441 - North American Tree News

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Index: --Canada:

1) Oil Sands and US leadership change, 2) Cleacutting park's will solve

Beetle problem, 3) Judge to rule on woodlands threatened by housing,

Songbirds of the Boreal, 4) Beetle logging will put trail guide

business under, 5) Success in protecting most of Manitoba's parks, 6)

Loggers think they understand forest litter & slash, 7) More

logging concerns in crows nest pass area, --Wisconsin: 8) State forest awards 24 timber contracts, 9) Twin Ghost Management project on Chequamegon-Nicolet NF, --Illinois: 10) Using fire to destroy a nature preserve to "save it," 11) University destroying forest in Kenya

--Minnesota: 12) History of Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness--Missouri: 13) 80 acres of Warbler habitat protected, --Connecticut: 14) Highstead Arboretum works for forestland protection,--New York: 15) Nature Conservancy is close to finalizing plan for 161,000 acres of Adirondack forestland

--Pennsylvania: 16) Gypsy Moth does less destruction than money hungry loggers who claim to be helping!--Virginia: 17) Permaculture-based loggers? 18) All the acorns are gone and know one knows why? --Southern Forests: 19) Campaign against Arby's-Wendy's forest destruction

--South Carolina: 20) Nature Conservancy acquires more land,--USA:

21) Obama's plan to cut unneeded spending might means saving trees? 22)

13% decline of visits to public forestland, 23) Real foresters are an

endangered species, 24) Environmental defense has its office taken

over, 25) Wildlands CPR and American Lands Alliance on Obama

transition, 26) Forest Watershed Restoration Corps proposed as sign on

letter for $1.5 billion for National Forests, 27) Obama will save the

virtually extinct Salmon, right? 28) Roadless rules reinstated in only

10 states?Articles: Canada:1) The environmental

impacts of oil sands are not limited to emissions. Surface mining – the

predominant form of oil sand extraction – requires complete vegetation

clearing and water drainage, making the once lush surface into

something moon-like. Wastewater is collected in toxic tailings ponds

that have grown so large that they can now be seen by the naked eye

from space. A 2008 Environmental Defense report states that many ponds

are leaking and creating a "slow motion oil spill in the region's river

systems." Jennifer Grant, a Policy Analyst in the Pembina Institute's

Oil Sands Program, is concerned that the oil sand companies are not

cleaning up after themselves. "Reclamation has been poor to date in

terms of land impacts. There have been about 500 square kilometres of

land disturbed by mining, but in 40 years of development only one

square kilometre has been actually certified as reclaimed," Grant said.

Given the world's addiction to oil, it is not likely that oil sand

development will close down any time soon. Rather, many researchers are

looking for ways to clean up oil sand operations to avoid penalization

in future climate change plans. Any cleanup will be long term; carbon

sequestration projects are underway, but full carbon-neutrality for the

oil sands could take several decades. Oil sand producers are also

looking to incorporate renewable technologies to reduce the use of

natural gas in oil sand production. Trying to keep up with the

environmental initiatives of the new U.S. administration will likely

prove difficult. According to Page, its environmental regulations could

be unprecedented. "I think that everyone is expecting that the

regulations are going to get tougher, it's just a question of how

tough," Page predicted. President-Elect Barack Obama has repeatedly

expressed his commitment to the environment and most recently fortified

his intentions in a video message presented at the Global Climate

Summit held last week in California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

However, Obama has also often recognized the threat of foreign oil

dependence on national security, and Canada will continue to hold

strong cards in this category. http://www.mcgilldaily.com/article/6231-harper-asks-obama-to-ignore

2)

Alberta may clear cut trees in a popular recreation area west of

Calgary to help thwart the spread of the voracious mountain pine

beetle. New reports suggest the number of the timber-killing beetles in

southwest Alberta has doubled. About three-quarters of the infested

region consists of provincial parks in an area that Albertans call

Kananaskis Country, along the eastern edge of Banff National Park. " In

parks like Kananaskis, which we all love, we do see it (the pine

beetle) there, " Alberta's Parks Minister Cindy Ady said in the

legislature. " We've used in the past tools that are available to us

like controlled burns. As well, we've identified those trees, and this

winter we will be removing those trees. " I say to Albertans . . . if

you see us in the park removing trees, it's about pine beetle

mitigation. We are trying to stop this infestation because in B.C. we

know it destroyed 80 per cent of their pine forest eventually. " Ady did

not specifically mention clear cutting pine trees in the legislature,

but government officials confirmed Thursday that it is an option that

is being considered in the parks. Some residents have already expressed

fear that other areas such as Crowsnest Mountain will be clear cut, a

move they said would hurt recreation and tourism. An official with

Spray Lakes Sawmill has said it's the only way to prevent an

infestation of pine beetles. Gordon Lehn, woodlands manager for Spray

Lakes, said crews expect to start work shortly after Christmas. While

the pine beetle news is bad in the south, new government surveys

suggest numbers of the destructive bugs have decreased in northwestern

Alberta by 20 per cent due to cold weather and selective logging. The

beetles, which are no bigger than a grain of rice, have been spreading

east from British Columbia, where they are expected to eventually kill

four out of every five mature pines. The bugs have so far threatened

about 60,000 square kilometres in Alberta and concern is growing in

Saskatchewan as well. Fears of infestation have prompted that province

to identify all land it believes has or could have the mountain pine

beetle, even though the pest hasn't been a problem yet. Ady told the

legislature that Alberta has written to the federal government to

ensure that the upcoming budget includes new money to fight the spread

of the pine beetle. " The minister of sustainable resource development

have both written to our counterpart in the federal government and

asked to ensure that he has (money) to help us as we fight this beetle.

It's a terrible thing, but we need to fight it. " A different report

shows that Alberta's forestry sector is being chewed up by other

problems as well - soft markets and low prices. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/11/27/7556076-cp.html

3)

The fate of hundreds of hectares of London woodlands could be shaped by

a court decision that could come as soon as Monday. Superior Court

Justice David Little asked pointed questions yesterday as a lawyer

hired by major developers asked for a chance to appeal a previous

decision that upheld greatly expanded protections for woodlands. Little

won't decide merits of the developers' claims. Instead, he'll determine

if the Ontario Municipal Board, which upheld the protections, made a

legal error in doing so. If he finds a legal error of significant

importance, the developers' appeal would be heard by a panel of judges.

