021OEC’s This Week in Trees

News of trees is coming out fast these past couple days. Here’s the newest batch, another 35 news items from: British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Colorado, Georgia, Vermont, Massachusetts, Canada, Scotland, Finland Columbia, Borneo, Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, Uganda, India, Lebanon, and World-wide

British Columbia:

1) Further fragmentation of the remaining temperate rainforests is simply not an option. Simply stated, logging remaining temperate rainforests is an environmental crime in violation of many provisions of the Biodiversity Convention and Agenda 21. Canada also signed the Convention on Climate Change, and logging the Great Bear Rainforest violates the provisions of that international law as well. Clearly we have a moral obligation to act to prevent this sellout. Temperate rainforests have only one season – mild and wet – staying lush year-round. One quarter of the world’s temperate rainforests are in coastal British Columbia. Coastal temperate rainforests are more endangered than tropical rainforests, having only ever covered less than one per cent of the earth’s surface. Close to the ocean, protected by mountains, these temperate rainforests are cool, shadowed worlds. They’re topped by red cedars, Douglas fir and Sitka spruce. Berry bushes feed the bears. Shade keeps water temperatures cool for salmon spawning in the streams. Underfoot, lies a thick layer of ferns, salal bushes, Devil’s club and other medicinal plants. Over the years, heavy logging and development destroyed much of these areas. http://www.savethegreatbear.org/theplace/coastalrainforest

2) Path dependence may explain some of the lack of environmental change in BC public forest policy. But by far the most significant factor reinforcing BC’s bankrupt environment and resource policy is the absence of informed public discussion, criticism and outrage that rapid extirpation of natural ecosystems is still apparently undertaken in the public interest. In BC, in our universities, in our legislature, and in all of our media, we continue to authorize forest liquidation as though the remaining original forest is an epidemic disease to be fought in the public interest. When our mainstream environmental organizations take the position that emblematic incremental industrial reform is a realistic solution to massively publically legitimized accelerated catastrophic exploitation, then these organizations create context for excusing the pillage of resources and they help commit us to irreversible environmental unsustainability. It pays well to argue that environmentalism can be achieved with gradual, painless, incremental reform of industrial practices, but the aggregate trajectory of all these symbolic reforms does not intersect with the conservation of functioning ecosystems. If mainstream environmentalists will not honestly lead nor expose the implicit contradictions and self-serving psuedo-science justifying natural forest liquidation and agro-forestry conversion then who else can undertake this unpopular and unprofitable task? Path dependence and reinforced habit may explain how environmentalists trained and employed to the practice of incremental reform can practice nothing else, but through what means can this religious belief in incrementalism itself be reformed?
Cheers, Michael Major mbmajor@telus.net

3) When we finally arrived at our cherished campsite we burst out of the car and raced down the path to the lakeshore. At first we were so glad to be there that we did not notice the changes that had occurred since our last visit. The rustic picnic table had been massacred for firewood; there was broken glass everywhere and toilet paper strewn all through the bushes. The garbage cans were overflowing and the pit toilet was emitting a nauseating smell. We had cleaned up garbage before at this site, usually after a long weekend, but we had never seen anything quite like this. I remembered reading about the government’s plans to cut services to provincial parks and forest service recreation sites over the next four years. Was it possible that our spot had already fallen victim to these cutbacks? The rest of our stay at the lake was unpleasant, and dangerous; the accumulation of garbage had attracted a number of bears to the site. We spent our nature interlude fending them off, but they were not at all concerned with us. We were disenchanted and frustrated, and left early, something that was unheard of in the past. When I returned to the city I was anxious to find out exactly what had happened to our favorite campsite, so I consulted the BC Parks government website and found a troubling prognosis. They had plans to phase out all of the Forest Service Recreation Sites by 2004, and would be withdrawing services from 45 provincial parks. They also would be eliminating all interpretive programs because they were no longer a core service, and were considering implementing user fees for access to all of the provincial parks. I thought about all of the beautiful parks that I have visited over the years, both as a child and an adult, and the notion that some of them would no longer be cared for depressed me. I had taken parks for granted, assuming that closing them or forcing the public to pay for each visit was impossible. I tried to read the Parks Act to find out exactly what kind of protection is in place, but as anyone who has ever attempted to read legislation knows, it is barely intelligible and about as exciting as watching paint dry. http://www.sfu.ca/dialogue/undergrad/pdfs/final-bulley.pdf

4) Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are all the botanical (plant) and mycological (mushroom and fungus) resources and associated services of the forest other than timber, pulpwood, shakes, or other conventional wood products. This course is an introduction to biogeoclimatic (BEC) zones and natural disturbance regimes in BC in relation to: 1) the occurrence of important NTFP species and the ecosystems that sustain them; 2) the impacts of current land use and resource extraction practices on NTFP occurrence and productivity; and 3) the influence of disturbance classes, BEC zones, and current ecological conditions on the selection of appropriate NTFP management practices. www.uvcs.uvic.ca/restore/

