Guest guest Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 --Today for you 33 new articles about earth's trees! (366th edition) --You can now RSS tree news in a regional format at: http://forestpolicyresearch.org --To Subscribe / to the world-wide email format send a blank email to: earthtreenews- OR earthtreenews- In this issue: PNW-USA Index: --Washington: 1) Commissioner of public lands election, 2) Dabob Bay Natural Area Preserve, 3) Maury island mine approved, 4) Sensitive warty jumping slug? --Oregon: 5) Palomar LNG pipeline activism, 6) A community free of cheap easy fat logs, 7) Hermach Misinformed? 8) Marbled Murrelet protections upheld by courts, --California: 9) Implications of Klamath / Dillon Creek roadless areas that are on fire, 10) Bristlecone Pine summary, 11) Berkeley treesit continues despite more tresitters giving up, 12) Grizzly Flat: Destroying a forest every decade is better than destroying it once? 13) Montez logging project delayed, 14) Scorched trees can re-sprout, 15) Cleveland NF management issues are unique because they are so close to LA, --Idaho: 16) 9th circuit on who's science should be believed when it comes to old trees --Montana: 17) Stop logging the Crazy mountains, 18) Thinning sales near homes, 19) 500 sq. miles of mostly clearcuts protected, more clearcuts planned too, 20) Comments on 500 sq. miles of protection, --Wyoming: 21) High Uintas Preservation Council against West Bear Vegetation Project --Texas: 22) New Movie: " At what cost " documents loss of old pecan trees --Illinois: 23) Neighbor protests destruction of neighborhood trees --New Hampshire: 24) Wasps help researchers find emerald ash borer --Virginia: 25) Forest cover declines by 128,000 acres since 2002, 26) 14 miles of urban forest to be lost to Beltway widening, --Pennsylvania: 27) Bad chainsaw management of Pinch rd. oak forest planned, 28) 50 acres of Pennsylvania Game Commission near Mt. Gretna to be logged, 29) Haycock's formidable terrain has protected it from developers but still needs more help, 30) Restore-Protect-Expand is their motto, --Massachusetts 31) Neighbors decry clearcutting of conservation property, 32) Greenpeace action at Kimberly-Clark's new offices, --Alabama: 33) Crape Myrtle trees finally blessed with lots of bees and blooms Articles: Washington: 1) Former state agriculture secretary Peter Goldmark says he has the experience, the money and the right message to defeat state lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland. During a visit to Vancouver last week, the Okanogan County rancher said he has another factor working in his favor in a Democratic-leaning state: the 'D' on his campaign posters. " It's going to be a good year for Democrats, " he said. Sutherland campaign consultant Todd Myers countered that the two-term Republican Commissioner of Public Lands and former Pierce County executive has a strong bipartisan base of support. " If I were Peter Goldmark, I would hope this is a good Democratic year, too, " Myers said. " When people compare his policies to Doug Sutherland's, they'll choose Doug's. The only hope he has is if people who never compare choose the Democrat. " Goldmark made a competitive run in 2006 for the Eastern Washington congressional district held by Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers. A year after that loss, Goldmark turned his attention to Sutherland, who he claims is beholden to the timber and mining industries. " I think people are tired of corporations' running their public policy, " he said. In the wake of the December wind and rainstorm, which led to widespread landslides, flooding and forest damage in Western Washington, Goldmark said he believes the Department of Natural Resources should do more to identify slide-prone slopes and prevent logging on them. Sutherland has said the DNR has commissioned a $600,000 study to examine whether forest practice rules on private land are sufficient to reduce landslides and the sediment that flows into rain-engorged rivers. Goldmark said landowners should be offered incentives to compensate for putting steep slopes off-limits, but he wasn't specific about the kinds of incentives or how to pay for them. " I'm a big believer in rewarding appropriate stewardship, " he said. As lands commissioner, Goldmark said, he would push more aggressively for more state timberlands to meet green-certification standards. He said that could mean longer rotations between planting and harvest on 2.1 million acres of state-owned timberlands, but the loss of timber sale revenue would be offset by new market incentives for storing carbon in standing forests. http://www.columbian.com/printArticle.cfm?story=334871 2) COYLE — A state proposal to expand the Dabob Bay Natural Area Preserve up to 3,200 acres has Jefferson County leaders and conservationists working toward a land swap to offset the loss of state timber trust land revenues. North Olympic Peninsula timber-industry interests oppose the state Department of Natural Resources proposal, saying it threatens their ability to harvest timber and produce revenues toward the county's junior taxing districts that support fire protection and schools. Remote Dabob Bay is known for its salt marsh estuaries, marine riparian shorelines and the oysters that grow in its clean waters deeply embedded between Toandos Peninsula and the Olympic Mountains. The pristine bay is at the heart of the state's largest concentration of oyster farms along Hood Canal. It is to a great extent why Washington state today leads the nation in oyster producers. Shellfish growers have joined with conservation groups and Jefferson County elected officials to work with Resources in an effort to protect the bay. They support Resources' proposal, which would dramatically expand the existing 195-acre Dabob Bay Natural Area Preserve. " Tarboo and Dabob bays are the highest-quality nearshore ecosystem in the Hood Canal, " said Heidi Eisenhour, Jefferson Land Trust executive director, whose Port Townsend-base nonprofit organization is one of those working with Resources to expand the preserve. " Everyone is talking about Hood Canal dying, and here's a chance for us to protect it. " Eisenhour is among those working to come up with a complicated state land swap. The idea is to transfer state-managed timberland inside the proposed preserve to other state lands outside the preserve's boundaries to offset revenue loss to the Quilcene-area fire and school districts. The Natural Heritage Advisory Council, which advises Resources on natural areas, has approved the Dabob Bay preserve's proposed boundaries. The final call on the boundaries rests with Doug Sutherland, the elected commissioner of state public lands. http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080629/NEWS/806290304 3) Federal environmental regulators, dismissing environmentalists' fears, gave the go-ahead Wednesday for a mining company to massively expand its operations on Maury Island at the edge of Puget Sound. It was one of few obstacles remaining for Glacier Northwest to build a dock to accommodate football field-size barges to haul away sand and gravel that lies buried under hillsides covered in red-barked madrone trees. The Army Corps of Engineers said it had carefully checked into each environmental issue raised by opponents but concluded they did not bear further study. Opponents questioned how a big expansion of mining could be allowed on the shores of Puget Sound just as a major campaign to rescue the ecologically ailing water body is being launched. " The process doesn't give us an answer on whether it's good for Puget Sound or bad for Puget Sound, " said Kathy Kunz, chief of the regulatory section in the corps' Seattle office. " It is: Is it consistent with our regulations? And in this case, we found it is consistent. " Glacier Northwest called the decision, which followed approval by the Shoreline Hearings Board and two courts among others, " a major milestone. " " It has been determined time and again through multiple scientific and legal reviews that this project can proceed without harming the environment, " the company said in a statement. " We have repeatedly shown that it complies with local, state and federal environmental and land use laws. " Pete Stoltz, the company's permitting coordinator, said it was the final environmental approval needed. Environmentalists, residents of Vashon and Maury islands and others asked the corps to order an in-depth environmental study that could have delayed the project for years. They fear harm to orcas and salmon, as well as other effects. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/369403_mine03.html 4) One particular item included in the Environmental Impact Statement for the repair of the Dosewallips River Road caught my eye. It was " Sensitive warty jumping slug. " I've been tromping around in the Olympics for more than a half-century now, and I am happy to say that to the best of my knowledge, I have never encountered a sensitive warty jumping slug. For that matter, I don't believe I've ever encountered an insensitive warty jumping slug. I've seen plenty of slugs in the Olympics — including some big enough to give a python a run for its money — but I've never seen one jump. I have an admission: I haven't read the entire 355 pages of the environmental impact statement prepared by the good folks of the Olympic National Forest. I certainly commend those of you who HAVE read the entire document, especially those of you who got through it without slipping into an unrecoverable coma. In my opinion, the statement is a typical example of the extent to which a government agency will go to avoid an inevitable lawsuit. No matter what alternative the U.S. Forest Service chooses to fix a road that has existed for almost a century, it will not be acceptable to somebody, and they will sue. Perhaps it will be the Society to Save the Sensitive Warty Jumping Slug. I'm guessing the U.S. Forest Service figures it's covered that base by the following statement concerning the impact of fixing the road on the warty jumping slug: " For the Sensitive warty jumping slug, May Impact Individuals Or Habitat, But Will Not Likely Contribute To A Trend Towards Federal Listing Or Cause A Loss Of Viability To the Population or Species. " http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jun/30/seabury-blair-jr-mr-outdoors-jumping-s\ lug-raises/ Oregon: 5) When we first looked at the maps of the proposed Palomar LNG Pipeline, there was something familiar about the features in one of the segments near the Oak Grove Fork of the Clackamas River. There hasn't been much forest spared by logging, so we figured it was one of the timber sales Bark fought in the past ten years....oh, no! SOLO! The Solo Timber Sale was one of the great victories in Bark's history. One of the last old-growth logging proposals on Mt. Hood, this project was incredibly controversial, even leading to a summer of treesits. Eventually, thanks to Bark's groundtruthing, we were able to stop the logging in court and the trees remain standing today. Please join us in once again showing that our communities do not support old-growth logging in our national forests! Now that Bark, with the help of over 45 volunteers during Hike the Pipe, has documented the forests, rivers, wetlands, and recreation areas that will be destroyed for the proposed Palomar Pipeline, what do we do about it? In addition to sending e-mails to Governor Kulongoski (click below to send yours today), for years Bark has been educating Oregonians about threats to Mt. Hood National Forest the old-fashioned way…talking to people. Bark's door-to-door canvass reaches tens of thousands of people every year, and right now the Palomar Pipeline is the hot topic. Bark's Canvass Director, Ezra Reece, recently left the organization and two long-time Barkers, Matthew Bristow and Guy Miller, have taken over. Best wishes to Ezra, and a big welcome to Matthew and Guy! If you are interested in protecting Mt. Hood and making money doing it, consider joining our canvass team today http://bark-out.org/info/jobs.php#439 - where you can see photos and writing from our intrepid walk across Mt. Hood National Forest following the route of the proposed Palomar pipeline: http://www.orangealerts.blogspot.com/ 6) WONDER -- In this former logging community outside Grants Pass, a handful of locals chat over beers at Katie's Redwood Bar and Grill, a dimly lit roadhouse with a few wooden booths, Bud on tap and a pistol behind the counter. " That's our law enforcement, " Marcella Roche says about the .32-caliber Derringer two-shot. Roche, 25, owns and operates the restaurant with her mother. The one time they called the sheriff, he showed up a week and a half later, Roche says. His main advice was not to shoot anyone in the back, she remembers, " 'cause that means they were leaving. " Her expression suggests she isn't joking. Sheriff patrols in rural Josephine County, already a spotty prospect, are just one of the services that could all but disappear within a year with the sudden loss of $238 million in annual federal payments to Oregon's timber-dependent counties. At least a dozen Oregon counties are making plans that include deep cuts in deputies, jail space, prosecutors, juvenile detention and animal patrols. Congress appears unlikely to restore the payments, which were meant to offset revenue losses caused by the near shutdown of logging in federal forests. Counties have begun looking at possible tax levies to help cushion the blow. State and local government officials have started calling it a " crisis. " But among residents most affected by the expected cuts in service, the news is being treated with a mix of suspicion and outright anti-government bitterness. And it's clear that Josephine County, like much of Oregon, is still undergoing a deep and painful economic transition -- one that has been masked in part by years on the federal dole. " You can't take away an industry and not replace it with something else, " says Dave Paulsen, co-owner of Dave's Outdoor Power Equipment in Cave Junction, about 30 miles southwest of Grants Pass. The shop, which used to deal almost exclusively in chain saws and forestry equipment, now sells yard gear, outdoor clothing and ATVs. " This business was built on the backs of loggers, " says Liz Paulsen, Dave's wife and business partner. " Now we're 99 percent homeowner driven. " Rural folks have adapted, she says, but " we're struggling. " http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/12146361212020\ 10.xml & coll=7 7) Tim Hermach (guest viewpoint, June 19) should be applauded for his passion when it comes to defending our publicly owned forests. With somewhere close to 90 percent of the Northwest's old growth already gone, our magnificent forests need vocal advocates. However, Hermach's claim that the recent settlement over timber sales in Northeast Oregon is a " betrayal of the planet " is at best totally misinformed, and at worst completely contradicts the very ideals he espouses. A close look at the final deal in Northeastern Oregon reveals that Oregon Wild and other conservation groups fought hard to appeal two large timber sales on the Malheur National Forest. Our efforts ultimately kept tens of thousands of acres of old-growth forests off the chopping block while also protecting critical wildlife habitat and wilderness quality lands. It is in this spirit — a spirit of fighting for the environmental values that all Oregonians cherish — that Oregon Wild is willing to engage in public processes to save the land we all love, even if those processes are sometime flawed. It is also in this spirit that Oregon Wild credits Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Peter DeFazio for their interest in protecting our remaining old-growth forests. Just as we did in Northeast Oregon, we will work hard to ensure that the end product results in the strongest protections possible for these mature and old-growth forests. Oregon's old-growth forests provide world-class recreation, habitat for wildlife and salmon, and clean drinking water for our communities. Additionally, Pacific Northwest old-growth forests play a key role in combating climate change — storing more carbon per acre than any ecosystem on Earth. In a state where we pride ourselves for being on the cutting edge of the " green " movement, it is time to atone for our legacy of forest destruction and protect the ancient forests we have left. Both Wyden and DeFazio have drafted legislative proposals aimed at permanently protecting old-growth forests. However, as one veteran Oregon forest advocate likes to say, " What do you mean by 'old growth,' and what do you mean by 'protect?' " http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=1201\ 71 & sid=5 & fid=1 8) Timber industry efforts to get a small sea bird off the threatened species list were denied in two court rulings. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., and the 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals turned down actions Thursday stemming from the long-running battle over whether the marbled murrelet deserves Endangered Species Act protection. Like the spotted owl, the marbled murrelet depends on old growth forests for nesting, and habitat protection has meant less logging in Oregon, Washington and Northern California, as well as lower federal timber revenues shared with timber counties. The American Forest Resource Council and Coos County had tried to force the bird off the list after a finding that West Coast birds were not a distinct population from birds in Canada and Alaska. A Fish and Wildlife document obtained by The Associated Press indicates agency staff originally found the Northwest population was distinct, but were reversed by the Bush administration. The service left the birds on the threatened list while it looks at the entire population, which a U.S. Geological Service survey has indicated is declining from Alaska to California. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates had ruled that Fish and Wildlife did not have to delist the bird, and when the timber industry pressed him to reconsider, ruled that they had had plenty of time to raise their arguments in the original case. The 9th Circuit made a similar finding in a case from Coos County commissioners. " The timber industry has had its sights on this poor little bird for a decade, " said Kristen Boyles, attorney for Earthjustice, a public interest conservation law firm in Seattle that intervened in the case on the side of Fish and Wildlife. http://www.eastoregonian.info/main.asp?SectionID=13 & SubSectionID=206 & ArticleID=7\ 9660 & TM=31362.95 California: 9) I've been following with interest the reports of a 7000 acre fire called the Siskiyou Complex, about 25 miles downriver from Happy Camp, CA. The fire is burning in the Dillon Creek drainage, one of the few unroaded drainages in that area, and there are virtually no houses in the area, just a campground at the mouth of the creek. Hwy. 96 was closed for a couple of days due to falling rocks and logs. Here's the deal: they have 20 handcrews on the fire, but only one heavy helicopter (resources being sucked up by fires further south that are near houses). The way the Forest Service operates, that means it's pretty hard to do burnouts in heavy fuel, with only one helicopter to do bucket drops. This fire has already cost well over a million dollars, but what the heck are they protecting? Some heavy timber will burn, but the FS has no money to build roads anymore anyway, and this roadless area will (please God) probably never be logged. If they just let it go, they could actually make a better case for having a helicopter salvage sale later on...if aviation fuel isn't priced out of reach by then. I can only conclude that they are operating out of inertia, doing things this way because " we always have. " They have evolved far enough to let two of the smaller fires at the head of the drainage alone and call them WFUs, but they haven't thought the whole thing through. Seems to me that's kind of the way we are about global warming now -- we seem constitutionally incapable of thinking through the consequences of our actions. Louise wwpboards 10) The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest has two groves of Bristlecone Pines: Schulman Grove at 10.000 feet/3000 m high and, even higher, Patriarch Grove at 11.200 fl/3400m high. Schulman Grove lies about an hours' (20 miles) drive from Bishop on a good paved but twisty road (with beautiful views of the valley and mountains in the distance). Take US Hwy 395 to Big Pine and turn east onto State Hwy 168 just north of Big Pine. Follow Hwy 168 east 13 miles to White Mountain Road. Turn left (north) and drive 10 miles to the Schulman Grove Visitor Center. As we experienced, the weather doesn't always cooperate for a visit. In general, the Forest is open from mid-May to October and there is a $3.00 per adult to a maximum of $5.00 per vehicle. Fees can be paid at the Visitors Center when open or at a self-service fee tube near the Visitor Center. Schulman Grove has a small but nice Visitors Center with exhibits, a small shop, restrooms (very important!) and in the area are picnic tables, hiking trails and even a nearby campground. The Bristlecone pines can be viewed from the parking area of the Visitors center and along three interpretive nature trails. Because of the snow, we couldn't hike the trails (in fact, we couldn't even find them!). Patriarch Grove is an additional 12-mile drive north of Schulman Grove on a dirt road that was still closed when we were there. Here you can find the world's largest Bristlecone Pine, the Patriarch Tree. The oldest living organism known in the world is a bristlecone pine tree nicknamed " Methuseleh " (after the longest-lived person in the Bible). Methuseleh's location is kept a secret to protect it from vandalism. Its age is measured at 4,789 years old! A sad story: there was an even older pine than Methuseleh called " Prometheus " . When a student was taking core samples of trees to measure their age, his coring tool kept breaking so he applied for and, amazingly enough, got permission from the U.S. Forest Service to cut down the tree to take his measurements! After Prometheus was cut down, its rings were counted and it was discovered that the oldest living thing known to man had just been killed. Prometheus was at least 4,844 years old! This shocking story led to protest and later, the granting of protected status to the Forest. http://www.travbuddy.com/Ancient-Bristlecone-Pine-Forest-v203935 11) Four more people who have been living in a single redwood at the UC-Berkeley oak grove have come down since Tuesday, a university spokesman said Wednesday, and only a few remain aloft in the grove. Pamela " Olive " Zigo, 19, and Travis " Bird " Richey, 19, came down from the tree Wednesday after several hours of negotiations with University of California-Berkeley Assistant Police Chief Mitch Celaya. Tree-sitters have used nicknames to hide their identities. Zigo and Richey, who were both arrested on charges of trespassing and violating a court order that prohibits people from living in trees, were taken to Berkeley city jail and released, said university spokesman Dan Mogulof. Their descent took place without incident, after another tree-sitter attempted to leave the grove late Tuesday by scaling a fence, Mogulof said. Drew Beres, 19, was apprehended on the ground, arrested on charges of trespassing, violating the court order and a probation violation. He has been released from jail, Mogulof said. Shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday, Amanda " Dumpster Muffin " Tierney, 21, also came down peacefully from her perch. She is the woman who last month was seen in news photographs and on TV news programs yelling and jumping around in a wooden box that was attached to a tree at least 40 feet above the ground. The university cut off food and water supplies to tree-sitters about two weeks ago in hopes they would give up the protest, but have been providing them with cases of water and energy bars