236 - Earth's Tree News

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Today for you 35 new articles about earth's trees! (236th edition)

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Weblog: http://olyecology.livejournal.com .

 

--British Columbia: 1) FSC is a fraud, 2) Save the Englishman River,

3) BC and World Rivers Day, 4) Forest board pretends to care, 5)

Western Forest Products biggest swindle, 6) Timber West Forest Corp.

forces their contractors to ignore logging laws,

--Washington: 7) Olympic NF to log 2,000 acres around Mount Walker, 8)

Long Island old growth, 9) Olympic log thief's charged,

--Oregon: 10) Stop Salvage logging along the McKenzie river

--California: 11) SPI to log near Owl Creek Grove

--Montana: 12) Forest fire intensity higher then ever, 13) Too much

salvage logging,

--Arizona: 13) Thinning not always the answer

--Wisconsin: 14) Logging the forest to pay for new forest education center

--Michigan: 15) USFS destroying Stonington Peninsula

--Minnesota: 16) National Farmers Union teaches landowners how to manage forests

--Louisiana: 17) $18 million to buy cypress groves for coastline protection

--Virginia: 18) Back Valley Timber Sale withdrawn

--Kentucky: 19) Opposition to Robinson logging, 20) Students oppose

school logging,

--West Virginia: 21) Five square miles of land atop Kates Mountain fought over,

--Florida: 22) roads and trail planning in Apalachicola NF

--USA: 23) 52 of America's most important and most threatened public lands

--UK: 24) A world court for environmental crimes

--France: 25) 'Biofuels: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease'

--Nicaragua: 26) Hurricane damage: it's no longer a rainforest but a

tree cemetery

--Bolivia: 27) Humble and honest inhabitants,

--Brazil: 28) Giving 850 square miles to the industry, 29) Biofuel futures,

--Guyana: 30) Investigation into several logging companies --Papua New

Guinea: 31) we need incentive to stop intensive logging

--Vietnam: 32) New species found in Annamites mounatain range

--Australia: 33) Pulp mill to lead to massive deforestation, 34)

Tasmanian logging economy, 35) Logging suspended in Moira State

Forest,

 

 

British Columbia:

 

1) FSC Certification is a fraudulent scam to allow people to continue

marketing old growth forests around the world. Here in Clayoquot

Sound, the whine of chainsaws and the falling of giant trees starts at

daylight, even on Sundays, as people watch bears from tour boats in

Fortune Channel of Clayoquot Sound. When camping there recently, the

howls of wolves during the night and the sight of mother bears with

twin cubs playing on the beaches near where the logging is taking

place is a shocking reminder that it is business as usual here. With

Ecotrust, Coulson, Iisaak, Mamouk and Triumph Logging all operating in

Clayoquot Sound taking out old growth forests created over thousands

of years, it is discouraging that in what is called a UNESCO

Biosphere, old growth forests are falling daily and salmon are

threatened with the largest number of fish farms on the west coast of

North America. (Broughton Archipelago is on the inside of Van. Island

and has more) With some of the most amazing forests left in the world,

Ecotrust has rationalized the ongoing logging of the some of the

wonders of this Earth. It seems that the message of over 1000 people

being arrested here to STOP the logging of old growth forests has

fallen on deaf ears and industry is back at it where the big trees are

still standing and available. The names of the companies are Native

but the people behind it are not, it is still industrial logging in

whatever name you want and there will be no trees left other than a

few culturally modified ones which contain the historical use of the

land by Indigenous Peoples for big dugout canoes and totem poles or

nests for marbled murrelets and un touched places for all the

thousands of species other than humans that depend upon this ancient

forest for food, habitat and protectioin as well as climate

stability...have we gone mad? Ecotrust needs to divest itself of

logging interests in Clayoquot Sound and anywhere else old growth

forests are falling now. Sincerely, Susanne Hare - " Steve

Lawson " councilfire

 

2) River restoration, while logging the banks of the very same river,

is similar to sticking a knife into your stomach and then trying to

cover it over with band-aids rather than pulling out the knife and

attending to the wound. In the case of Englishman River attempts have

been made to recreate pools and safe refuge for small salmon fry that

get washed away when the river gauges out straight wide expanses

between ever widening banks. These projects involved massive

excavators, dump trucks, blasted rock, steel cables, logs with

rootballs purchased from logging companies, chainsaws, and of course

manpower paid with provincial and federal tax dollars. For many years

now the Englishman River has been considered one of the top most

threatened rivers in BC according to the Outdoor Recreation Council of

British Columbia, with a total of 120,000 members. (www.orcbc.ca)

Englishman River is considered to be an example all of the rivers on

the east coast of Vancouver Island, that flow into the Strait of

Georgia Basin. All of these rivers are in a serious state of stress

and decline. Today society struggles to strike a balance in watersheds

that have been battered for the past 150 years by logging,

development, gravel mining, and road building. Despite this, and the

fact that water is a precious resource, the destruction continues.

Logging companies, various developers, and private landowners all

stake their claim to the land on the banks of the river. Who is

looking after the interests of the river and watershed? Multinational

logging companies, TimberWest and Island Timberlands, continue to

destroy the banks of local rivers with tree removal and road building.

The resulting landslides, land erosion, and surface disruptions lead

to massive amounts of dirt and debris in the flow of water. Heavy

rains flush silt, loosened by logging equipment and dragging of logs,

into rivers. Buildup of silt is known to suffocate salmon eggs buried

in gravel. Channeling of water results in higher floods, which further

erode riverbanks and level out pools. The indicator species used by

many biologists to determine the health of these rivers is the

Steelhead Salmon, a species that returns to spawn many years in a

lifetime. Snorkel teams counted 471 adults in February 1985, which was

cause for alarm at the time since the returns once numbered in the

thousands. By the year 2000 the winter count was 15, a count that went

up to 43 in 2006. http://islandlens.blogspot.com

 

3) On BC and World Rivers Day Sunday, September 30 much attention will

be directed at the new Top Bridge Crossing where the Regional District

of Nanaimo will be kicking off the grand opening of the new Englishman

River Regional Park. Having spent $500,000 on a steel suspension

bridge you can be sure to find many politicians. Meanwhile a group of

dedicated volunteers will be providing tours along the floodplain of

the Little Qualicum River where Chinook Salmon are currently spawning.