5) I do not believe that juvenile spacing and pruning are good investments at all. The first spacing and pruning activity should happen at the commercial thinning stage (25-50 years). While juvenile spacing opens up the stand, this happens prior to canopy closure. The economic return is of juvenile spacing and pruning is terrible, the slash is a fire, human and wildlife hazard and it decreases rather than increases volume yields by removing potential merchantable trees and decreasing the productivity of the live trees by removing live limbs. It also reduces the tree species diversity and often targets deciduous trees which are especially valuable for soil productivity and wildlife habitat. Finally, the vigour and dominance of trees may not be well expressed at this stage and spacers are spacing to rigid spacing standards and not probably not adequately aware or focused on the need for individual tree assessment. The government has wasted a huge amount of money over the years feeding this system of plantation silviculture activities rather than direct it into creating worthwhile and fulfilling jobs in the forest and managing the forest, under a long rotation, uneven age, mixed species silvicultural system. I agree with your position with regards to investment and programs in ongoing stream rehabilitation and various levels of road deactivation. Michael Copland designfor@cowichan.com

Washington:

6) The Forest Service has recently published a Notice of Intent to reconstruct the Dosewallips road in Olympic National Forest through critical chinook salmon habitat. Although the Forest Service will be completing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which requires consideration of several alternatives, the most responsible option of converting the last five miles of road into a non-motorized trail would not be studied at all. By choosing to ignore the obvious benefits of a road-to-trail conversion above the massive washout, the Forest Service has essentially thumbed its nose at the many thoughtful citizens who have previously submitted comments in favor of ensuring the future integrity of the Dose. The Forest Service’s new preferred alternative would reconstruct the road using a single-lane “low-water crossing design” of six hundred feet in length that would be 8 feet lower than the existing road grade. This seasonal-access road would curve close to the steep washout bank, designed to be overtopped by the river during flood events. While not only forcibly altering the Dose’s natural dynamics and harming threatened salmon stocks, the Forest Service would seek a Northwest Forest Plan amendment to waive compliance with the Aquatic Conservation Strategy (ACS). This, despite the fact that the Bush administration has already rendered the ACS largely toothless, indicates the severity of the damage the Forest Service expects to inflict on the river. The Dosewallips once again depends upon you! The Forest Service has indicated they will gladly sacrifice this Northwest icon for the sole benefit of getting motor vehicles five miles farther up valley. Only a concerned and vocal public can keep the bulldozers out of the river. Please write the Forest Service by September 23. Suggested talking points are as follows: http://www.olympicforest.org/

7) The Port of Olympia made it official Monday, announcing that the port has struck a deal with timber company Weyerhaeuser to move its log export business from Tacoma to the port in the spring of 2006. With it will come jobs, increased revenue and as many as 48 ships that will pass through the port’s marine terminal, compared with 16 that visited the port in 2004. Commissioner Bob Van Schoorl called it an “extremely good financial deal for the port,” one that will earn the port $1.5 million in revenue a year. As part of the deal, the port has signed a five-year lease with Weyerhaeuser, including three two-year options that could push the lease length to 11 years. But port commissioners would like to see the relationship last much longer than that, saying Weyerhaeuser’s log export operations were based in Tacoma for more than 30 years. In return, the company will occupy 24.5 acres of the port’s 60-acre terminal, requiring about $4 million in tenant improvements. Port commissioners voted 3 to 0 Monday to meet the tenant improvements using port savings. Three existing port tenants — Pacific Lumber and Shipping, Merrill & Ring and Formark — will have to either move or work with less space to accommodate the company’s arrival. Van Schoorl said in negotiations with the three companies, he described them as apprehensive about the amount of space that will be left for them. http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050823/BUSINESS/508230316/1003

Oregon:

8) A coalition of conservation groups, led by the Center for Biological Diversity and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, went to court today to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) over its failure to respond to a petition to protect the Siskiyou Mountains and Scott Bar Salamanders as endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The Scott Bar Salamander was discovered to be a unique species in May. “The Siskiyou and newly discovered Scott Bar Salamanders need the safety-net provided by the Endangered Species Act to survive,” states Noah Greenwald, conservation biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity and primary author of the petition. “Without protection from further logging of their habitat, we may lose these unique salamanders forever.” Both species of salamander live in mature and old-growth forests, like those that once covered much of the Northwest. Today only fragments of these forests remain, and they face increasing threat from logging and other forms of development. “We have a responsibility to prevent the extinction of wildlife, fish, and plants, because once they are gone, we cannot bring them back.” said Joseph Vaile, Campaign Director for Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. “To protect wildlife like these rare salamanders, we have to safeguard the forests they call home.” http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/salamander8-23-05.html

Oregon:

