Guest guest Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Today for you 35 new articles about earth's trees! (284th edition) Subscribe / send blank email to: earthtreenews- Weblog: http://olyecology.livejournal.com --British Columbia: 1) Forestry policy has failed, 2) Save Saltspring Island's trees, 3) Ken Wu, 4) BC has highest carbon stores in Canada, 5) Prince George Flood Coalition, --Washinton: 6) More public access to state-owned forests, 7) Logging roads, --Oregon: 8) They knew about the landslide before it happened, 9) Conservation-oriented logging, 10) Silver Falls State Park as a national park? 11) BLM lies, --California: 12) HP's 60 mile corridor, 13) Dams removed plus Land for tribes, 14) Sun is saving paper, 15) Another UC tree massacre, --Idaho: 16) Saving Grizzly habitat? --Montana: 17) Logging Scratchgravel Hills --Minnesota: 18) Boreal forest taken over by more Southern species, --Missouri: 19) Small-scale logging --Arkansas: 20) Sabotage culprit caught --Vermont: 21) Stealing the man's syrup trees --Alabama: 22) Save Marion fish hatchery woods --North Carolina: 23) Slopes cleared for expansive resorts --USA: 24) Common Sense Forestry, 25) $million in road removal = 33 jobs, 26) It's not fire suppression, it's called photosynthesis, 27) Thinning affects bird populations, --UK: 28) Plans for 10 new eco-towns, 29) Only 12% left, --Ireland: 30) Felling part of one of the last woodlands --Mozambique: 31) Fires take 4 million hectares this year --Congo: 32) A month-long journey to help Canada Ape-Alliance --Mexico: 33) Rainforest to Reef --Guyana: 34) More logging fines --India: 35) We were the ones who nurtured forests British Columbia: 1) The Liberal government's forestry ideas have failed. B.C. isn't really very good at what it does with the forest resource. And there is no particular reason for hope, other than the fact that eventually we'll reach a point where things just can't get any worse. Campbell obliquely recognized the various crises engulfing the industry, even as he remained wildly optimistic. " It's not one thing, " he said. " It's everything. And it's all at once. " The Liberals have tried just about everything to respond to all those challenges since they formed government. They kicked off their first term in 2001 with a task force on the pine beetle epidemic. They did a full rewrite of forest legislation in 2003, freeing companies to do the most absurd things imaginable (like headquartering an Island timber company in Bermuda) in order to survive. In 2004, then forests minister Mike de Jong challenged the sector to become the best in the world. " New Era policy changes provide the foundation for B.C. to become the leader in the global forest products sector, " he said. " When we became government, the forest sector had suffered more than a decade of decline, " de Jong said. " Change was needed. We delivered that change. " That was about two dozen mill closures ago. In 2005 the government bulked up a forestry revitalization trust fund to " assist workers and contractors in the transition to a more diversified forest economy. " Later that year it announced a blizzard of projects to use the $100 million Ottawa delivered to cope with the pine beetle disaster. Along the way there were reports on the state of the forests, preparing for climate change and log exports, to name a few. The Liberals didn't just order up reports. They also came up with a number of " strategies. " There was a coastal recovery strategy, a bioenergy strategy, a log export strategy, a co-ordinated federal-provincial pine beetle strategy and a specific Port Alberni strategy. Eisenhower invaded German-occupied Europe with less planning and strategizing than the Liberals have devoted to forestry. But there's just not much to show for it. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=0edf916f-\ baf6-445a-b2 49-11648f6a2800 2) Time is running out for a group of Saltspring Island residents dedicated to saving almost 20 acres of pristine rainforest. The islanders hope to raise $1 million by Feb. 29 to buy Creekside Rainforest, to be preserved in perpetuity by The Land Conservancy of B.C. They have collected about $600,000 so far. " There will be a lot of broken hearts if we lose it, " appeal co-ordinator Maureen Moore said after a walk through the forest. The residents feel the land should be saved from development for both personal and environmental reasons, but the agreement giving them first option to buy it expires in a little over a month. Moore said the rainforest is a peaceful place that provides a " powerful expression of nature. " Her six-year-old granddaughter calls the area " the Green Valley. " " We need to preserve this land for our children and grandchildren, " she said. The land is the last available parcel of temperate rainforest in a riparian area on Saltspring. A small salmon-bearing creek and several old Douglas fir trees support diverse wildlife, including the vulnerable red-legged frog. " Less than 10 per cent of the island is protected, " said Moore. " If this doesn't go through the land would be subdivided and eventually logged. " The race to save the rainforest is supported by the Salt Spring Island Conservancy, which has pledged about $25,000 to keep it green. " We want to do this because it's available. In many cases we can't do it, but here we have an opportunity to purchase it and have it kept as a forest forever, " said president Bob Weeden. http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=8156b9f1-2ad4-4b46-9f3f-9cc\ 6e23f40f8 3) " We were living in the [Toronto] suburb of Scarborough and we had a wetland behind our home. I kept the frogs and toads as pets, " Wu said. There's a pause as Wu thinks about the environmentally incorrect idea of wild amphibian pets. " I didn't know better at that time, " he adds. For six-year-old Wu, the shocking eye-opener came when developers bulldozed the wetland. " I kept thinking about the tonnes of mud smothering all the animals, " he said. That was the birth of Wu's interest in the environment, which has brought him across the country to Victoria where, since 1999, he has been the Western Canada Wilderness Committee's campaign director. " A great awakening for me was when I discovered the non-fiction section of my elementary school library in Grade 4. It was like walking into a gold mine. From then on, right through high school, I spent every recess and lunch break reading books about wildlife, nature and politics, " he said. That's no surprise to anyone who has watched Wu do research all night, organize a protest, sail through a series of media interviews -- and then crash. His friend Ken James, a former sawmill worker who helped found the Youbou TimberLess Society, recalls a trip to Nelson where they spent hours preparing for a shared early morning radio interview. After a night of research, Wu was finally shaken awake about 15 minutes before going on air, but still managed to ace the interview. " He was sitting there after, and he said, 'You know that's why us environmentalists have so much problem fighting those people. They're always up so early,' " James said. " I have known him since he was barely shaving. I met him in 1993, when he came up to the Clayoquot protests. He looked as if he should have been in diapers, and he came up and said, 'What do you want me to do?' " Langer's answer was, " Organize people on campus, " but, at that time, she had no clue how successful Wu could be when pursuing a cause. " The next thing I knew was him phoning and saying, 'I've booked a bus and I'm bringing students out to protest.' " That led to Clayoquot's massive student protest, largely because of Wu's networking and organizational skills, Langer said. " I see Ken as a true revolutionary. He's always thinking about what it takes to get people engaged. I see him getting better and better at tapping into the hearts and minds of people, " she said. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=6b935dd4-24db-423\ 8-a108-75be8 ba617ca & k=83948 4) Globally, forest ecosystems contain more than half of all terrestrial carbon and account for about 80 percent of the exchange of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. British Columbia forests have some of the highest carbon stores in Canada averaging 311 tonnes per hectare with some coastal forests holding 600 to 1,300 tonnes per hectare. Based on the average estimates, the total carbon stored by BC's forests amounts to 88 times Canada's annual greenhouse gas emissions. (989 times BC's GHG annual emissions – the equivalent of the annual electricity use of 8.5billion households, or keeping 14 billion cars off the road for one year.).[ii] This stored carbon is worth an estimated total of $774 billion, or $62 billion per year ($1,072 per hectare.) The Land Trust Alliance of British Columbia (LTABC) has just released a landmark report, Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change through the Conservation of Nature, authored by economic and climate change experts, Sara J. Wilson and Dr. Richard J. Hebda. Sara is a leading Canadian researcher on Ecological Economics, which is an emerging field that values nature's services. Dr. Richard J. Hebda is an adjunct associate professor, Biology, Schools of Earth and Ocean Sciences and Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria and a respected, published author and presenter on climate change. The LTABC commissioned report highlights the wisdom of investing in mother nature's intact ecosystems as a means of both adapting to and mitigating the significant effects of climate change. In British Columbia, virtually all discussions and proposed solutions to the increasing concerns about climate change are about energy, transportation and other technological advances. Very little attention has been paid to our forested lands, grasslands and wetlands – the critical role that existing ecosystems play actively conserving vast stores of carbon-reducing GHG emissions to the atmosphere. The most effective way to benefit from the carbon storage values of natural ecosystems is to prevent or mitigate their conversion to other uses and keep them healthy. This is exactly what BC Land trusts do. http://www.landtrustalliance.bc.ca 5) The Prince George Flood Coalition has joined together a number of concerned parties to ensure that the City of Prince George and the Province of British Columbia protect the lives, property and businesses of those affected by the ice jam and flooding of the Nechako and Fraser Rivers. The coalition comprises the Nechako River Industrial Group, The Nechako River Victims Coalition, the United Steel Workers and the Prince George Truckers Association and draws together businesses, residents, affected workers and contractors in a united effort to hold the municipal and provincial governments accountable for their responsibilities under the flood emergency and to have meaningful input for their plans for the future. By uniting together, the broad coalition hopes to have a louder voice to ensure that an acceptable long term solution is achieved. " We have over 100 residents that have been badly affected " said Jerry deWit, Co-Chair of the Nechako River Victims Coalition. " There was a state of emergency for flooding in 1996. Eleven years later we are again in a state of emergency and our properties are flooded by surface water and the basements are filling with groundwater, " he says. Mr. Ed Mazur, Co-Chair of NRVC, is concerned that there has not been enough action on the part of the city and province to take effective measures to prevent flooding of the river. " We need to ensure this never happens again and that adequate flood defences are built for the future, " he suggested. " We are into a narrow opening with our winter logging season, " says Stan Wheeldon, " and some of our over 300 members are not working as Winton Global and Brink Forest Products have stopped logging and hauling lumber due to the ice jam. Immediate action is required. The city is hoping for warmer weather to break up the ice jam, but that may be too late and we won't be able to get into the forest under warmer spring like conditions " . " We need the mills to operate again as soon as possible so our truckers are able to work uninterrupted, " he said. He adds that the constant starting and stopping is extremely costly for his members. http://www.opinion250.com/blog/view/8131/1/flood+coalition+calls+for+complete+re\ view+of+nechak o+hydrology Washington: 6) State Rep. Brian Blake's legislative proposal to study ways to provide more public access to state-owned forest and aquatic lands will resonate with outdoor enthusiasts in Southwest Washington, no doubt. And it does seem to us that the Aberdeen Democrat is offering a balanced, thoughtful process for determining how best to make these public lands accessible to hunters, hikers and others. Blake's legislation - House Bill 2472 - would create an advisory group to recommend to the Legislature how to improve access to certain state lands, according to a report last week by Daily News political writer Stephanie Mathieu. The advisory panel would include representatives for recreational groups, major landowners and the U.S. Forest Service. The group's work would be focused on lands, such as the some 36,000 acres of Department of Natural Resources forest land located between the two forks of the Toutle River. This public land is surrounded by private land owned by Weyerhaeuser Co. Previous to 2001, Weyerhaeuser pretty much allowed unrestricted access across its land. It still allows vehicular access during hunting seasons. But problems with vandalism, garbage dumping, meth labs and the like prompted the company to limit public access on most of the logging roads in its Mount St. Helens Tree Farm in 2001. Blake says his constituents want secured public access to the DNR forest lands between the two forks of the Toutle. During a public hearing on his bill Tuesday, many of those constituents showed up to testify. They said opening more public land for recreational use is long overdue. http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/21/editorial/10065760.txt 7) Thousands of miles of logging roads channel run-off from uplands, silting salmon spawning streams, dramatically reducing their reproductive habitats. The deactivation of logging roads poses a unique and heretofore poorly understood process. What is known is that the run-off of water from rains causes massive environmental havoc in the form of erosion, removing life-sustaining top soils, causing sedimentation and siltation inflows into downstream watersheds. With each successive tree-crop cycle, environments lose topsoils, slowing ecological recovery. In the not-too-distant future, as Washington State forests face 3rd, 4th, and soon 5th growth forests, the impact of thinning soils becomes more severe. Unless the depletion of the nutritional topsoil bank is addressed, the future economic return from Washington State forests is increasingly jeopardized by current practices. Washington State is not alone. The problem of roads causing ecological damage is universally shared throughout the world. For every mile of paved road in Washington State, there are more than 7 miles of unpaved roads. Washington State budgeted $165,000 in 2001 for the decommissioning of roads. In contrast, in 1999, the Forest Service budgeted $25,000,000 for federal lands. Increasingly state and federal governments have targeted roads as the primary vector of siltation and pollution to watersheds and sensitive ecosystems. Estimates for deactivating roads range from $4100 to $15,500 for every mile (Garrity, 1995) in the Northern Rockies to $21,000 to $105,600 per mile in the Olympics and Cascades. (Seaburg, 2001). The cost of building a road in Washington State is estimated at $600-2000 per hundred feet, or approximately $32,000+ per mile. The cost of destroying or building a road, using current methods, is roughly within the same range. As there is little precedent for an acceptable standard of decimation, restoration experts can benefit by adapting to mycofiltration delivery systems. We propose a new approach. The intention herein is to take the first steps in addressing a simple solution to a complex field of problems. When