The largest Sitka Spruce on the east coast of Vancouver Island is

hidden inside this jewel of a forest. Access is at the end of Kingkade

Road just north of Qualicum along the Island Highway.

http://islandlens.blogspot.com

 

4) The Forest Practices Board is recommending that the provincial

government promptly finalize and implement an overall stewardship

strategy for the coastal Douglas fir ecosystem (CDF) on Southeast

Vancouver Island. The recommendation was made in a newly released

board report, Woodlot Harvesting and Red-listed Plant Communities in

the Coastal Douglas-fir Ecosystem of Vancouver Island. The report is

the result of a public complaint about approval of timber harvesting

on several woodlots in the CDF. " The most abundant red-listed plant

community in the CDF is recognized by ecologists as globally

imperiled, and assessment of the immediate danger to it and the many

other red-listed CDF plant communities is crucial to their survival, "

said board chair Bruce Fraser. " Because the majority of the coastal

Douglas fir ecosystem is located on private land, where government has

limited control over logging practices, it is especially important

that assessment and protection of these endangered plant communities

occurs in a timely manner in what little coastal Douglas fir remains

on Crown land. " When it approved the woodlot plans, the forest

district relied on its own interpretation of the abundance of

red-listed plant communities and their potential tolerance to forest

practices, and weighed the apparent risks with those of the tenure

holder's harvesting rights. However, the board found that since there

are no effective stewardship mechanisms in place for red-listed plant

communities in the CDF, the appraisal of those risks is unreliable.

Government agencies have done some landscape-level assessment of

red-listed plant communities, are currently mapping the CDF

ecologically, and are progressing toward an overall stewardship

strategy. The board's view is that a stewardship strategy is needed

soon– one that encompasses the full range of red-listed plant

communities and the habitats and species they support. In 2005, the

Board recommended that no further logging approvals should be awarded

in the CDF until site assessments for endangered plant communities

were done. Subsequently, BC Timber Sales stopped selling wood in the

CDF. However, today's published report shows that the Ministry of

Forests and Range continues to approve some timber harvesting in the

CDF without the recommended site assessments. http://www.fpb.gov.bc.ca

 

5) It didn't take Western Forest Products long to cash in on the big

gift the government handed the company earlier this year. It wasn't

really from the government. Taxpayers and Vancouver Island communities

actually paid for the present. Forests Minister Rich Coleman just

wrapped it up and handed it over on your behalf. Western Forest

Products has announced it plans to put 4,450 acres of great real

estate on the market. The land includes waterfront property along the

coast west of Victoria – the kind of real estate that will have people

lining up, waving their chequebooks. That's just the first step. All

in, Western Forest Products has 70,000 acres available for sale, much

of it with good development potential. Waterfront lots adjacent to

some of the land are selling at $400,000 an acre. This time last year,

the company couldn't likely have sold a single acre. The land was part

of the its Vancouver Island tree farm licence, That meant it was

managed as if it was Crown land, with higher environmental and forest

sustainability standards. Raw log exports were limited. And the tree

farm licence required that the land stay in forestry, so there would

be trees and jobs a hundred years from now. But in February, Coleman

ordered the land removed from the tree-farm licence. The company

needed help, he said. The government was willing to sacrifice the

public interests protected by the tree farm licence to give a break to

the shareholders. Western Forest Products was quick to take advantage

of the chance. It has just put out " for sale " signs on 4,450 acres,

including big stretches of the Pacific coast between Victoria and

Jordan River, a popular surfing and camping spot. There's a good

argument that the highest-value use for the land is housing for rich

retirees. Certainly that's what's WFP has decided.

http://willcocks.blogspot.com/2007/09/another-big-gift-from-you-to-forest.html

 

6) The United Steel Workers has released video footage showing

TimberWest Forest Corp. contractors falling trees into what the union

says is a small, unnamed lake that ultimately feeds into the water

supply of the Comox Valley. The union alleges TimberWest management

overrode contractors' concerns and ordered them to proceed with the

falling, which it claims is illegal. Union officials produced a fax

Wednesday from TimberWest to the unidentified logging contractor

granting permission but warning not to allow the logs to float away.

The company strongly rejected the allegations, suggesting they're a

union pressure tactic in a two-month-old forestry strike on the B.C.

coast and claimed the so-called lake doesn't even exist. The footage,

which was recorded in June 2006 and recently given to the union, shows

large cedar trees being dropped into the lake. The union says the lake

doesn't have fish, but the water flows into a fish-bearing creek, then

into the Cruikshank River and finally into Comox Lake, the main water

source for the Comox Valley. " It's unheard of to fall trees into a

water system and that's why we brought it to your attention, " said

Steve Hunt, the union's western Canada director. " It's just simply

wrong. " Hunt said the practice is prohibited by legislation. " When we

showed this to experienced loggers, they just couldn't believe it, " he

said. http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/070926/b0926161A.html

 

Washington:

 

7) The U.S. Forest Service is gearing up for a decision regarding a

project that could selectively log 2,000 acres around Mount Walker

between Quilcene and Brinnon. Project proponents say that selective

logging would speed the forest's evolution to an old-growth stage;

critics fear that selective logging would cost taxpayers money, and

believe that additional road construction would lead to further

violation of the federal Clean Water Act. The proposal - called the

Jackson Thinning Project - involves cable yarding, ground-based

yarding and helicopter yarding of smaller non-hardwood trees. The

current alternatives (see sidebar, page A 13) range from 2,313 acres

to 1,606 acres to an " as-is, " no-action approach. According to ranger

district maps, some of the thinning could be on the Mt. Walker slope

visible from Quilcene, while other thinning would be on the mountain

along U.S. Highway 101. Other thinning would take place on ridges

visible from Brinnon, Hood Canal and the Dosewallips River valley.

Critics believe that the addition of 32 miles of roads will push the

Forest Service to further violation of the Clean Water Act - not to

mention cost taxpayers money. They also question whether the

commercial thinning will actually enhance the forest's health. Bonnie

Phillips, executive director of the Olympic Forest Coalition,

explained: " Take a look at the taxpayers' involvement in this. All

timber sales in Washington state are now considered what is 'below

cost.' In other words, it costs the taxpayers money. The sale doesn't

take into account the effort of the USFS to put up the timber for

sale. " She added: " Taxpayers are also going to have to pay money to

put the watersheds in shape again. If work done on Forest Service land

- logging and road building - basically creates downstream flooding,

taxpayers are once again going to have to pay money to help landowners

who are flooded out. " She noted that her organization's opposition to

the proposal is not fundamentally ideological. " We are not a

no-logging organization. We recognize that logging will be happening,

and we just want it to be mitigated as much as possible. " The public

comment period ends Sept. 26. When the proposal was initially

discussed two years ago, the U.S. Forest Service received 38 letters

and emails as well as a petition in opposition with 144 signatures.

http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36 & SubSectionID=55 & ArticleID=18833 & TM\

=56919.79

 

