025OEC’s This Week in Trees

Thanks to the handful of you who have replied to requests for input about the future of this project! For those who have not yet replied still be needing your input because the next step for this service is the development of an online encyclopedia, or Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page This database building process will allow all of us to work together on International Forest Monitoring. Our focus will be on protecting all the world’s forests by educating and escalating opportunities to take action for the world’s trees. We plan on using Google’s new mapping and satellite imagery technology to get specific images of the areas you read about in this service. We’re also planning an adopt a forest project, as well as monthly publications printed on 100% recycled paper. So more on all this later, but for no let’s get into this week’s tree news from around the world:

This Week we offer 35 news items from: Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, California, Idaho, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Fiji, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Australia

Alaska:

1) A wasp from Canada could cut the numbers of billions of leaf-munching sawflies that for years have been attacking birch trees across Anchorage and other parts of the state, scientists said. For the second summer in a row, bug experts have released a small batch of the sawfly’s natural enemy, a parasitic wasp gathered by scientists in the Northwest Territories of Canada.The quarter-inch wasps use their stingerlike appendage to insert eggs into leaf-miner larvae. Over winter, the wasps consume their hosts from the inside out, bursting from their bodies in spring. But with only 158 wasps released this summer, plus 55 set free in 2004, the project remains a minuscule beachhead at a single West Anchorage park. “It may take four or five or six years to get the parasite established,” said Duane Nelson, assistant director for the U.S. Forest Service’s forest health protection program in Anchorage. Sawflies, known to most Alaskans as leaf miners, have been attacking birch trees across Anchorage for the last few weeks, turning local parks and yards yellow long before fall. The infestation arrived in Anchorage about 10 years ago on imported nursery stock and by 2004 had exploded across 138,000 acres. he amber-marked leaf miner has no natural enemies in Alaska to temper its spread. The pests have moved down Turnagain Arm, hit the Kenai Peninsula and the Matanuska Valley, and even infested trees in Fairbanks, Skagway and Haines. The wasp project, which costs about $50,000 per year, was launched four years ago with help from state, federal and Canadian agencies. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/12575295.htm

British Columbia:

2) From the northern end of Vancouver Island, across Queen Charlotte Strait, and up the central coast of British Columbia to the Alaskan border, the Great Bear Rainforest stretches more than 250 miles. Encompassing 21 million acres, the Great Bear Rainforest and the islands of the Haida Gwaii are part of the largest coastal temperate rain forest left on Earth. Today, nearly 60 percent of the world’s coastal temperate rain forests have been logged or developed. The Great Bear Rainforest represents one-quarter of what remains. A coalition of environmental nongovernmental organizations — Greenpeace Canada, Forest Ethics, Sierra Club of Canada-British Columbia Chapter and the Rainforest Action Network — has engaged with a diverse range of stakeholders to work toward consensus for long-term conservation of the Great Bear Rainforest. At the invitation of these groups and a core group of foundations that have supported this work, The Nature Conservancy has agreed to lead a campaign to help ensure a healthy future for 21 million acres of coastal temperate rain forest. http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/canada/work/art14771.html

3) This month Premier Gordon Campbell is scheduled to announce whether or not his Liberal government will ratify land use plans for the north and central coasts of the Great Bear Rainforest, the largest intact network of coastal temperate rainforest left on the planet. But wildlife scientists warn that the Great Bear Rainforest agreement won¹t protect the ³Great Bears² of BC¹s north coast. A new study commissioned by
Raincoast Conservation Society, Wayward Course by Canadian bear biologists Dr. Brian Horejsi and Dr. Barrie Gilbert, shows that:
–>Close to 80 % of grizzly habitat in the northern Great Bear Rainforest would still remain threatened with industrial logging, mining and road building, if the provincial government implements the current deal as is.
–>Only 4 out of 19 protected areas, that are inhabited by grizzlies in the region, are large enough in size or satisfactorily connected to other areas of suitable habitat to allow this wide-ranging species to persist. The previous NDP government already protected one of these areas, the Khutzemayteen, nearly 20 years ago.
–>Half of the protected areas consist of habitat that is largely unsuitable to grizzlies; areas such as steep slopes, ice fields, and lands fragmented by clearcuts and logging roads.
–>Many of the protected areas are completely isolated. Under the agreement, bears attempting to move between these areas will have to use pathways through an unprotected and increasingly industrialized landscape of clearcuts, roads and expanding human settlements.
–>The agreement provides far less habitat protection for grizzlies than in the coastal temperate rainforests in neighboring Alaska, where 90 % of grizzly habitat is protected under federal roadless rules that effectively maintain the area as core wilderness. http://www.raincoast.org]