9) A coalition of environmental groups was back in federal court Tuesday trying to stop a salvage-logging project in central Oregon. As Ley Garnett reports, timber companies have already started logging where the B&B Fire burned two summers ago. Attorneys for the conservation groups say they tried to work out an agreement with the timber companies to hold off until a federal judge hears the case. But under so called ‘economic emergency’ rules, issued last year by the Bush Administration, loggers don’t have to wait for the judge as they did before. The Forest Service says the timber sales will pay for trees to be replanted. But Tim Lillebo with the Oregon Natural Resources Council says the forest is growing back naturally. Tim Lillebo: “Logging now, after two years where these seedlings have already established themselves and are growing seems to be like the very opposite of what we want to do. We want to establish a new forest there, which we already have. Nature has done that. And then to run over them or damage them or kill them just doesn’t make any sense.” The request for a preliminary injunction against the logging questions the legality of the economic emergency. A federal judge in California recently declared that only the head of the U.S. Forest Service could declare such an emergency. In this case Northwest district forester Linda Goodman issued the emergency. The lawsuit also claims the government violated several environmental laws in drawing up the timber sales. http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=810341

10) The U.S. Forest Service admitted Wednesday to making a “serious” mistake that allowed 17 acres to be logged inside a rare tree reserve as part of the salvage harvest of timber burned by the 2003 Biscuit fire. The logging inside the 350-acre Babyfoot Lake Botanical Area, created in 1966 to protect Brewer spruce and other rare plant species on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, was discovered last week by the Siskiyou Project, a local environmental group, after the Fiddler timber sale was harvested and a forest closure intended to keep out protesters was lifted. Forest Service personnel mismarked the border of a unit of the Fiddler timber sale next to the botanical area — though just who did it or how it happened was not immediately clear, said Illinois Valley District Ranger Pam Bode. Normally trees are marked with stapled tags and paint to show the boundaries of timber sales and reserves within them. “It is the Forest Service’s intent to manage the Babyfoot Lake Botanical Area to minimize human intervention in the ecological process,” said Bode. “For us to have changed the ecology in that area through removal of these dead trees is a serious error. And we will do all we can to determine the best path to move forward from here.” Barbara Ullian, conservation director of the Siskiyou Project, called for a formal investigation into the blunder, saying it pointed out the importance of allowing the public to watch over logging operations on national forests. “This is no small little slip across the border and a few trees,” said Ullian. The Forest Service closed the area to the public last March following attempts by protesters to block logging roads and sit in trees. “The big picture we’ve seen is that the Forest Service has done a poor job of marking and monitoring many of its sales,” said Forest Fleischman, a policy advocate for Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, which won a court order forcing the Forest Service to use its own personnel, rather than loggers, to mark trees left for wildlife on the Fiddler sale. Spokeswoman Patty Burel said the Forest Service would look into the problem, but any issues regarding employee performance would remain confidential. http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-12/112491204639070.xml&storylist=orlocal

11) Dear members of Congress: Please introduce the Forever Wild Act, as supported by the Native Forest Council, to the 109th session of Congress. Our public lands, now owned and hereafter acquired, deserve complete and total protection from extractive industries. Do everything in your power to eliminate all logging, road building, grazing, mining, and drilling on every acre of Federal public lands, including but not limited to: National Forests, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, Wilderness Areas, BLM lands, and National Monuments. Sincerely, The Undersigned click here to sign: http://www.petitiononline.com/ZEROCUT/

California:

12) Forestry officials are asking for public input on a salvage project in the Groveland Ranger District of the Stanislaus National Forest. Officials say the “Three Fires” salvage project will be aimed at recovering the economic value of trees killed by fire and reducing the safety hazards presented by dead and dying trees along roads and other property. The project will harvest about 900,000 board feet of timber from 195 acres east of Groveland where the Creek, Tuolumne and Early fires occurred. Officials say the plan includes measures to protect wildlife habitat, soil and water quality. The Environmental Assessment is available for public review at the Groveland Ranger District office, or at the Forest Supervisor’s Office in Sonora. http://www.mymotherlode.com/News/article/kvml/1124806737

Idaho:

13) Idaho is home to 240 roadless areas totaling 9.3 million acres in the state’s 10 national forests. It’s a vast figure for a relatively vague term. To some, the definition of a roadless area may be as clear as its boundaries, which is to say not very clear at all. Some run into wilderness areas, others are adjacent to lands that serve as hubs for motorized users. Signs are generally not a priority. Even the name itself can be misleading, as several of the state’s roadless areas are actually crisscrossed by roads. But if you need to know anything about these wild playgrounds, it’s that they’re currently subject to change under what’s become known as the federal government’s “Final Rule.” Just what that change entails, however, seems as mysterious as the lands themselves. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne announced in June that Idaho would move forward and develop a management proposal for Idaho’s vast array of roadless areas. As a part of that process, he’ll nominate portions of the state’s roadless areas for continued federal protection from mining, logging and energy development. But the Republican governor isn’t spelling out yet how far he’ll go in exercising the new role in forest management, which was granted to governors in April by the Bush administration. “For over 30 years the whole issue of roadless lands has been in limbo,” Kempthorne said at the press conference announcing his decision. “The Bush administration has provided an opportunity for states to petition the federal government and identify how many of these areas can be resolved … So, I intend to take them up on that offer.” http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?issue_date=08-24-2005&ID=2005104855