8) It's a place where kayakers can paddle up to a waterfront campsite

on Long Island. In the middle of the island is a 274-acre stand of

remnant old-growth Western red cedars. It's home to 13 species of

amphibians, black bear, deer and elk. And it's all less than three

hours from Tacoma. Like any 5-year-old, Brooke Roberts was full of

energy, questions and curiosity. Walking amid standing and fallen

cedars, some nearly 1,000 years old, will bring out those traits in

just about anyone. " I like them. My dad took a picture of me in one of

the holes. It was like a cave, " she said with enthusiasm. Indeed, some

of the holes at the bottom of these towering cedars would seem like a

motel room to Bear Grylls of " Man vs. Wild " fame. Oh wait, he

apparently did stay in motel rooms. Brooke and her father, Jake, were

spending a day exploring the ancient cedar grove, one of the prime

attractions on Long Island. The largest estuarine island on the West

Coast, the island covers 5,400 acres. It is home to Sitka spruce and

Western hemlock, black bears, elk and deer. From the landing at the

south end, you walk along a grass-covered former logging road that

leads nearly to the island's northern tip. Side paths lead to the five

campgrounds on the island. " I imagine it as a jewel sitting at the end

of the bay. You go there and it's a different world, " said Katherine

Driscoll, president of Friends of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.

The Salmon Art Trail, the first of its kind in the nation, uses

artwork by University of Washington students to tell the natural

history of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. The art trail exists

because Charlie Stenvall, who heads the refuge, admits he doesn't read

his own interpretive panels. " The idea was to tell a story through

artwork, " Stenvall said. " The edict was 'thou shalt not use words.' I

don't know if we achieved that. But the second round hits closer to

that mark. " Developed in 2003, the trail features 10 art projects

along a boardwalk 0.2 miles long and along 0.6 miles of hiking trail.

The artwork tells of the restoration of Headquarters Creek, a

five-year project that led to a record return of chum salmon.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/soundlife/story/165806.html

 

9) Three men were arrested Tuesday after being indicted for illegally

harvesting cedar trees from the Olympic National Forest. Craig James,

46, of Aberdeen; Bruce Brown, 46, of Humptulips; and Floyd Stutesman,

47, of Hoquiam were charged with conspiracy, damaging government

property and theft of government property, according to the U.S.

Attorney's Office. All three pleaded not guilty Tuesday in U.S.

District Court in Tacoma. Agents from the U.S. Forest Service found

more than 100 blocks of wood at Brown's home in February 2006.

Investigators determined the wood came from Olympic National Forest's

Cook Creek area, where large-scale tree theft had been occurring.

Conspiracy is punishable by five years in prison, three years of

supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Damaging government property

and theft of government property are punishable by up to 10 years in

prison, as well as supervised release and a fine. James, Brown and

Stutesman are expected to make a court appearance this afternoon in

Tacoma.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003904302_webtimber26m.html

 

 

Oregon:

 

10) In December 2006, a windstorm blew down many ancient trees along a

stretch of the McKenzie River just upstream of Trailbridge Reservoir.

Piles of large trees blocked a popular stretch of the McKenzie River

National Recreation Trail for about a ½ mile. Many trees also fell

into the river, adding natural structure to a part of the river and

forest in need of such features. Trees blocking the trail have been

cleared, but the Forest Service is now proposing to " salvage " 17 acres

of the blown-down area. The McKenzie River corridor is special for

many reasons. It has healthy fish populations (despite dams and other

developments), it provides incredibly clean drinking water to about

200,000 people, and it offers high quality hiking and mountain biking

in Eugene's backyard. When the Upper McKenzie was designated as a Wild

& Scenic River in 1988, its " outstandingly remarkable values " included

recreation like hiking and boating, fisheries, and scenery. Many of

the McKenzie's special values would be degraded by the proposed

" salvage " logging. Soil and vegetation would be disturbed by the

logging, access to the popular recreation trail would be blocked, and

some of the most interesting pieces of the forest scenery would be

removed. Comment on the Forest Service's plan to log along the popular

McKenzie River Trail and the Wild & Scenic River. Customize the letter

below (if you wish), enter your contact information, and send it!

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1780/t/430/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=13642

 

California:

 

11) There is a terrible logging plan near Owl Creek Grove on Sierra

Pacific Industries (SPI) land. Please alert anyone you can. The plan

proposes to remove many large " decadent " Douglas Fir trees with large

branches suitable for Marbled Murrelet nesting. Though the branches

may be too exposed to safely hide a Murrelet nest now, in several

decades more conifers could grow up around the taller firs and enclose

the large branches in a denser canopy which would greatly improve the

habitat for Murrelet nesting. The plan is near a protected Old Growth

forest grove in Owl Creek where Murrlets are said to nest. Elsewhere,

Marbled Murrelet habitat continues to be destroyed by industrial

logging on Pacific Lumber land. The larger Marbled Murrelet nesting

stands that are protected withtin Marbled Murrelet Conservation Areas

(MMCAs) on PL land are only protected until shortly after the year

2040. It seems that in that time some of the stands in THP 07-021

could become suitable Murrelet habitat and the species could expand

into it (if they have not already gone extinct by that point). Also

the THP proposes road building and cable yarding on top of at least

two large rock outcrops, Black Butte (in unit 11Ac and 11At) and

another formation partially covered by logging unit " 7A " . This will

permanently degrade the recreational and scenic value of these sites.

Have any consultations been made to assess the spiritual importance of

these sites to local tribes? Is the logging plan a preparation for

housing construction and development infrastructure? How can CDF

approve such a proposal? The plan clearly states that subdivison and

development " is likely " . hummingbird_lou

 

Montana:

 

12) Last year's Indian summer fires in Montana were so intense, so

awesome in their fury, that they even spooked veteran fire fighters.

Pilots dumping retardant on the Jungle Fire south east of Livingston

reported flames jumping 500 feet above the tree line. Imagine a wall

of flames leaping over the Washington monument. (If you'd like a front

row seat for one of these shows, check out the Forest Service footage

of the Cascade Complex Fire, on YouTube – but stand back.) Hotshots,

hardened by a dozen seasons on the front lines, dropped their shovels

and gaped. What they were seeing, as superdry fuel morphed into

explosive gas, was a fundamental change taking place in the

bio-chemistry of our forests. That was right about the time former

senator from Montana, Conrad Burns accused a group of exhausted

firefighters of being lazy good-for-nothing-layabouts. Turned out the

layabouts were just catching some Z's on the Billings airport tarmac

after coming off a thirty-six hour stint on the fire line. What fun

that was. Burn's is gone. In the 2007 fire season, hotshots were

busier than ever. My memory of that episode is very clear because I

was simultaneously working on a story about cloud physics for Audubon

Magazine. Climate modelers at NASA's Goddard Institute told me that

all of their predictions for climate change were accelerating. A

couple of years ago the low end on the projected increase in global

climate was 1.5 degrees centigrade. That window, a best case scenario

in the climate models, is now closed. The bottom limb of the arc now

shows a rise of 2 degrees centigrade. The physicists watching these

models, as data pours in from reporting stations around the world,

have their fingers crossed. The consensus among scientists is if we

hit 3 degrees centigrade we need to start looking for another planet.

http://www.latimes.com/

 

13) The Montana Department of Natural Resources has an aggressive

schedule for timber salvage in several fire areas that collectively

covered about 10,500 acres of state school trust lands in Western

Montana. " We've got a lot of boots on the ground right now looking at

and assessing those burned areas, " said David Groeschl, the state's

forest management bureau chief. In planning salvage operations,

foresters are checking burn severity, accessibility and the potential

for erosion and tree regeneration, among other considerations.