the full costs are taken into consideration, ecologically (i.e. forests & fish ecology), economically (lumber, road construction, access), and aesthetically, mycofiltration is worthy of serious consideration. What we propose is simple yet highly effective. http://rixonology.wordpress.com/2008/01/20/mycofiltration-a-novel-approach-for-t\ he-bio-transf ormation-of-abandoned-logging-roads/ Oregon: 8) State geologists predicted the landslide that crushed homes and severed U.S. 30 west of Clatskanie, but the state shelved the information partly because of concerns it would interfere with land development. The prediction was spelled out in the form of landslide hazard maps that state geologists drew up for all of western Oregon after landslides killed five people in 1996. The maps labeled most of the area involved in last month's U.S. 30 slide as posing " very high " or " extreme " landslide hazard -- the highest possible categories of risk. They showed the danger extending from Oregon State University clear-cuts where the destructive chain of events began, downhill to an old earthen railroad crossing that allowed mud and debris to collect for more than a week, forming a lake. The debris finally broke loose Dec. 11, releasing a muddy torrent into homes that sat in the danger zone. But people living in those homes never knew the maps existed -- even though the state spent nearly $250,000 developing them to help protect life and property. State foresters who reviewed logging more than a mile above the homes knew about the maps but did not refer to them, they said. And other homeowners in a state full of risky terrain -- Portland's West Hills, the Coast Range, parts of southwestern Oregon and more -- don't know whether they face the same risk as those west of Clatskanie. That's because a little-known state board quietly withdrew the maps from official use in 2003 after city and county officials complained that they labeled too much area as hazardous and might restrict development and hurt property values, according to state documents and interviews with people involved. The state law that called for the maps included mandates that made local officials see it all as a regulatory headache. The state never supplied money to refine the maps -- which cover 19 western Oregon counties -- the way cities and counties wanted. The result is that the maps showing areas at highest risk of landslides remain unknown to the people in the most danger. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/120070952595600\ ..xml & coll=7 9) Conservation-oriented logging can be successful both economically and environmentally, as evidenced by harvest operations conducted within reserve areas of federal forests, Heiken said. Since the Northwest Forest Plan was implemented, the amount of timber harvested within reserves has actually been greater than in mixed-use matrix areas of federal forests, said Spies. Heiken attributed that to the less-controversial extraction methods used in reserve areas. By not drawing the ire of conservationists, such operations move forward more easily, he said. " That's a good signal of where we need to go, " said Heiken. The committee also shouldn't forget that old growth forests provide tangible benefits, such as clean air and water, he said. So, there's a much broader rationale for preserving such stands than abstract environmental or aesthetic concerns, said Heiken. " The touchy-feely aspect of the discussion about values made me uneasy, because it perpetuates the view that old growth is a social issue, " he said. Tom Partin, president of the American Forest Resources Council, said that old growth management currently boils down to land allocation: Existing mature forests are protected, younger stands are set aside to become more mature, and additional acreage is needed to grow replacement " old growth " stands damaged by fire, insects and disease. " I don't think that's healthy, " said Partin, noting that managing forests for maturity doesn't guarantee forest health. " It's not a canned solution. " http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=67 & SubSectionID=782 & ArticleID=38\ 459 & TM=82228.27 10) In 1926, the National Park Service rejected the idea of making Silver Falls State Park a national park. It was the same story in 1935. Almost 75 years have passed and state Rep. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, thinks it's time to raise the issue again. He is introducing a bill for the February session that would get the process started. Silver Falls, at almost 9,000 acres, is the largest state park in Oregon. A 30-minute drive from Salem, it's also one of the most heavily used, with nearly 1 million visits each year — roughly twice the number seen by Crater Lake, Oregon's only national park. The idea was rejected last century because the Silver Creek watershed had been heavily logged. But the forests have made a comeback, and Girod thinks now is a good time to reconsider. He sees several potential benefits to national park status, from wider exposure to bigger budgets. More tourists are always welcome in communities such as Silverton, which bills itself " the gateway to Silver Falls. " " I think that idea sells itself, " said Girod, whose district spans the eastern portions of Clackamas, Marion and Linn counties. It's unclear whether the state would welcome such a move. Chris Havel, the spokesman for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, said the department hasn't studied the issue. " We would have to sit down and study that from a lot of angles because it's a really complex issue, " he said. The department would lose about $800,000 a year in visitor fees and other income generated by the park, but would also lose the financial burden of maintaining it. If Girod's bill is approved by the Legislature, the state would make a formal request to Congress to consider adding Silver Falls to the federal park system. Congress could then direct the National Park Service to study the matter. " The study would look at three things: Is it suitable? Is it feasible? Is it nationally significant? " said Holly Bundock, a National Park Service spokeswoman. " All of those factors have to be yes. " But there is a quicker route. Under the Antiquities Act of 1906, the president can create national monuments with the stroke of a pen. http://www.newsregister.com/news/results.cfm?story_no=230427 11) Jim Caswell — nominated by President Bush last summer to head the BLM — gave the keynote speech at a sustainability forestry convention organized by Associated Oregon Loggers Inc., a trade association with more than 1,000 member firms. Caswell spent a few days in Oregon this week as part of a tour of several Western states. The BLM manages 258 million acres of public lands. At the gathering of Oregon loggers, Caswell said that under a new management strategy being crafted by the agency, some of the old rules of the Northwest Forest Plan would no longer apply on the 2.2 million acres of Western Oregon forests the agency manages. Caswell said the new strategy would put an end to three provisions of the Northwest Forest Plan — which has guided logging on public lands in Washington, Oregon and California since 1994. The new plan will end watershed assessments, surveys of plants and animals before an area is logged, and upper management review of decisions made at the regional level, Caswell said. While the loggers welcomed the possibility of an increase in timber production on federal land, the proposal has drawn a raft of criticism from private citizens, environmental groups and other federal agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency has said the BLM plan will harm water quality, and the National Marine Fisheries Service said the plan will harm salmon, according to an Associated Press story. http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=5154\ 4 & sid=1 & fid=1 California: 12) While the Hewlett and Packard heirs will still own the land, the ranch - which is about the size of the city of San Francisco - will become part of a crucial 60-mile corridor of open meadows and oak woodlands, a safe habitat for deer, tule elk and mountain lions. " We've been working for more than 10 years in Mount Hamilton, and this is the last 10-mile link between two state parks, " said Nature Conservancy spokesperson Jordan Peavey. " It's going to provide a buffer zone for all the plants and the animals in that area. " Considering how easy it would have been for the Hewlett-Packard heirs to turn the area over to development - subdivisions and golf courses press in on the periphery of the property already - it's a pleasure to hear that the heirs have opted to preserve its rustic beauty for the future. Its preservation is also a gift for Silicon Valley history, since David Packard and Bill Hewlett held parties, retreats and legendary gatherings there. In his autobiography, Packard even credited the ranch for helping him develop a strong relationship with Hewlett. Unfortunately, the ranch has one thing in common with California's unfortunate state parks right now - it won't be open to the public. But its intact natural habitat will be a boon to future wildlife biologists, and the benefits of keeping it protected from development will be shared by all. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/22/EDNHUJ27S.DTL 13) In the proposal to remove the dams are sweeteners for various interest groups to get them to cooperate. They range from guaranteed irrigation water for farmers to money for Native American tribes. Under the new strategy, the agreement supports the tribes' request for $21 million from Congress over the next four years to buy 90,000 acres of private forestland. That amounts to about 2 percent of the $1 billion estimated cost of the Klamath Basin settlement. The only reference in the 241-page settlement proposal to re-establishing the reservation is a brief mention of what it calls the Mazama Project. Restoring the reservation is a hot-button issue in Klamath County, where farms go back generations and tribal lore to time immemorial. This past Thursday, about 50 people stood outside the Klamath County Courthouse holding placards protesting the tribes' land deal and other portions of the agreement. At a three-hour meeting of the county's Natural Resource Advisory Committee that followed, Edward Bartell of the Klamath Off-Project Water Users Association urged the committee to reject the settlement. " The way this has worked out is you stab everyone in the back and the last one standing has a settlement, " Bartell said. The land in question is a 25-mile-long wedge of lodgepole and ponderosa pine straddling Highway 97 north of Klamath Falls and covering the northwest corner of the tribes' former reservation. More than 50 years ago under a federal policy called termination, members of the Klamath Tribes got cash payments and their reservation was converted into the Fremont-Winema National Forest. Many of the 3,500 tribal members today contend they were swindled, but others in the basin say the Native Americans got a fair price and aren't entitled to federal money to help them recover their lost land. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004137639_klamath22.html 14) For Sun Microsystems, " eco " stands for both ecology, as in the environment, and economy, as in the financial bottom line. Recently the company realized savings in both areas when it decided to go electronic with its financial filings under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule. Under the SEC's new Notice and Access rule, companies can make proxy materials available via the Internet. In place of the proxy materials, companies can mail a " Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials " to stockholders and then provide Internet access to the materials. By using the electronic financial filings, Sun reduced their hard-copy printing of proxy materials by 92 percent, from about 1 million copies to about 80,000, saving $500,000, according to Bret Schaefer, VP of Finance and Investor Relations for Sun Microsystems. On the environmental side, that translates into saving about 100 million pieces of paper and avoiding the generation of 1300 metric tons of CO2 and 9.5 million gallons of wastewater. The tradeoff? According to Sun, there really isn't one. In 2006, the last year the IT giant mailed hard copies of proxy materials, 90 percent of shares voted. In 2007, using electronic proxy materials, 89 percent of shares voted, a reduction of only one percent. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/12/10/new-sec-rule-saved-sun-500000-and-\ 100-million-sh eets-of-paper/ 15) University of California maintenance workers will begin removing 317 Monterey pine trees from the Gill Tract in Albany later this month after determining that the trees pose a hazard to people and property on nearby sidewalks and streets. UC officials said many of the trees are dead or infected with pitch canker, a fungal disease that causes pine trees to die prematurely. The trees can drop large branches or fall down completely, threatening nearby sidewalks, which are used by children and parents of Ocean View Elementary School, or busy streets, such as Buchanan Street and San Pablo Avenue. " You want them to be taken down in a controlled manner, " said Phil Cody, manager of campus arboriculture and wildlands for the university, which owns the land. The first phase of removal is scheduled to begin Jan. 28, weather permitting, and will include 184 Monterey pines that are closest to streets and sidewalks. The second phase of removal has not been scheduled because funding has not been identified for it, according to university spokeswoman Sarah Yang. When it takes place, the second phase will include an additional 133 trees. Albany Mayor Robert Lieber said he was not convinced all the trees need to be removed. " I'm disappointed that we're removing so many trees, " he said. " I didn't think there was community outreach to educate people about why they'll need to be removed. I'm skeptical that they all need to be removed as the university says. Hopefully, we can preserve some. " Lieber said he was disappointed the university didn't plan for a replanting of new trees sooner. " If they knew about this, we could've been in the midst of a replanting effort a long time ago, " he said. " We could've been putting in better trees and taking these trees out. " http://www.contracostatimes.com/animals/ci_8032944?nclick_check=1 Idaho: 16) After grizzlies nearly disappeared in the 1970s, the Reagan Administration listed them as threatened, setting off three decades of protection under the Endangered Species Act that led to a tripling of the bear population. In 2005, the Bush Administration revoked its protected status, declaring the bear recovered. Great news, right? The symbol of the American West, like the wolf, had climbed back from the brink of extinction. Not so fast. Even while wildlife conservation groups cheered the success of the grizzly's recovery, they warned that the decision would pave the way for commercial exploitation on formerly protected lands. True enough. The Bush Administration now plans to start phosphate mining, commercial logging and energy exploration on 6 million acres that includes part of Idaho's Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which is set amidst a region of renowned American wilderness near the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, six national forests and two national wildlife refuges in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. A majority of Idaho voters oppose that plan, according to a recent poll. Meanwhile, concerned that habitat loss and increased hunting may see the grizzly slide again toward extinction, Idaho has proposed a $10,000 reward for turning in those who poach grizzly bears on protected lands. Some claim such a bill could backfire, hurting people who killed bears in self-defense. (While there is no comprehensive data on grizzly-human conflicts, a recent Associated Press article claims that at least a dozen grizzly bear attacks have been reported since April 2007. Similar controversies, each with their own character, are playing out in relation to other prominent Endangered