daily. http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_9773681?nclick_check=1 12) Opponents, who unsuccessfully challenged the 1997 sale at Grizzly Flat in court, said logging endangers the city's water supply and removes large trees that provide a canopy, effectively eliminating the cover that shelters the forest floor from fuel build-up. " I don't really see how you can possibly go in every 12 years ... it just doesn't make sense. There aren't that many trees in there now, " said Betsy Herbert, a consultant from Bonny Doon who fought the 1997 Grizzly Flat sale. " They took quite a bit of timber out of there the first time. Now, 12 years later, there aren't going to be that many great big trees that have grown back in 12 years, " Herbert said in an interview Friday. " The trees are just going to get smaller and smaller and smaller. Every time they go back in, the trees are going to get smaller. " In a letter about Grizzly Flat, Herbert added, " I think that the City of Watsonville is ill-advised to proceed with yet another logging plan in the same manner as before, without including the public in a discussion of how to best manage this property. This public discussion should include a post-mortem fire report for the Summit Fire, which partially burned the Grizzly Flat property. " Koch said the logging plan is designed to maintain a steady rate of tree regrowth, meaning that the city should be able to repeat similar harvests over time without reducing the net amount of timber. http://www.register-pajaronian.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0 & page= & story_id\ =4873 13) A project to log 161 acres on the Tahoe National Forest 15 miles from Truckee is on hold after foresters decided they need to take a closer look at the effects to plants and wildlife. An environmental assessment will take 12 to 14 months to study the cumulative effects of logging on federal land when combined with another timber harvest planned on adjacent private lands, said Quentin Youngblood, district ranger of the Sierraville Ranger District of the Tahoe National Forest. " We have to be very proactive analyzing the environmental effects, " Youngblood said. The decision was considered a victory by environmental groups who had appealed the Montez Project in May and asked the Forest Service to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed logging. The Sierra Nevada property is located at 7,000 feet elevation, two miles southeast from Webber Lake, Youngblood said. " We would be removing competing conifer and thinning conifer to reduce existing fuel hazards. We know we have overstocked stand up there, " Youngblood said. Fifty years of fire suppression has led to the overcrowded forest, Youngblood said. Foresters will look at how the two projects would affect vegetation, water quality, fisheries and wildlife such as the spotted owl, Northern Goshawk and Pine Martin. The forests consist of red fir, aspen, white fir and Ponderosa pine, Youngblood said. To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown or call 477-4231. http://www.theunion.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080630/NEWS/726662189/1066/\ NEWS & parentpro file=-1 & template=printart 14) Just because a tree is scorched and leafless, doesn't necessarily mean it's dead. Given time, a good number of the trees burned in the recent wildfires will recover. Many of our native trees have developed adaptations to withstand California's periodic wildfires. Today's leafless skeleton may eventually be able to recover much of its former glory. Tree survival depends on the nature of the fire that swept through an area. A fast, low-intensity fire might just cause a tree to lose the current crop of leaves, and the tree could be green and full of leaves by next summer. On the other extreme, a hot fire can turn a stand of trees into an eerie forest of charcoal. Bark insulates a tree against fire. The first step in evaluating a tree for recovery is to see if the bark was able to protect delicate tissues underneath. Scrape off a very small section of the charred bark and see if there is a pale, moist layer preserved below. If it's whitish, pink or pale green that's a good sign; if it's yellow, orange or brown, it's probably damaged. Check a few more locations around the trunk. If 60 percent or more circumference of the trunk is uninjured, the tree is a good candidate for preservation. Trees damaged more seriously than this may recover, but they are more likely to be unstable and subject to attack by insects and diseases. Smaller trees are more sensitive than larger trees. Once trees for preservation are identified, there are a few things that can be done to help them recover. Replace the mulch that has burned off. This will protect the roots and help to re-establish beneficial fungi in the soil. If there are arborists working in the area, many will deliver chips for free or a nominal charge. Delay all pruning except safety pruning. It can take a long time for some trees to resprout. In a year, it will be much easier to evaluate which parts are dead and which are alive. If the trees were in a landscape, continue to water them. After the soil is rewetted, they won't need as much water as they previously did. Native oaks shouldn't be watered this summer, though if the rains start late this year, a deep watering in mid- to late-October would be beneficial. If we have another dry winter, give oaks another deep watering in April or early May. The most important thing is patience. Trees react slowly, but they are tough. Don't cut down trees just because they " look dead. " http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_9773626 15) When managers of the Cleveland National Forest tried to limit access at four sites last year to protect nesting raptors, rock climbers protested, saying they would be locked out of areas popular for their sport. The strong opposition – some of it rallied from climbers across the country – surprised the U.S. Forest Service. Officials retreated and have yet to adopt a plan for balancing the interests of birds and climbers. It's the kind of conflict that has become increasingly common and intense as once-remote federal lands are besieged by growing numbers of users. Besides climbers and wildlife advocates, the Forest Service must juggle demands from telecommunications companies, hunters and campers, utilities, off-road-vehicle enthusiasts, hikers, horse riders, neighbors and others. The forest offers attractions in every season, including winter snows that draw carloads of visitors to its mountains. " We are getting pressure from all sides, " said Cleveland National Forest Supervisor Will Metz. " It's so divisive and it's so emotional. " The forest marks its centennial Tuesday. Opinions vary about how those who manage its 438,000 acres of open space in San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties are performing. Some users said officials are willing to work with them. Others said the managers lack commitment to helping endangered species rebound. Still others said the agency's staff is ambivalent about making sure people can enjoy the public's land. Another compounding factor is population growth. About 10 million people live within an hour's drive of the three districts that make up the Cleveland National Forest. " The biggest difference is what's happening around the forest. . . . More people are moving in, " said Tom White, a land management planner who started working at the forest in the late 1970s. This closeness compels the Forest Service to devote ever-larger chunks of its budget to prevent fires – natural and man-made – from spreading beyond the forest into residential communities. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080629-9999-1n29forests.html Idaho: 16) A decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Wednesday could become a landmark for logging in national forests. The suit, originally filed in district court, contended the Forest Service failed to comply with the National Forest Management Act in approving the project, which included selective logging of 3,829 acres in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. District court denied the injunction, but was initially overturned by the appeals court. " The 9th Circuit reversed itself, " O'Brien said. The battle has been ongoing since 2004, when the Forest Service approved the project. " It certainly is (a setback), " said Mike Petersen, executive director of the Lands Council. He said the issue revolves around whose science should be believed in determining the status of forests, particularly the health of old-growth trees. " If the Forest Service would make the commitment not to cut trees over 21 inches, we would have common ground, " Petersen said. " They claim a tree is starting to die, even after a wildfire when experts said the tree is not going to die. " The court said the Forest Service science was appropriate, O'Brien said. http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2008/07/03/news/news04.txt Montana: 17) The Smith Creek Timber Sale would be on 692 acres in the Crazy Mountains, according to the suit. Sharon Hapner, a resident of the Smith Creek area, joined the two groups as a plaintiff. Steve Kratville of the public affairs staff at the Forest Service regional office in Missoula said Wednesday the case had not yet been reviewed by the agency. " We think it (the timber sale) is a good project that proposes doing needed fuels reduction work in the wildland-urban interface, " Kratville said. The project went through a process for public review, he added. Groups against logging planned in the Gallatin National Forest north of Livingston have sued the Forest Service, eight days after naming it in a lawsuit that challenged logging planned southwest of Butte. The case filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court by the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council says the Gallatin logging would violate the forest's overarching plan and its provisions for Yellowstone cutthroat trout, big game, old-growth trees and dead trees. On June 23, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council sued over plans for logging in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest about 10 miles southwest of Butte. http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080702/NEWS01/8070\ 2009/1002 18) Among the targeted areas are Sawmill Gulch in Missoula's Rattlesnake Valley, the Frenchtown foothills and the Superior and St. Regis areas northwest of Missoula. Forests in those wildland-urban interface areas - where residential development meets the woods - are crowded with fuels that can create unusually intense surface fires that leap into the crowns of trees, officials said. The Frenchtown Face project, which is under way, includes thinning, commercial logging and prescribed burning of about 3,600 acres, and prescribed burning of an additional 6,500 acres within the low-elevation ponderosa pine and Douglas fir forests. The goal is to use thinning and other tools to return the area's ecosystem to a more natural condition, improve fish and wildlife habitat and reduce the risk of tree death from bark beetles, said Boyd Hartwig, spokesman for the Lolo National Forest. Beetle-killed trees are a major source of fuel for wildfires. The Frenchtown Face project also includes removing or replacing culverts, reconstructing or decommissioning of roads, spraying noxious weeds and improving campgrounds, picnic areas, parking areas, trailheads and off-highway vehicle, mountain bike and horse trails. The Sawmill Gulch project, which is under way, includes 754 acres of timber cutting, brush removal and prescribed fires. More than 400 of those acres are within the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area. After the 2003 wildfires burned thousands of acres of national forestland near Missoula, the Forest Service, Sierra Club, Society of American Foresters and private landowners formed a partnership to reduce fuels on public and private lands around Sawmill Gulch. The project, which will take several years to complete, will reduce the number of trees by up to 50 percent in the work area. This summer, thinning will occur on 178 acres of the project area. The Sawmill Gulch trail will remain open, but there may be short-term closures. Recreationists are urged to use caution near the work zone and logging trucks. Two more fuel-reduction projects are nearly complete near the towns of Superior and St. Regis. The projects are only about 200 acres each, but they are critical because they target crowded forests on the towns' borders, Sweeney said. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/07/03/news/mtregional/news07.txt 19) A huge patchwork of privately owned forest in northwest Montana — much of it abutting wilderness, and together almost a third the size of Rhode Island — will be permanently protected from development under an agreement announced Monday by two private conservation groups, the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land. The groups will pay $510 million for about 500 square miles of forest now owned by Plum Creek Timber, a lumber and real estate firm based in Seattle. It is one of the biggest sales of forest land for preservation purposes in United States history, conservation experts said. About half the amount will come from private donations, the conservation buyers said, and about half from the federal government under a new tax-credit bond mechanism that was included in the giant farm bill recently passed by Congress over President Bush's veto. The bond mechanism was devised by Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana. Mr. Baucus, his spokesman said, was approached about a year ago by representatives of the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land, who argued that development pressures were growing so intense that new tools had to be created to buy the Plum Creek properties if they were to be protected. " The ordinary tool kit was not industrial-strength enough for us to make an offer, " said William Ginn, the director of conservation markets and investments for the Nature Conservancy, and one of the lead negotiators of the deal. Mr. Baucus's spokesman, Barrett Kaiser, said that while Montana might be the pilot for the conservation bonds, Mr. Baucus believed there would be applications for preserving lands all over the country. Mr. Kaiser said there had been " no deal on the table " to buy the Plum Creek properties when the bond measure was passed. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/us/01develop.html?partner=rssnyt & emc=rss 20) When the ink finally dries on the largest conservation land purchase in the history of the United States - 320,000 Montana forest acres for $510 million - nearly nothing will have changed. And that, of course, is exactly the point. The deal between Plum Creek Timber Co. and conservation buyers is designed to maintain the status quo; the real change would come if those western Montana acres were sold instead to real estate developers. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/07/01/news/local/news02.txt I guess I don't really understand this. Why did someone pay so much money to let Plum Creek continue cutting trees. Is this a good deal? – Lynne -- -- The resource colony called Montana has no forest practices act to regulate " private " lands. It's a deregulated free-for-all. So, Plum Creek Timber Co. liquidated its forest asset. Left with only the land (sans trees) to sell, it just hit the jackpot. Good? Nothing is good about 150 years of corporate subsidies, but the unintended consequences are less evil than the (subdivisions) alternative. Oh, there will still be subdivisions, just a lot fewer. Good, or excellent, is never an option in a rigged world limited to choosing between evil or the lesser-evil. Stumps Wyoming: 21) The High Uintas Preservation Council is against a plan that would harvest trees near Whitney Reservoir east of Kamas. The West Bear Vegetation Management Project is located about 40 miles south of Evanston, Wyo., and would require almost eight miles of new temporary roads. " Language is everything vegetation management project translates, in this case, to timber sale! " the June edition of the High Uintas Preservation Council newsletter states. " The desire to proceed with constructing eight miles of roads and turn hundreds of acres of forests into cubic feet appears to be the prime motive. " But U.S. Forest Service officials claim timber harvesting and prescribed fires are necessary for stimulating tree regeneration. They intend to clear spruce, fir, mixed conifers and aspen off about 1,686 acres of land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. " It's a large area, " said Larry Johnson, a timber management coordinator in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Prescribed fires and timber sales could occur in the area in the next five years, he explained. Mature trees are removed to " create uneven regeneration of the stands, " Johnson said. " Aspen, really needs disturbance to regenerate -- either fire or timber harvest, " he said. " It stimulates suckering from the root systems. " Acting Forest Supervisor Dave Myers approved the project June 11 and there were 45 days to appeal the decision. Contact Johnson at (307) 789-3194 for information about how to file an appeal. http://www.parkrecord.com/county/ci_9721642 Texas: 22) If you've been paying attention, you've probably heard about the debate raging over the 100 year-old pecan grove in South Austin that is being partially felled for the Barton Place condos. The debate over how the land is being treated by developers even led to an indictment of the developers and Austin Java (owned by one of the co-developers and located amidst the chaos on Barton Springs Road) by musician Marcia Ball at Blues on the Green last week, which in turn led to a written response from Austin Java owner Rick Engel to Ball. Well, it turns out Ball and her suggested boycott of Austin Java, which Engel said led in part to a 50% drop off in business at the restaurant last Thursday, is not the only one raising a stink over the tree removal.A documentary about the tree removal is making its debut online today. According to a press release: " At What Cost? " , a short film about the demise of a 100-year-old pecan grove in the center of Austin, debuts today on the internet. The film, by Tom Suhler, takes the form of an obituary for one of the 50 trees that were toppled to make room for the Barton Place Condominiums. " Shuler goes on to say, " I don't consider myself an environmental activist. I've owned land; I believe in property-owner's rights. But once I started documenting the land-clearing I was surprised how much the take-down affected me and those of other Austin residents. So I put this piece together to try to resolve some of those feelings. " Check out the film's Web site here: http://www.atwhatcostthemovie.com/ http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/mo/entries/2008/0\ 7/01/online_doc umentary_about_tree.html Illinois: 23) GENEVA – They were only up for short time, but Marsha Reinecke said she made her point. Signs seeking honks to save trees leaned against the Geneva woman's wood fence Thursday afternoon. By Friday, they were taken down because, Reinecke said, they fulfilled her intention of raising tree awareness. Reinecke expressed concern Thursday over a neighbor's plan to remove an area of trees for a new driveway off South Batavia Avenue between Foxford and Hawley lanes. " These are living things, " she said while standing in front of the soon-to-be-removed trees, which are lined with bright orange netting that can be seen from the street. Reinecke said her neighbor, who has spoken with her and other neighbors about his plans, is going to remodel the existing brick drive into a " grand, fancy driveway with monuments. " She stressed that she's not mad at her neighbor, who according to the city, followed city requirements for tree removal. The city requires those seeking to remove trees to fill out an application, which then must be approved. Geneva City Administrator Mary McKittrick said Friday that Reinecke's neighbor " has been through the permitting process " and " meets our codes. " " In all fairness, he owns it, " Reinecke said of the driveway, which she and other neighbors use through a covenant with the county. " If the city approved it, he's entitled to do it, but the city needs to have something in place. " Another problem, Reinecke said, is that the definition of " tree " comes down to individual interpretation. From her count, there's about 30 trees that will be lost, but she said the city count is at six because some are classified as " tree shrub, " rather than a " tree. " Regardless, Reinecke said she doesn't understand how a city that prides itself on its character and tree city designation can approve such a project. " I may not be able to change this, " Reinecke said. " But the city needs to know next time, there will be a whole group of activists looking over their shoulders. " http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2008/07/01/news/local/doc48660d268f688931534\ 591.txt New Hampshire: 24) Forest managers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states soon will enlist wasps to help search for a tree-killing. By monitoring which beetles the wasps (Cerceris fumipennis) carry home, foresters hope they will be able to detect emerald ash borer infestations more quickly than by current methods, which could take up to three years. " The earlier we detect an infestation, the more options we have for management and eradication, " said Mike Bohne, Northeastern Area Forest Health Group Leader in Durham. He said at least a dozen agencies will participate this summer and fall, in New York, all six New England states, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Forest experts believe people have helped the spread of the emerald ash borer by carrying firewood long distances. Several states have placed restrictions on the movement of firewood and ash wood products to reduce the spread. The emerald ash borer is native to Asia. It kills ash trees within a few years after infestation. Infestations continue to spread toward the Northeast through Pennsylvania and Ontario and threaten the entire North American ash family, Forest Service spokesman Glenn Rosenholm said. The Forest Service considers invasive species one of its top forest threats, costing the United States about $138 billion a year in reduced revenue and forest value, and control and eradication. Currently, foresters looking for the boring beetle often have to kill trees to try to save a forest. One method involves stripping bark off ash trees, which is costly, time-consuming and kills the tree. A newer method involves deploying purple prism traps high in tree canopies. It is costly and time consuming, but spares the tree. The wasp method is simpler and cheaper and does not harm trees. And they don't have to import the wasps. They live in a wide area of the United States, from Canada to Mexico and as far west as the Rockies. Foresters find a C. fumipennis colony, put a clear plastic cup over the entrance hole, and note what insects the wasp brings back to the colony. If the wasps do not carry an emerald ash borer home within the first 40 returns, it is unlikely there is an infestation, said Canadian Food Inspection Agency Entomologist Philip Careless, in Ontario. http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=8584839 & nav=menu183_2_2_5 Virginia: 25) Since the last survey published in 2002, there has been an estimated net loss of forest land of nearly 128,000 acres. Forests now cover 15.7 million acres of Virginia's 25.4 million acres, according to the survey. With an average plot re-measurement period of 5.2 years, the net loss was at an annual rate of 25,000 acres per year, up from 20,000 acres per year in the 7th survey. Despite the loss of forestland, positive net growth on the remaining acres has increased the total biomass by 50 million dry tons and total growing stock wood