Despite its Forest City moniker, London trails many Ontario

municipalities in forest cover, with about 10 per cent compared to

Toronto's 20 per cent and Ottawa's 30 per cent, says the non-profit

ReForest London. Had the city not toughened woodland protection, it was

estimated London's forest cover would have fallen to five per cent. But

none of that was relevant to the decision Little has to make, the

justice noted -- his task is to decide if the municipal board

misapplied the law when it announced its decision earlier this year.

The developers' lawyer, Barry Card, argued the city had created rules

that enabled the city's ecologist to protect woodlands using guidelines

rather than the formative document on how land can be used -- the

city's official plan. Developers aren't seeking to cut down trees, they

merely are questioning the legality of the process, he said. " (Our

challenge) has often been misinterpreted . . . as an attack on trees, "

Card said. That's not how city lawyer Janice Page sees it. The argument

about process veils the true intent of developers, she said -- to

strike down new rules that make it easier for woodlands to be

designated worthy of protection. " What Card and his clients are

objecting to is the threshold (of protection), " Page said. There's no

conflict between the guidelines for woodland protection and the rules

of the city's official plan, they're linked, she said. Since that

linkage was found as a matter of fact by the municipal board, that

finding can't be appealed. The court can only consider mistakes in the

law and not question factual findings, she said. http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2008/11/29/7576171-sun.html

4)

The owners of a 16-year-old trail riding company based on Crowsnest

Mountain say they will be put out of business if a proposal to log the

area goes through. Infestation of the mountain pine beetle in

southwestern Alberta has doubled since last year necessitating logging

to combat the problem and salvage usable lumber, according to the

government. But Leslie Huber, owner of Western Adventures, says she has

spent tens of thousands of dollars on a five-year government

application process to acquire an extended lease and gain approval to

build permanent structures on 10 hectares in the middle of the land to

be logged. " It will be the end of our business, " said Huber, who owns

the company with her husband Glen. " You can't operate a trail riding

business surrounded by clearcut on three sides. " Huber said she met

with Spray Lakes officials who offered to leave some treed buffer areas

along a few trails but she said it wouldn't be enough. " Who wants to go

on a trail ride through clear cut? " said Huber. " Our one-hour rides

will be through almost entirely clear cut areas. " Crowsnest Pass Mayor

John Irwin said he met with sustainable resources and Spray Lakes

officials in Edmonton on Thursday to discuss the logging plans and

brought up the Hubers' predicament. " I spoke with them about Western

Ad-ventures and they said they'd be willing to make some

accommodations, " said Irwin. Sustainable resources spokesman Duncan

MacDonnell said he did't know the exact size of the area being looked

at for logging but noted it wouldn't be a large clearcut. " It's

sprinkled throughout, it's not one big area, " said MacDonnell.

" Crowsnest Pass is the heart of where the pine beetle is, in the

province. This logging is related to the pine beetle and forest health.

Delaying logging would pose a great threat to the forest. " The

government's fall aerial surveys revealed that while the number of

infected trees has dropped by 35 per cent in the northwestern Alberta,

the number of at-tacked trees in the southwest has doubled from last

year, hitting 45,000 to 50,000. This means trees may have to be logged

in Kananaskis Country as well. http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=6eeb24b8-0f8e-46c3-8ca1-4efa21ed8553

5)

Victory for the Wilderness Committee and the citizens of Manitoba!

Wilderness Committee congratulates government on protecting most of Manitoba's

parks, finally ending park logging The government of Manitoba announced

an end to nearly all park logging on November 21, 2008. The citizens

that make up the Wilderness Committee from across Canada would like to

congratulate Premier Doer and Conservation Minister Struthers for this

historic step. While more work remains to be done with Duck Mountain

Provincial Park, today will be remembered as a great and historic day

for wild lands in Manitoba. For more information, go tohttp://www.wildernesscommittee.mb.ca/media-releases/08-11-21-park-logging-stopped.htm

6)

Slash is the woody and leafy debris left behind after an area is

logged. The amount of slash, and its composition and distribution

across the landscape, depends on the forest type and the intensity of

harvesting. In the maple forests of Algoma, where selective logging is

used to improve stand quality by leaving behind the best growing trees,

much of the slash is leaves and branches from logged trees. In the

boreal pine and spruce forests of our region, clear-cut fulltree

logging removes the entire tree to the roadside where the top and

branches are removed (known as " delimbing " ) and placed in " slash

piles. " Subsequently, these piles are usually burned, in a controlled

manner, to reduce fire hazard and provide open space for new trees to

be planted. When clear-cut stem-only logging is used, more slash is

left on-site because harvested trees are delimbed where they are cut.

All logged areas will have some slash left on site because dead trees

and smaller unharvested trees are often pushed over by harvesting

equipment, and branches often break off during the harvesting process.

Slash can be very unsightly, especially immediately after logging;

large tree limbs are left buried in the soil and entire tops of trees

are suspended above ground level. However, the material left on site is

not just waste, but rather provides a stockpile of nutrients that will

be available for future forest growth. Much like your vegetable garden,

healthy growing forests depend on sunlight, water and nutrients. But

unlike your tomato plants, trees can take up to 100 years to mature;

the slow decomposition of slash material releases nutrients and makes

them available for root uptake and tree growth for a very long time. http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1322508

7)

Once again many residents of Crowsnest Pass and area are very concerned

about logging operations to be carried out by the Spray Lakes

corporation in the Allison Creek area. Just to remind you Spray Lakes

bought out the Atlas sawmill operation, located just west of Coleman, a

few years back. Their only reason for the purchase was to acquire

timber rights. Atlas mill was closed and any logs harvested in the area

by Spray Lakes are processed in Cochrane or other places. Their

proposal this time is to log the Allison Creek valley from the forest

reserve boundary up past the Window mountain area. This picture shows

the lower portion of the clear cut area. They are proposing to log the

valley on both sides of Allison Creek, a major tributary to the blue

ribbon trout stream Crowsnest River, leaving a minimal buffer (3o

metres and less) along the creek and no buffer along the road. At the

far right of the above picture is the very bottom of Crowsnest Mountain

which will also be seeing some clear cutting in Spray Lakes plan.

