valley Environment Centre and unhappy community members will continue to highlight the destruction of the Lower Weld Valley with non-violent protests. " Industry groups say the delays are hurting the pockets of Tasmanian workers and the state's economy. " When protesters illegally lock themselves onto machinery they impact on the supply of resource to mills and the livelihoods of the families that depend on this resource for their lawful business, " Forest Industries Association of Tasmania spokesperson Katy Hobbs said. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2 & objectid=1042482442) After decades of confrontation, Forestry Tasmania has extended a surprise olive branch to forest protesters opposed to its logging operations in old-growth native forests. Forestry Tasmania's new managing director Bob Gordon sent an email yesterday afternoon to its arch enemy, the Wilderness Society, inviting it to a meeting to discuss ways that both organisations could work together. Mr Gordon said he was not trying to stifle free speech or the right to protest. But he believes there must be a better way to " manage " environmental protests without putting at risk the safety of forest workers, police and protesters as occurs now. " Unless we get some common sense into this, it is only a question of time before one of these protests goes horribly wrong, " Mr Gordon said. His conciliation offer came amid continuing demonstrations, fracas and arrests in the two forests in southern Tasmania now in the frontline of environmental protests -- the Weld Valley near Geeveston and the Upper Florentine Valley near Maydena. Three protesters were arrested in the Florentine forests yesterday where logging roads are currently being built, with Tasmania Police condemning their actions as dangerous to their own safety and that of police. Police Commander of the Eastern District, Tom Tully, said a police officer only just escaped serious injury after falling three metres to the ground when the rope he was climbing on was allegedly cut by anti-logging protesters. In turn, Weld Valley frontline protesters have complained of being intimidated and roughly handled by police and logging workers. http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,21272683-5007221,00.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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