Groeschl expects initial salvage proposals to come before the state

Land Board at its October and November meetings. The initial proposals

will focus on burned areas where there aren't complications with

threatened and endangered species or potential threats to nearby

streams. " Most of them will be in areas where the issues tend to be

pretty straightforward and we are able to develop mitigation for minor

issues, " Groeschl said. More complicated salvage projects will involve

environmental assessments that will take more time to develop, he

said. On the Chippy Creek Fire north of Hot Springs, state foresters

are estimating a potential salvage of 9 million to 12 million

board-feet of timber. The fire burned almost 100,000 acres, including

2,638 acres of school trust lands with the rest on Lolo National

Forest, Salish-Kootenai tribal and Plum Creek Timber Co. lands.

Groeschl said the Tin Cup, Mile Marker 124, Black Cat and Jocko Lakes

fires are expected to yield an additional 12 million to 13 million

board-feet in timber salvage. About 9 million to 10 million will come

off the Jocko Lakes burn alone. Tribal foresters have been sizing up

timber salvage opportunities on the Chippy Creek Fire, which burned

across 32,069 acres of tribal land. Foresters are expected to brief

the tribal council and make initial salvage project recommendations on

Thursday, tribal spokesman Rob McDonald said.

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/09/26/news/news04.txt

 

Arizona:

 

13) Swetnam spoke of the need for managing forests to prevent massive

" crown fires, " but he didn't allow himself to get pinned down in the

long-running battle between advocates and opponents of logging in the

name of lowering forest fire potential. " I honestly don't think we can

thin our way out of this problem, " Swetnam said, referring to

questions from some members of the committee about the practice of

cutting smaller trees to prevent or diminish the severity of forest

fires. The senators of the Committee on Energy & Natural Resources who

spoke and questioned the witnesses were from New Mexico, Colorado,

Idaho and Montana. And, although no specific mention was made of

environmental groups' legal intervention to stop logging small trees

in federal forests, some of the questions were clearly loaded with

implications. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico, tried to get Swetnam

to give a specific size of tree that he thought should be thinned to

prevent or minimize the severity of forest fires. Swetnam — who had

just said the government needed to " focus on smaller diameter trees "

in some forests — replied that there was no specific size that needed

to be cut and that thinning small trees wasn't the answer for all

forests. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, spoke at length about the severity

of recent forest fires in his state and said " we here in Washington "

had " tied the hands " of Forest Service officials. He said the

justification for limits on clearing fuel in forests was " more

political than scientific. "

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/202849

 

Wisconsin:

 

14) WYEVILLE — The Tomah School District will construct a new building

on a 20-acre plot of school forest off North Glendale Avenue. Tomah

School Board members Thursday approved a new $47,000 school forest

center during their regular monthly meeting at Wyeville Elementary

School. The school forest building, designated for outdoor and

environmental education, will be constructed entirely with grants and

logging revenues from the district's four school forests. " It seems

like a well-thought out plan, " board President Gene Baumgarten said.

" For a lot of students, it's their only exposure to nature. " The only

remaining issue is whether to expand the main classroom.

Superintendent Bob Fasbender was skeptical that 400 square feet was

sufficient to house a classroom that could hold up to 25

students.Money for a bigger building exists; the amount of grants and

timber harvest revenue exceeds the initial cost estimate by nearly

$10,000. The building would go on the northeast corner of the lot,

which is across the street from the Veterans Administration Medical

Center on East Veterans Street. The building could also be open for

community use. The building will have plumbing and rest room

facilities, and will be constructed by the high school's building

trades class.

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2007/09/25/news/z03forest.txt

 

Michigan:

 

15) It seems as though the United States Forest Service is intent on

destroying the beauty of our Stonington Peninsula. First with the

horrible mess left by strong winds on the route to the lighthouse.

Many huge trees had fallen into a tangled ugly mess and the USFS

decided it was best left that way. They saw no need for anyone to cut

the huge cedar and other species of fallen trees into lumber or pulp

or firewood. Lets just leave the ugly mess there to rot and be an

eyesore. Second, they fell a lot of trees on a path along side County

Road 513 that ORVs were using, leaving another ugly mess. The ORVs

weren't hurting anything and there was no erosion from it. Now the

ORVs are forced to use the county road to travel on. Many are locals

and just putt along for pleasure. Now the latest destruction by the

USFS is on the trail between Graal Shores and Sunset Beach. It is

appalling to think that this is our tax dollars hard at work. I have

personally had the pleasure of walking on that trail and many others

in our beautiful forests. I wonder how long it will be before the

taxpayers of this county will not be allowed to walk or ride on any of

our public property, thanks to the USFS.

http://www.dailypress.net/stories/articles.asp?articleID=13757

 

Minnesota:

 

16) Landowners need to manage their forested lands. They will make

mistakes, but Mother Nature will cover up those mistakes, Sawinski

said. " Forestry is not an exact science, " he said. Landowners can get

help in identifying their tree species and setting up management plans

from the Department of Natural Resources and industry specialists.

" Your job as the landowner is to be informed, " Sawinski said. The DNR

is a good first stop. The agency will try to steer landowners away

from trouble spots, he said. Landowners should also get second and

third opinions if they are going to sell trees. Trees are an

agricultural commodity, said Terry Helbig, a forester with the DNR.

They are also a renewable resource and may play a leading role in the

nation's emerging renewable energy market, said Jim Moser, director of

economic and cooperative development for National Farmers Union. NFU

sponsored the forestry event to bring people together to talk about

the value of trees and ways to make money from wooded land, he said.