Crowsnest Mountain is the Pass's most recognizable and important icon.

Likely one of the most photographed mountains in the Rockies. People's

concerns range from protection of the headwaters of the Oldman River

basin to the impact the scarring created by the clear cut will have on

the recreation and tourism industry of the scenic Crowsnest Pass.

Another area resident, David McIntyre, has other concerns regarding

rare and endangered tree species that make their home in this forest.

You can view his letter to Pass council by clicking here. All of the

opinions expressed by a great many people here and across the province

are valid, legitimate concerns and deserve to be addressed. http://garytaje.blogspot.com/2008/11/more-logging-in-crowsnest-pass.html

Wisconsin: 8)

A total of 24 two-year 2009-10 timber harvesting projects were bid

across the Lakeland area, netting $2,101,098 in logging contracts

encompassing 2,673 acres of the Northern Highland-American Legion State

Forest and a 35-acre state-owned " scattered land " parcel in Minocqua.

Petersen said contracts are bid twice-yearly in the spring and fall for

NH-AL timber harvesting rights. Approximately 5,000 to 5,500 acres are

bid for logging annually, raising $3-4 million depending on lumber

prices and the competitive bidding climate among loggers. All project

sites, Petersen said, undergo a stringent " assessment " against the twin

backdrop of the " ecological, economic and social " forestry focus of the

DNR's State Statute 28.04 " charter " and the NH-AL's

" publicly-developed, discussed and implemented " long-range " NH-AL

Master Plan, " approved in 2005 by the Natural Resources Board after

fifteen years of planning. The Master Plan, he noted, calls for a

forestry emphasis on developing " more white pine, plus aspen, " as well

as the potential development of additional campground facilities. " It's

a very long process, " Petersen said of the DNR's procedure for

selecting tracts for logging, which includes on-site data compiled by

generations of DNR foresters and modern spatial computer modeling

provided by Geo-based Information System (GIS) maps. " I think some

people think that we pick them (harvesting areas) out by throwing darts

at the board and the bulls-eye's over Presque Isle at the moment.

That's not the case ... We reconcile the ecological potential of a

stand with our public goals, our social goals for it, and then we make

some decisions on what should we do ... What could this look like some

time in the future... " Impacts of DNR forest management efforts,

Peterson said, have long-term implications that will affect current and

future generations, something he noted he and other DNR staffers take

very seriously. http://www.lakelandtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=9 & SubSectionID=9 & ArticleID=8747 & TM=32620.61

9)

The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF), Great Divide Ranger

District is seeking public input regarding a timber sale and

transportation system management project entitled "Twin Ghost." The

project area is between the communities of Clam Lake and Cable,

encompassing the area south of County Highway M and north of State

Highway 77. A variety of activities have been identified to address

forest management and transportation system needs on the lands managed

by the National Forest. Open houses are scheduled to give more

information about the project proposal and to discuss possible

alternatives to the proposed action. Anyone interested in attending an

open house, should notify one of the district offices at (715) 634-4821

or (715) 264-2511. You may call or stop in either office between the

hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The CNNF has

the responsibility to manage the forest to assure it will be

sustainable into the future. Within the proposed project area many

stands are experiencing dying trees and decreased growth rates due to

age, drought stress, insect and disease outbreaks, over-stocking and

other factors. Many of the stands of short-lived forest types (aspen,

balsam fir, paper birch, and jack pine) are beyond rotation age. There

are many stands of the long-lived species that (oak, red pine, white

pine, and northern hardwoods) are too crowded. These stands need to be

thinned to provide space for trees to grow in size and strength and to

increase overall stand health. As part of the process a roads analysis

was conducted for the Twin Ghost project area. The analysis involved

assessing the existing transportation system for benefits, problems and

risks. Opportunities for the de-commissioning of unneeded roads, the

closure of roads needed for administrative or seasonal public access,

the classification of unauthorized roads (adding them to the system),

and the designation of roads for Highway Legal Vehicle (HLV) or ATV use

were identified. These opportunities were identified by means of a

risk/value assessment that was based on field surveys conducted by an

interdisciplinary team of specialists. http://www.haywardwis.com/articles/2008/11/26/news/doc492c3bace1320518134184.txt

Illinois: 10)

The bigger the complaints, the bigger the burns, said Old Edgebrook

resident Petra Blix in regard to the Forest Preserve District of Cook

County's biannual prescribed brush and forest burning. The district

conducts prescribed burns as a land management practice. It determines

which plant species are native to a specific site and then clear-cuts,

sprays and burns species it deems as invasive, such as buckthorn,

garlic mustard and green ash. " They are burning more and bigger brush

piles almost as an affront to people opposed to it, " said Blix, a

member of three area burn-opposition groups. She also manages a medical

practice and holds a PhD in molecular biology and nutrition. " They're

doing that in neighborhoods that have protested it the most in the last

year. " But Blix's statement is simply untrue, said John McCabe, who

oversees the prescribed burns. The " burn boss, " as he's called, also

directs training for the forest preserve district. " The district and

the volunteer stewards burn brush when conditions allow, " he explained.

" And this may cause piles to build up as we may not be able to burn

brush on consecutive workdays. " But the brush pile burns are just the

start. After clear-cutting the invasive species and burning the piles,

the prescribed area of the forest ground is set ablaze. The burn

controversy is an old battle that has pitted even local

environmentalists against one another. Doug Chien, Sierra Club

conservation field representative, said the land has adapted to the

age-old practice of fire. "All of Illinois' ecosystems, whether they be

open prairies, woodlands or wetlands, have evolved with the help of

fire—lightning fires or fires set by Native Americans for thousands of

years, " Chien explained. " There are plant species that will only

germinate if scorched by fire. " http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=107349

11) From Milgis Trust http://www.milgistrustkenya.com

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at

Chicago - We are writing to you to bring your attention to Research

work, being done by a student of yours in the Matthews range, Northern

Kenya, which entails cutting alot of indigenous trees.. We would like

to know if the university knows about it and if you sanction this

destructive exercise… We are writing from the Milgis Trust…

www.milgistrustkenya.com Below is our Managers report on the issue,

after he visited the sites, he also met with the community and tried to

gather what ever information he could…… --Overview: Plots cleared -9

and 11 more marked for clearing Plots size approximate -60 m. diameter,

aprox no of trees cut down-234 --Site visit: On visiting the site we

saw the magnitude of the damage caused. Huge trees were felled and from

the way the logs were cut it seemed there was some preparation for

selling the logs. Majority were cut to similar sizes 2-3 feet long and

arranged according to lengths. Some logs had numbers written on them.