Species Act decisions about wolves, bald eagles and others. How do we treat vulnerable species that have made a recovery? How much protection do these species deserve? You haven't heard the last from the grizzly bear. http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/grizzly-bears-47011508 Montana: 17) Simulated wildfire models show that flames could rip through public and private lands in the Scratchgravel Hills northwest of Helena in about four hours, according to John Thompson, a fire management officer for the Bureau of Land Management. So his agency has put together a plan to remove thousands of mostly small Douglas fir and ponderosa pine trees from 1,160 acres of public lands in an attempt to lessen the danger posed to firefighters who would try to keep the flames from some of the hundreds of houses abutting the BLM lands. They want to keep the fires from climbing up small " ladder fuels " into the crowns of trees, since ground fires are easier to reach and extinguish than crown fires. Thompson described the Scratchgravel Hills parcel as an island of public land surrounded by homes scattered about its base and climbing up the slopes. " Everybody, at least in the fire community, is in agreement that we need to do something out there, " Thompson said on Friday. " The timing depends on funding, but … we'd like to get the project going in late 2008 into 2009. " It's like a bamboo forest in there — so thick you can't walk through it and most of the trees are less than 5 inches in diameter. " West Valley Fire Chief Jerry Shepherd attended public meetings held last summer, and he said the vast majority of the Scratchgravel residents are anxious for the BLM to create fire breaks. " Up in the Head Lane area, there are a lot of houses and there's definitely a hazard to those homes, " Shepherd said. " People who live there are concerned. " This won't be a typical commercial logging project, since most of the trees are too small for saw boards. Instead, the materials mainly will be used for pulp wood products or biomass fuels, Thompson said. Because there's not a lot of product to sell, Thompson estimates it could cost taxpayers about $500,000 to $600,000 for the project — an amount the BLM is seeking through a congressional appropriation. However, some or all of that money could be repaid, since whoever takes on the project will pay for the product at a fixed rate. http://www.helenair.com/articles/2008/01/20/top/70lo_080120_scratchgravel.txt Minnesota: 18) For trees, northern Minn. is something of a cross-roads. The state's hardwood forests blend north into pine and birch, and then, in the northeast lakes area into cold climate species like aspen and jack pine. Cold tolerant trees are a signature feature of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park. That is the southern stretch of the boreal forest, which continues north into Canada. However, according to researchers with the Nature Conservancy, the northern forest could look a lot different in the coming decades, as warming temperatures push cold climate trees out. Mark White has developed forest computer models to predict how things will change and recently presented them at a wildlife research seminar in Duluth. " What it tells us at this point, is over the next 100 to 200 years, that a lot of the characteristic boreal forest species, like balsam fur, and black spruce, and white spruce and paper birch, are really going to decline dramatically, regardless of how we manage the forest, " said White. Imagine a Boundary Waters lake surrounded in the autumn by lush red maple, and golden oak. That's not a bad forest, but it's different than what we see in one of today's key tourist destinations. And, it will support a whole different set of other plants and forest animals than today. And White says climate change can put the forest at risk. The best defense, he said, is a diverse forest that mixes both different species and the ages of trees. " And we think that's important because species, sort of diversity in species and structure, makes forests more healthy and resilient in the face of these many stresses, like increased droughts and more insect pests and wildfire risks, and all of those things, " said White. http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=91754 Missouri: 19) Missouri Woods is not a large scale logging operation so typical of today that practices clear cutting or high grade logging using equipment that tears up the land and deforests it or leaves behind the diseased and dying trees. We practice a form of forest management that is called " restorative forestry, " which over time increases both the productivity and health of the forest in a sustainable, generationally oriented manner. This link, What Every Forest Landowner Should Know About MODERN MULE LOGGING, directs you to a PDF version of a tri-fold brochure we recently published, which details the practice and economics of restorative forestry. It might take a few minutes to download if you have a slow Internet connection, but be patient, especially if you are interested is seeing an example of the practical, real world application of biblical agrarianism. We want to recognize and thank Jason Rutledge of the Healing Harvest Forest Foundation for giving us permission to use one of his tri-fold brochures to help us create our own. Jason is the father of the animal powered, restorative forestry movement and the genius behind the creation of a new profession he coins the biological woodsman. Last November Art spent a week with Jason and his son in the woods of Virginia learning all he could of the art of restorative forestry, which has been a real help and boost in getting the logging end of Missouri Woods focused and running. In promoting Missouri Woods we have purposely distinguished it from modern commercial logging and have no desire to compete with it, as we believe the handwriting is clearly on the wall for all such forms of commerce that work outside the scale of God's creation and the boundaries of His law, a form of secular (pagan) agrarianism that is both destructive and unsustainable, as America is painfully learning. http://ruralmissourian.christianagrarian.com/?p=83 Arkansas: 20) Over a year after the New Year's Eve incident in which a contractor with the U.S. Forestry Service suffered an estimated $100,000 loss after his 1999 Tigercat log skidder — a piece of heavy equipment used in the industry to transport cut logs from timberlines to trucks — was destroyed in an apparent case of arson, investigators arrested Jerry Wayne Taylor, 21, on Wednesday. Pope County Sheriff's Deputy Stephen Pack testified in a Friday hearing Taylor, one of several questioned in connection with the suspected arson throughout the last year, confessed during an interview with investigators Wednesday to setting the fire while he and two friends were out " riding around and drinking " on the night of Dec. 31, 2006. Pack, who worked the case in cooperation with Arkansas State Police Special Agent Bill Glover and U.S. Forestry Service investigators, said Taylor indicated he started the fire by slashing an upholstered seat in the cab of the skidder, then lighting the exposed padding. Pack also testified Taylor admitted to using a Ruger rifle to fire 15-20 shots at the machinery's tires prior to setting the blaze. Evidence collected from the scene — off a forestry service road near Broomfield Road, north of Dover — immediately following the incident included spent shell casings and empty beer bottles, Pack added. District Judge Don Bourne, at the conclusion of the hearing, found probable cause to order Taylor held on a $250,000 bond. He also ordered Taylor to stay off land owned by the United States government — including land areas contained within the Ozark National Forest, where the skidder was parked at the time of the incident. If charged in connection with the arrest, Taylor, who told Bourne he works in the logging industry, will appear Feb. 4 in Pope County Circuit Court. http://www.couriernews.com/story.php?ID=17426 Vermont: 21) ROYALTON — The trees around George and Agnes Spaulding's 170-year-old