4) Pope and Talbot logging company is getting ready to extend a logging road into core habitat for the threatened mountain caribou. The area is Boyd Creek, a tributary of the Incomappleux (Fish) River south of Glacier National Park. In the past logging companies have devastated the lower Incomappleux River valley with clearcuts. The lower portion of the Boyd Creek tributary has also been clearcut, but there is a substantial amount of intact forest at least 500 years old left in the upper portion. It connects with mountain passes used by grizzly bears and other wildlife. “When one sees how much these valleys have already been clearcut, and considers the significance of the death of a species, one can only be shocked that our government won’t stop the logging,” says Craig Pettitt, field representative for Valhalla Wilderness Watch. “Every clearcut adds up. They’ve been adding up for the last forty years. They’ve pushed the caribou to the brink. Today, the logging of five cutblocks in a valley like Boyd has hugely more impact than it would have had, say, thirty years ago.” Mountain caribou are completely dependent upon old-growth forest. They live only in the Interior Wetbelt of British Columbia, with the exception of a small and dwindling herd that crosses the border into Idaho. They have declined from 2,450 animals in 1998 to an estimated 1,670 in 2004. Of the 13 remaining sub-populations, most are declining rapidly, none are expanding, six of the 13 have fewer than 50 animals. Clearcutting and fragmenting of intact forest with roads are known to be key factors in their decline. Although predation is also a problem, this is happening because clearcutting and road building have upset the delicate balance between predators and prey. Under the Species-at-Risk Act (SARA), the federal government set up several Recovery Implementation Groups (RIG) in the Kootenays specifically for the caribou. Boyd Creek is identified as core caribou habitat on maps created by the southern RIG. http://www.savespiritbear.org/index.html

5) The forest sector in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) is a key economic driver, generating total sales of nearly $16 billion (all dollar amounts in this article are Canadian dollars) in 2001, providing for 79 percent of provincial manufacturing shipments and 90,000 direct jobs. Maintaining this level of activity in “primary” forest products in the future is unlikely for a variety of reasons, including pressures to preserve native forests, the international emergence of low-cost plantation products and cumbersome trade restrictions with our largest export market, the United
States. Maintaining economic and employment benefits from the forest sector requires a maximization of output value per unit of fiber cut. One strategy put forward to accomplish this goal is the expansion of secondary manufacturing in forest products. Given the significance and potential of the BC forest sector, it is important that decision makers examining policy alternatives for secondary manufacturing expansion have accurate and timely information. Information is scarce for this sector in terms of either baseline data or sector growth for any region in Canada, including BC. The main objective of this study was to help fill this knowledge gap through an examination of sector change using data collected in two comprehensive surveys of the secondary manufacturing sector in BC. These surveys were conducted at the start and the finish of the 1990s, a turbulent decade for forestry in Canada, characterized by two different trade actions placed on lumber exports by Canada’s largest trading partner, the United States. The study provides time series results including measures of growth, details on where growth has occurred, and changes in characteristics of the sector through the 1990s. One important result from this analysis is that sector growth occurred primarily through increased sales into the U.S.market. http://www.blackenterprise.com/yb/ybopen.asp?section=ybbf&story_id=80221582&ID=blackenterprise

6) The First Nations Forestry Conference to be held on October 5th and 6th in Vancouver is set to tackle a number of significant issues facing the industry, not the least of which are changes to the regulatory framework of forestry practices implemented in B.C and Ontario. For attendees, the conference theme “Strategic Directions and Business Structures” will be an opportunity to hear how some of these changes are intended to cut bureaucratic red tape, develop an industry that is more market-based and ultimately create greater access for First Nations to the forestry industry and its economic benefits. The two-day conference will feature a number of panelists and presenters who will discuss the new policies and legislation, provide expertise on negotiating forestry and range agreements and on the application of First Nations consultation and accommodation in the general forestry sector. http://www.firstperspective.ca/story_2005_08_31_first1.html

7) A Denman Island property developer who cut down an estimated 2,400 trees at the summit of Komas Bluff in defiance of an Islands Trust bylaw has been told by B.C. Supreme Court Justice H. M. Groberman that he will have to rehabilitate the property. The Denman Island Local Trust Committee was granted a declaration that Francis Dean Ellis violated a bylaw that placed a buffer zone along the summit of the bluff preventing trees being cut. The bylaw sought to protect the area below the bluff from landslides and other environmental damage caused by removal of trees. Evidence presented at the hearing showed that Ellis began removing trees from the zone in the fall of 2002 and continued clearing the crest until this spring. He testified that the forest cover was removed because the trees were either windfall or a hazard. However the judge found the result of the clearing was logging profits, development of new farmland areas “and more importantly to the lot values — an impressive ocean view from the lots.” He said Ellis had deliberately flouted the bylaw for personal profit. http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=9ad7ee83-e77b-467f-91db-7081
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8) Betty Krawczyk has seen a lot in her 77 years. She fled the U.S. during Vietnam after her son was drafted into the army. She’s stared down police and angry loggers in Clayoquot Sound. She’s even spent a Christmas in jail. That’s why, for B.C.’s most famous senior citizen/eco-activist, today’s hearing at the B.C. Court of Appeal is just a walk in the park. Krawczyk admits she was surprised she was granted an appeal of a 2003 conviction for blockading logging trucks on Vancouver Island. But she’s setting out to prove the courts have been more interested in protecting logging companies than concerned citizens. But despite her age, Krawczyk says she has no intentions of quieting down. “Perish the thought,” Krawczyk said with a laugh in an interview yesterday. “This is crucial. Public forests belong to the people and people have a right to defend their property.” In fact, the author of two books recently moved to Vancouver from the Island in part, she says, because there would be more opportunity to protest. “There are more people here to agitate,” Krawczyk said with a mischievous smile. But it’s also been a tough week for the activist. The native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana has spent days worrying about her extended family in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Closer to home, Krawczyk says her family is understanding of her actions. “They grew up with my activism,” Krawczyk said. http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2005/09/07/pf-1205126.html

Oregon:

9) 18 countries worth of habitat destruction can’t be sustained can it? “Few people realize how most of the animals at the Oregon Zoo inspire awe, creativity, reverence, and fear in cultures throughout the world. In India, the Asian elephant appears in the Hindu incarnation of the four-armed god Ganesh, lord of wisdom, intelligence, and education. For several Pacific Northwest Native American tribes, the sea otter represents loyal friendship, while the salmon is seen as a provider. And the San Bushmen of southern Africa revere giraffe and hippos as “rain animals.” “It is Weyerhaeuser’s pleasure again this year to invite families from Oregon and southwest Washington to this fun and educational event,” said Nancy Arend, vice president for Weyerhaeuser’s hardwood business and a member of The Oregon Zoo Foundation’s board of directors. “For Weyerhaeuser, protecting wildlife habitat is key to our sustainable forestry and sustainable business practices. This event is a perfect fit for us in that it celebrates wildlife diversity, and what we can do collectively to sustain wildlife populations around the world.” http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=311143&cp=10996

10) The Medford Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released plans to log parts of the beautiful Waldo-Takilma forest in the Illinois River Valley. Public comments on the logging plans, called the West Fork Illinois Landscape Management Project Environmental Assessment, are due September 30st. The West Fork Illinois river is the number one watershed out of 1,400 for rare species (according to the Oregon Natural Heritage Database) and has important spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead. Elk Creek and its tributaries provide some of the best habitat in the entire Rogue Basin for endangered Coho salmon, and the eastern portion of the West Fork Illinois project area overlaps an area nominated by the public as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The BLM plans to log most of the non-serpentine forests in the West Fork drainage. Logging would decrease canopy cover, and increase fire risk. Logging would occur in Riparian Reserves in Alternative 2, and would be conducted largely through skyline and tractor methods, compacting soils, increasing risk of erosion and spread of invasive weeds. http://www.kswild.org

11) There is a movement afoot within the Oregon forest products sector to bless the state’s forestry practices through an international certification program. The idea is to leverage Oregon’s reputation as a “green” state to gain an environmental endorsement for wood products grown here. According to proponents of the idea, by complying with the Oregon Forest Practices Act as well as other federal and state rules, timber from Oregon would get a green label issued by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). But should all Oregon timber automatically qualify as “good wood”? Many Oregon foresters and woodland owners tout the state’s groundbreaking forest practices laws as evidence that standards for forestry are tougher here than elsewhere. Give Oregon credit for creating the nation’s first forest practices legislation back in 1971. But let’s be realistic. Even a cursory review shows that Washington and California’s rules are tougher in important ways. Washington’s Forest and Fish legislation provides substantially more protection around fish-bearing streams than Oregon’s 20-foot buffer. And management planning and environmental impact review are heavily stressed in California, unlike Oregon’s relatively informal approach to planning and harvest permitting. Don’t just take my word for it – the feds are skeptical as well. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 10 has taken a position that Oregon’s forest practices laws are inadequate to protect water quality and fish habitat, and federal wildlife officials have stated that Oregon’s forestry regulatory framework violates the Endangered Species Act by failing to provide adequate protection to critically imperiled species. http://www.sijournal.com/commentary/1591416.html

12) A top federal official on Tuesday threw a roadblock in front of a state proposal to acquire and then sell or lease thousands of acres of public land in Central Oregon. Oregon BLM Director Elaine Brong rejected a state request to expedite the acquisition of two chunks of federal property north of Bend and west of Cline Buttes. The decision came in a letter received Tuesday by Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s office. The state, which a court ruled is entitled to take possession of federal lands in Oregon, wants to sell or lease the property to the highest bidder to help pay for public education. Opponents of the transfer applauded the decision, which some said could delay transfer of the federal land by several years. In addition, a formal amendment would require public hearings — giving a voice to neighborhood residents who had felt shut out of the process. Some residents of Boones Borough, a neighborhood located east of the Deschutes Market Road exit off Highway 97, are concerned that the transfer of 640 acres near their homes could degrade a historic trail, harm deer habitat and lead to the removal of old-growth juniper trees. Other opponents who live near Cline Buttes have hired an attorney to oppose the transfer of up to 3,377 acres of heavily-used recreational lands in their area. Opponents have seized on the BLM’s resource management plan as a way to block the land transfer. A final decision on the management plan is due at the end of this month. Under the proposed new BLM plan, the agency determined that much of the property the state wants to acquire — including all of the Deschutes Market Road parcel and most of the Cline Buttes parcel — should remain in federal hands. According to the plan, such land, classified for “retention,” reflects the public’s desire to keep large blocks of public land available for open space, wildlife habitat and recreational uses. http://www.bendbulletin.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=17770

