279 – Earth’s Tree News

Today for you 36 new articles about earth’s trees! (279th edition)
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–Pacific Northwest: 1) Power companies competing for forests products, 2) Owl scams,
–Washington: 3) Legislative session aims to defend Weyerhaeuser’s murderous guilt
–Oregon: 4) Non-harvest forests, 5) A WOPR of a diversion,
–California: 6) Monterey’s 500,000 acres of oak woodlands, 7) Jackson forest,
–Idaho: 8) Industries still a threat to last of the big wild,
–Montana: 9) B-D Partnership protects rock & ice and gives forests to loggers
–Wisconsin: 10) Chequamegon-Nicolet NF endangered, 11) Plum Creek sells land,
–Ohio: 12) Industry Stats plus greenwashing
–New York: 13) Municipal ban on use of tropical hardwoods
–New Jersey: 14) Forest history, 15) 8,000-plus acre watershed surveyed by Duke
–Tennessee: 16) Security funds needed for mountaintop activist
–USA: 17) Bush gives up on gutting forest planning rules
–Canada: 18) 2,000 football fields of forest at stake
–UK: 19) Ten-strong group of protesters,
–Finland: 20) Preserving southern forests, 21) They say industry still has plenty to log,
–Iran: 22) Qeshm Island’s Hara forests to be a UNESCO natural heritage site
–Africa: 23) Tree and ants depend on giraffes and elephants
–Cameroon: 24) Wildlife Artists return from 1-month study of forests
–Colombia: 25) Cloud forests are jewels of biodiversity only 50% remain
–Guyana: 26) Giving away another Million hectares to loggers
–Brazil: 27) Gov reviewing bids from companies seeking to mine 96,360 hectares
–India: 28) Forests act as coastal embankment
–Vietnam: 29) Forest destruction in the Central Highland’s Dak Nong
–China: 30) China’s forest corps
–Philippines: 31) Folly of Bali plus deforestation stats
–Indonesia: 32) Sumatra island secretly being destroyed by AP&P
–Papua New Guinea: 33) Felling of New Britain badly affects 21 bird species
–New Zealand: 34) Project Last Stand
–World-wide: 35) A treetop walk, 36) Congo Jones and the Loggers of Doom,

Pacific Northwest:

1) Power companies in the South and Pacific Northwest will drive prices for wood fuels higher as new facilities are built to produce an energy alternative to fossil fuels, experts in the forest products industry said Friday. But the supply of wood chips ” a byproduct of lumber production used at pulp mills and power facilities ” is dropping as residential construction drastically slows in the weak housing market. The reduced supply has raised prices by almost 10 percent since the third quarter of 2006. “The supply of wood chips is already low because of the problems with the housing market,” said Pete Stewart, president of price information provider Forest2Market. “Increased demand from power facilities will continue to increase prices.” The current increase in demand for wood fuels is coming from forest products companies in the U.S. that have either updated or installed new boilers that run entirely on biomass ” plant material such as wood chips, bark and tree limbs. Forest products companies burn wood fuel to power their operations. Southern forests are facing additional pressure from Europe as utilities overseas, bound by the Kyoto protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, import wood chips to produce power. The weak dollar has made it cheaper for Europe to import wood fuels to satisfy their energy needs. The U.S. has not signed Kyoto, but individual states are mandating a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from power companies. In the Pacific Northwest, the dynamics are slightly different. The majority of wood chips are sawmill byproducts used by the region”s pulp mills. Generally, wood-fueled boilers are fed hog fuel, which is made of bark and other wood waste unsuitable for pulp production. “With the startup of new power facilities, the forest industry will have the opportunity to earn additional revenue by collecting forest biomass to supplement residual hog fuel,” said Gordon Culbertson, Forest2Market”s Pacific Northwest region manager. “Many companies are seeking creative strategies to develop biomass as an economical source of fuel.” Nevertheless, prices for wood chips in the Pacific Northwest are increasing because sawmill production is idled by poor lumber demand. To fill the void, small saw logs that would have otherwise been used in lumber production are being chipped. http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Alternative_Fuel_Demand_Boosts_Prices_Of_Forest_Products_999
.html

2) The Bush administration is pressing ahead with rulemaking revisions to the primary law governing logging on national forests, which forced deep cutbacks in timber harvest to protect the spotted owl. Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey said Tuesday from Washington, D.C., that the administration decided it was quicker and cheaper to do an environmental impact statement on the 2005 rules, as ordered by a judge, rather than wait for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to consider the case. But Marc Fink, attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said because the draft environmental impact statement posted on the Forest Service Web site found no impacts, the issue will likely be back in court seeking changes to the rules themselves. “They haven’t cured anything,” Fink said from Duluth, Minn. “They’re coming back with the same regulations.” Cutbacks in logging of more than 80 percent on Northwest national forests to protect habitat for the spotted owl, salmon and other species were forced by a federal court ruling based on the National Forest Management Act, a 1984 law which requires the Forest Service to maintain viable populations of so-called indicator species. The northern spotted owl, a threatened species whose numbers continue to decline, is the indicator species for old growth forests in the Northwest, where the Bush administration has been pressing to ease logging restrictions. Fink said conservation groups opposing the rule revisions were particularly concerned that they weakened requirements in the law to maintain healthy populations of indicator species. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20080108-1405-wst-forestrules.html

3) Biologists grappled Tuesday with the realities of shooting barred owls that invade the older forest habitat of federally protected northern spotted owls, a strategy critics say the Bush administration employs to help spotted owls while also trimming away at their preserves in an effort to open up logging. A scientist who experimented with barred owl control in Northern California said it proved relatively easy, at least in limited areas of accessible forests, and removing some adult barred owls before nesting season could control the broader population and open a window for spotted owls to come back. The cost would be relatively minor, Lowell Diller, a biologist with Green Diamond Resource Co. in Northern California, told researchers meeting Tuesday in Portland. He cautioned he wasn’t trying to make light of it, but said, “This is almost like a redneck sport — you do it from the tail of your pickup.” http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/119985450492580.xml&coll=7

Washington:

4) As lawmakers outlined their 2008 plans, it was clear there is a consensus that the Legislature needs to do something for victims of the December floods. Details, of course, will be tougher to work out, but with DeBolt coming from the heart of flood country, there will be a high-profile advocate. But it took only a few minutes to see one major difference in how lawmakers view the aftermath of the December floods. House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, talked about seeing a Seattle Times photo that showed a logging clear-cut and a massive landslide. Chopp said the Legislature needs to look at how to prevent similar damage from happening in the future. DeBolt said there’s no argument: “Clear-cuts cause slides. That’s what happened in our area.” But he also said that other flood damage was caused by environmental protections, not logging practices. He said salmon-protection laws that require buffer zones of trees left standing near streams contributed to more flooding. A habitat-conservation plan that was supposed to end long-standing environmental disputes around logging and salmon protection has been proved a “debacle,” he said. “These are really important questions: Who comes first, the salmon or the humans?” The Senate Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation Committee will hold a public hearing Thursday “on the relationship between forest practices, flood events and climate change.” http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004115172_postmanblog09m.html

Oregon:

4) Nashville-based Emma, an e-mail marketing and communications service, is launching a new initiative to plant five trees for every new customer it gets. Emma has partnered with the reforestation non-profit Plant-It 2020 to help strengthen non-harvest forests across the U.S. With nearly 300 companies, non-profits and agencies joining Emma each month, the company hopes to sponsor at least 15,000 planted trees. In the program’s first month, nearly 1,000 trees have been donated and will be planted in Oregon. “By moving their newsletters and campaigns from print to e-mail, our customers are already doing something nice for the environment,” says Suzanne Norman, Emma’s director of community relations. “Now, in addition to sparing trees, they can actually help us plant some, too. Basically, we win, our customers win, and the environment wins. If only there were some sort of phrase to describe a situation in which multiple ‘wins’ occur. Oh well.” http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2008/01/07/daily25.html
5) Tim Hermach, executive director of the Native Forest Council (NFC), says the WOPR is a “totally bogus plan” and the BLM is using “military tactics, designed not to win but to refocus.” With all the focus on the WOPR, he says, environmentalists are not paying attention to stewardship contracting. “Stewardship end result contracting” was created under the Clinton administration, says Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics Executive Director Andy Stahl. It’s a plan in which land managers barter trees for “good works in the woods” — improvements to the land or watershed. For example, a contractor would thin trees from forestland and in exchange would maintain trails on that land or get rid of trails to restore water quality. Another of Barton’s criticisms of stewardship contracting is that the stewardship authority is “vague,” with “a lot of room for mischief.” Barton also says that there is “no accurate measure of the amount of wood taken from a forest under stewardship contracting,” and “they don’t scale the trees as they come out.” If trees are not scaled (measured) Barton is concerned that there is no way of knowing if larger trees are being taken out, in addition to the smaller thinned trees. Finally, Barton contends that although stewardship contracts “give the illusion of public involvement,” the final say lies not in the community, but with regional agency directors. Oregon currently has 26 Forest Service and four BLM stewardship projects, most of which involve some degree of thinning for fuels reduction to prevent forest fires or as an attempt to grow larger trees. Thinning is where the controversy about stewardship arises. “Commercial thinning has the environmental community split,” says Stahl. He divides the split into “jobs in the woods” people who see “social merit in having a logging industry and having communities like Sweet Home remain on the map” versus “zero cut” who don’t want to see any logging at all. “Compounding the split,” he says, “are Wyden and DeFazio who have declared themselves ‘Thinning R Us.'” http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/01/10/news1.html

California:

6) Monterey County is home to 500,000 acres of oak woodlands, and county supervisors want to create a plan to protect them. The Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to provide more options that will help developers reduce impacts on oak trees, especially the region’s native coast live oaks. It also asked planners to create a management plan that would allow the county to work with nonprofit land trusts, developers and landowners in order to place such woodlands under conservation easements. Conservation easements provide long-term protection from development for a parcel of land, and landowners can be compensated by the state or county for establishing them. “I think this has some benefits for the agricultural industry,” said Supervisor Dave Potter, who first asked for a local oak woodlands program in November 2006. Development threatens about 24,000 acres of oak woodlands in the county by 2040, according to the Planning Department. The California Environmental Quality Act requires the county to protect, replace or take other action when oak woodlands are threatened by development. For example, the county can require new trees be planted at the site or elsewhere to replace those cut down. Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey Farm Bureau, joined two Salinas land-use attorneys in asking to work with planners to ensure the management plan keeps property rights and agriculture interests in mind. “This program would have tremendous impacts on all landowners,” Perkins said. Taking no action to protect the trees would have significant environmental impacts, as well, planners said. “Oak woodlands have a high level of habitat value, as well as the oaks themselves,” said county planner Paula Bradley. The trees help clean and recharge air and water resources, planners said, while the woodlands provide a natural ecosystem for native birds, plants and other wildlife. The supervisors directed planners to work with landowners and agricultural representatives when drafting the local Oak Woodlands Management Plan. If the state approves the plan, local governments, landowners and nonprofit land trusts could apply for state money to help establish the easements. http://www.californianonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080109/NEWS01/801090301/1002

7) On Wednesday, January 9, 2008, In an action that culminated 8 years of controversy and litigation, the Board of Forestry voted 8 in favor and 1 abstention to approve a new management plan for Jackson Forest that is a milestone in moving Jackson State Forest towards management in the broad public interest. At the meeting, the Board accepted several amendments that brought the management plan into full conformance with the consensus plan for the forest developed by the Mendocino Working Group, which had representatives from the local timber industry, the Sierra Club, and the Campaign. The Board agreed to limit timber harvesting during a 3-year interim period to that needed to fund the operations of Jackson Forest.. It also agreed to give a newly-formed Jackson Advisory Group the authority to review essentially all timber harvest plans during the interim period. These were the final keys to getting the agreement of the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Forest to support the new management plan. The Board also approved the formation of a new advisory group for Jackson State Forest, a central recommendation of the Mendocino Working Group, and gave it the requested broad powers to develop a long-term landscape plan for the forest. By the end of the 3-year interim period, the advisory group will recommend changes to the new management plan to reflect the group’s vision for the future of the forest. More details and supporting documents are at the Campaign website, as well as my personal reflections on the history that has brought us to this next phase. I’ve also written my personal account of the Board of Forestry meeting on Wednesday. http://www.jacksonforest.com/Publications/General/personal_notes_on_bof_approval.htm

Idaho:

8) Idaho’s public forests are some of the most untouched and intact wild areas left in the continental United States. Among other things, the proposal would permit as much as 20,000 acres of roadless lands to be directly lost to phosphate mining, an incredibly destructive type of open pit mining, which often results in toxic selenium runoff that poisons wildlife, and contaminates drinking water and fisheries. Contamination near these mines (many of the phosphate mines in southern Idaho are already officially designated as Superfund sites) can get so bad that in 2006, state wildlife officials warned hunters against eating liver from elk killed near them. If you want to really see what I’m talking about just scroll down. The picture at the top of this post is of a roadless area in Idaho before it was opened up to phosphate mining. Now look below for to see the exact same valley (or what’s left of it) after the mining interests got their way. And Idaho is just the beginning. The Forest Service has already announced its intentions to open roadless areas in Colorado, and in the next few weeks the nation’s largest public forest, the Tongass National Forest in Alaska will be added to the list. http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/awetzler/as_goes_idaho_so_goes_the_nati.html

Montana:

9) Here’s a link to an overview map of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership. It shows the proposed wilderness areas, as well as the lands defined as potential for logging. If you are familiar with the lands (as I am), you will note that most of the proposed wilderness is high rugged terrain–i.e. lands that would never be logged in a thousand years. Much of the proposed protected acreage will be a “rocks and ice” wilderness proposal –really fine rocks and ice country– but still a repetition of the same old pattern of protecting what is naturally protected by steep slopes, limited value trees, and so forth. On the other hand, much of the lower elevation forest is included in the base for logging, including some substantial roadless areas. (Check out on the map the Highlands area by Butte). Tell me what has the timber industry given up at all? They get nearly all the lower elevation forested sites. I’m particularly disturbed by the inclusion in potential logging eligible areas the lower slopes of the West Pioneers, the valleys and forelands of the West Big Hole, much of the North Big Hole, the South Big Hole, the Upper Rock Creek and Upper Flint Creek drainages, the West Fork of the Madison in Gravelly Range, the lower slopes of the Tobacco Roots, and Highlands/Whitetail areas near Butte. Some of these areas, have already been logged in the past, but new logging will bring new disturbance and human entry. BDP supporters suggest that “only” 7000 acres a year will be logged. But that is still 70,000 over ten years. And that number glosses over the biological impact since nearly all of these lands included as “eligible” are the most productive lands, lower elevation slopes and valleys on the forest. Plus logging will be in large projects that will be spread over just a few drainages at a time. In terms of biological impact, this logging will have significant impacts. As I have suggested in the past, this logging is being justified on false premises. Advocates are suggesting that logging will reduce fire and insect risks, and improve “forest health.” These assertions are based on flawed science or at least science that is increasingly being challenged. When we are going to get away from just promoting scenic high country for wilderness and start to take to heart our supposed commitment to preserving biodiversity, travel corridors and roadless lands? But don’t take my word–view the map yourself. For more on my critiques of the proposals see my New West column http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/beaverhead_deerlodge_partnership_misplaced/C38/L38/

Wisconsin:

10) The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF) has been identified as one of the “10 most endangered national forests” in the nation. It is one of the most heavily-logged national forests in the Eastern U.S. It’s a very special place. CNNF covers approximately 1.5 million acres in the northern part of the state, including numerous rivers and more than 300 species of animals. The CNNF consists primarily of northern hardwood, mixed conifer, and aspen trees, along with numerous rivers, lakes and other waterways. Its habitat include several endangered and threatened species, such as the Northern goshawk, Red-shouldered hawk and American pine marten. Yet, at the rate of cutting employed over the last 10 years, every single log-able acre would be cut in 45 years. The harmful impacts of such extensive logging on waterways, habitat and related natural resources and conservation goals are significant. What’s more, scientific research is beginning to show that logging in the CNNF may contribute to global warming. The Chequamegon Ecosystem Atmosphere Study—a multi-organizational research effort studying biosphere/atmosphere interactions within the forest—points to the role of Wisconsin forests in sequestering carbon dioxide produced in North America. Widespread logging in CNNF is creating a younger, more fragmented forest and turning this potentially huge carbon sink into a net emitter of carbon. The Environmental Law & Policy Center is working through federal courts to protect this treasured resource. Learn about CNNF litigation and advocacy here: http://www.globalwarmingsolutions.org/political-solutions/cnnf-litigation-and-advocacy The U.S. Forest Service continues to claim that logging improves habitat for sensitive species. But fewer trees and more animals just doesn’t add up. Studies show that widespread logging of mature northern hardwoods and aspen has harmed populations of some threatened and endangered species in Wisconsin. We need to restore ecological balance to this very special place in the Midwest. ELPC doesn’t want logging to stop—just to be more balanced with environmental considerations. http://www.globalwarmingsolutions.org/political-solutions/preserving-wisconsins-national-forest

11) The Forestland Group LLC (TFG) has purchased 100,000 acres of northern Wisconsin timberland from Plum Creek Timber Company Inc., including 16,300 acres in the towns of Winter and Draper in Sawyer County. According to its Web site, The Forestland Group was formed in 1995 as a long-term investment management organization to pursue investments primarily in naturally regenerating hardwood and pine forests for institutional investors. As the largest private owner of hardwood timberlands in the United States, TFG currently manages approximately 2.1 million acres in 17 states in the eastern U.S. With the purchase from Plum Creek, TFG will obtain its first Wisconsin timberlands. It owns 500,000 acres in the Great Lakes region — the closest to Wisconsin being in upper Michigan. Once the sale is complete, Plum Creek will remain the largest private landowner in Wisconsin, owning approximately 400,000 acres of timberland in the northern part of the state including 52,000 acres in Sawyer County. “These lands are valuable timberlands that have been well-managed by Plum Creek, and this purchase gives us the opportunity to enter Wisconsin and participate in the state’s forest products industry,” said Chris Zinkhan, managing director of TFG. Prior to Plum Creek’s ownership, these timber lands in southeast Sawyer County were owned by Consolidated Papers, Georgia-Pacific and Stora Enso. The Forestland Group was the first timber management organization in the world to have its entire portfolio certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Headquartered in Seattle, Wash., Plum Creek is the largest and most geographically diverse private landowner in the nation, with 8.2 million acres of timberlands in major timber producing regions of the United States and 10 wood products manufacturing facilities in the Northwest. Plum Creek first entered Wisconsin in 2001 when it merged with The Timber Company and acquired about 200,000 acres in the state. Plum Creek then acquired an additional 307,000 acres from Stora Enso in 2002. In Wisconsin, the company directly employs 25 people, partners with more than 130 contractors and works with more than 60 customers throughout the state. http://www.haywardwis.com/record/?section_id=34&story_id=235364