Harvesting trees for lumber is perhaps the most common way to earn

income from forested land. The ideal time for harvest is in the winter

when the trees are dormant and the ground is frozen. The worst time to

harvest trees is from spring to Aug. 1. " Yes, there is going to be

damage, " Sawinski said. " If it's done properly, damage can be

minimized. " http://webstar.postbulletin.com/agrinews/289909776473691.bsp

 

Louisiana:

 

17) About $18 million dedicated to a state Department of Natural

Resources initiative will be used to purchase land and conservation

easements on critical properties across the coast. Although cypress

gets a lot of attention, that's just one forest type the state will be

looking to acquire through the Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative,

said Richard Raynie, coastal resources senior scientist and project

manager for the initiative. " It's a lot bigger than that, " Raynie

said. The state will be looking for forests on natural ridges as well

as bottomland hardwood, oak and other forest types and locations, he

said. The initiative is one of many projects under development with

funding from the Coastal Impact Assistance Program, which gave

Louisiana and other oil-producing coastal states a share of offshore

oil revenues to improve areas damaged by oil and gas activity. In

Louisiana, the overwhelming majority of projects waiting for approval

through the U.S. Minerals Management Service are for coastal

restoration and enhancement. As part of that, Louisiana set aside

about $18 million toward the purchase of land or conservation

easements in critical coastal forest habitat. The program is still

under development, but DNR staff said they hope to start reviewing

applications from property owners in about a year. The program could

also include the state's active pursuit of specific critical habitats,

but those details are being worked out, said Kirk Rhinehart,

administrator for DNR's Coastal Restoration Division. The program will

be voluntary, said Honora Buras, coastal resources scientist. " There's

nothing regulatory about this program, " she said. An environmental

engineering firm in Baton Rouge is working with DNR researching how

similar programs have been done elsewhere.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/9951186.html

 

Virginia:

 

18) Dungannon - District Ranger Ron Bush of the Clinch Ranger District

has decided to temporarily withdraw the controversial Back Valley

Timber Sale while he revises the environmental assessment to address

some discrepancies and other areas of concern. The proposed 371 acre

sale, which is located on Dry Creek just outside of Dungannon in Scott

County, brought about concern from most of the local residents

immediately downstream when it was first announced last year. At a

public hearing one year ago, citizens expressed their concerns about

past flooding that had taken place in that watershed. After that

public hearing, Dry Creek watershed resident Charlie Osborne said of

the proposed cutting: " I can't believe that anyone would even consider

doing this in such a short period of time... At the town meeting I

personally showed Mr. Bush the pictures of the devastation created by

the last flood. Since he has been shown what can result and chooses to

ignore the lessons of the past, then he should be held accountable for

the results of his decisions. " Dick Austin, who lives less than two

miles from the Back Valley project said in a formal statement prepared

for the hearing: " It is now beyond reasonable doubt that Dry Creek is

prone to flooding, particularly from heavy run-off across lands where

timber has been removed. The notion that the Forest Service can remove

timber from 400 additional acres* of this steep watershed, whether in

one push or over 3 years, without significantly increasing the

prospect of more flooding — that notion is absurd on the face. " (*the

acreage of the original proposal, now only slightly reduced to 371

acre) Ron Bush, district ranger, stated in an August 2007 letter to

concerned individuals: " I am hereby withdrawing my decision for the

Back Valley project as documented in my Decision Notice of May 17,

2007. I will be revising the Environmental Assessment to address these

discrepancies and other potential areas of concern. "

http://www.virginiastar.net/articles2/ar07_0926/timbersalepulled.htm

 

Kentucky:

 

19) In 2004, UK's Board of Trustees unanimously approved a forest

sustainability study that calls for logging 800 acres of UK-owned

Robinson Forest in southeastern Kentucky. But it seems opposition to

this move has reached its apex only recently as UK looks to start

clearing the land over the next 12 months, according to a Kernel

article yesterday. As part of the agreement when the forest was

donated in 1923, UK must use the land " for the purpose of agricultural

experimental work and teaching, and for the practical demonstration of

reforestation. " Environmentalists are not so sure about the

university's reasoning and foresee permanent problems as a result of

the cutting. This editorial board is not qualified to judge if there

will be any long-term environmental consequence as a result of logging

800 acres of Robinson Forest. But with the recent rise of opposition

to the cutting, we believe UK should prolong the start of the project

until it publicly shows that it is listening to those protesting the

decision and is addressing their concerns. Both sides of this conflict

have valid points. Environmentalists are certainly right to be

concerned about almost a tenth of Robinson Forest's 15,000 acres being

used to study the effects of logging. Some environmentalists are

specifically concerned about how logging will hurt watersheds, areas

that drain into larger water basins and eventually reach streams. Ann

Phillippi, a biologist who graduated from UK and former president of

Students to Save Robinson Forest, said in the article yesterday that

the project shows how the steepness of some of the land will be

affected. " The watersheds are much too steep to log without destroying

that fine, high-quality, old-growth forest ecosystem and the streams

that traverse it, " Phillippi said.

http://media.www.kykernel.com/media/storage/paper305/news/2007/09/25/Opinions/Ed\

itorial.Delay

..Logging.Plan.To.Consider.New.Opposition-2988935.shtml

 

 

20) University of Kentucky students turned out last night, calling for

the administration to abandon its plan to log a section of the E.O.

Robinson forest in eastern Kentucky. More than 100 people gathered at

the White Hall Classroom Building to discuss UK's plan that the

administration says will provide financial support for the Robinson

Scholars Program. They say it will also provide an opportunity to

study the ecological effects of logging. Opponents fear that the

logging to begin next month will lead to the destruction of the forest

and eventually to mining on the property that E.O. Robinson gave to UK

in 1923. The logging's effect on the forest's waterways and

biodiversity particularly worries them. The proposal calls for more

than 800 acres of the 15,000-acre forest in Breathitt, Knott and Perry

counties to be logged. An environmental student group sponsoring the

discussion argued against the plan and said it sees no benefit from

disturbing the land. Some of the members of UK Green Thumb also

expressed displeasure with the university's perceived unwillingness to

consider dismissing or altering the plan.

http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/186594.html

 

 

West Virginia:

 

21) WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — Five square miles of land atop Kates