13) The Bearknoll project has been a long process, but through the perseverance of the Bark community, one that has reached favorable ends. Bearknoll initially came out in 1998 targeting 821 acres, 217 of which were designated “Regeneration Harvest,” which is a code word for clearcut. A few years later the Forest Service decided they were going to write two separate Environmental Assessments for Bearknoll, one for thinning and another for “regeneration”. This fortunately was shelved early on since it could not truly assess the environmental effects. Then, in 2004 the Forest Service conveniently released the Environmental Assessment over the holidays (when the public is generally too busy to respond to timber plans). But thanks to all the public letters generated through the Bark network and with perhaps encouragement from the recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeal’s ruling against logging in Critical Habitat for the spotted owl, the newest addition was scaled down to 531 acres – with all the “Regeneration” units dropped. While this may have been a success by most accounts, there were still many problems. Thanks to the hard work of Bark’s Executive Director Sandi Scheinberg, and the Forest Service’s Timber Sale Planner Erin Black, a field trip was arranged to see what sort of compromise could be reached. This allowed us to show them the concerns we had on the ground, which is quite a relief from the traditional channels of lawyerly written Environmental Assessments and the letters we write in response. On this field trip, those representing the Forest Service were able to see first hand the old growth habitat within these planning areas, the immense amount of unaccounted roads criss-crossing the forest, and the diversity that is found in these native stands that cannot be maintained through homogenous design. In the end, the Forest Service dropped all the western units – 168 acres – that surrounded the Late Successional Reserve and implemented the road closures to limit travel in this parcel of intact forest. On the eastern portion of the planning area, an additional 17 acres were dropped. These areas contained pockets of older trees, snags, and downed logs that are critical wildlife habitat. While the project is not perfect, it was reduced from the initial 821 acres to 352 acres with all the old growth clearcuts dropped, the road closures still intact, and protection for the best available habitat within the remaining units. So an enormous thanks to all who visited the area, who wrote comments on the sale, and support the work of Bark. It never could have been done without you! http://www.bark-out.org

14) The Home Page timber sale is a throwback to the dark days of 1996. The “Environmental Assessment” for this old-growth logging was written in 1996, and twice found to be illegal by federal courts; once because of likely harm to watershed values, and once because the Forest Service refused to do required wildlife surveys prior to logging. Now, in 2005, the Bush administration has eliminated the forest protection regulations that had kept this old-growth forests from being logged. District Ranger Pam Bode contends that years of planning would be “wasted” if the Forest Service decided to leave these ancient forests intact. The Home Page timber sale calls for logging old-growth along scenic highway 48, that runs from Takilma/Cave Junction to Happy Camp. The “Siskiyou Highway” is famed for its beauty and biological diversity. Ten old-growth logging units are located near the summit of Page Mountain and French Peak in the headwaters of Althouse Creek, the East Fork of the Illinois River and Sucker Creek. The Forest Service is rushing to auction Home Page before the end of the fiscal year. Currently a timber sale auction is planned for September 15th. Please write a letter and make a phone call today. http://www.kswild.org/homepage

California:

15) Ancient forest, lava caves, glass flows and lakes are the features of an imploded volcano located on public lands in the Shasta-Trinity, Klamath and Modoc National Forest. This amazing area is sacred to many Northern California tribes, however the Forest Service has leased over 164,000 acres to energy mega-giant Calpine corporation, whom currently plan to built the first two of an undisclosed amount of power plans and over 24 miles of transmission lines through old forest and next to popular recreation areas. The power plant that is planned to be located right next to the sacred Medicine Lake was turned down by Clinton due to spiritual and legal concerns. However the Bush administration has rewarded Calpine?s corruption in the “California Energy Crisis” by overturning the decision to save Medicine Lake. Come and find out how to fight Bush’s Energy Bill/Policy and how to kick Calpine off of the public lands of the South Cascades. salmonaction@cascadiarising.org

16) Much like the warnings in New Orleans with the century-old dikes needing additional money to shore up the levee system that keeps the city dry, Washington has again cut spending to remove dead and diseased trees in the San Bernardino National Forest. All this despite urging by the U.S. Forest Service and local leaders to stay the course. Officials in the nation’s capitol are gambling the worst-case scenario will not come to be, fresh on the heels of the 2003 Old Fire that ravaged our area. A few weeks ago, Washington rolled the dice once again and only included $5 million next year to remove the bark beetle infested trees that still dot our landscape. The total money allocated to reduce hazardous fuels for the nation’s most urbanized forest is down $25 million from the 2005 allocation. San Bernardino National Forest representatives, like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans, submitted aggressive plans to fund local projects. Unfortunately, Washington decided to fund other projects and reduce allocations to both agencies. As we’re all aware, Hurricane Katrina provided the worst-case scenario and the aftermath leaves Washington scrambling to justify decisions over the past several years not to fund improvements. http://www.mountain-news.com/articles/2005/09/08/news/news1.txt

17) Pasted below is a notice sent out to foresters, review agencies and other interested parties by CDF Santa Rosa. This is a pilot project involving just the north coast regional headquarters in Santa Rosa at this time. But as soon as the bugs are worked out it will include all regions. I checked it out and it’s so easy. This will make getting involved with the process doable for most. Please pass this on to others who might use it: “Most of you have probably heard the rumblings. Our pilot project beta testing is just about up and running. It is a matter of getting software for our server inside the firewall to talk to the server outside the firewall. Staff are beginning to upload THPs and other documents to the server inside the firewall, and working out bugs as they are discovered. If you go to the site above, you will see some ³dummy² (at this point) information that will give you an idea of where we are going.” ftp://thp.fire.ca.gov/THPLibrary

18) On Sept. 16th Big Bear Lake Film Festival will hold a free screening of “The Greatest Good”, a documentary of the story of the US Forest Service. From the timbered shores of the Pacific Northwest to the marble halls of Washington DC, the choices about how we use our rich natural heritage are filled with controversy. Whether it is the protection of endangered species or meeting the needs of a growing public, the fate of public lands is constantly challenged by the constraints of democracy. Visionary foresters Gifford Pinchot and Aldo Leopold shaped the debate over land stewardship for a hundred years.
Their journey from the “wise use” of resources to the idea of a “land ethic” has defined the evolution of the Forest Service and the management of National Forests and Grasslands. At the heart of these struggles are the landscapes that have inspired us all. In a breathtaking high definition documentary, The Greatest Good takes the audience on a journey as compelling as it is uniquely American. http://www.bearvalleynews.com/bvn%201090605.htm