-- I am shocked to learn that Mathews range is being destroyed in the

name of research. I have spent months in the beautiful forest doing

research and I feel very sad that things can go this far. What happened

to the local leaders who are very keen to protect the forest and

wildlife in it? The new Forest Act give local communities powers to

stop such research (destruction)if it was no properly sanctioned and

the local leaders consulted. Before looking for help outside, something

should be done locally to stop it until such a tie when everyone

involved is happy with the research. I know local people can do it! http://milgistrust.wildlifedirect.org/2008/12/02/forest-destruction-in-matthews-range-in-the-name-of-researchto-go-with-last-blog/

Minnesota:12)

Thirty years ago this fall, President Jimmy Carter signed the 1978

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) Act into law. While this

law provided important protections for the BWCAW, it did not address

all challenges in protecting the area for future generations. That's

how it's been all along in the effort to protect the Boundary Waters

wilderness — progress is difficult, and it happens in stages. A

compromise provision in the 1964 Wilderness Act (the law that provided

statutory protections for wilderness areas and established the National

Wilderness Preservation System) singled out the Boundary Waters for

continued logging and motorboat use, practices normally not allowed in

areas so protected. This provision made the BWCA a wilderness in name

but not necessarily in management. As a consequence, a series of

controversies erupted in the late 1960s and early 1970s over mining,

logging, snowmobiling and motorboating in the BWCA. By the mid-1970s,

Congress again turned its attention to the canoe country to try to

resolve the controversies. The resolution did not come quickly or

easily. After a very public three-year debate, Congress finally passed

the 1978 law after a number of weakening compromises made in the House

and Senate. Led by U.S. Reps. Donald Fraser and Bruce Vento from

Minnesota and Philip Burton from California, this law ended logging in

the BWCA (and protected the remaining 540,000 acres of unlogged

forest), reduced (but did not eliminate) motorboat use, phased out

snowmobiling (except for two short access routes to Canadian

properties), tightly restricted mining within the Boundary Waters and

established a BWCA Mining Protection Area outside the wilderness,

officially added " Wilderness " to the area's name, and expanded the area

by about 68,000 acres in key additions like the Hegman Lakes, Brule

Lake and the Fowl Lakes. That helped, but threats to the area's

wilderness character persist. Motorboats still run across about

one-fifth of the BWCAW's water surface area. On two wilderness

portages, jeeps and ATVs drive across along the trails hauling boats.

Mining was not absolutely forbidden, and new proposed sulfide mining

projects just outside the Boundary Waters pose major threats from acid

mine drainage. Global climate change may significantly change the

BWCAW's ecosystem. Ecosystem processes like fire are not always allowed

to fully function without human manipulation. Excessive visitation at

times threatens the area's solitude and wilderness character. Despite

the law, illegal motorboat and snowmobile use still occurs. And the

remaining roadless areas in the Superior National Forest, most of them

along the periphery of the BWCAW, are threatened with road-building and

logging. http://zaetsch.blogspot.com/2008/12/pipress-opinion-protecting-boundary.html

Missouri:13)

Horse Creek, a perennial stream, runs across the property and empties

into the Jacks Fork River about half a mile downstream from the

property. The property and Horse Creek are in the Current River

Critical Watershed Buffer Area. In addition, 37 acres of the tract are

in riparian flood plain and have been identified as cerulean warbler

breeding habitat. The American Bird Conservancy committed $35,000 to

the purchase price of the tract because it is in an area of the Ozarks

where there are high densities of cerulean warblers in the floodplain

forests of the Jack's Fork and Current River. " While the Horse Creek

tract was cleared a few decades ago, it is transitioning back into a

mature bottomland forest with characteristics that cerulean warblers

prefer - well-developed canopy layers and canopy gaps where tall trees,

like sycamores or cottonwoods, emerge above the tops of other trees, "

said Jane Fitzgerald with the American Bird Conservancy. Fitzgerald

says the purchase will prevent the land from being cleared, which

increases brown-headed cowbirds, a brood parasite with devastating

effects on the cerulean warbler population, which has declined by 70

percent since the mid-1960s. The Missouri Conservation Heritage

Foundation committed $55,500 through the Stream Stewardship Trust Fund.

" This property was important for us because it closed a three-sided

in-holding on public land, contained a high-quality aquatic resource

that was vulnerable to adverse private development, and occurs in a

Conservation Opportunity Area as identified by the Missouri Department

of Conservation and its partner, " said Rick Thom, executive director of

the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation. In Missouri, the Nature

Conservancy has designated the Ozarks and the Current River watershed

as a high priority area for conservation. The Current River shelters

the best known populations of 25 globally significant species. The

cerulean warbler suffers from habitat loss and degradation in both its

summer and winter range, says the National Audubon Society. Ceruleans

have shown one of the steepest declines of any warbler species, showing

a decline of 4.5 percent per year from 1966-2001 according to the

Breeding Bird Survey, a cooperative effort between the U.S. Geological

Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and the Canadian Wildlife

Service's National Wildlife Research Centre to monitor the status and

trends of North American bird populations. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2008/2008-12-02-092.asp

Connecticut: 14)