farmhouse here are as good as money in the bank, many being old-growth maples that are valuable not only for the quality of their wood but also for the sweet sap that the couple boils into syrup each spring. Having been born on the farm, Mr. Spaulding, 78, loves the trees the way only someone who grew up with them could. But beyond that, he counts on the syrup sales to supplement the family income, which comes mainly from the twice-a-day milking of three dozen cows. So when a neighboring farmer crossed onto the Spauldings' land and chopped down 30 or so of their best trees, the couple was devastated. " There were a lot of nights spent worrying, and when I'd get up, I'd just see bare stumps, " said Mr. Spaulding, who was awarded about $30,000 for the tree loss in a civil lawsuit against his neighbor last month. " The wood was sold for lumber. And he didn't leave much very good. " Across the country, trees are disappearing in cases that are often small in scale but largely unsettling, probably prompted by the rise in timber value and the increase in worldwide demand for American hardwood — particularly from builders in Europe and China. The total value of the American log export market has more than doubled since 2000, industry experts said, and it continues to grow. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/us/20timber.html?_r=1 & oref=slogin Alabama: 22) The Alabama Department of Conservation has made no decision about cutting down mature pine trees in the Marion fish hatchery woods in Perry County, and a Judson College biology professor hopes the agency will never choose to. The fisheries division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources operates a fish hatchery and woodland adjacent to a state-owned park leased to Perry County for recreation and watching birds, including nesting bald eagles. The area includes the county-leased park, a Nature Conservancy beach and adjacent state land containing ponds, buildings and woods with native and foreign trees and plants that grow in a former cotton field. Judson College biology professor Thomas Wilson about three years ago warned that the state had plans to cut a certain species of pine tree and sell it. " The park is technically 80 acres ... and what we want to do is protect the entire 600 acres, " Wilson said in a telephone interview. " They've been out there deciding where to cut the big trees. " Conservation Commissioner Barnett Lawley vehemently denied Wilson's charge. " What we were talking about was a study that would tell how best we could manage that [property], " Lawley said. Wilson said the preserve contains mature swamp tupelo, water tupelo, cherry board oak, swamp chestnut oak, bald cypress, yellow poplar and other tree species. It also has mature loblolly pine trees which, because they only live about 80 years, are candidates for harvesting before they die and become unusable, said Alabama Forestry Commission lands division forester Eddie Kirkland. He said the pine trees are a renewable resource because they can be replanted. Conservation officials argue that the mature loblolly pines, which really aren't native to the property and were planted for erosion control on the former cotton farm, can provide income to defray the nearly $1 million annual cost of operating the fisheries and adjacent endangered species aquatic biodiversity farm. http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080122/NEWS/801220310/1007/dateline & cach\ etime=3 & templ ate=dateline North Carolina: 23) The mountain slopes of Western North Carolina are being cleared for expansive resort development. Will these activities weaken the landslide prone slopes of Western North Carolina? According to Tyler Clark, chief geologist with the North Carolina Geological Survey, " There have been landslides in the North Carolina mountains since prehistoric times, but now more people are vulnerable because more people are choosing to live in areas that may be prone to landslides. When you add to that hurricanes or other storms that could start a landslide you have a really dangerous situation. " " Our studies of landslides across North Carolina over the last year and a half indicate that a large number of them occurred because of things that people have done to alter the landscape. These activities have included construction of roads, house building, and the cutting of trees. When you try to develop land on a steep slope, you can change a stable condition to an unstable one. " http://wncsos.blogspot.com/2008/01/western-north-carolina-mountain-slopes.html USA: 24) Trees are the ultimate sunlight-harvesting machines. The care and nurturing of trees has been a recurring theme in Chelsea Green's publishing program, from The Man Who Planted Trees to Julia Alvarez's A Cafecito Story. Here is a book that foregoes romance in favor of straightforward, practical knowledge. Twenty-five years ago, when Hans Morsbach became interested in cultivating trees and managing small woodlands, he searched for a good how-to manual. He never found one, so he decided to write his own someday. Based on his subsequent experience, combining deep research into the academic literature on forestry with his successes and failures as a small-scale commercial tree farmer, the result is Common Sense Forestry, an indispensable reference for anyone who owns or wants to own wooded property. Morsbach is an unabashed nature lover as well as a businessman, and well understands the essential importance of a long-term approach to sustainable forest management. In this highly readable and entertaining text, the author offers a comprehensive look at managing existing woodlands by creating, and later maintaining, forests that promote biodiversity while providing an income stream. This comprehensive examination of sustainable forestry includes everything from choosing land to beginning a forest through seeding and transplanting, from pruning and thinning to harvesting trees, from debates over herbicides and clearcutting to working with professional foresters, from business strategies to tax planning. While Morsbach's personal experience is in the Midwest, the information in this book is applicable to a wide range of trees and is relevant to all regions of North America. http://www.creativedesignzone.com/ASIN_1931498210.htm 25) America's first National Forests were established more than one hundred years ago, and today we have 155 of them, stretching across 191 million acres. Although almost all of our original old-growth forests are gone, three-fourths of what remain are within National Forest borders. Many people assume our National Forests are off-limits to logging. They aren't. Not only is commercial logging allowed, it's encouraged-with your taxes paying the way. The Forest Service logging program is subsidized by taxpayers and operates at a huge loss. In addition to the loss incurred by timber sales in the National Forests, taxpayers also face the cost of environmental cleanup of the areas damaged by logging. Americans love to hike, camp, fish, hunt and canoe in National Forests. And it's no wonder: with 4,400 campgrounds, 121,000 miles of trails and 96 Wild and Scenic Rivers, our National Forests are truly America's favorite playground. Hunting and fishing generate 2.9 million jobs a year. There are consistently more jobs, more income and more public revenues associated with forest protection. On the state level, forest protection is directly related to economic gain. New businesses are drawn to forested regions seeking the quality of life that a scenic and healthy environment provides. Healthy forests purify drinking water, stabilize hillsides and protect us from floods. Hillsides with clearcuts or logging roads lose their ability to absorb heavy rains. Forest Service studies in the Northwest found that more than 70% of mudslides and landslides in some areas were linked with logging roads. More than 80% of the nation's drinking water supply originates in National Forests. A forest with decommissioned roads and healthy stream banks provides benefits such as high quality water, improved habitat for fish and wildlife, and