Ohio:

12) Certifying Ohio’s forests also will increase the local supply of certified wood products for Ohio’s wood products industry and will make timber from Ohio state forests more marketable worldwide. The movement toward third-party forest certification has grown steadily since it began in the mid-1990s, and public forests in many surrounding states already are managed under certification systems. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana and Minnesota all have certified their state forests within the past 10 years. Ohio’s state forests provide habitat for a wide range of plant and animal species, including wild turkey, bobcat and dozens of migratory bird species like the cerulean warbler. The forests also act as natural filters for drinking water and help prevent flooding and erosion. Ohio’s forests also produce some of the best hardwood timber in the country, and a 2006 study by the Ohio State University shows the state’s forest products industry contributes $15.1 billion to Ohio’s economy annually, employs more than 119,000 people and generates more than $4 billion in payroll. http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/ohio/press/press3285.html

New York:

13) Ecological Internet’s campaign in support of long-standing local efforts to end the use of ancient rainforest timbers by government in New York City is enjoying initial success. Mayor Bloomberg has announced a review of NYC policy, and the Park Department will no longer use endangered woods in NYC park benches. We must ensure the review ends the use of all ancient rainforest timbers, the Parks decision is expanded, and an end to the use of ancient rainforest timbers is enshrined in law and procurement policy. Please send the updated alert at: http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=nyc_rainforest

New Jersey:

14) In New Jersey and other Eastern states, forests were cleared for agriculture 200 years ago but grew back as cities rose to prominence in the 1900s. Now healthy, young forests are again threatened by housing and other development, as well as deer overpopulation and invasive plant species. New Jersey’s forests are protected to some degree through regional planning: in the Pine Barrens through the 1979 Pinelands Protection Act, and in the Highlands through the 2004 Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act. But in spite of New Jersey’s strong wetlands and environmental laws, forests are still vulnerable. The “Forests on the Edge” study also highlights the fate of America’s privately owned forests. Fifty-seven percent of our nation’s forests are in the hands of private owners, with no protection other than landowners’ good intentions. Data gathered as part of the report indicate more than 44 million acres of private forest will see increased housing development by 2030. The trend is expected to be particularly pervasive in the East, where most privately owned forests are located. New Jersey’s privately owned forests need better stewardship. Without it, unchecked residential development, over-browsing by deer and invasive plants will destroy ecological and water conservation functions. The report on development pressures is part of a larger Forest Service initiative that aims to increase public awareness of the value of, and pressures on, America’s private forests, national forests and surrounding privately owned lands. http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080109/OPINION/801090344/1030/OPINION

North Carolina:

14) Forest Supervisor Marisue Hilliard, who oversees national forests in North Carolina, upheld an October logging decision that environmental groups had appealed. She promised “continued dialogue” with opponents and other potential concessions, such as cutting the trees in stages over a decade. The agency will log trees on 212 acres scattered among 11,225 acres in a part of Pisgah National Forest known as the Globe. Some trees will be left standing, with increased numbers left on tracts visible from Blowing Rock. Opposition to the logging came swiftly after the Forest Service announced the plan in mid-2006, and might continue. The public filed more than 1,000 comments on the plan, most of them opposed. Concerned about the scenic impact, Blowing Rock, Boone and Watauga County passed resolutions supporting a federally designated scenic area that would prohibit logging. The Southern Environmental Law Center appealed on behalf of three environmental groups that said the logging would fell some trees hundreds of years old. They said they might ask the courts to block the plan. “We are fully prepared to do whatever is necessary to prevent them from logging the Globe Forest,” said Chris Joyell of Wild South, one of the logging opponents. Hilliard said the Forest Service will work with opponents to minimize harm to scenic views and consider changing the logging plan if initial cuts are more visible than expected. Botanists will also survey old-growth trees identified by environmentalists to see whether they should be spared. http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/439870.html

15) Students and researchers from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment have roamed the 8,000-plus acre watershed doing botanical surveys as well as other research, and Dr. Norm Christensen, dean of the Nicholas School will be present to discuss the findings. The meeting is not a public hearing but it is open to the public and it would be a great place for those with a genuine interest in the future of Waynesville’s watershed to come and learn about the property. Logging — oops, did I say that? Well, yeah, logging: how much, where, when and why — will certainly be a topic of any management plan for the watershed. But to simply reduce the discussion of the management, stewardship, protection, enhancement and/or public use of 8,000 acres of diverse Southern Appalachian forest to — “are you fer or agin logging?” — is to throw the baby out with the bath water. The Western Carolina Forest Sustainability Initiative (WCFSI), spearheaded by Dr. Peter Bates, associate professor of natural resources at Western Carolina University, was commissioned by the town in 2006 to develop a comprehensive forest management plan for the watershed. The target date for a draft of such a plan is spring of this year. WCFSI hosted two workshops in 2006. According to the “Summary of Workshops to Identify Sustainability Indicators for the Waynesville Watershed” prepared by Bates in November 2006, the workshops were designed to: “(1) identify potential public values to be sustained within the watershed, and (2) generate potential indicators (measures) that would inform the town over time whether those values were indeed being sustained.” The report noted that the primary objective of the conservation easement conveyed to the watershed is to, “maintain high quality water resources on the property.” http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/01_08/01_09_08/out_naturalist.html

Tennessee:

16) Dear Friends–Longtime anti-Mountaintop Removal activist, community organizer, friend and ally Maria Gunnoe has been under some tremendous threat to person and property as a result of courageously standing up the coal industry. After winning a lawsuit last October that shut down a mountaintop removal coal mining operation, Gunnoe and others received death threats. Individuals angry with her organizing efforts, legal challenges, and victories, have been harassing her, her family, neighbors and friends for months. She is committed to stand her ground and remains in her family home, but has had to implement a variety of security measures to do so. She has been asking for donations for her to continue these security measures. If you want more info on what has been happening, check out this recent Boston Globe article– And to know more about the struggles against mountaintop removal watch these websites: Coal River Mountain Watch ; Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition ; Mountain Justice Summer Maria is one of those people truly making a difference for her community and the environment, so I am asking for people to make any kind of donation possible to support her ($5, $10, $20 etc etc). I’m doing this and thought others might want to too. If you want to donate for the security fund, please send a check to or money order to: Maria Gunnoe PO Box 46 Bob White, WV 25028 http://bulletins.myspace.com/index.cfm

USA:

17) “We are glad the Bush administration has thrown in the towel. The national forest planning rules are like the Constitution for our national forests, and the Bush administration tried to throw out the Bill of Rights,” said Trent Orr of Earthjustice, who argued the case before Judge Hamilton. “The Bush rule made any wildlife provisions in forest management plans aspirational, not mandatory. Our wildlife deserve better than a hope-and-a-prayer planning system.” Judge Hamilton found that Bush administration officials had bypassed legally required environmental review and endangered species protections in creating a new management system for the national forests that eliminated enforceable environmental protections from the forest planning process. Judge Hamilton also ruled that the administration had sprung its final forest planning rules on the public without sufficient notice of the paradigm shift that the rules accomplished. Her ruling prohibits the “implementation and utilization” of the Bush rules nationwide. The National Forest Management Act requires the Forest Service to protect wildlife in the national forests and to allow citizens to participate fully in management decisions. The Bush rules invalidated the 1982 standards for national forest management instituted by Ronald Reagan that protected species and required public review of the environmental impacts of proposed national forest plans governing timber harvest levels and natural resource protection. The court’s invalidation of the Bush rules is a strong signal that full public involvement in decisions regarding their public forests must be restored. Earthjustice, represented Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club and Vermont Natural Resources Council, in the legal challenge to the Bush administration rule changes. http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0108-08.htm

Canada:

18) With enough trees to cover 2,000 football fields at stake, London developers and environmentalists are bracing for a showdown next week over how much forest will be protected in the Forest City. Next week’s hearing before the Ontario Municipal Board has a twist. Facing developers with deep pockets to hire lawyers and experts, former city councillor Sandy Levin doesn’t want to see city lawyers out-gunned — so he’ll spend as much as $70,000 to defend the city’s trees. “At the (municipal board), the gloves come off and community interests don’t always come out on top,” Levin said. The punches may fly at a hearing scheduled to begin Tuesday and last three weeks. In September 2006, city council made it much easier to designate a woodland “significant” and protect it. Under old rules, a woodland wasn’t significant unless it rated high in at least three of several categories that include size, composition, age, history and location. That left two of every three woodlands of at least four hectares defenceless against development. But new rules require only a single high rating and protect as much as 80 per cent of woodlands — a citywide gain of more than 1,600 hectares. That change, passed before the 2006 civic election with only one dissenting vote, was the single most important step council has taken to protect the trees that lend the city its nickname, Levin said. http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2008/01/09/4759914-sun.html

UK:

19) A TEN-strong group of protesters has gathered in Norfolk Street to fight against more tree felling in Oxford. City council park rangers used chainsaws to cut down an 80-year-old London Plane tree this morning, as work starts to clear the area around Westgate Car Park. However, campaigners – some of who are already in Bonn Square – have promised to save the remaining trees. Workmen downed tools at 11.30am after it became clear a protest was likely. The fact that a student gave her opinion seems to have angered some people. Posted by: Angry, Cowley: “Couple of points to Rachel Cook, the first being that her opinions are welcome when she ACTUALLY pays some council tax until then she can keep quiet about what Oxford needs(and lets face it being a student she wont be in Oxford long term), secondly if she really wants to make a stand on this, she should go to Borneo or the amazon rain forest in Brazil where deforestation is a genuine problem andd will effect us all. If she actually took the time to check, she would realise that Oxford City Council have a very green policy on removing trees and will try and replace one when they have to chop one down.” I wasn’t aware council tax was required to make someone a British citizen (sarcasm). Perhaps Angry, Cowley doesn’t care what anyone under 18 thinks either. Posted by: interested observer, city centre on 2:25pm today: “I guess these wasters are claiming state handouts of some kind to get them you have to be available for work if you spend weeks up a tree you are not are you this should be cracked down on then see how many wasters we get up trees a water cannon might help.” The Westgate Centre, for those who have not been to the centre of Oxford, is one of two shopping centres there. It’s rather horrible as far as I’m concerned, being dominated by a massive JJB Sports and Primark. It’s more grotty than the Clarendon Centre, which is saying something. http://brennybaby.blogspot.com/2008/01/bonn-square-protest-inspires-fight.html

Finland:

20) A panel set up to consider measures to preserve southern forests outlined its programme to Minister Kimmo Tiilikainen on Tuesday. The plan, known as Metso II, also calls for greater protection of forest areas under private ownership. The environmental group WWF Finland says the proposal does not go far enough, arguing that it should cover more state-owned woodlands. The NGO says this is essential to maintain biodiversity in Finland’s forests. It urges the establishment of new conservation areas adjacent to existing ones in order to create larger unified areas, which are crucial to the preservation of threatened species. The Metso II agenda was drawn up by a working group of bureaucrats, conservationists and forest industry representatives. http://www.yle.fi/news/left/id79354.html

21) The heads of three regional forestry centres in the north of Finland say that there is no wood shortage in the area that would make it necessary to close down the Stora Enso pulp mill in Kemijärvi. Stora Enso has announced plans to shut down the mill, which is located in Finnish Lapland. According to estimates by the heads of the regional forestry centres of Finnish Lapland, Oulu, and Kainuu, Jukka Ylimartimo, Niilo Piisilä, and Jorma Tolonen, felling in the north could be increased by 3.5-4.3 million cubic metres a year without danger to the diverse use of forests, or to nature as a whole. Ylimartimo says that in Finnish Lapland alone, felling could be increased by 1.4 cubic metres a year, to 5.5 million cubic metres. The estimate is based on calculations by the Finnish Forest Research institute (METLA). About 60 per cent of the potential increase in felling would be in private forests, and the rest in state-owned forests. The potential increase for wood harvesting in Finnish Lapland alone is more than the 1.35 million cubic metres of wood that the Kemijärvi pulp mill uses in a year. “Felling could be gradually increased, but most intensely only after five to ten years. Otherwise the diverse use of the forests would suffer”, says Hannu Jokinen, director of Metsähallitus – the state enterprise that administers state-owned land and water areas. “In my view, Stora Enso has not given the real reasons why it decided to close down the Kemijärvi mill. There has never been a shortage of wood there, nor is there in Kemi”, says Professor Matti Kärkkäinen of the University of Joensuu. http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Forestry+centres+wood+shortage+no+reason+to+close+down+Kemij%
C3%A4rvi+mill/1135233143751

Iran:

22) Iranian cultural officials have announced the decision to register Qeshm Island’s Hara forests as a UNESCO natural heritage site. Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization said that the registration is scheduled for 2009. The Hara Forests commonly refer to the mangrove forests on Qeshm Island and in the Persian Gulf, which serve as an important ecological resource. The tree is locally known as ‘hara’ or ‘harra’, which is scientifically named Avicennia marina after the renowned Iranian physician, Avicenna. Hara forests are major habitats for migratory birds, reptiles, fish, and arthropods and bivalves. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=38129&sectionid=351020108

Africa:

23) If the African savannah were to lose elephants, giraffes, and other large grazing mammals, there would be unexpected ecological effects all the way down to the ants and acacia trees of the plains, suggests a new study. On half of the plots, large herbivorous mammals have been fenced out since 1995. On the other half, herbivores still roam freely. In plots without herbivores, the trees produced less nectar and fewer hollow thorns, presumably because they needed less protection. Sure enough, the most beneficial species of ant, Crematogaster mimosae, was 30% less common on trees in these plots. Instead, it was replaced by a second ant, C. sjostedti, which harms the trees by encouraging attack by a stem-boring beetle. As a result, trees on the herbivore exclusion plots grew more slowly and were more likely to die than trees on control plots. Even C. mimosae becomes less “friendly” on the exclusion plots. Left with less food and housing, it stops attacking invaders and begins tending sap-sucking insects, again to the detriment of its host. The result has sobering implications for conservation. Large mammals are especially vulnerable to habitat loss and encroachment by human settlements, and their numbers are declining over much of Africa. If the decline continues, far more than the mammals themselves could be at risk, the study suggests. “Make a major perturbation and you’re likely to see ripple effects that you might not have expected,” says Robert Pringle, a member of the study team at Stanford University in California, US. http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn13169-elephants-keep-ants-in-harmony-with-tree-ho
sts.html

Cameroon:

24) As an Internationaly known high realist Wildlife Artist, both my wife and I have just returned home from an intense one month expedition deep into the heart of the Cameroon,Lebialem Highland jungles, in search of the ‘most’ endangered ‘Cross River Gorilla’ (250 – 300 alive in Africa) bringing International awareness to its near extinction by my photographing, sketching, studying and painting a ‘first ever’ picture of this extraordinary Gorilla as well as viable help toward the villages and children. At this time we are arranging our gathered information and amazing video and photo footage and would like to ask of your possible interest and if you may know of other groups of the same in this request. Our trip is highly mediated Internationally, bringing with it great needed attention toward the Gorillas,Primates and the local Folks in co-existence. For your possible interest please review the information videos at youtube.com Searchwords: “Cross River Gorilla” and art-for-africa.net and of course I would be very pleased to inform you much further upon this request. Thankyou ever so much for your kind consideration. Warm wishes into this New Year Daniel Taylor WNAG, HD
http://www.danieltaylor.ca

Colombia:

25) Colombia’s cloud forests are jewels of biodiversity in the Andes Mountains — as rich in species as the Amazon, although only 1/14th the size in total area. But at least 50 percent of these biological treasure troves have been cut down by neighboring cattle ranchers who need new grazing land — endangering the habitat of animals found nowhere else on Earth. So The Nature Conservancy and partners are introducing the ranchers to new farming methods that could save the cloud forests — and increase ranchers’ profits as well. “It is a unique chance for my children, it is a benefit for us, for our community,” says local rancher Aristóbulo Infante. The project centers on Encino, a village 125 miles north of the Colombian capital of Bogota. Encino — like many villages in the Colombian Andes — is relatively poor. Most families depend on their cows’ milk and meat for subsistence and trade. Small-scale ranchers have been cutting down the nearby cloud forests of endangered Humboldt oak and converting it to grazing land. The practice has emperiled not just the oak, but habitat for rare fauna such as the Black Inca hummingbird, the spectacled bear, and the black-gorgoted quail. The Nature Conservancy teamed up with Fundación Natura, a Colombian conservation organization, and the USAID Parks-in-Peril Project to introduce Encino ranchers to new methods and technologies that could make farming more than 125,000 acres of their lands less destructive and more productive: 1) Planting high-protein grasses so the cattle can graze on far less land and still consume plenty of calories; 2) Building “live fences” made of living trees instead of metal wire or wood so that ranchers can create habitat corridors for local wildlife and allow soil and natural vegetation to regenerate; 3) Planting trees that the ranchers can later chop down for firewood and avoid harvesting any more endangered Humboldt oak; and 4) constructing water tanks for cattle and fencing off rivers and streams to keep cattle from eroding riverbanks and polluting waters with excessive silts and soils. http://www.nature.org/wherewework/southamerica/colombia/work/art22370.html

Guyana:

26) Guyana has awarded a 988,4000-acre logging concession to a U.S. forestry company, reports the Associated Press. Simon & Shock International, a company based in South Haven, Michigan, will spend $26 million developing the concession, which lies in the near the Brazilian border. Timber harvesting will commence once the first completes an environmental impact study and a tree inventory. The announcement comes just two months after Guyana’s President, Bharrat Jagdeo, offered up the country’s forests as a giant carbon offset to counter climate change. At the time, President Jagdeo told The Independent, “We can deploy the forest against global warming and, through the UK’s help, it wouldn’t have to stymie development in Guyana. We are a country with the political will and a large tract of standing forest. I’m not a mercenary, this is not blackmail and I realize there’s no such thing as a free lunch. I’m not just doing this just because I’m a good man and want to save the world, I need the assistance.” Globally, deforestation and land use change accounts for 15-20 percent of total emissions, a larger source of greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector. http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0109-guyana.html

Brazil:

27) Brazil’s first government auction of commercial logging rights in the Amazon, part of an effort to end illegal deforestation, lured eight bidders. The Environment Ministry will start reviewing the bids today from companies seeking to explore 96,360 hectares (238,100 acres) of national forestland over 40 years, said Tasso de Rezende Azevedo, head of Brazil’s National Forestry Service. The forestry service expected the rights to sell for a minimum of 2.8 million reais ($1.6 million) a year. The auction marks the first time the Brazilian government has granted licenses for commercial logging on public forestland, Azevedo said. It’s part of an effort to reduce illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, which spans nine nations and covers 5 percent of the world’s land. “This is our first test,” Azevedo said in a phone interview from Brasilia. The ministry’s plan “allows us to auction one million hectares this year.” Only Brazilian companies were allowed to bid to explore 40 percent of the Jamari National Forest, in the northern state of Rondonia. The area, divided into three blocks, can produce about 2.9 million cubic meters of wood a year, the forestry service said. As much as 80 percent of all logging in Brazil’s Amazon is illegal, environmental group Greenpeace said on its Web site. Brazil has 193 million hectares of national registered forests, 92 percent of which are in the Amazon. The rate of deforestation declined by 20 percent from August 2006 though July of last year, compared with the same period a year earlier, the Environment Ministry said in a Dec. 6 report. The winning bidders in today’s auction will be able to explore and sell wood, seeds and fruits, though they can’t trade mineral or animal products or search for water resources. The deadline to submit a bid was today, and Brazil hasn’t set a date to announce the auction results, Azevedo said. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=avutZy9YbBLI&refer=latin_america