REDDING -- Looking at a land-use map, Bill Toomey and Bill Labich can

seen the large blocks of dense green -- the state forests in Newtown

and Danbury, the Terre Haute land in Bethel, the combination of state

park land and town land in Ridgefield. There's the land owned by the

Redding Land Trust to the south. There's the swath of woodland and

meadow at Tarrywile Park in Danbury. Often, the green flows from town

to town. Then, they talk about the bigger map -- the vast swath of

green that runs along the Appalachian Mountains, up through

Pennsylvania and New York, then into the Berkshires in Massachusetts,

the Green Mountains of Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

" This is where the link is the narrowest, " Toomey said of the Fairfield

County map. Toomey is the director of the Highstead Arboretum here, and

Labich is the arboretum's regional conservationist. Their vision is

finding ways to preserve the crucial, narrow links of forested and open

space land, and all the good it does for the region, whether providing

habitat for wildlife or trails to give people exercise. They are now

taking the first steps to do that by creating the Western Fairfield

County Regional Conservation Partnership -- a coalition of town land

trusts and conservation commissions in Bethel, Danbury, Newtown,

Redding and Ridgefield. The idea is that with such a partnership, the

region can preserve and protect the forests that do exist, and help in

regional. efforts to preserve more land. " We may be able to do more

collectively than we can do on our own, " Toomey said. So far, the

members of the partnership have met twice, learning what's unique in

each town and where they might have shared interests. Out of these

meetings, the group has begun planning a conservation and woodland

workshop as well as a regional trails day. In turn that could lead to

creating new links between existing trails to form a much larger system

that could run throughout the region. " It would be a great chance for

people to experience the unique resources we have, by getting them out

on the land, " Toomey said. " Our mission at the arboretum is to inspire

curiosity and build knowledge about plants and wooded landscapes. We

also want to give people good information, so they can make decisions

based on good, sound, science. " http://www.newstimes.com/ci_11102398

New York: 15)

GLENS FALLS - The Nature Conservancy is close to finalizing a plan for

161,000 acres of Adirondack forestland it bought from Finch, Pruyn

& Co. in June 2007. " We gave ourselves 18 months to sort out what

our priorities are for the property, " said Michael Carr, the

conservation group's executive director. Officials in all 27 towns

where the acquired property is located have approved the plan, which

includes selling some parcels to the state and some to one or more

timber companies, Carr said. As the planning process nears its

conclusion, The Nature Conservancy is seeking to refinance $45 million

in debt on the property through tax exempt bonds issued by the Colorado

Education and Cultural Authority. " It will save us a lot of dough --

maybe as much as $675,000 annually, " Carr said, referring to the

refinancing proposal, which will be the topic of a public hearing at 9

a.m. Tuesday in Glens Falls City Hall. The hearing is scheduled for the

mayor's conference room on the building's second floor. The authority

has multi-state powers to issue bonds on educational and cultural

projects for Colorado organizations, said Fred Marienthal, a lawyer for

the authority. " And so, starting in 2002, the authority has issued

approximately $300 million of debt on behalf of the Nature Conservancy

for their land acquisition efforts -- not just in Colorado, but all

across the country, " he said. Land acquisition qualifies as an

education and cultural endeavor because The Nature Conservancy conducts

biodiversity research and engages in education, he said. " They offer

training about and raise consciousness about the environment and global

warming and the values of preservation, " Marienthal said. Some,

however, say The Nature Conservancy should not be entitled to tax

exempt financing. " To my way of thinking, they shouldn't be given any

favoritism by the IRS, particularly tax exempt status for their bonds,

because they're basically tying up land, " said Carol LaGrasse,

president of The Property Rights Foundation of America, based in Stony

Creek. Representatives of that organization plan to attend the public

hearing and speak in opposition to the proposed financing, she said.

LaGrasse said one of her group's concerns is that some of the former

Finch Pruyn lands will be sold to the state, which would prohibit

logging on those parcels. " It's not something that I would consider in

the public's interest. It goes against the whole idea of keeping the

economy of the Adirondacks vibrant, " she said. The Nature Conservancy

plan does include selling " the most ecologically significant areas,

including OK Slip Falls, the Boreas Ponds and the Essex Chain of lakes "

to the state, but other areas are being offered to timber companies,

according to the group's 2008 annual report. Since buying the property

in June 2007, The Nature Conservancy has continued to supply the Finch

Paper mill in Glens Falls with pulpwood under a long-term agreement,

Carr said. " We haven't missed any woodlands deliveries to the mill, " he

said. http://www.poststar.com/articles/2008/11/28/news/local/14135256.txt

Pennsylvania: 16)

More than 1,000 oak trees damaged by gypsy moths in Clarence Schock

Memorial Park should be cut down this winter, the park board has

unanimously decided. But timbering opponents say they will ask the

Lebanon County Commissioners to ax the plan. " Unfortunately, " said

board member Chuck Allwein, " the gypsy moth damage is in probably the

heaviest-used part of the park. " He said the ravaged white and chestnut

oaks cover 67½ acres in a rough triangle bounded by the entrance

monument, environmental education center on Pinch Road and the

observation tower. Foresters have painted slashes on the trunks to be

felled. Allwein said about 1,600 timber-quality trees will be removed,

including 868 from trail corridors and 739 from the interior of the

11,110-acre forest near Mount Gretna. Allwein said the cut is a

compromise in that gypsy moths have devastated a total of 114.3 acres

of the park. About 47 acres will be left to deteriorate naturally as an

" experiment, " Allwein said. The timber sale is expected to bring in

around $50,000, according to Allwein, who added that not harvesting the

oaks would be like " throwing money, so to speak, down the drain. "

Allwein said logging proceeds would be used to reforest Governor Dick

with native plants, install fencing to keep deer from gobbling up

seedlings and, possibly, gypsy moth spraying. But members of the

board's environmental education committee say heavy logging equipment

would destroy the fragile habitat for salamanders and wildflowers and

take away nurse logs that shelter wildlife and enrich the soil. " There

are lots of problems here, " said committeewoman Susan Wheeler of

Lebanon. " They're going to open up the forest to even more [invasive

species]. " Bill Knapp, a forest advocate from Lititz, said he worries

that log-dragging operations will alter historic park terrain, such as

the old narrow-gauge railroad corridor. Allwein said timbering would

take place when the ground is hard, and that the landscape would be

restored. Environmentalists have fought the idea of logging for years.

Now, they say, the park board is using insect infestation as an excuse

to take down trees. " We're going to appeal " the board decision, added

Wheeler, who said she expects to talk Dec. 4 with Lebanon County

Commissioners William G. Carpenter, Larry E. Stohler and Jo Ellen Litz.

The commissioners have a say in the management of Governor Dick, as

does the Clarence Schock Memorial Foundation. http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/230815

Virginia: 17)

It was a wet, cold, miserable day and yet I still learned a ton! For

starters, running a " Sustainable " wood processing plant is a lot like

running a regular processing plant. It takes saw operators, laborers

and managers, all of whom can still wear camouflage and continue to be

" joe six pack " while contributing to the efforts of an environmental

non-profit. In a way, ASD defeats the stereotype of environmentalists

as " hippies " or " outsiders " by creating local sustainable jobs. For

example, Chad is a horse logger on a contract with ASD. His accent is

more Southern than Appalachian, his demeanor friendly and intelligent.