14) The mine shaft that made Ed Pulaski a firefighting legend 95 years ago will soon be reached by a renovated hiking trail, a project led by a high school guidance counselor and financed with money from Congress and private donors. At a dedication ceremony Saturday — the anniversary of the 1910 ‘‘Big Blowup” fire — a white-gloved Forest Service honor guard carried chrome-plated versions of the combination ax and hoe tool named for Pulaski. ‘‘History was made here,” said Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who helped secure $300,000 from Congress to pay for the trail. Another $147,000 in private funds was raised for the project. The Big Blowup killed at least 85 people, destroyed entire towns and burned 3 million acres along the Montana-Idaho border. It prompted the U.S. Forest Service to begin aggressively fighting wildfires for the rest of the 20th century. Pulaski, an early Forest Service ranger, is celebrated for leading his crew to the abandoned mine shaft, saving 39 of the 45 firefighters as raging flames swept over the creek valley. The tool he invented eventually become standard equipment for wildland firefighters across the country. http://www.helenair.com/articles/2005/08/23/montana/a01082305_06.txt

Colorado:

15) As expected, cars and trucks have been a major killer of lynx in Colorado. Four lynx have been killed on Interstate 70: two about a mile west of the summit of Vail Pass and two more about five miles east of the Eisenhower Tunnel. Others have been smashed on Red Mountain Pass, Wolf Creek Pass and other roads. These deaths were no surprise to Gary Patton, a former wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who identified the two sections of I-70 as places the lynx were likely to travel. Overpasses that would let lynx and other animals cross over the freeway have been proposed on Vail Pass and at several other sites in Summit County. The theory is that the lynx hew to the forest cover as they travel. On Vail Pass and near the Eisenhower Tunnel, trees crowd the highway. “It’s not that there’s any magical charm to those areas,” says Tanya Shenk, lead lynx researcher for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. “It’s a matter of the forest meeting the forest on the other side of the highway. That’s how I think lynx choose those areas.” http://www.postindependent.com/article/20050823/VALLEYNEWS/108230030

16) Reintroduced lynx have more commonly stayed south of Interstate 70. But the pine-beetle epidemic causing large patches of rust-colored trees could become habitat for lynx in another 15 to 20 years. The question is whether the areas of devastation are broad enough, says Gary Patton, a former wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Lynx like high-elevation spruce and fir forests, where the trees are big enough and far enough apart that things can grow on the forest floor. This, in turn, allows the vegetation that draws snowshoe hare and other species. In contrast, the more mature stands of lodgepole pine that blanket Grand and Summit counties as well as portions of the upper Eagle Valley instead tend to be biological deserts. In time, perhaps 15 to 20 years, these regenerating forests will provide – at least for a time – the biological diversity crucial to the survival of lynx and other carnivores. http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20050822/NEWS/108220029

Georgia:

17) The state is close to making several land deals that would net more than 12,000 acres of timberland in South Georgia for permanent protection. The deals, discussed Tuesday at a Board of Natural Resources meeting, is set for a vote today. The cost to the state would be about $5.2 million, or less than $500 an acre and well below market value documented by appraisers. Federal grants and private donations would make up the difference between the state contribution and cost of the land, which was valued at more than $15 million. The land is in Glynn, Wayne, Jeff Davis and Coffee counties, and lies along the Altamaha and Ocmulgee rivers. International Paper had already transferred its portion to its real estate venture, Blue Sky Timber Properties. The rest was former Georgia-Pacific land that had been acquired by Plum Creek, a Seattle-based private timberland owner. The state was caught flat-footed last year when another timber company, Weyerhaeuser Co., decided to sell off nearly all its land in Georgia to land investors. The 304,000 acres in 35 counties across central Georgia included the Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area, a popular hunting ground and black bear habitat near Macon. Steve Friedman, real estate chief for the state Department of Natural Resources, said the Weyerhaeuser sale “happened so quickly, there were very important pieces we were not able to act on. . . . In this case [the land owners] recognized the importance of the property and gave us a chance to put something together.” According to the DNR, the Clayhole Swamp in Glynn County and Penholoway Swamp in Wayne County are home to protected animals, including wood storks, a long-legged wading bird. The third tract is Broxton Rocks in Jeff Davis and Coffee counties. It connects to state land across the Ocmulgee River in Telfair County and is an important habitat for the eastern indigo snake, the largest snake in North America. DNR worked through the Georgia Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, which is donating about $3.8 million to the state. Curt Soper, the conservancy’s director of conservation, called the proposed acquisitions “critical additions to already protected habitats.” DNR plans to open the land as wildlife management areas where the public can hike, hunt and fish. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0805/24timber.html

Vermont:

18) The destiny of the 400,000-acre Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont’s only national forest, is in play, with important implications for its residents. The Forest Service just completed taking public comments on its plan to manage the forest for the next 15 years, and one of the hottest issues was whether to allow all-terrain vehicles in the Green Mountain National Forest. Another issue is whether to create more wilderness areas — areas where motor vehicles and logging are not permitted. You can bet whatever is decided will leave some people bitter. Make your voice heard in a way that your passion, your numbers and your logic are unmistakable to Forest Service officials; insist that they choose wisely. Leave no option for them but to choose for a future that is consistent with the Vermont you have worked so hard to achieve. http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050824/NEWS/508240302/-1/NEWS01
Massachusetts:

19) Scientists at the Woods Hole Research Center are producing a high-resolution “National Biomass and Carbon Dataset” for the year 2000 (NBCD2000), the first ever inventory of its kind. Through a combination of NASA satellite datasets, topographic survey data, land use/land cover data, and extensive forest inventory data collected by the U.S. Forest Service, this “millennium” dataset will serve as an invaluable baseline for carbon stock assessment and flux modeling in the United States. The NBCD2000 project draws on vegetation canopy height estimated from digital elevation data collected during the 2000 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which mapped 80 percent of the Earth’s land mass with a radar instrument, producing the most complete digital surface map of Earth. In combination with the National Land Cover Database 2001(NLCD2001) and the National Elevation Dataset (NED), both generated by the U.S. Geological Survey, and forest survey data from the U.S. Forest Service, a high-resolution database of circa-2000 vegetation canopy height, aboveground biomass, and carbon stocks for the conterminous United States will be generated, providing an unprecedented baseline against which to compare data products from the next generation of advanced Earth observing remote sensing platforms. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-08/whrc-stt_1082305.php

Canada:

20) CPAWS is proud to present Selected Ecological Resources of Alberta’s Castle Carbondale: A Synopsis of Current Knowledge. After years of disagreement over the state of the health of the Castle Region of southwest Alberta, CPAWS and Shell Canada embarked on a project to synthesize the current science on key species in the Castle region. The aim of this synopsis is to centralize in one resource an accurate assessment of the ecological health of the Castle area for the general public, recreationists, academics, industry, and decision makers in at various levels of government. Martin Jalkotzy, the document’s principle author, concludes that the Castle region is a wildland of national significance because of its exceptional biodiversity and importance to regional connectivity for wildlife. The Castle Carbondale is rich in what Worbets and Berdahl (2003) refer to as “natural capital”. Natural capital includes oil and gas and timber used in the production of goods but also includes the living ecosystems that form the basis of our quality of life and our economy, (agriculture, energy, forestry, tourism and recreation). Worbets and Berdahl (2003) make a strong case that we need to sustain and build Alberta’s natural capital because it is in our long-term interest, both for a strong economy and a healthy environment. Opportunities to promote sustainable use for the Castle Carbondale are still available as we enter 2005. In particular specific, legally-binding management objectives, indicators and thresholds should be established for the Castle Carbondale. However, recognition of the scale and scope of current threats by the appropriate decision makers, industry, recreationists and general public will be required before sustainable management can be achieved. CPAWS and several other ENGOs have called upon the Alberta Government to enact legislated Protection of the Castle for several decades. Protection of this area remains the most viable tool for addressing the declines outlined in the Synopsis and safeguarding this treasured landscape for all Albertans. http://www.cpawscalgary.org/castle/ecological-resource-report.html#downloads

21) Canada’s largest forest industry union has launched a national campaign to revitalize the industry based on a new, national forest sector strategy. “We have a growing crisis in this industry, reaching across provinces and reaching into the hundreds of forest dependent communities,” said CEP President Brian Payne. “This crisis is environmental, it is economic and it is about trade. It is a perfect storm of conditions resulting in harvesting cuts, mill closures
and machine closures. “We are saying that it is time to create a national forest sector council and a new national forest industry strategy.” Payne said that government figures show 40,000 forest sector jobs in Canada have been lost since 2000. The conditions resulting in job losses include: – The softwood lumber dispute with the US Harvesting cuts in Quebec and wood shortages in Atlantic Provinces and
Ontario. – Pine beetle infestation in BC. – High energy costs. – Lack of investment by major companies. Forest based industries are the largest natural resource based sector in the Canadian economy. Overall, the forests rank second only to the automotive industry in terms of national economic impact. Below is some basic data on what the industry means to the country (based on a 2004 report from Price Waterhouse Coopers):
Total sales $50.7 billion
Export sales $39.5 billion
Net earnings $1.4 billion
Percentage of total Canadian exports 10.4%
Contribution to Canada’s balance of trade $32.8 billion
Net contribution to trade surplus $29.7 billion
Share of Canada’s Gross Domestic Production 3%
Payments to governments $7.2 billion
Capital spending $2.2 billion
Employment (direct and indirect) 895,000
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2005/22/c2103.html

22) The 216-page report, written by Martin Jalkotzy of Calgary-based Arc Wildlife Services Ltd., concludes that human activity — roads, industry and recreational activities, including a ski resort — has contributed to the loss of “nationally significant wildland” and threatens the habitat for fish, frogs, toads, wolves, wolverines and grizzly bears. Environmentalists, who have been saying that for years, are waging a battle over the planned expansion of the Castle Mountain ski resort, which is now caught up in the courts. They have also complained about drilling in and just outside the area — primarily to Shell — where there is an estimated 400 billion cubic feet of natural gas. They have also angled to limit logging, which is now on the wane. Historically, about one third of the area was old-growth forest, but now, old growth accounts for about 9 per cent of forested land. The report concludes that the existing government management plan for the region — designed circa 1985 — is “not equipped to handle the demands that contemporary land use pressures are currently placing on the Castle Carbondale region.” The province has “missed opportunities” to resolve conflicts, has failed to use “specific, legally binding” management techniques and conducted “little to no enforcement” of rules in the region, the report finds. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050822/ALBERTA22/TPEnvironment/