improved quality of life. In addition, numerous studies have found that restoration programs can help meet the needs or rural communities. For example, one report found that every $1 million spent on removing roads and restoring the land underneath them creates 33 jobs. http://petalac.blog-city.com/forests.htm 26) Fire suppression, throughout its entire history, has not added one ounce of fuel to the environment. Not even a microgram of fuel has been added by fire suppression. The culprit is photosynthesis. All the biomass in the Biosphere got there directly or indirectly via photosynthesis. There is an exception: sulfur bacteria growing near undersea vents, but besides that paltry scum, the rest of Life is photosynthetic in origin or dependency. Reducing, hamstringing, and/or banning fire suppression altogether will not solve our fire crisis. Withholding fire suppression will not stop any fires. It's the biotic fuels that are burning, and they got there via photosynthesis. Another non-solution to our fire crisis would be to attempt to eliminate photosynthesis. This would be an impossible task, for Life is Resilient. If it could be done, it would also have the unintended consequence of killing off all oxygen-dependent life forms, including you and me. Interestingly, there are a few spots where mankind has nearly eliminated photosynthesis. The Los Angeles Basin comes to mind. In LA the roadside and sidewalk vegetation is made of plastic, because real trees won't grow there anymore. The Los Angeles Basin is a net oxygen depleter, an oxygen sink, a photosynthetic black hole. If photosynthetically-produced oxygen didn't diffuse into LA from elsewhere on the planet, everybody there would suffocate and die. Ditto Washington D.C. Far more hot gases are expelled in D.C. than the weeds in the concrete or the moss under the eaves can even begin to fix. Fortunately (in my opinion, I don't know about yours) 99.99+ percent of the Earth's surface is not like LA or D.C. http://westinstenv.org/sosf/2008/01/20/fire-suppression-is-not-to-blame/ 27) When more than half of trees are harvested from a mature forest, the populations of some bird species plummet. An analysis of 42 studies looking at how partial harvesting of forests affects 34 bird species finds that 14 species become less common after a site is logged. Meanwhile, another six species gain abundance after cutting a forest. The amount of trees left after harvesting has a bearing on how drastically bird numbers drop. Overall, when 70% of the trees are left, a few species decline by 25%, but no populations fall by as much as 50%. It's when more than half the trees are logged in an area that severe drops of 75% or more occur for some species. Certain species are far more sensitive than others to tree removal. Two birds particularly require the habitat only found in intact mature forests. Brown creepers use the bark of large trees for feeding and nesting. Ovenbirds need deep leaf litter under a closed tree canopy. In contrast, other species decline by as little as 25% when three-quarters of the trees are harvested. Birds that do benefit from tree harvesting respond enthusiastically, generally increasing by at least 50% in number when 70% of a forest is retained.The meta-analysis only covered studies examining partial retention harvesting that left behind a uniform distribution of live trees. The research came from many different regions and forest types including Douglas-fir forests in British Columbia and Oregon, ponderosa pine in Arizona, beech in West Virginia and New York, and sugar maple in Ontario and Michigan. The analysis found that most kinds of birds respond consistently throughout Canada and United States. Three species though, black-throated green warblers, rose-breasted grosbeaks and yellow-rumped warblers, are more sensitive to tree harvesting in boreal forests than in habitat farther south. http://www.currentresults.com/Wildlife/Birds/some-801211.php UK: 28) When Gordon Brown announced plans for 10 new eco-towns, last year, he won't have expected to receive opposition from Labour party donors and environmentalists. But that's what he's got. Last week the publisher Felix Dennis – a " filthy rich " former donor (as he puts it himself) and originator of the largest individual forestry project in centuries – lodged a fierce protest against one of the proposed new towns, just two miles from his estate in Warwickshire. In many cases, this could be dismissed as nimbyism. Not this time, as I discovered when I visited Dennis. His green credentials are impressive. He showed me his organic cattle, chickens and pigs. And we looked around his home, which features a swimming pool with an island in the middle, banqueting hall, cinema and gym. But the most remarkable fact about Dennis's home is that this is the biggest timber structure built in Britain for 300 years. It's not going to be his largest wooden legacy, however. Dennis plans to plant the biggest continuous forest in Britain on 50,000 acres of his own land. At my request he listed the variety of native trees, including sweet chestnut. " If you've been here for 2,000 years you're native, " he joked. Then he recounted with savage relish how neighbours ( " in faux-Tudor houses " ) tend to complain, ineffectually, about having their view cut off as the Forest of Dennis springs up around them. Plainly, nimbies attract no sympathy from Dennis. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3215295.ece 29) Woods are scarce in the UK - only 12% is covered by woodland, compared to the 46% European average. There is no doubt that the paper used in the 80 million letters sent every day across the UK does little to abet this tree shortage. But now the posties are joining the fight against climate change and helping the woodland fight back. Staff at Royal Mail and Parcelfore Worldwide are being invited to sign up to a scheme that offsets their carbon emissions, as well as being given tips on shrinking their carbon footprint. The scheme allows employees to give regular tax-free donations - out of their wages - to the Woodland Trust, a UK charity that plants and cares for trees. In setting up the scheme, Royal Mail asked employees about home energy usage, and car and air travel, allowing them to calculate just how many trees would need to be planted to offset the emissions. It is believed to be the first project of its kind - and the Woodland Trust are encouraging other businesses to follow Royal Mail's lead.A representative for Woodland Trust called the project 'excellent' and thanked Royal Mail for their support. She added that 'Planting trees creates vital habitats for more species than any other, traps pollution, generates oxygen, stabilises soil and forms a stunning part of our landscape.'Head of Sustainability at Royal Mail, Dr. Martin Blake, who thought up the scheme, sees it as more than 'just giving people a way to offset.' 'What we're doing,' said Blake, 'is spreading the word about a sustainable environment.' http://www.fairhome.co.uk/2008/01/21/royal-mail-lead-the-way-in-combatting-clima\ te-change/ Ireland: 30) Coillte has defended its decision to fell part of one of the last woodlands on the shores of Connemara's Lough Corrib. The forestry company has been licensed to remove 440 trees from Annagh wood, location of a children's cemetery and public right of way. The mature woodland is on a peninsula bounded by two bays on the lake's western banks, several miles from Oughterard, Co Galway. Locals expressed concern about the impact on the landscape, following tree felling on Inchagoill island south-west of Cong several years ago. They have questioned why no environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been carried out. The Forest Service stated that Coillte applied for a general felling licence, under the Forestry Act 1946, and it was granted " following consultation with National Parks and Wildlife Service, the county council, the relevant fisheries board and a site inspection by a Forest Service inspector " . Coillte also says that every precaution will be taken to ensure that the children's cemetery is not affected by the