Because the big loader wasn't working, Tim (a hardworking laborer with

a sometimes incomprehensible accent) had to unload a truckload of huge

logs with a tiny forklift. Since this took a while, Chad and I got to

talkin'. I wrongly assumed that sustainable logging was more of a side

job for Chad, so I asked him how often he logged. " Every day, " he

responded, " we log full time. " Chad has a distaste for environmental

activists who " do nothing but talk. " He considers himself an

" active-ist, " someone who's out there " doing the work, practicing good

forestry " rather than just talking about it. When I told him that part

of my internship was seeking Forest Stewardship Council certification

for the forests he logs, he revealed that he doesn't think FSC goes far

enough. " These people allow for clearcuttin', " he told me. Chad doesn't

like it when people talk about horse logging in terms of going back to

an older way of logging. He considers horse logging to be very modern,

and explained to me that the horse breeds have gotten bigger and the

tools more efficient since the old days. Chad represents what ASD is

all about-changing the system from within rather than from without.

When someone like Chad talks to his friends and neighbors about

sustainability, they listen in a way that they would never listen to a

liberal college boy like me. http://restoringtheamericas.blogspot.com/2008/11/sustainable-woods.html

18)

The idea seemed too crazy to Rod Simmons, a measured, careful field

botanist. Naturalists in Arlington County couldn't find any acorns.

None. No hickory nuts, either. Then he went out to look for himself. He

came up with nothing. Nothing crunched underfoot. Nothing hit him on

the head. Then calls started coming in about crazy squirrels. Starving,

skinny squirrels eating garbage, inhaling bird feed, greedily

demolishing pumpkins. Squirrels boldly scampering into the road. And a

lot more calls about squirrel roadkill. But Simmons really got spooked

when he was teaching a class on identifying oak and hickory trees late

last month. For 2 1/2 miles, Simmons and other naturalists hiked

through Northern Virginia oak and hickory forests. They sifted through

leaves on the ground, dug in the dirt and peered into the tree

canopies. Nothing. " I'm used to seeing so many acorns around and out in

the field, it's something I just didn't believe, " he said. " But this is

not just not a good year for oaks. It's a zero year. There's zero

production. I've never seen anything like this before. " The absence of

acorns could have something to do with the weather, Simmons thought.

But he hoped it wasn't a climatic event. " Let's hope it's not something

ghastly going on with the natural world. " To find out, Simmons and

Arlington naturalists began calling around. A naturalist in Maryland

found no acorns on an Audubon nature walk there. Ditto for Fairfax,

Falls Church, Charles County, even as far away as Pennsylvania. There

are no acorns falling from the majestic oaks in Arlington National

Cemetery. " Once I started paying attention, I couldn't find any acorns

anywhere. Not from white oaks, red oaks or black oaks, and this was

supposed to be their big year, " said Greg Zell, a naturalist at Long

Branch Nature Center in Arlington. " We're talking zero. Not a single

acorn. It's really bizarre. " Zell began to do some research. He found

Internet discussion groups, including one on Topix called " No acorns

this year, " reporting the same thing from as far away as the Midwest up

through New England and Nova Scotia. " We live in Glenwood Landing,

N.Y., and don't have any acorns this year. Really weird, " wrote one.

" None in Kansas either! Curiouser and curiouser. " Oaks are one of the

few trees that can self-pollinate and " clone " themselves. But they

prefer the genetic variety that comes from the flowers of male trees

pollinating the flowers of female trees. That's a dance that takes

place every spring, usually in May, for anywhere from seven days to two

weeks, depending on the weather. And the weather is critical. A late

frost can kill the flowers and any chance of pollination. But there was

no late frost in this area last year, according to the National Weather

Service. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/29/AR2008112902045.html

Southern Forests:19)

Hi friends! I just signed up to take action with Dogwood Alliance, the

only organization in the South working to hold corporations accountable

for their irresponsible practices that effect our forest and

communities. The fast food industry is buying the paper packaging from

Southern forests--many of which are endangered! You may have heard of

Wendy's... well they just merged with Arby's to form one of the biggest

fast food junkies in the country. Dogwood Alliance is organizing a

call-in day on November 25th to let the CEO of Wendy's/Arby's know that

Southern forests are too important to be wasted for fast food

packaging. Southern forests are too important to be wasted for fast

food packaging. Wendy's and Arby's have merged to form one giant fast

food company and they are huge buyers of paper packaging from Southern

forests and suppliers following business as usual industrial forestry

including large scale clearcutting and the conversion of natural

forests to pine plantions. Join us to tell Wendy's/Arby's CEO Roland

Smith that they should increase the post-consumer recycled content of

their packaging and turn away from business as usual industrial

forestry by insisting only on paper made from respnsibly managed

forests. Instead, they should: a ) Use more post-consumer recycled

paper; b ) Reduce the amount of packaging they use; c ) Know your

source--buy paper from sustainably managed forests like those managed

under the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC).Will you join me? Follow

this link and you can sign up and get all the materials you'll need. http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/da/signUp.jsp?key=3835

South Carolina:20)

Once again The Nature Conservancy has preserved land surrounding

McClellanville through purchase and conservation easement . Earlier

this year an 812 acre tract of land just south of McClellanville was

sold by the Nature Conservancy to Charleston County Parks. This land

will be used as a public park with a few buildings but will remain

protected through conservation easements. Through this process of

buying land, establishing easements and reselling to public agencies

and private individuals, the Nature Conservancy is protecting this area

for future generations. Last week The Nature Conservancy released the

notice of it's purchase of 4 more tracts of land totaling 1,116 acres

in the McClellanville area. This land was purchased from International

Paper, who is a major holding company of land surrounding the National

Forest using the lumber from the fast growing pines to produce pulp for

paper production (say that 3 times fast). Two tracts lie just north of

McClellanville on both sides of Highway 17 and the others west on

Highway 45 (see the Charleston Business Journals Article for more

information and map). The price tag for the 1,116 acres? $6,445,000 or

$5,775 an acres…and no I can't find you a deal like that for a single

acre. The Nature Conservancy has also recently worked with the Evening

Post Publishing Company in placing a conservation easement on a 1,144

acre tract of land they own on Old Georgetown Road. This tract actually

surrounds a separate 100 acre tract of land owned by the Village Museum

which also allowed for a conservation easement placed by The Nature

Conservancy earlier this year. The Evening Post and Village Museum land

surrounds the St. James Santee Church (also known simply as " Old Brick

Church " by locals) built in 1768. It is of monumental importance that

historical character of the land surrounding this 18th century church

has been preserved from future development. http://www.mymcclellanville.net/2008/12/03/more-mcclellanville-land-is-protected-by-the-nature-conservancy/