India:

28) The forests act as coastal embankment. This vegetation has long served the coastal communities with shelter, food, woods, fuel, timber etc. Besides, the mangrove forest is considered a sanctuary of fisheries diversity. But it is a matter of great regret that some unscrupulous elements under the shelter of political parties are looting these resources. If the trend of clearing the green belt along the coast continues, then soon the low-lying southern areas will go under water. The matter deserves immediate attention. Recently, the cyclone Sidr ravaged our country, especially the south-western region with heavy loss of lives –more than three thousand. Obviously, we were introduced with the natural calamities such as flood, tidal surge, cyclone, drought etc from time immemorial. Many dreadful and devastating tidal bulges hit this delta with great force and caused a lot of suffering to the people, particularly the poor coastal community. We have to take preparatory measurers, both short and long term, to diminish the loss. The destruction was minimised due to the presence of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest. http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=18403

Vietnam:

29) Scarcity of land is driving forest destruction in the Central Highland’s Dak Nong Province, about 230km northwest of HCM City. Although felling last year was less than 2006 – 200ha against 325 ha – the situation would get worse unless urgent action was taken, said provincial Agriculture and Rural Development Department deputy director Vu Minh Khoi. “The people destroying the forests are mostly migrants from northern Viet Nam who come to Dak Nong to settle and use slash-and-burn cultivation for their rice,” he said. People arriving from neighbouring provinces, such as Binh Phuoc, Lam Dong, Dong Nai, who want to farm but cannot because land in their own region is limited and expensive, add to the pressure for more trees to be felled. Dak Nong’s residents, especially the minority people, immediately oblige the land hunters and destroy forest to sell land. The deforestation is now so prevalent, it threatens food security. The Agriculture and Rural Development Department deputy director said inefficient forestry management was the major reason for the destruction. Forestry companies are each allotted 10,000-50,000ha and staff shortages mean that just one person is responsible for the protection of about 1,000ha. But rationalisation of the department’s forestry management office last year has had encouraging results. The office’s deputy director, Do Ngoc Duyen, said: “Our policy is to ask the plantation companies to take responsibility for the protection and control of the forests.” The province is also following the Viet Nam Government programme of having local people use the forest to create jobs and revenue for themselves. Of the province’s 369,000ha of forest, 6,000ha has been distributed in this way and it’s planned for the locals to have responsibility for 50 per cent of the forest by 2010. The remainder will go to the forest companies. http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01AGR080108

China:

30) The forest corps of China’s armed police force have put out over 2,800 forest fires since 1999, said Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu, at Tuesday’s commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the forest corps. In addition, the corps has joined hands with local police and government departments to crack down on illegal cutting of trees, illegal hunting of wild animal, and smuggling of wild plants and logs, according to Hui, who is also member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. In his speech, Hui spoke highly of the important role of the forest corps in preventing forest fire control, protecting forest resources and developing the forest industry over the past decades. Over the past 60 years, the corps has developed into a task force armed with modern equipment, and it has “well accomplished the sacred mission endowed by the Party and the people,” he noted. The corps has developed 36 kinds of fire-fighting equipment and logistic equipment by its own, according to the vice premier. Also present at the ceremony was Jia Zhibang, director-in-general of the State Headquarters for Forest Fire Control, minister of the State Forestry Administration, and first political commissar of the forest corps. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/09/content_7388276.htm

Philippines:

31) Are we locking stable doors long after the horses bolt? That’s how people, numbed by unrelenting deforestation, reacted to the news report that, after 15 years of bickering, the United Nations adopted a “Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests. Politicians here smudge significant reports. Pardoned plunderer Joseph Estrada “vowed to expose grafters” in a book his ghost writers haven’t yet stitched. That bagged the evening news lead, ahead of police blotter sleaze. The story about 183 nations agreeing to curb a suicidal 5 percent per decade deforestation rate landed in an inside page below the fold. The UN General Assembly approved the new instrument on Dec. 17. It saw light here 22 days later. That came in a Department of Foreign Affairs statement on provisions Philippine Permanent Representative Hilario Davide cobbled into the document. Yet, our nerves are still raw from deaths of kith and kin in floods cascading from denuded mountains. Corpses in the provinces of Quezon, Aurora, Leyte, Surigao underscore what dull statistics tell: In 1575, forests blanketed 27.5 million hectares. This had been razed to less than a fifth in 2001. That sliver continues to dwindle. Ask Sen. Juan Ponce-Enrile. His firm, San Jose Timber Corp., logs within 97,770 hectares, straddling protected zones of the country’s last old-growth forest in Samar. In the 1950s the Philippines pranced as a “prima donna” of Asian timber trade. “In its virgin state, Philippine forests were among the most commercially viable in the world, with outstanding yields of high-quality, easily-accessible timber,” notes “Asia-Pacific Forestry: Towards 2010.” But concessions were recklessly parceled out in the 1960s and 1970s. They surged to blanket more than a third of the country’s land area. Loggers cut as if there was no tomorrow. Log exports crested in the late ’60s at 10 million metric tons yearly — and then nosedived. http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=111378

Indonesia:

32) Illegal land clearing on Indonesia’s Sumatra island by one of Asia’s biggest pulp and paper companies is threatening Indonesia’s forests and their inhabitants, according to allegations by environmentalists Tuesday. Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) and affiliates are allegedly clearing land and building an access road outside their legal concessions in the Bukit Tigapuluh area of Sumatra’s Jambi province, a coalition of five environmental groups said in a statement accompanying a new joint report. ‘From our surveys and other NGO surveys we know this is a very critical habitat for tigers, elephants and recently introduced orangutans,’ Desmarita Murni, a campaigner with WWF, one of the groups, was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying. Bukit Tigapuluh is one of only two viable habitats for Sumatran elephants, along with Tesso Nilo forest in neighbouring Riau province, which is also under threat, Murni said. Satellite images in November 2007 showed 20,000 hectares had already been illegally cleared by APP and related companies, Murni said. Murni said some of the areas are still being auctioned off by the government, and are not yet legally open for clearing. APP and affiliates are also breaking the law by creating forest plantations near vital watershed environments, she said. The groups are requesting that APP observe a moratorium on land clearing and carry out an impact study on the environmental importance of the forest area, which is also home to indigenous peoples who rely on the forest for their livelihood. APP and affiliated companies are already facing an Indonesian national police investigation into illegal logging in Riau. APP is observing a moratorium on land clearing in that province while the investigation continues. http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=57266946916301

Papua New Guinea:

33) The felling of forest on the island of New Britain badly affected 21 bird species, including 16 found nowhere else in the world such as the slaty-mantled sparrowhawk, New Britain bronzewing and black honey-buzzard, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Papua New Guinea won applause from delegates of more than 180 countries at the climate talks in Bali when its Harvard-educated delegate, Kevin Conrad, told the United States: “If you are not willing to lead, then get out of the way.” Mr Conrad was a leading advocate of the agreement to negotiate a global treaty on avoiding rainforest destruction which was agreed in Bali. However, Dr Derek Wall, the Green party’s principal speaker, condemned the Papua New Guinea government for its decision to log practically most of Woodlark island, part of the Trobriand chain, to support the oil palm biofuel industry. A Malaysian company, Vitroplant, has been granted permits by the PNG government to begin clearing 70 per cent of the rainforests on biodiversity rich Woodlark Island, some 150,000 acres, in order to establish an oil palm plantation. Dr Wall said: “In my view the Papuan government have gone from green heroes to eco zeros. Meanwhile, the satellite images of damage in New Britain, published in the journal Biological Conservation, prompted conservationists to call for urgent action to protect what remains of rainforest there. Graeme Buchanan of the RSPB, the paper’s lead author, said: “The area is unique and should be better protected and managed. “We think the rate of deforestation is accelerating and is already higher than the average for South-East Asia. “The demand for timber and palm oil is likely to be driving this destruction and if nothing is done soon, some of New Britain’s endemic species could disappear for good. “Logging in the last 20 years has already left at least 10 birds close to extinction and if the rate of deforestation continues, all forest below 200m will be gone by 2060.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/01/08/eapapua108.xml

New Zealand:

34) Actor Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Purifiers, Spivs, Shooting Livien) employs his international stardom by becoming Spokesperson for Project Last Stand, an international effort bringing attention to the current state of the world’s forests and raising funds by organizing a celebrity charity auction. The proceeds from the auction will support forest groups who are buying unprotected forests and planting trees worldwide. Among the featured charities is the Nga Uruora Kapiti Project, an organization dedicated to the restoration of native forest habitats along the Kapiti Coast, north of Wellington. They are currently planting trees and restoring native bush between Paekakariki and Pukerua Bay. “We are cutting down the equivalent of eleven football pitches of rainforest a day that is not being replaced. When I was told this, I was completely horrified.” – Dominic Monaghan, The Lord of the Rings Fan Club Official Movie Magazine Monaghan is an active environmentalist, enjoys the outdoors, monkeys and football. For more information about Project Last Stand Contact: Project Last Stand http://www.lichenjune.com/LastStand http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0311/S00149.htm

35) The 170m long rainforest treetops and stream side nature walk includes about 30m of boardwalk that takes visitors 6m up into the tree canopy for a bird’s eye view of some of New Zealand’s native forest. Not one tree needed to be cut down in the process, something about which Mr Hamlett is very proud. “We had a treetop walk planned for a long time. The track was designed around the existing landscape so we did not have to remove any trees or damage the site in any way. “Even the supplejack was moved out of the way rather than cut down. We wanted to keep it as natural as possible.” Mr Hamlett said the walk introduced visitors to the different types of flora and fauna in a typical North Island rainforest and added another dimension to the park. “People get to see the different types of trees such as the rata, kahikatea, rimu and tawa. Some of these trees are up to 200 years old. “They can also stop and listen to the bellbirds and tui that live in the forest of the Mamaku Ranges that join the park.” Rotorua resident Craig Gebert, who likes to take out-of-town friends to some of the local attractions, was impressed with the new walkway on his first visit to Paradise Valley Springs. http://www.dailypost.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3760160&thesection=localnews&the
subsection=&thesecondsubsection=

World-wide:

36) The Rainforest Foundation UK has launched Congo Jones and the Loggers of Doom, an online game challenging players to safeguard the planet’s last rainforest frontier. Congo Jones’ mission comes as the Congolese rainforest – the second largest on the planet after the Amazon – is under the carving knife. An area the size of France is at risk. Players are invited to jump logs, climb waterfalls and evade chainsaws to help forest peoples save their lands before it’s too late.”The game presents a very serious issue in an interactive way so that players want to take action to stop the carve-up of the Congo rainforest,” said Helen Brownstone, Head of Fundraising and Communications at the Rainforest Foundation. http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/mag.dyn/News/12389.html

37) Composed of a network of autonomous and associate offices, the WWF works in 100 countries, with approximately 4,000 staff worldwide, and is supported by five million members (1.2 million in the United States). The International WWF is headquartered in Gland, Switzerland; the headquarters of the autonomous U.S. World Wildlife Fund is in Washington, D.C. The WWF estimates that 83% of its spending is directed to worldwide conservation activities. In late 2005, WWF-US, in consultation with its European counterparts, embarked on a 10-year plan to conserve a priority portfolio of 19 places ranging from the Amazon to the Yangtze and including the world’s largest and most intact tropical forests, the three most diverse freshwater systems in the world, the most diverse coral reefs on earth, the world’s most biologically significant desert and the world’s most productive fishery. According to Roberts, the WWF has to limit its focus to those priorities in order to make a significant impact. Otherwise, he said, “You condemn yourself to do just little bits and pieces.” The organization is currently in the middle of the “painful” process of “exfoliating” those projects not on the priority list, spinning off programs to other conservation groups, for example. Within each priority project, the WWF wants to create local programs — with local leaders. “You listen,” said Roberts. “You don’t impose the strategy from above. You let the strategy emerge from local conditions.” http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1875&jsessionid=9a30b1f669717a242a4d