Scotland:

23) Wild boar have returned to an area where their ancestors once foraged to help efforts to restore the ancient Caledonian pine forest. A project has started in Glen Affric in which wild boar are now living and breeding within two large enclosures in the forest. It is hoped that the “original ground disturbance force” will eat invasive bracken and help increase the number of tree seedlings to regenerate the forests. The project is unique in using wild boar to manage a native pine wood and the eight sows, one boar, called Boris, and 40 young will soon be rewarded for their efforts by moving from a test plot of just over an acre to a larger home of about 10 acres. Munching on the exposed tubers, the animals eat young bracken shoots as they emerge in spring. It is hoped that the patches of well turned soil left behind will provide a fertile seed bed for the regeneration of native species such as pine, rowan and birch, and the project will monitor seedling establishment over the next two to three years. Glen Affric, 35 miles from Inverness, covers 36,000 acres and contains one of the largest ancient Caledonian pinewoods in Scotland. Over £1 million has been spent to achieve National Nature Reserve status and it is a haven for wildlife such as golden eagles and osprey, and attracts some 70,000 visitors a year. http://heritage.scotsman.com/news.cfm?id=1832172005

Finland:

24) Greenpeace today said that the UK Government’s freshly watered down timber buying guidelines will give the green light to destroy old-growth Finnish forests, where social conflict continues and logging is threatening to wipe out a number of internationally recognised rare and threatened species. In June of this year, Metsähallitus, the Finnish state-owned logging company terminated negotiations with the Sámi indigenous peoples, signalling a return to the logging of these ancient forests. The indigenous Sámi reindeer herders do not accept logging of old-growth forests in areas that are crucial for their reindeer-herding livelihood. The Sámi Council and Sámi reindeer herders’ organisations have denounced logging by Metsähallitus as threatening their livelihood, culture and human rights. In addition, a recent Greenpeace survey found hundreds of endangered fungi in areas of ancient forests in Finland that are earmarked for logging by Metsähallitus. The majority of timber would end up being turned into paper for magazine publishers. The threatened fungi are known as polypores, and most often appear on trees, rather than growing from the ground. An increasing number of fungi and other species, such as beetles, have become rare and extinct due to destructive logging practises in Finland. Natural old-growth forests (ancient forests) are the last remaining habitats for such threatened species. http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0823-08.htm

Columbia:

25) Two Colombian birds, from a family sometimes called the feathered mice of the forest, have been identified by their songs as species new to science. Logging in their cloud forest habitat is threatening the survival of both species. The two new species are birds from the Cordillera Central mountains of Colombia – both of them in the Tapaculo family in the genus Scytalopus. Unidentified tapaculos have been observed in the northern Cordillera Central for a decade, but it took an expert at bird identification who examined recordings of their songs to identify the new species. Dr. Niels Krabbe, a research associate at the Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, analyzed recordings made in the forest and found a new pattern that indicates a separate species that has been named Stiles’s Tapaculo, Scytalopus stilesi. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2005/2005-08-24-01.asp

Borneo:

26) Sarawak is currently doing a “mopping up” operation to flush out any pockets of illegal logging activities in the state. Sarawak Forestry Corporation’s press release stated here that the department seized more than 750 logs which is estimated to worth RM226,800 near Sg Kubung in the Limbang division over the weekend. The logs were believed to be felled on state land and several suspects in the division were still being questioned on the crime. The penalty of the crime was a penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a fine of RM50,000 in accordance to the Section 85 (1) of the Forest Ordinance. The department’s general manager Sani Bakar commented that the seizure was a clear negative impact of uncontrolled harvesting. He said the state’s regulated and controlled system “will be hampered by such crimes as Sarawak’s “current system is carefully managed on an ecologically-sustainable level.” Sani added that the depressed prices on the illegal logs, which are detrimental to the state’s timber industry, ” will also present a negative image of Sarawak.” He said there was an increase in “attempts to illegally harvest forest produce” for the first half of this year as compared to last year. “This is largely due to the increase in demand and the surge in prices,” he said. http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/tue/aug23b3.htm

Philippines:

27) Armed with brushes, watercolors and a palette, artist Leo Meneses strolled along the banks of the polluted Pasig River for a painting session with his friends at Manila’s last surviving forest park. But the soft morning light could not hide the gloom on his face when he arrived to find the Aroceros Forest Park placed under lock and key amid a legal battle between Manila’s powerful mayor, Lito Atienza, and a group of conservationists. “This is a special public park. Why does the mayor of Manila want it shut?” Meneses said. Environmentalists are asking the same question. The 2.1-hectare park is home to more than 3,000 30-foot trees, some of them more than a century old. It also gives sanctuary to about a dozen bird species and has been cited by the National Museum as a treasure trove of botanical wonders. A short distance from city hall, the patch of green is a rare source of clean air in the city of 12 million where thick fumes from factories and buses cover nearly everything with soot. Students go there to relax, and families enjoy weekend picnics. It has also become a favorite inspiration for nature artists like Meneses. The park is now in danger of being lost after Atienza’s office reclaimed it as city property. Plans are underway to construct a school administration building that would take up about half the park’s space. Sources who did not want to be named say Atienza also plans to put up residential high-rises that would take up the whole site. The mayor denies this. Early this month, construction materials were dumped in the park, ditches were dug and city workers armed with chainsaws cut down some of the trees. Environmentalists led by the park’s caretakers, the Winner Foundation, questioned the legality of the plan and have taken their case to court. They cite an agreement the Foundation signed with the previous mayor that gave them control of the forest and said it was to be untouched. The park was developed 12 years ago by the Foundation, a non-government organization headed by Amelita Ramos who, as First Lady in the 1990s, embarked on a program to rehabilitate communities near the Pasig River. http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/features/featuredetail.asp?file=augustfeatures312005.xml

New Zealand:

28) The National Party plans to clear the way for potential logging in at least 1.5m hectares of protected native conservation forest, Conservation Minister Chris Carter said today. A decision by the Shipley Government to allow state-owned forestry company Timberlands West Coast to sustainably log giant beech over 130,000ha in the lead-up to the 1999 election outraged environmental groups. After her Government fell, the Labor Government imposed an outright logging ban and transferred the land to the conservation estate. Around 30,000ha was added to national parks and reserves but 100,000ha went into the general conservation estate, with West Coasters paid $120 million as compensation. National Party forestry spokesman Brian Connell said national parks and reserves would not be touched but the total ban was a “waste of a perfectly good resource”. Compensation money would not have to be handed back. “I just think it was a bad policy decision at the same time as New Zealand is importing timber from unsustainably logged forests in other parts of the world,” he said. A National-led government would look at sustainable logging on “a case-by-case basis”. Timberlands is currently prevented from cutting native timber but Mr Connell said a National-led government would negotiate a potentially “substantial sustainable management regime”. Timberlands chief executive Nigel O’Rorke said he had not seen the policy but the company was currently not allowed to log native trees. Buller District Council Mayor Martin Sawyers said the West Coast had moved on. “I would have to say we were better off getting the $120 million because private companies have had a go at [sustainable beech logging] and they have had fairly limited success,” he said. “I would be extremely sceptical if what they are proposing is a sustainable beech scheme. Beech trees are very hard to mill.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10342372
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0508/S00633.htm

Australia:

29) The continuing logging dispute in the Wandella State Forest near Cobargo, on the NSW far south coast, was dragged into the Bega Valley Shire Council chambers last night. Greens and logging supporters packed the gallery to hear whether councillors favoured moves to stop protesters camping on council land near the forest. Greens’ councillor Keith Hughes made the point that protests are not a council matter and council resources and ratepayers money should not be used to suppress protesters’ point of view and the right to protest peacefully. However, a motion by Cr Hughes that council recognise the rights of people to maintain a peaceful vigil against logging in Peak Alone was defeated 4-3. Cr Mike Skitt, speaking in favour of the rights of logging contractors to go about their work in the forest, condemned what he saw as the “terrorist-type acts of the Greens”. A motion by Cr Skitt that council condemn illegal and unlawful acts by people engaged in protests was carried 5-2. Motions aside, the obvious thing about last night’s meeting was that none of the councillors believed the council should use its powers to move protesters from their campsite on council land. They all agreed that it is the job of the State Government and police to deal with trouble arising out of protests in state forests. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1444784.htm

30) Greens senator Bob Brown’s bid to stop logging in a native forest raised matters of “great concern” for the Commonwealth, the Federal Court has been told. Senator Brown has self-funded an application to stop Forestry Tasmania logging two coupes in Wielangta Forest, in the state’s east, where three rare and endangered species are feared to be under threat. The Commonwealth was granted leave to intervene in the proceedings after telling the Hobart court it was “seriously concerned” by the action. Senator Brown claims Tasmania’s Regional Forestry Agreement (RFA) – a 20-year state and commonwealth agreement for the management of native forests – doesn’t fit the definition of a RFA in the Commonwealth RFA Act. Commonwealth lawyer Norman O’Brien initially applied to join the proceedings as a full respondent, telling Justice Shane Marshall: “At the very heart of this litigation is a matter of great concern to the Commonwealth”. Peter Tree, for Senator Brown, said the primary question was whether proposed forestry operations would have a significant impact on the Swift Parrot, the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle and the Wielangta stag beetle. Members of the South East (Tas) Forest Protection Group staged a rally outside the court, saying Senator Brown’s action spoke for many outraged Tasmanians. “This will be seen as an historic milestone in the long debate over forestry in this state,” group convenor Helen Gee said. http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Govt-concerned-over-antilogging-bid/2005/08/23/1124562854920.html?on
eclick=true

Uganda:

31) According to environmental reports, trees in many Ugandan forests are cut down at a higher rate than they are planted to feed the timber industry, a practice that poses a serious threat to the environment. If Semei Kakungulu and a score of others, who dedicated their lives to planting trees would raise from their graves and tour the places where they planted them, they would be shocked to find open lands that they had thought would be forests in the future. In their days – the 1890s, it is estimated by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) that Uganda had 10.8million hectares covered by forests but in just half a century, five million hectares have been destroyed, mainly by the timber industry which is a recent but rapidly growing sector affecting the environment. Most of the forests assessed were found to have lost a lot of valuable tree species and Uganda has since exceeded its annual acceptable cut from the natural forests. Forests like Mabira – the biggest forest in Uganda lost 7,000 hectares of the total 29,570 hectares. So did Mayuge, now a district, which lost 76 percent of its forest-covered land, according to the NEMA SOE 2002 report. Kiyingi says, “All districts are affected by the encroachment and the long distance walked to collect firewood is a good indicator of that.” “There is already high crop failure in the districts that have lost forests to timber and people near the shores are experiencing strong wind currents because the tall trees that acted as wind breakers have been cut,” he says. Although the new policies banned the use of power saw machines in the harvesting of trees (cutting down and getting pieces of timber out of the tree) with the purpose of reducing productivity and the rate at which trees are cut by the lumberjacks, they are still being used in many areas. The other reason for the banning of power saws was their waste of valuable timber – more than an inch of the timber is wasted when the saw is slicing the log, meaning that a log that would produce 100 pieces of timber will only produce half the number. The manual method of harvesting trees has helped slow down the exploitation process. According to lumberjacks, it takes six of them a month to harvest a fully-grown mvule tree yet it takes just three days if done by a power saw. http://allafrica.com/stories/200508221338.html

India:

32) After the runaway success of the recent tree plantation drive whereby saplings were associated with zodiac signs, this time too, SMC has come up with some interesting ideas to make people participate in developing a green expanse. Through its new project — Pavitra Van (divine forest) — SMC plans to develop a green patch on the five acre land of Sarthana Nature Park and Zoo. As per the project, residents would be provided with saplings to be planted in the mini-forest known as smruti van on the land in the fond memory of their loved ones. They will also be allowed to plant saplings of their choice on occasions like religious festivals, birth anniversary of national leaders, birthdays, marriage anniversary and other special occasions. http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=145226

33) Cherrapunjee is seeking help to retain its record of being the world’s wettest place. The Jorhat-based Rain Forest Research Institute is launching a pilot project to restore Cherrapunjee’s greenery with the place witnessing a gradual decline in annual rainfall over the years. The Meghalaya government has commissioned the project. Shifting weather patterns and loss of green cover are being blamed for the declining rainfall. Interestingly, the rain has had a lot to do with the loss of green cover in Cherrapunjee, known locally as Sohra. Project in-charge B. Goala said heavy rains and strong winds in the area have destroyed much of the greenery. The forest scientist added that the project would be completed in 2006. Cherrapunjee holds two Guinness world records. One for receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single year: 22,987 mm between August 1860 and July 1861. Secondly, it received the maximum amount of rainfall in a single month: 9,299.96 mm in July 1861. Cherrapunjee’s annual average rainfall was around 11,500 mm, but is gradually declining. “Our aim will be also to motivate the local populace to start plantations of these trees, which will help restore the greenery of Cherapunjee,” Goala said. Cherrapunjee, just 56 km from Shillong, is a popular tourist spot, with people from all over the country visiting it to view some breathtakingly beautiful waterfalls and mountains covered all year round in swirling mists. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050824/asp/northeast/story_5147320.asp

Lebanon:

34) The number of forest fires that have broken out over the past three weeks have increased, and, in particular, the huge blaze that destroyed more than 260,000 oak and pine trees in Akkar. A statement issued by LFPC said officials continue to neglect the key issues aimed at preserving the country’s forests. LFPC, in the statement, called on concerned ministers to exploit all available capacities to confront the forest fires that have been circulating for two weeks between Akkar, Koura and many villages in Baabda, Aley and Chouf. LFPC praised the bravery shown by Civil Defense units when trying to protect the oak and pine forests, as well as countless olive groves. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=17909

World-wide:

35) What connections do companies make between forests and their business operations? It appears that only a few Fortune 100 companies see a strong connection between wood and paper purchasing and the environmental impacts on their businesses. While 47 of the Fortune 100 companies post environmental policies or statements on their Web sites, only seven include specific references to responsible wood or paper purchasing policies. This is not to say that only seven companies take any action on wood and paper issues. Rather, the numbers seem to indicate that either corporate buyers of wood and paper are not aware of the connection their businesses have to forests, or they are reluctant to communicate their efforts to the public at large. Many companies consider their wood and paper use insignificant, when in fact, the aggregate use of these forest products is rather high. Some noted that environmental considerations related to forest products were not factored into their purchasing decisions because they felt their companies use a minimal amount of wood. Many of these companies failed to include the wood used for building projects, packaging for shipping products and materials, furniture, and a host of other everyday business uses. http://www.metafore.org/downloads/fortune100_2005.pdf