felling, which will be " 115 to 120 meters away at the closest point " . The licensed area comprises 3.8 hectares of conifer trees within 11.5 hectares of woodland, the Forest Service says. " The management objective is to convert the woodland from a mixed conifer/broadleaf to mixed broadleaf woodland while retaining some Scots Pine that is the only native conifer tree. " The area will be " replanted with a mixture of broadleaf trees " , it says, and there is no requirement for an EIA. This is only mandatory for deforestation and conversion where the area is greater than 10 hectares of natural woodland or 70 hectares of conifer forest, the Forest Service says. " Should a particular felling operation require an assessment this can be requested, on a discretionary basis, by the Forest Service, " it says, but in practice the consultation allows for approval if the service is " happy that no environmental threat is posed " . http://tara-foundation.org/blog/?p=34 Mozambique: 31) Beira – forest fires in Mozambique destroyed 4 million hectares of forest in 2007, according to the minister for coordination of environmental action, Luciano de Castro. Cited in Mozambican newspaper Diário de Moçambique, published in the city of Beira, the minister said that most of the fires were set deliberately in order to clear land for farming or in order to chase out animals for hunting. The minister noted that these fires had caused huge damage and were a threat to forest resources and wildlife that should be preserved. Castro said that it was necessary to instill in people the idea of protection of natural resources and said he was convinced that the legislation that determined that 20 percent of logging and tourism revenues would revert to local communities was beginning to have some positive effect. http://www.macauhub.com.mo/en/news.php?ID=4729 Congo: 32) At home, Nick January offers a vital skill to Hastings County planners who need the most up-to-date digital maps. Overseas, he'll use the same skill to help a Canadian wildlife group preserve populations of some of the world's most unique and endangered species. The 44-year-old Belleville resident is about to embark on a month-long journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help the Canadian Ape Alliance track wildlife in one of the most bio-diverse, yet uncharted, areas of the world. His job will be to help locals take information they've gathered from field research and organize it electronically. And for January, it's the perfect opportunity to mix his rare, and relatively new profession as a geographic information systems (GIS) co-ordinator with his passion for primates. " When I left college I wanted to integrate the two, " he said. " It was virtually impossible at first. But then I found this organization in 2000. " January, a married father of two, grew up in Toronto and originally studied primate conservation at the University of Toronto. The subject led him to do volunteer work with several groups dedicated to preserving African wildlife, including the Jane Goodall Institute. Later, he enrolled in a GIS applications program at Fleming College in Lindsay. The course used what was then new, ground-breaking technology to teach students how to make digital maps, taking information from several different sources and combining them to make one accurate source. He became one of the course's first graduates in 1992. " When I was there, no one had heard of GIS, " January said. http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=867106 & auth=Stephen+Petrick Mexico: 33) Rainforest2Reef , an NGO that operates in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and is working to protect the forests of the Selva Maya, or Mayan Jungle. In just seven years, Rainforest2Reef has signed agreements to permanently protect more than 300,000 acres of prime jaguar habitat in the Southwestern Buffer Zone of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve through conservation lease agreements with the ejidos, or local communal management groups. Slash and burn agriculture and real estate development are currently the biggest threats to the Selva Maya. If planned development projects are carried out, experts predict that more than 750,000 acres of the Selva Maya will be lost and roughly 225 million tons of carbon will be released into the atmosphere in the next 30 years. By preventing logging and burning of these forests, Rainforest2Reef has prevented millions of tons of carbon stored in these trees from entering the atmosphere. Rainforest2Reef is currently in the process of quantifying and verifying the carbon stored in the rainforest to sell carbon offsets using the most rigorous standards available to evaluate land-based carbon mitigation projects: with the Environmental Resources Trust and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance. Rainforest2Reef http://www.treehugger.com2008/01/landbased_carbo.php Guyana: 34) Several logging companies are being collectively fined $275 million for breaches in the Guyana Forestry Commission's (GFC) regulations based on the findings of a late 2007 audit that revealed delinquencies regarding requisite forest inventories and operation plans. Fines were imposed on A. Mazaharally and Sons Limited, Barakat Timbers Limited, Barama Company Limited, Caribbean Re-sources Limited, Demerara Timbers Limited, Guyana Sawmills Limited, Kurunduni Logging and Development Company, Nagasar Sawh Limited, Vergenoegen Sawmills, Willems Timber and Trading Company and Wood Associated Industries Limited as well as the Ituni Small Loggers Association, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said yesterday. Briefing the media on the achievements in the forest sector during last year, he noted that the GFC in the past has made it explicitly clear to forest concessionaries that it would be rigidly enforcing its guidelines requiring the submission of Annual Operation Plans and a 100 per cent inventory of the blocks to be harvested in the calendar year. The minister said that in the latter part of 2007, a GFC audit identified that several concessionaires were guilty of harvesting in blocks that were not approved for harvesting by the GFC. Barama had already been fined $96.4M for a number of breaches and a further $50M for other breaches in third-party concessions. According to the minister, the GFC is in discussion with these companies and all of the fines are expected to be paid by mid-year. He said that in keeping with the GFC guidelines, all forest concessions in excess of 8097.166 hectares (20,000 acres) must have in place an approved five-year Forest Management Plan (FMP). In addition, concessionaires must submit by November 30, an Annual Operational Plan (AOP) for the following year of operations. http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56537349 India: 35) BANGALORE: Jaji Timmiah is livid when asked if tribal people living inside forests are a threat to the ecology. " We were the ones who nurtured forests. We did not cut down trees to build big houses and lay railway lines, " said Ms. Timmiah, the first woman from a tribal community to become the vice-president of a zilla panchayat, who was at the seminar on land rights for women. From the marginalised Jenu Kuruba community, she was elected from Neralakuppe in Hunsur taluk. " There was a time when we could gather pots full of honey. Now we have to search for days to track down one honeycomb. Medicinal plants and fruits that were once bountiful are now so scarce, " she said. She said tribal people who had been pulled out of forests and rehabilitated were in a pathetic condition now. " During my tenure in zilla panchayat, I visited many settlements of people who were brought out of the Nagarhole forest. All of them are in a pathetic situation, " said Ms. Timmiah, who has fought the issue of the land rights of tribal people for over 20 years. Having served her full term, she is now an activist. http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/22/stories/2008012260810400.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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