Mountain next to Greenbrier State Forest — land that has been open to

public use for decades — is the subject of an inheritance dispute that

could end in the land being logged and subdivided. The 3,445-acre

parcel includes the summit of Kates Mountain, several small creeks,

and a large shale barren — an expanse of ground covered with fractured

shale that creates a desert-like microclimate supporting a variety of

rare plant species. The land was bought in a 1928 tax auction by the

grandparents of David Brooks Holland, a West Virginia native who grew

up in Logan and moved to California in the 1950s to attend Stanford

University. Holland, who became a stockbroker in Palo Alto, Calif.,

died in 1999, leaving his share of the tract to sons Craig and Peter

Holland. The remaining heirs with a stake in the property are the

Holland brothers' aunt and grandmother, Katherine Holland Barics and

Sarah Holland. All live in California. This spring, Katherine Holland

Barics and Sarah Holland prevailed in a lawsuit filed in 2005 in

Greenbrier Circuit Court to partition the tract's standing marketable

timber and real estate to allow the heirs to dispose of their shares

of the property. Craig Holland, a student at Evergreen University in

Olympia, Wash., has hired Charleston attorney John Kennedy Bailey to

appeal the decision in state Supreme Court on behalf of himself and

his brother. Should the circuit court partition order stand, Holland

said, " There is a good chance that the land will be split up and

subjected to a five- to 10-year logging contract which would remove 3

million to 6 million board feet of timber " from the property. If the

partition can be set aside as a result of their Supreme Court

challenge, Holland hopes to work out an alternative that would keep

the bulk of the property intact, undisturbed and publicly owned. " If

we can sell about one-fourth of the land to a private interest for

home-site development on a section of the property farthest from

Greenbrier State Forest, I think we would be able to sell the largest

part of the land — about 2,500 acres — at a price that a conservation

group or state or federal agency would consider reasonable, " he said.

http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/News/2007092216

 

Florida:

 

22) The long awaited decision on a roads and trails system for the

Apalachicola National Forest is anticipated in the next week. It will,

no doubt, provoke controversy; but the decision will provide a balance

between resource protection and recreational opportunities. Getting to

this decision has been a long, often arduous, and frustrating process.

Deciding where off-road vehicles should be allowed is one of the most

controversial issues facing the Forest Service today, and the

Apalachicola National Forest is no exception. The reality is that we

cannot meet all the demands of the many groups who use and love the

forest and still adequately protect the sensitive resources that are

in our care. In the past decades, off-road riders enjoyed almost

unlimited freedom in the forest. Their low numbers followed old

logging roads and fire-plow lines that were designed for temporary use

and left few impacts on the land. We allowed use of these features to

foster recreational opportunities. Over the years, however, the number

and kinds of off-road vehicles has skyrocketed, creating a latticework

of trails that impact the health of the forest. Not just in Florida,

either – public land managers everywhere are forced to leave behind

the hands-off attitude of previous years and learn how to manage

off-road recreation. In fact, the Forest Service adopted in 2005 a

nationwide policy that mandated all National Forests designate exactly

where motor vehicles will be allowed to go.

http://www.wakulla.com/Community_Columnists/Various_Guest_Columnists/IN_MY_VIEW_\

(by_Marsha_Kear

ney,_Forest_Supervisor,_National_Forests_in_Florida)_200709243923/

 

USA:

 

23) A new report released by the Sierra Club today identifies 52 of

America's most important and most threatened public lands. The report

was released in celebration of National Public Lands Day, which is

this Saturday, September 29. The report, " America's Wild Legacy, "

presents the Sierra Club plan for protecting one wild place in each

state, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, over the next 10

years. " When you look closely at a map of the United States, you can

see that the vast majority of our public lands are already open for

development of one kind or another. That makes it that much more

important to protect the few wild places that remain, " said Sierra

Club Lands Representative Myke Bybee, who authored the report. Oil and

gas drilling, logging, irresponsible recreation, and global warming

are eating away at the places Americans rely on for respite and

recreation, the Sierra Club says. Many of the 52 places selected by

the Sierra Club for protection are threatened by development. Oregon's

Mt. Hood National Forest, ideal for climbing, hiking, camping, and

wildlife viewing, faces increasing attempts to log its old-growth

trees, many older than the United States. Louisiana's coastal cypress

forests are disappearing as logging companies turn the trees into

garden mulch. " As Americans, each one of us is part owner in our

forests, mountains and deserts. We have a choice to make, between

treating these irreplaceable lands as a giveaway to special interests,

or as a gift to our children and grandchildren. " To read the report,

or to view a threatened place up close on Google Earth, visit:

http://www.sierraclub.org/52places

 

UK:

 

24) " It took ages for the creation of an international war crimes

tribunal, " says one Third World diplomat, " and a world court for

environmental crimes can take generations. " Satish Kumar, an avowed

environmentalist and editor of the London-based environmental magazine

Resurgence, is a strong advocate of such a court. " We have no right to

make waste, " he argues. " And if I dump my waste on your house, it's a

crime. You can take me to court. " " But if we put our waste on nature,

nature can't take us to court? Nature should have a right to take us

to court. And the United Nations should establish a nature court, "

Kumar told IPS. He pointed out that environmental crimes — from the

dumping of toxic wastes to the military destruction of natural

resources — should be deemed " crimes against nature " . Dr. Franoise

Burhenne-Guilmin, senior counsel at the Environmental Law Centre of

the Switzerland-based International Union for the Conservation of

Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), thinks the proposal may hit legal

and logistical snags. " IUCN has never taken a formal position on this

matter, but members of the Commission on Environmental Law (CEL) have

discussed the issue in the past, " he told IPS. He pointed out that the

idea of a specific international court for environmental crimes was

not supported by the CEL on the basis that they thought it would not

be feasible. " To establish such a court, people would need to agree on

what constitutes an environmental crime, " Burhenne-Guilmin said. Even

if such a court were established, the rules which would have to be put

in place in order for it to function would be very difficult to agree

on, he added. In recent years, some of the cases involving

" environmental damages " have been tried in local courts because of the

absence of an international judicial body.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/25/4091/

 

France:

 

25) A new report for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD) has cast serious doubts about the prospects for

certification of biofuels, pointing to the failures of timber

certification. The report, entitled 'Biofuels: Is the Cure Worse than

the Disease' http://www.oecd.org was presented to the OECD's Round

Table on Sustainable Development in Paris in September. It warns that

timber certification has failed after many years to come up with

credible Chain of Custody systems. The report also point out that

certification doesn't necessarily help to address the underlying

problems of either non-sustainable timber or biofuel production

because the problem simply gets displaced elsewhere. Although the OECD

report does not specifically name the FSC, it is clear that its

conclusions apply to the FSC as much as any other timber certification

scheme. The chain of custody problem is one which FSC-Watch has raised

before, and which FSC has yet to provide any convincing answers to.

http://www.fsc-watch.org/archives/2007/09/26/OECD__timber_certification_sets_bad\

_example_for_b

iofuels__FSC_also_under_attack_from_Australia__Finland__Canada__US_

 

Nicaragua:

 