USA: 21)

President-elect Barack Obama aptly said that " if we are going to make

the investments we need, we also have to be willing to shed the

spending that we don't need. " This is music to our ears, though there

isn't any way he can come close to matching the $2 trillion deficit

that seems to be emerging as the economic bailout continues to expand

virtually every day. But we do have a suggestion for shedding " spending

that we don't need. " In the larger scheme of things, the savings will

be modest in dollar terms. But it will end what can only be described

as an outrage against taxpayers and the environment. Every year, the

U.S. Forest Service sells timber in National Forests at a net loss to

taxpayers of around $1 billion. Not only are taxpayers getting ripped

off big time directly, they indirectly are bearing the additional cost

and consequences of forest destruction in the form of fires, mud

slides, floods, lost fisheries, a massive and deteriorating system of

logging roads, invasive species, lost wildlife habitat and recreational

opportunities, increased emissions of carbon into the atmosphere and

such unquantifiable aspects as the beauty of the lost forest and

ancient trees. These subsidized sales of public trees also are

anti-competitive. They deprive the owners of private wood lots of sales

and higher prices. And because one-third of the harvest of public trees

goes toward making pulp, it also undermines the use of recycled paper

and nonwood fibers. There is simply no justifiable reason for the

government to give away trees from the public forests. We urge the

incoming administration to take a firm stand in ending this wasteful

and destructive practice. No more free trees. http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/opinion/122790931499910.xml & coll=1

22)

In the years after World War II, Americans packed up their young

families and Army surplus camping gear and headed into the national

forests to hunt, fish, and hike. Going to the woods was part of what it

meant to be an American. Today, however, visits to the national forests

are off 13 percent. Top officials at the U.S. Forest Service blame it

on circumstances outside their control — rising gas prices, the

popularity of video games and the Internet, and an increasingly urban

and aging population less inclined to camp out. Critics focus on fees

charged for hiking trails and visitor centers, a proliferation of noisy

off-road vehicles and the declining proportion of the Forest Service

budget dedicated to recreation. James Johnston, a policy analyst with

Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics in Eugene, spent the

last year camping out in 67 national forests and talking to 400 people.

He concluded that while fewer people may be using the woods, fewer

trails and campgrounds are open and there are more people riding noisy

off-road vehicles. " They think that it's harder to find solitude, " he

said of the people he talked to. Coupled with the decline in visits to

national parks, the trend makes nature lovers nervous at a time when

the growing global population and climate change pose huge threats to

wild places. " We only value what we know and what we love, " said

Richard Louv, author of " The Last Child in the Woods. " " Where is the

political constituency going to come from if all those trends continue

— disinvestment in facilities, lack of diversity, the disconnect

between children and nature? " If young people and the growing Hispanic

population don't fill in for the aging white Baby Boomers who have long

made up the vast majority of national forest visitors, what will that

mean for the future? " That is the big question, " said Thomas More, a

research forester with the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research

Station in Burlington, Vt. " Is it going to be a future of hiking or is

it fancy cafes and city kinds of things? That's what we're trying to

evaluate right now. And the information is mixed, frankly. " http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g5n1rBdnAR0_w1JlL6-4Mc5_vMBwD94OPOA00

23)

One thing is for sure, Larry- forestry in America is a mess. Much of

the East continues to get high graded or consists of monoculture

plantations or gets developed. Out west, all sorts of issues. Who to

blame? I think there's enough to go around with both the enviros and

the forestry establishment, which has been far too friendly with the

interests of the wood industry. I think both sides are severely FUCKED

up. It doesn't help that real foresters who actually work in the woods

doing real forestry are a rare and endangered species and have almost

zero influence on the big policy issues. The vast majority of

" foresters " are paper pushers in gov., timber beasts, or academic

hacks. Those of us who actually practice real forestry should have a

revolution and take of OUR profession. Otherwise we're just pawns in

this big struggles between agencies, industry and enviros. I once

thought the Guild would help that to happen, but they've sold out too.

Forest owners everywhere are also screwed. http://groups.google.comalt.forestry?hl=en

24)

Grassroots climate activists took over the Washington DC office of

Environmental Defense. The activists stated that they had targeted ED,

one of the largest environmental organizations in the world, because of

the organization's key role in promoting the discredited approach of

carbon trading as a solution to climate change. Dr. Rachel Smolker of

Global Justice Ecology Project and Global Forest Coalition read a

statement, which said in part, " My father was one of the founders of

this organization, which sadly I am now ashamed of. The Kyoto Protocol,

the European Emissions Trading Scheme and virtually every other

initiative for reducing emissions have adopted their market approaches.

So far they have utterly failed, serving only to provide huge profits

to the world's most polluting industries. Instead of protecting the

environment, ED now seems primarily concerned with protecting corporate

bottom lines. I can hear my father rolling over in his grave. " The

activists rearranged furniture in the office, illustrating how

marketing carbon is " like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. "

Others held signs reading " Keep the cap, ditch the trade " and " Carbon

trading is an environmental offense. " Leo Cerda, an indigenous activist

with Rising Tide Ecuador said, " ED wants to turn the atmosphere and

forests into private property, and then give it away to the most

polluting industries in the form of pollution allowances that can be

bought and sold. Not only is this an ineffective way to control

emissions, it is also a disaster for the poor and indigenous peoples

who are not party to these markets and are most impacted by climate

change. " ED has been key in establishing the U.S. Climate Action

Partnership, a business consortium advocating for a cap and trade

system with extremely weak emissions reductions. US CAP allows

polluters like Duke Energy, Shell, BP, DuPont, and Dow Chemical to

claim they are green while continuing with business as usual. In

recognition, activists awarded ED the " Corporate Greenwash Award, " a

three foot tall green paintbrush. " We think this award is appropriate

since Environmental Defense spends more time painting polluters green

than actually defending the environment, " said Matt Wallace of Rising

Tide North America. http://www.globaljusticeecology.org/connections.php?ID=214

25)