volume by 18 million cubic feet. Therefore the amount of carbon stored in Virginia's forests has increased by nearly 6%. Despite the loss of trees to gypsy moth defoliation, hemlock wooly adelgid, southern pine beetle and hurricane Isabel in 2003, mortality rates were lower during the 8th survey period than the previous survey period. Regional differences in forest land loss, growth and mortality exists across Virginia and these will be addressed in future posts. If you would like to explore the 8th survey data further you can visit the USFS Forest Inventory data website for more details. http://virginiaforests.blogspot.com/2008/06/virginias-8th-forest-survey-shows-lo\ ss.html 26) Along Americana Drive in Annandale, well-maintained apartment complexes are nestled in lush, dense woods. Swimming pools and tennis courts are connected by a network of paved footpaths. Depending on the spot, the roar of the Capital Beltway can sound like little more than a faint whisper. That last fact will change dramatically with an enormous widening project recently begun along the Beltway, which lies a stone's throw from such Annandale complexes as Heritage Court, Heritage Woods, Ivy Mount and Lafayette Forest. Like neighborhoods all along the 14-mile stretch of Beltway where two lanes will be added in each direction, these communities are about to lose virtually all of the vegetative buffer that has grown between them and the highway for 40 years. And they're not happy about it. " This is a catastrophe for this neighborhood, " said Amy R. Gould, 52, a 13-year resident of Lafayette Forest. " We're going to have beautiful views of retaining walls with no buffers and no trees. " Gould said she considers herself lucky: Her 1980s-era condominium complex sits in its own woodland, providing more insulation from the Beltway than dozens of apartments, condominium buildings and townhouses that line Americana Drive. But she is furious that state highway officials and county leaders allowed a $1.4 billion project that calls for forest destruction that, she said, will leave the Beltway looking like the Springfield interchange: a sea of concrete, asphalt and steel, with little green in view. " They keep telling us we have a great quality of life here, but what makes it is the greenery and the wildlife, " she said. Gould is not alone. Across Northern Virginia, commuters from McLean, Alexandria and Arlington and Fairfax counties have been waking up in recent weeks to the reality of the Beltway widening project. Road crews with the Virginia Department of Transportation and its contractor, Fluor-Transurban, have been working quickly to clear massive staging areas and station heavy equipment and office trailers near the highway's interchanges with Braddock Road, Interstate 66 and Georgetown Pike. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070201252.\ html Pennsylvania: 27) Dave Henry figures the oak trees that dominate the hilltop off Pinch Road, just south of Mount Gretna, have been growing there for the past century. In just the past two years, however, gypsy moth caterpillars have killed nearly all of them. " Seventy percent of the trees in this block of forest are oaks, " said Henry, southeast regional forester for the Pennsylvania Game Commission. " Ninety percent of them are dead. " Henry delivered his bleak diagnosis Wednesday morning during a media tour of a section of the 3,000-acre State Game Lands 145 in southern Lebanon County, just over the Lancaster County line. The Game Commission is planning a timber cut and ground foliage elimination project on 53 acres of SGL 145 on the west side of Pinch Road at Mount Gretna Borough in an effort to re-establish the oak forest. Except for a few oaks that are still living and some maples and tulip poplars left scattered throughout the tract, virtually all of the vegetation will be cut down or killed over the next year. Then, 1,000 oak seedlings will be planted to jump-start regeneration of the forest. " I'm not going to lie to you. For the first year or two, it's going to look pretty bleak up here, " Henry said. " But in about five years, it's going to be so thick in here you won't be able to walk though it. " SGL 145 is not the only tract in the Furnace Hills that's likely to see such measures by the Game Commission to revive forests devastated by gypsy moth caterpillars the past two years. After receiving reports from Game Commission foresters who surveyed several parts of southeast Pennsylvania by helicopter Tuesday, Henry said more tree-clearing projects probably will be scheduled for nearby SGL 156 and SGL 46 in northern Lancaster County. http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/223934 28) More than 50 acres of Pennsylvania Game Commission land just south of Mount Gretna will be logged sometime late this year or in 2009.The trees to be cut include many dead and dying oak trees which have been damaged by gypsy moths during the past two years, said David Henry, Forester for the Game Commission's southeast region. The area to be logged lies along the south and east boundaries of the 3,000 acre Game Land 145. Some of the trees to be cut are along the west side of Pinch Road in West Cornwall Twp. After a bidding process the Game Commission expects to award a contract for the logging by the end of September, Henry said. Game Commission staff will be marking trees to save with red paint. About 15 to 20 trees per acre, including some seed and den trees, would be spared the loggers' chain saw, Henry said. In September herbicide will be applied to kill ground cover plants such Japanese stilt grass and spicebush that would make it difficult for seedlings to grow. Game Commission officials agreed that the first few months after the logging wouldn't be a pretty sight in the logged area. " It's going to look bleak for a couple of months, " Henry said. But not logging was not an option, said southeast region land manager Bruce Metz. " Doing nothing would be abdicating our responsibility, " he said. Henry said clearing the dead trees was necessary in order to start a new stand of trees. In five years, he said, the new seedlings should be growing as high as your head, he said. http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2008/07/game_commission_to_log_woodla\ n.html 29) Haycock's formidable terrain has kept major development at bay, but township officials are taking no chances. The supervisors are considering two new ordinances to further protect wetlands, floodplains and other environmentally sensitive areas from development, as well as additional measures to minimize the effects of logging. " We're always looking at things that could possibly be an issue, " said supervisor Chairwoman Kathy Babb. One regulation is designed to make sure new development in the agricultural and preservation areas of the township does not harm natural resources. It would require all new single family homes being built on at least 2 acres to have a building envelope of at least 15,000 square feet. Within this envelope there can be no floodplains, lakes, ponds, wetlands or other environmental resources. " We've had some people coming in and creating a little building envelope here and there. Haycock has a lot of lots that are not meant to be developed to the maximum, " said Babb. The nearly 20-square-mile Upper Bucks township has virtually been immune to the growing pains its neighbors have endured in recent years. The largest development in the last decade was 11 homes on 70 acres off Harrisburg School Road. Most development proposals in the township are for minor one- or two-lot subdivisions. " One of the things that make Haycock unique is its topographical features, " said Babb. " It protects us from being overly developed and keeps our rural setting. " Half of Haycock is preserved land and cannot be built on. More than 2,000 acres are state game lands, including Haycock Mountain, and there's the 500-acre Lake Towhee county park. Individuals have also preserved land through Bucks County's open-space