Idaho:

19) Idaho’s premiere domestic terrorist is a forest-dwelling 34-year old hell-bent on wreaking havoc on a 400-person town. But just like most of us alleged non-terrorists, he just can’t get the job done without his morning cup of joe. According to a report in the Clearwater Tribune, David Pruss was apprehended on August 30 in a tiny self-built hut, located in the woods northeast of remote Weippe, following a raid by 17 armed law enforcement agents and two teams of dogs. Since June, the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Department had been investigating numerous incidences of malicious destruction of property and burglaries in the Weippe area, resulting in damage to local homes, businesses, power transformers, phone pedestals, logging equipment and a hydropower plant. All told, Pruss is thought to have caused over $100,000 of damage and deprived Weippe residents of telephone and power services on several occasions. Pruss was reportedly fond of using a specific Weippe residence as his personal grocery store, leading authorities to conclude he was residing in the woods north town. Anticipating another visit, deputies hid a homing beacon inside a coffee container, which within one week was stolen from the home. In no time, agents had located Pruss’s hovel, nothing more than a pile of strapped-together sticks covered in pine boughs. He was apprehended without incident–and appears in his mugshot to be quite glad about it. http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A148186

Minnesota:

20) Buildings are usually named for people who have had long careers, but the new Mary Gibbs Mississippi Headwaters Center at Itasca State Park celebrates a brave young woman whose tenure at Itasca, although brief, had a significant impact on the park. In 1903, at age 24, Mary Gibbs was appointed park commissioner (manager) at Itasca following the death of her father who was manager at the time. She served as commissioner for just three months in 1903, but what a tumultuous three months they were. Mary loved the park and the river that ran through it–that tiny trickle that emerges from Lake Itasca as the Mississippi River and begins its meandering 2,552-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico. Young Miss Gibbs felt it was her duty to keep the river flowing freely and the park pristine. When those core tenets were challenged, sparks flew, but the young park manager stood her ground. The saga of her daring stand against the powerful logging interests is one of the main focal points of the new center. To keep a logging company’s dam from flooding the lakeshore and killing the magnificent pine forest, Mary stared down the company foreman who threatened her at gunpoint. Mary eventually got her way. The logging company gave in, opened the dam, and lowered the water level. Thanks to her actions, the tall pines and lakeshore were saved. After she left Itasca, she spent the next 80 years of her life in Canada. Although Mary never saw the park again, she never forgot it. Mary’s son who told him that she treasured two books, the Bible and a book about Itasca written in 1904 by the park’s first commissioner, Jacob V. Brower. Maguire’s research also helped him determine that Mary was the first woman in North America, and possibly the world, to manage a comparable park. http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/articles/2005/09/06/sports/sports08.txt

Pennsylvania:

21) By December 2006 the Allegheny National Forest will have a new Land and Resource Management Plan. It will enable the forest to get the most from its timber resources without over harvesting, damaging soils or ruining essential habitats. Leon Blashock, the forest district ranger of Ridgway and Marienville for the last 12 years, met with several of Ridgway Area School District board members at Francis S. Grandinetti Elementary School Tuesday to gather input from everyone and discuss the four alternative plans already created. http://www.ridgwayrecord.com/articles/2005/09/07/news/news01.txt

Mississippi:

22) Trees have been snapped and uprooted across George County by the 100-plus mph winds of Hurricane Katrina, but the disaster really hits home when considering that 77 percent of the county’s 400 square miles is devoted to the timber industry. In George County, timber is the leading agricultural product with an annual harvest valued at more than $15 million, George County Extension Director Michael Steede said. Eighty percent of the county’s timberland was affected by the storm. That could cost the state’s timber industry “millions of dollars,” Steede said. And the loss in George County is small compared to preliminary estimates statewide. Wayne Tucker, the executive director of the Mississippi Institute of Forest Inventory, said Katrina may have dealt Mississippi’s timber industry a $1.2 billion blow. Tree growers are now faced with a double-edged sword, said Eugene Cooper, the George County Forester for the Extension Service. “First, there is the damage to the trees and second is the effect on the markets. Tree damage extends far beyond the easily visible splintered and uprooted trees,” Cooper said. The dead and dying trees greatly increase the risk of forest fires. A fire would be even more dangerous because personnel cutbacks over the past several years have slashed the number of personnel trained to fight a forest fire. Dead and dying trees are a haven for destructive insects, especially the Southern pine beetle, and diseases such as blue stain. The fire hazard is so great that a ban on open burning in George and Stone counties has been issued by the Mississippi Forestry Commission.”The damaged trees must be removed from these forests,” Cooper said. Damaged trees will not bring anything close to market value, he said. “These trees will have less value as pulpwood and that value is decreasing every day,” Cooper said. “Pulpwood is sold by the ton. Each day a broken tree dries a little and loses weight.” http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/12590703.htm

Canada:

23) The countdown is on for the finalization of the Kenora Forest 2006-2026 resource management plan. A public information centre, hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Weyerhaeuser-Trus Joist Kenora operations and the Kenora Local Citizens Committee, was held at Kenora’s MNR warehouse on Tuesday evening. It kicked off a 60-day public review period for the draft of the plan, as well as the MNR’s preliminary list of required alterations to the plan. The Kenora Forest includes an area of 1.2-million hectares of Crown land from the Manitoba border in the west, to Sydney Lake in the northeast, down to Nestor Falls and along the U.S. border in the south. However, approximately 40 per cent of the area is made up of water, a majority of which includes Lake of the Woods. “Who is going to mountain bike when there is no forest there?” Jessiman asked. Kendall said Gunn Lake Lodge is not a fishing lodge, it is trying to branch out into eco-tourism with an art school of natural landscapes in the area. She said she wants to ensure that her customers will be able to continue to look at the natural environment in the area. Other areas of concern around Minaki include the proposed blocks on the western shore of Sand Lake, on the east shore of the Winnipeg River’s “Big Stretch” and at a popular beach area on Wirth Lake north of Minaki. Wilkie said they will likely modify their cutting plans by increasing the buffer zones in these blocks as most area residents are concerned of the visibility of the cuts from the water. http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/story.php?id=182998

24) The State of Canada’s Forests report 2004-2005 has been released by the Canadian Forest Service with a focus this year on the boreal forest. The first section is structured as a standard report and special feature articles on the boreal forest follow. The boreal, meaning northern, forest spreads across North America, Scandinavia and Russia. The report states that “as the steward of approximately 30 percent of the world’s boreal forest, Canada has a vital interest in developing its northern woodlands in a sustainable manner.” The three feature articles are: A Global Endowment; Benefits of the Boreal Forest; and Unlocking the Secrets of the Boreal Forest. http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/cfs-scf/national/what-quoi/sof/latest_e.html

25) 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. http://www.cep.ca/ “I find it strange that CEP’s background materials make no mention of the fact that Canada already has a National Forest Strategy for 2003-2008. Information about that is at the website: http://nfsc.forest.ca. It’s got plenty of problems, but it involves 67 supporting members, many of them governments and industry, but also ENGOs, Aboriginal organizations, and others. The Canadian Council of Forest Ministers is the trustee of the Strategy. The wording (not to say implementation) of the Ecosystem-based management and Aboriginal sections is quite strong. There is also lots of attention given to innovation, competititiveness, increased benefits, and so on. To make a press release about the need for a national forest strategy without making any reference to the fact that Canada already has one of those currently, and has been revising and renewing them every 5 years since the early 80s — this seems odd to me. I would agree there are plenty of improvements that need to be made in the existing Strategy, but CEP isn’t giving us any connection here.” mdkepkay@sfu.ca

26) ForestEthics and Rainforest Action Network sent letters to the chief executives of Canada’s biggest banks asking them to cooperate with the environmental community and independent scientists to develop permanent policies that protect endangered forests, prevent climate change and promote human rights. The invitation follows similar ongoing collaborations between Rainforest Action Network and Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase that have resulted in new best practices on the environment in critical areas including endangered forest protection, sustainable forestry, illegal logging, ecological no-go zones, carbon mitigation and reduction, renewable energy and indigenous rights. In the August 25, 2005 letter, ForestEthics executive director Todd Paglia and Rainforest Action Network executive director Michael Brune asked Canadian banks to move quickly to phase out funding of industrial extraction from intact forests and endangered ecosystems; set greenhouse gas reduction targets and timelines for direct and indirect emissions; support the right of indigenous First Nations and local communities to free and informed prior consent of bank financed projects on their lands; require independent chain-of-custody certification for forest products financing to prevent illegal logging and corporate corruption; prioritize funding for sustainable forestry certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and clean energy sources such as wind and solar; implement internal paper procurement policies that maximize post-consumer recycled content and FSC-certified virgin fiber; and eliminate procurement of products from endangered forests and controversial suppliers. http://www.ran.org http://www.forestethics.com

Congo:

27) Pygmy chimpanzees dubbed “hippies of the forest” for resolving conflicts through sex rather than violence are dying out faster than ever in post-war Democratic Republic of Congo, a conservationist said on Tuesday. Bonobos, the rarest of all the great apes, are being killed in large numbers by bands of gunmen two years after the vast central African country’s most recent war officially ended. “In 1980, there were about 100,000 bonobos in Congo. In 1990 there were thought to be 10,000,” Claudine Andre, founder of the Lola ya Bonobo (Bonobo Paradise) sanctuary just outside Kinshasa, told Reuters in an interview. “Since then we have had two wars, their habitat has been occupied and the post-conflict period has been even harder, so I fear for what the situation is now,” she said, adding that she was still receiving orphans after the war. Experts warn bonobos, one of man’s closest relatives, could die out within 50 years from poaching, logging and disease. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=vn20050907071752380C388890

Nigeria:

28) State government has approved the establishment of a Forestry Trust Fund (FTF) in the state. Flagging off this year’s tree planting campaign in Owerri, Governor Achike Udenwa, also directed local council administrations to encourage the people to plant economic trees. “In recognition of the role trees and forests can play in realising our tripod vision, my administration approved the establishment of a Forestry Trust Fund in Imo State”, Udenwa disclosed. The Governor explained that the Fund, when fully functional, will provide the required money for tree planting and sustainable forest management in the state. “The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Justice, should as a matter of urgency, set up all the necessary machinery that will make the Forestry Trust Fund operational before the end of this year”, he said. Explaining why his administration code-named this year’s exercise: “Trees for aesthetics and industrialisation”, Chief Udenwa said tree planting should be part of the re-orientation struggle, adding that it was the only sure way of attaining the dream of developing trees for aesthetics and industrialisation.” http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/east/se107092005.html