26) It is no longer a rainforest but a tree cemetery. As far as the

eye can see there are uprooted, bare and broken trunks. The canopy, a

roof of foliage so lush you could walk over it, is gone. The few

remaining bits of green are no bigger than broccoli. This is the

aftermath of Hurricane Felix along Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast. A smell

of decay shrouds the landscape. Crops and livestock have vanished into

swamps. So much earth and debris have washed into rivers that they

resemble caramel sludge. Downriver the destruction worsens. Houses

built on stilts lean drunkenly and have gaping holes. Many have

missing roofs and walls. When you reach the ocean you see they have

been spun into the air, Wizard of Oz-style, before smashing and

splintering. Three weeks ago the world watched the hurricane howl

towards central America and braced for the worst. It was category

five, a monster storm, and a cataclysm seemed inevitable. But the

hurricane changed course and missed big population centres. Instead of

cities and tourist resorts it hit this remote wilderness, home to a

few fishing and farming communities. A few dozen casualties were

reported. The story seemed to be over. The world's gaze shifted

elsewhere. A tour through the affected region last week however showed

that for Miskito Indians, one of the most impoverished and isolated

communities in the Americas, the story is just beginning. Up to

160,000 people are facing an ecological and humanitarian crisis - and

it is getting worse. " It's very possible the aftermath will kill more

than the hurricane itself, " said Heriberto Cespedes, a surgeon at the

main hospital in Puerto Cabezas. " I think in one or two weeks the

avalanche of sickness will begin. "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/naturaldisasters/story/0,,2177270,00.html

 

Bolivia:

 

Letter from President Evo Morales to the member representatives of the

United Nations on the issue of the environment. Sister and brother

Presidents and Heads of States of the United Nations: The world is

suffering from a fever due to climate change, and the disease is the

capitalist development model. Whilst over 10,000 years the variation

in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels on the planet was approximately 10%,

during the last 200 years of industrial development, carbon emissions

have increased by 30%. Since 1860, Europe and North America have

contributed 70% of the emissions of CO2. 2005 was the hottest year in

the last one thousand years on this planet. Faced with this situation,

we - the indigenous peoples and humble and honest inhabitants of this

planet - believe that the time has come to put a stop to this, in

order to rediscover our roots, with respect for Mother Earth; with the

Pachamama as we call it in the Andes. Today, the indigenous peoples of

Latin America and the world have been called upon by history to

convert ourselves into the vanguard of the struggle to defend nature

and life. I am convinced that the United Nations Declaration on the

Rights of Indigenous Peoples, recently approved after so many years of

struggle, needs to pass from paper to reality so that our knowledge

and our participation can help to construct a new future of hope for

all. Who else but the indigenous people, can point out the path for

humanity in order to preserve nature, natural resources and the

territories that we have inhabited from ancient times. I know that

change is not easy when an extremely powerful sector has to renounce

their extraordinary profits for the planet to survive. In my own

country I suffer, with my head held high, this permanent sabotage

because we are ending privileges so that everyone can " Live Well " and

not better than our counterparts. I know that change in the world is

much more difficult than in my country, but I have absolute confidence

in human beings, in their capacity to reason, to learn from mistakes,

to recuperate their roots, and to change in order to forge a just,

diverse, inclusive, equilibrated world in harmony with nature

http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/

 

Brazil:

 

28) Brazil plans to turn over control of an 850-square mile national

forest in the Amazon Basin to private companies, according to a story

in Chinese state-run media. The Jamari National Forest is about half

the size of Rhode Island, and sits in the northern portion of the

country, in the Amazonian rainforest. As deforestation rates have

increased there, the government has decided to turn over management of

350 square miles of the forest to private companies, after dividing it

into three separate parcels. The companies will be allowed to explore

and log the land — using " environmentally sustainable techniques, " as

Brazil's environment minister said — for 40 years. Private management

of forests isn't always a bad idea, but in this region where the

carving up of the Amazon has grown into such a worldwide issue —

particularly as concern over the loss of biodiversity has been

compounded by concern about losing a huge reservoir for industrial

carbon pollution — this deal should be scrutinized closely.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/2007/09/22/brazil-will-privatize-amazonian-national\

-forest/7085/

 

29) One is a tousle-haired Brazilian diplomat turned entrepreneur,

brimming with enthusiasm for what he calls " the most extraordinary

business opportunity I have ever seen in my life " . The other is a

close-cropped, blue-eyed Englishman, fond of quietly pertinent

rhetorical questions. Sérgio Thompson-Flores is chief executive of

Infinity Bio-Energy, a company that last year raised £270m ($543m) on

London's small-cap Aim market. Peter Thompson is chairman of Clean

Energy Brazil (CEB), a partnership formed by Czarnikow, a London-based

provider of sugar market services, Numis, a London-based investment

bank, and Agrop, a Brazilian sugar industry service provider. It is

also listed on Aim, and raised £100m in December 2006. Both aim to

grab a share of the fast-growing ethanol industry in Brazil, a country

that many say is poised to become the " green Saudi Arabia " . But there

the similarities end. The start-ups diverge on how best to achieve a

stake in a tough and crowded market. Their fortunes will be eagerly

watched by other entrepreneurs. Perhaps the most striking difference

between the companies is their vision of how the market will develop.

Before Brazil can become the main global supplier of a new global

fuel, the world's big markets will have to introduce new laws and

infrastructure - a massive undertaking. This divides investors into

cautious, domestic ones and ambitious, international ones. Mr

Thompson's experience at Czarnikow makes him wary of " commodity

dramas " . CEB's focus, he says, is on domestic growth in Brazil. " You

have to ask yourself very carefully what is the potential return on

cash flow, and can we acquire assets in a way that captures their

capital appreciation. "

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b493dd4e-6bc9-11dc-863b-0000779fd2ac.html

 

Guyana:

 

30) The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) is in the process of

conducting an investigation into several logging companies after

instances of under declaration of forest produce and false

declarations as to the origin of those produce were unearthed.

According to Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud yesterday, the GFC

in a letter on Monday advised him that on the basis of monitoring

activities and further investigation by the GFC's Internal Audit Unit,

there is preliminary evidence to suggest that several forest companies

may be guilty of the breaches. The Minister in a statement said that

the breaches, if verified by the investigation, will have implications

for the GFC's revenue, tax concessions issued to companies by the

Government, and the GFC staff members at the locations. The GFC is

expected to provide the Minister of Agriculture with an update on the

status of the investigation by October 10. According to Commis-sioner

of Forests James Singh, depending on the severity of the offences, the

penalties may include revocation of licences, suspension or a fine.

Persaud said that the maximum penalties will be applied upon the

conclusion of the investigation. The Minister said too that the GFC

has looked at about three months of evidence to arrive at its

preliminary conclusions. The action by the regulatory body comes amid

an intense campaign waged in the media by several civil society

activists - in particular - Janette Bulkan over fairness in the

forestry industry. Questions have been raised about whether there is

transfer pricing in the export of logs from the country, whether there

is over-logging of certain prime species, whether there is

unauthorized `land-lording' of concessions and whether all the revenue

due to the state is being paid over.