program. http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-06302008-1556467.html 30) Restore-Protect-Expand: That's the motto of Habitat for Wildlife Inc., which had an opportunity Sunday afternoon to showcase the tremendous amount of work its small group of volunteers has put forth since 2001 to improve the environment in reclaimed mine area off Route 901 above Excelsior. Dave Kaleta of Shamokin, president of Habitat for Wildlife, served as the tour guide for a program sponsored by the Central Susquehanna Woodland Owners Association that attracted approximately 20 people interested in sound woodland management. Assisting Kaleta on the 1¼-mile walking tour were state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Forester Marty Martynowych, Bob Harris and Henry Williams, president and vice president, respectively, of Central Susquehanna Woodland Owners Association. Harris said the public educational program entitled " Diamonds in the Rough: Turning Our Coal Lands into Premier Wildlife Habitat, " is one of several sponsored by the association throughout the coal region. Kaleta said Habitat for Wildlife has planted approximately 25,000 trees and other vegetation to restore the once scarred and toxic area so wildlife can thrive and families, hikers and sportsmen can safely visit and enjoy the outdoors. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19814908 & BRD=2715 & PAG=461 & dept_id=5587\ 82 & rfi=6 Massachusetts: 31) Mr. Matera and his wife settled in Northampton and, to his dismay, he found evidence of forest clear-cutting on state Department of Conservation property, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife management areas and the Quabbin watershed. He documented his concerns with aerial and ground-level photographs on the Web sites http://clearcutma.blogspot.com and http://clearcuttingmapubliclands.blogspot.com. Mr. Matera urges people to ask their legislators and Gov. Deval L. Patrick to stop the practice, stating, " Clear-cutting looks bad, because it is bad. " Not a scientist himself, Mr. Matera cites several sources on his Web sites to support his claim. He said he has 20 years of experience as a civil engineer.Managers of the state's forests acknowledge there is no disguising a clear-cut for what it is, but they see things differently and say Mr. Matera's concern does not take into account forest science. Foresters who oversee the Quabbin Reservoir watershed, the DCR forests and parks, and the state's wildlife management areas say clear-cutting to replace existing plantations is essential to improve the natural diversity of tree species, promote wildlife habitat and, in the case of Quabbin, protect the forest that in turn protects the water supply for 2.2 million state residents. The Quabbin plantations are primarily red pine and Norway spruce, both non-native species that foresters would eventually like to replace with trees native to the region — white pine, red oak, maple and birch. Foresters at the Harvard University Graduate School of Forestry in Petersham are planning clear-cutting at Harvard Forest as well, and often are asked, " Isn't clear-cutting bad for the environment? " The consensus among Harvard Forest experts is that clear-cutting based on best forest management practices is an accepted and effective method of regenerating forests. Herm Eck, chief Quabbin forester, said at the June 16 annual review of Quabbin's 10-year land management plan that clearing selected tracts of watershed, the majority of which range from less than a half-acre to 2 acres, is necessary for maintaining the most weather-resilient and disease-resistant forest to protect the water supply. Mr. Eck said the goal is to open up 1 percent of the 40,000 managed acres each year for regeneration, at the same time providing new wildlife habitat. http://www.telegram.com/article/20080703/NEWS/807030652/1101 32) FRANKLIN — Disguised as movers, four Greenpeace activists broke into the newly opened Kimberly-Clark office building with boxes of recycled toilet paper and a document demanding the company " stop destroying one of North America's wildest forests " to produce disposable products, according to Greenpeace " forest campaigner " Lindsey Allen. The activists, Stephanie D. Finneran, 22, Chelsea M. Ritter-Soronen, 21, Rachel L. Humphreys, 24, and Travis J. Peters, 22, rang the bell and were admitted into the facility at 124 Grove St., then chained themselves together in the hallway and refused to the leave, said Franklin Deputy Police Chief Steve Semerjian. Police found the key to their padlock on one of them and arrested them on charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct, Semerjian said. " I'm not sure what ruse they used, but ... it's not like they were assaulting anyone. They come along when it's time to go, they're not rookies, " said Semerjian. " They believe in what they're doing - what are you going to do? They're not violent people, at least not this group, " Semerjian said. The environmental activists were protesting the Kleenex-makers' limited use of recycled fiber in its products, Allen said. Kimberly-Clark is one of the largest tissue product companies in the world. It manufactures the popular Kleenex, Scott and Cottonelle brands of toilet paper and facial tissue. Greenpeace chose to protest yesterday because Kimberly-Clark just moved into the new, 15,000 square-foot location at Franklin Oaks Office Park. " The event is the latest step in an international campaign to force Kimberly-Clark to stop purchasing pulp for its disposable products, including Kleenex, from destructive logging operations in Canada's Boreal Forest, " Allen said. Greenpeace is asking Kimberly-Clark to have a higher standard of forest protection, said Basil Tsimoyianis, an activist who attempted to negotiate with the company to sign a pledge. http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x875595549/Greenpeace-activists-protest-in-\ Franklin Alabama: 33) After Dorothy England, who moved to the shores of Woodland Lake near here in east Tuscaloosa County eight years ago, she planted three crape myrtle trees in her back yard. They didn't seem to be thriving, however, and she had almost decided to prune them back drastically and maybe even cut one of them down. " The problem was they wouldn't bloom, " she said one day recently. " But just look at them now. And I think it's all because of the bees. " Those would be bumble bees. Hundreds, perhaps more than a thousand of them which for the past few weeks have been swarming to her trees like clockwork about 8 a.m. every morning. " I've never seen anything like it, " she said as a steady hum surrounded the trees, whose flower petals were falling like snow as the busy bees went about their business. " They show up at the same time and then about 11 o'clock start leaving one-by-one. In an hour they're all gone. " It all started about a month ago when I came out early in the morning and noticed that my trees were finally blooming and there were petals all over the ground, " she said. " And then here come the bees. " I don't know where they come from or where they go, but this is the first time I've seen so many in one place -- they don't seem to be attracted to the crape myrtle I have the front yard -- but they really seem to be helping these, " she said. " They've never bloomed like this before. " Milton Ward, an associate dean for Arts and Sciences at the University of Alabama, who also has a degree in entomology, said that while such concentrations of bumble bees doesn't necessarily happen that often, it is not unheard of. " I would imagine it is more a function of the trees than the bees, " he said. " This just might happen to be the year the trees are putting out exactly the right aroma to attract swarms like that. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en & client=firefox-a & rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aof\ ficial & hs=8 uI & q=Indian+country+today%3A+Alan+Parker & btnG=Search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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