Ghana:

29) If stringent measures are not put in place to protect our forest against rampant depletion, the nation is at risk of losing its forest reserves and the values we enjoy from them. Mr. Daniel Dugan, the Deputy Minister of Fisheries said this when he addressed a joint meeting between the Ghana National Canoe Carvers’ Association (GNCA) and a section of fishermen. We should be worried about the harm the wanton depletion of our forest is causing us,” he said. He therefore appealed to the members of the association to streamline their activities to make GNCA accountable to its stakeholders. Mr. Dugan gave two weeks’ ultimatum to the members of GNCA to settle whatever differences existed among the members and report the outcome to the ministry. “We would not sit unconcerned for the personal differences or somebody’s selfish aim to destroy the fishing industry,” he said. Both fishermen and canoe carvers depend on each other for survival, he reminded, and expressed the hope that the intervention of the ministry would bring an end to the mistrust that had engulfed the two groups. He promised that the government would do everything possible to protect the interest of the fishermen and canoe carvers besides training the canoe carvers in the new technology used in manufacturing canoes in advanced countries, to meet the challenges ahead. http://allafrica.com/stories/200509060227.html

Fiji:

30) When we ask logging companies to come and log our trees or forests our decision may be based on the royalty that we will receive from the operation alone. However, we may have forgot the fact that there is a direct link between our forests, our offshore and coastal seas or oceans, ourselves and let alone our planet earth. I would like to strongly echo the same message that the Premier of Isabel Province is broadcasting to all citizens of Isabel, young and old, resource owners, male and female to make sound decisions based on sound advise. Now that it is legal for our province to claim what is rightly ours when it comes to issuance of business licenses and logging licenses for that matter, we must not allow ourselves to be used by those so called investors in luring us to allow them to exploit our resources at the expense of our communities and members of our landowning tribes and our future generations. We must respect the fact that our Provincial Government have regained our rights to make right decisions and bring justice to our people. Development is good for our people and the province. In fact we need to try and create and environment that is conducive to investor confidence. At the same time, we must keep an open mind and get as much information and advice from credible individuals. We need to create a culture of ownership and solidarity among our Isabel trained experts locally based or working overseas. We must ensure that our communities, our provincial executive and our different Isabel experts must form a network where information and expert advise may be shared and sought among ourselves. We must remove this culture of suspicion and distrust among ourselves because that is the only way that we can all help in getting our province forward in all its endeavors. We must create mutual understanding among our different communities, because whether we are in Isabel, Honiara, other provinces and/or overseas we are all from Isabel and in one way or the other in our own rights we are all resources owners. http://www.solomonstarnews.com/drupal-4.4.1/?q=node/view/4667

India:

31) Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa launches a scathing attack on the Centre’s Environment and Forest Department for stalling power projects in the state. She explained how 73 years ago during the British Raj, a 59.20 MW hydro electric station was set up at Singara. The late MGR drew up a plan to increase power production there by starting a project because the forest area had an annual rainfall of 2000 mm. As a result, the then Central Government had accorded environmental clearance in 1985. After the change of government in 1996, there had been considerable delay in the implementation of the project. Besides, 220 KV transmission lines had to be installed up to 85 kms from Singara to Arachur sub power station via reserve forests in Coimbatore district. Hence, the State Government had asked the Central Government to allot 49.78 hectares of reserve forests for transmission lines and assured that it would bear the cost to create reserve forests to the same extent in some other area. State government had sent its proposal seeking approval for creation of reserve forests in January 2003. The ordeal did not stop there. The Central environment and forest department had deliberately asked the State government to study whether the transmission lines could be taken via non-forest areas. The State government had then reiterated that since the project area fell within the forest region, it was left with no choice but to go via the forest area. But the Central Government had kept sending queries as if it was committed to stalling the project. She further said that the Central environmental department did not allow the State government to cut 4,177 trees for the transmission lines. With the environment and forest department wantonly delaying the clearance for the project, the State government had filed a writ petition in Madras High Court. Admitting the petition, the court ruled that the project was to be implemented by the TNEB for the welfare of the public and so, it could not be kept pending any longer. As a result, a conditional clearance was given in 2004. Then as per the norms, the State government moved the Supreme Court and got permission to fell trees in January this year. Thus a cruel war ended, the Chief Minister remarked. After the evil forces were defeated, my government opened the power project on Tuesday. This would pave the way for greater industrial development in the state. http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20050906130556&Page=T&Title=Southern+News+-+Tamil+Nadu&Topic=0

Vietnam:

32) Hundreds of people in Na and Xuan Tien villages –notorious for illegal logging – are now riding boats or taking photos of tourists to earn a living. The boatmen take on the job of tour guides, snapping shots of their guests in breathtaking natural backgrounds, and answering visitors’ questions about their home forest, which they know like the back of their hand. When it was established, the vast thousands-of-hectares Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park full of rare timber was patrolled by a tiny group of only 20 guards. Meanwhile as many as 90 percent of Na and Xuan Tine’s 2,000 villagers went into the forest to log illegally in the hope of earning more than farming. Heavily outnumbered, the forestry guards could do little to stop loggers, and were often attacked and injured. The loggers were even so bold as to work out plots to rob the timber seized by the guards. At the same time, tourism services developed slowly and suffered due to a lack of organization. Then there came Dang Dong Ha – a former high school teacher – to establish and manage Phong Nha Eco-Tourism and Culture Centre. Working as a tourism officer, ranger and tour guide simultaneously, he was determined to crack the problem of deforestation and improving tourism in the area. For the first time, a team of professional visitor receptionists was formed. He then persuaded villagers to transport visitors in their own boats at regulated prices. As illegal logging was being dealt with in harsher terms, villagers could earn a safer and more stable living. One by one, the locals gave up their axes and saws for tour guide hats. Now, a whole team of over 300 boats are available to take explorers to caves. This translates into steady employment for some 500 people who each earns on average VND100,000 per day. The new occupation has transformed villagers’ lives and relieved them of the feelings of guilt for destroying their native woodlands. “In the past, we were haunted by bloodstained fights with the guards, and by the threat of being arrested and imprisoned,” Bien, a former logger turned boat tour guide said. ”Now we earn money not only more easily but also honestly. But, the best thing is there’s no more division between people and guards. Life is peaceful and fulfilling.” http://www.thanhniennews.com/features/?catid=10&newsid=9008

Indonesia:

33) Illegal logging and farmland/plantations opening using heavy equipment have caused damage to thousands of hectares of forests in Indonesia, threatening the sustainable maintenance of natural resources in the country, Prof. Dr.Maswadi Rauf said here Tuesday. The spoiling of natural resources indicates the weakness of the central government and provincial administrations in handling environmental problems, according to the professor of the social and political science at the University of Indonesia. He was speaking at a seminar on “Political Ethic and Environmental Management”, which was opened by Minister of Environmental Affairs Rachmat Witoelar and attended by community leaders, representatives of political parties and Non-Governmental Organizations as well as those representing environmental organizations. Excessive exploitation of natural resources following the growth of industries and the high demand for natural fuel for economic development purposes, which have occurred in almost every province, have an adverse impact on the social life in Indonesia, he said.
Efforts to cope with the expansion of damaging natural resources needs the serious attention of regional administrators, from regents, mayors to provincial governors, he said, adding that it was necessary, therefore, to oblige candidates of regional administrators to put environmental development concept in their working programs.
http://www.antara.co.id/en/seenws/index.php?id=6170

Malaysia:

The Government plans to raise RM2.2 billion from the sale of bonds to plant trees of high commercial value at sustainably managed forest plantations nationwide. Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Datuk Anifah Aman said the sovereign 15-year “green” bonds will be sold in Malaysia. The proposal reflects the nation’s commitment to the world market that its timber will be sourced from sustainably-managed forests. Malaysia aims to almost double its forest plantation area to 500,000ha from the current 270,000ha spread out in Sabah, Sarawak, Johor, Terengganu and Pahang. A forest plantation is a dedicated area which plants and harvests 11 timber species in a well-managed and sustainable environment, usually for commercial purposes. Out of the 11 timber species, five have high commercial value: Meranti, rubberwood, Sentang, Acacia and teak. By establishing dedicated forest plantations, flora and fauna in the natural forest nearby will be protected from the commercial activity.
However, the initiative — a brainchild of the then Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik — requires a lot of money and a long waiting period. The private sector has been wary of venturing into the sector and the bond issue is one of the options available to allay the concerns. “The response has been poor because the private sector is waiting to see the results of the forest plantations. We have to spur them and they will venture in the moment they see its bright future,” said Anifah. http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BT/Wednesday/Frontpage/20050906235459/Article/

Australia:

34) Tasmanian logging contractors claim up to 300 jobs have been lost, due to a 30 per cent reduction in demand. A two week shut-down of Gunns’ Hampshire and Triabunna mills has not helped. David Hazell from the Forest Contractors Association estimates cuts to logging quotas have cost contractors about $35 million so far. He says the losses are doubled if lost transport revenue is included. He admits the logging industry must shrink for it to have a future. “Cooperatively we need to work out how we can effectively take 20 to 30 per cent out of the supply chain and create an exit strategy,” Mr Hazel said. “So that those contractors that are affected can leave with some dignity, and the ones that remain have got sustainable contract quota levels.” Mr Hazell says the flow-on effects of lower quotas are not just hurting logging contractors. “On top of that you’ve got lost revenue from the growers and land owners that grow the trees,” he said. “On top of that you’ve also got lost revenue from the end processor, which could either be a sawmill, or it could be another company such as Gunns where they do the exporting of the woodchips, so that’s just the one sector of the hardwood industry.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1455601.htm

35) The forest and Free Speech National Tour will be in Armidale next week. The tour aims to gain support from Australians for Tasmania’s old growth forests and those who have tried to defend them to preserve the forests for future generations. As part of the tour’s Armidale visit, a public meeting will be held to highlight the campaign and the $6.8 million civil lawsuit against the forest campaigners by woodchip company, Gunns Limited. Campaigner Luke Chamberlain said that over the past 12 months the group had been able to save more than 180,000 hectares of Tasmania’s old growth forests from woodchipping, such as the Tarkine rainforest wilderness and parts of the Styx Valley of the Giants. “The last election has shown that even the most conservative of governments, a Howard Federal Government and a Lennon State Government, have had to bow to public opinion and protect parts of Tasmania’s forest,” he said. “But there is still much at stake. Tasmania will have a pulp mill by 2006 and parts of the state’s iconic old growth forest will be woodchipped as a result. This speaking tour is a call to action for all Australians to show their support for Tasmania’s old growth forests and those who have tried to defend them to preserve these world class forests for future generations, and to gain support for laws which protect our right to speak out.” http://armidale.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=422
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