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56529634

 

Papua New Guinea:

 

31) Papua New Guinea's US-based consultant on climate change, believes

not enough is being offered as incentive to stop intensive logging in

developing countries like PNG. Mr Conrad told a foreign media

organisation that instead of providing positive incentives to tropical

nations to conserve their rainforests and reduce greenhouse gas

emissions, the world indirectly gives " perverse incentives " to destroy

them by demanding goods produced by intensive logging. Mr Conrad, a

close friend of Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, was described in

the article as " a leading environmental activist " . He said: " The Kyoto

protocol does not give incentives to rainforest nations to protect

their forests, " Mr Conrad, special envoy of the environment and

climate change permanent mission of Papua New Guinea to the United

Nations, told IPS. The Kyoto protocol is the international agreement

that establishes how industrialised countries should reduce their

greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by an average of 5% relative to 1990

levels. The treaty does not assign targets to developing nations. One

of the instruments of the Kyoto protocol was the Clean Development

Mechanism (CDM), an arrangement that allows industrialised countries

with a GHG reduction commitment to invest in projects in developing

countries that reduce emissions. This counts towards the countries'

domestic " clean " record. Conservation of rainforests was not included

in such projects. The article said between 1989 and 1995, global

emissions as a result of deforestation, amounted to 5,000 million

metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, studies show. " Instead of giving us

incentives to protect our forests, the world gives countries like mine

(PNG) incentives to destroy them, " Mr Conrad said.

http://www.thenational.com.pg/092407/nation3.htm

 

Vietnam:

 

32) Eleven new animal and plant species have been discovered in a

remote area of central Vietnam, conservation group WWF announced

Wednesday. Scientists have found a snake, five orchids, two

butterflies and three other plants new to science and exclusive to

tropical forests in the Annamites Mountain Range, known as the Green

Corridor, in Thua Thien Hue Province, WWF said in a press release. The

new snake, the white-lipped keelback, tends to live by streams where

it feeds on frogs and other small animals, the WWF said, adding it can

reach 80 centimetres (31 inches) in length and has a distinctive

yellow-white stripe along its head and red dots covering its body.

" Discoveries of so many new species are rare and occur only in very

special places like the Green Corridor, " said Chris Dickinson, WWF's

chief conservation scientist there. " Several large mammal species were

discovered in the 1990s in the same forests so these latest

discoveries may be just the tip of the iceberg. " Of the five new

orchid species, three are completely leafless -- a very rare

characteristic for an orchid. Like many fungal species, they contain

no chlorophyll and live on decaying matter. WWF is also examining 10

other plant species, including four orchids, which also appear to be

new species. " The area is extremely important for conservation and the

province wants to protect the forests and their environmental

services, as well as contribute to sustainable development, " said

Hoang Ngoc Khanh, director of the Provincial Forest Protection

Department. The Green Corridor is home to one of the world's most

endangered primates -- the white-cheeked crested gibbon -- and the

best location in Vietnam to conserve the saola -- a unique type of

wild cattle discovered by scientists in 1992. The WWF said the Green

Corridor's significant population of threatened species is at risk

from illegal logging, hunting, unsustainable extraction of natural

resources and conflicting development interests, despite commitment

for preservation by local authorities.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iNPZCQVYgaX18ei4K1OBeep5efrw

 

Australia:

 

33) Pulp mill in Tasmania to lead to massive deforestation: and 10

million tonnes of greenhouse emissions every year, Greens Senator says

Christine Milne, Senator for Tasmania, Australian Greens Party,

recorded in the Senate Hansard, Commonwealth of Australia, 11

September 2007 said the Gunns pulp mill in Tasmania has not been

assessed for its greenhouse gas emissions. " We have a Minister for

Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation who tried to mislead the

parliament when I asked the question about the pulp mill by saying

that the Australian Greenhouse Office measures carbon in forests and

so on. I asked specifically about the pulp mill proposal. Under the

RPDC process, the greenhouse gas emissions were to be assessed. Once

that process was dumped by the Lennon government, there was no

prospect of the greenhouse gas emissions being assessed " .

http://waterweek.wordpress.com/2007/09/26/pulp-mill-in-tasmania-to-lead-to-massi\

ve-deforestati

on-and-10-million-tonnes-of-greenhouse-emissions-every-year-greens-senator-says/

34) There are about 2,000 forest contractors operating in Tasmania -

some running small businesses, some operating individually. They run

the trucks, chainsaws, bulldozers and mills that make the forest

industry possible. Abetz has not targeted fuel pricing, resource

access, predatory business practices, or even future carbon trading as

areas of inquiry. Instead, he is most concerned about " reduced quotas,

stemming in large part from a concerted attack internationally on

Tasmanian forestry practices by extreme Green groups " . Brad

Stansfield, spokesman for Senator Abetz, rejected questions regarding

due process and transparency as " Green alarmism " . Asked to confirm

that Poyry would look beyond environmental lobbying to consider the

impact of Gunns' business practices on independent forest contractors,

he would only say that " they're looking at all relevant factors " . It

doesn't seem to matter to the Minister's office that Poyry is the

consultant to Tasmania's largest landholder, plantation owner,

woodchip producer and potential pulp mill operator. Stansfield denied

repeatedly that even the perception of a conflict of interest might

therefore exist in having Poyry advise the government on the needs and

issues facing Tasmania's independent forest contractors. " If we had

appointed Gunns to do this, I would accept your argument. We haven't.

We have appointed independent experts in the field to do it.

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=6428

 

35) Logging has been suspended in the Moira State Forest in

southwestern NSW as a protest against alleged illegal logging moves

into its second day. One protester remains hanging in a tree canopy.

He is accompanied by more than a dozen environmental activists on the

ground. The protesters say Forests NSW is allowing the forests to be

logged illegally, as it has not prepared an Environmental Impact

Statement or a Species Impact Statement. A spokeswoman for the NSW Red

Gum Forest Action group said today 15 environmental campaigners were

continuing with the protest. The NSW Department of Primary Industries

(DPI), which includes Forests NSW, has denied there has been any clear

felling in the Moira State Forest or that proper environmental checks

were not done before the logging licence was granted. Today a DPI

spokesman said wood harvesting operations had been suspended while

talks continued. " Discussions are continuing with the protest group

and we're hopeful that there'll be a resolution shortly,'' he said.

" Talks are being held at a local level.'' The protest follows a

challenge to Forests NSW by the National Parks Association of NSW, a

non-government community group. The association has lodged the action

in the Land and Environment Court, saying Forests NSW has not complied

with legislation on planning and threatened species. The court action

is continuing.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22479365-5005961,00.html