In the midst of the financial crisis, conservationists have an

opportunity to promote both green jobs and watershed restoration on our

national forests - specifically through road reclamation and

remediation. Wildlands CPR and American Lands Alliance are working to

ensure that decision-makers are considering green rural job development

programs in addition to the urban programs proposed as part of

President-elect Obama's green energy proposals. We are seeking

organizational sign on to two proposals: 1) a two-year, $500 million

Forest Watershed Restoration Corps, to create green jobs in our

national forests, to be included as part of any economic stimulus

package; and 2) a request for a new program in the reauthorization of

the Highway Bill for a Forest Road Reclamation and Remediation Program

at $200 million annually over the six-year term of the bill (which is

up for renewal in 2009, but won't be adopted until FY 2010). 26)

The " Forest Watershed Restoration Corps " is being proposed as a

component of the Economic Stimulus package, which is expected to pass

very early in 2009. The program would provide $500 million over two

years to create jobs in communities adjacent to national forests

through contracts and temporary, professional appointments in the

Forest Service. This small-scale variation on the Civilian Conservation

Corps would decommission unneeded forest roads, repair fish culverts,

and maintain roads necessary for administration and recreation. $250

million annually can create 3,500 direct jobs in the rural West while

simultaneously restoring clean drinking water, and aquatic and

terrestrial habitat. The funding cannot be used for thinning or other

" forest " restoration activities. To read the sign on letter, click

here. " Forest Road Reclamation and Remediation Program " - a new program

requested of the House and Senate transportation committees for

inclusion in the reauthorization of the Highway bill, which is expected

to pass in 2010. The proposal would provide $200 million from gas tax

revenues annually for six years to restore our national forest

watersheds through road decommissioning, repair of fish culverts and

maintenance of appropriate roads. The US Forest Service doesn't receive

a dime for its roads system from the highway bill while the National

Park Service receives $250 million, the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Refuge System receives $30 million and the tribes receive $450 million

annually It's time that the Forest Service receives a portion of the

gas tax as national forest roads are now used predominately for

recreation. To read the sign on letter, Amazingly, if these

requests are successful, $1.5 billion could be available for over the

next eight years to restore our national forest watersheds by

addressing the backlog of road maintenance needs while providing

high-wage, high-skill rural jobs! We are seeking organizational sign on

to both letters. Please consider Executive Director level sign on if

possible. americanlandsalliance 27)

Hopefully, Obama will make a dramatic break with eight years of

anti-fish policies by the Bush administration that have resulted in

fish kills, massive fishing closures and dramatic declines of Central

Valley salmon and Delta fish populations. In his interviews and public

statements, Obama has consistently affirmed his commitment to fish and

wildlife conservation. In an interview with Outdoor Life published on

September 28, Obama said, " While I did not grow up hunting and fishing,

I recognize the great conservation legacy of America's hunters and

anglers. Were it not for America's hunters and anglers, including great

icons like Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold, our nation would not

have the tradition of sound game management and an extensive public

lands estate on which to hunt and fish. " Likewise, on National Hunting

and Fishing Day this year, Obama said, " Hunting and fishing are not

just recreational pursuits, and they are part of our national heritage.

As president, I will protect the right to bear arms, increase access to

places to hunt and fish, take on polluters and clean up our streams and

lakes, and protect our nation's important wildlife habitat and

wetlands. I will enhance programs that encourage young people to hunt

and fish and respect and protect the outdoors. " Many sportsmen are

greatly relieved that a new regime will be moving into Washington to

replace the Bush administration, one of the worst-ever for fisheries

and fishing rights in US history. " It's like a big weight has been

lifted off our country with the departure of the Bush administration, "

said Cal Kellogg, Fish Sniffer associate editor. The Bush

administration was notable for engineering the Klamath River fish kill

of 2002, the largest fishery disaster of its kind in US history. Over

68,000 salmon perished in low water conditions spurred by a change in

water policy that favored agribusiness over fish, fishermen, Indian

Tribes and downstream water users. Central Valley rivers were closed to

salmon fishing this year for the first time, due to the collapse of

Central Valley fall chinook salmon. Delta pelagic species, including

delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad,

have plummeted to record low population levels, due to increased water

exports, toxic chemicals and invasive species. Many examples of

political manipulation of biological science by Bush administration

officials to favor the timber, agribusiness and mining industries at

the expense of our public trust fisheries have been showcased over the

last eight years in various publications. In a parting shot, the Bush

administration is attempting to rewrite the Endangered Species Act at

the expense of endangered fish, wildlife and plants. It will take a

monumental effort and many years to restore our fisheries just to the

level that they were in 2001 when Bush took office, but it must be

done! What do key leaders in fishing and conservation organizations

think about the prospects of the new administration that takes over in

January 2009? " http://www.truthout.org/120108EA

28)

A federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday that a Clinton-era ban against

new road construction and development on millions of acres of national

forest would apply only to 10 western states. Two years ago, Judge

Elizabeth Laporte invalidated a 2005 Bush administration rule that

overturned the 2001 " Roadless Rule, " which protected 58.5 million acres

of federal land in about 40 states. But in August, a federal judge in

Wyoming invalidated President Bill Clinton's Roadless Rule, leading the

Bush administration to request that the two judges modify their

conflicting rulings. In response, Laporte reduced the geographic scope

of her 2006 ruling. The move is only a temporary fix. Federal appeals

courts in San Francisco and Denver are expected to rule on the case

next year, and road construction rules also could change under

President-elect Barack Obama's administration. Environmental groups

that challenged the Bush administration's repeal of the Roadless Rule

urged the government Tuesday to not weaken protections for about 13.6

million acres of roadless forests in the states no longer covered by

Laporte's 2006 ruling. Forest Service officials in Washington did not

immediately respond to requests for comment. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTsPr6DcfwgQaHqdmVfHwZW1vHhgD94R1HLO0