056OEC’s This Week in Trees

This week we have 43 news items from: Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Vermont, Georgia, Michigan, Maine, USA, Canada, Brazil, Ireland, England, Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, China, Papua New Guinea, India, Vietnam, Solomon Islands, Philippines, Australia and World-wide.

Alaska:

1) Residents of Meyers Chuck, users of the Cleveland Peninsula, and regional and national conservation groups filed an appeal against what they say is a money-losing timber sale that would damage stunning Emerald Bay on the western shore of the Cleveland Peninsula. Tongass National Forest Supervisor Forrest Cole recently signed the Emerald Bay Record of Decision in November, approving the harvest of approximately 16 million board feet of timber from 600 acres on the Cleveland Peninsula. According to the Forest Service, the proposed project which is located approximately 40 air miles north of Ketchikan within the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District would provide nearly 90 jobs in Southeast Alaska. Evening Star Grutter who grew up in Meyers Chuck said, “As an individual who was born and raised in rural Southeast Alaska, I have significant concerns about the Forest Service’s plan to log Emerald Bay and any other area on Cleveland Peninsula. The Forest Service is wasting taxpayer dollars and disregarding multiple user groups by consistently satisfying only one user group the timber industry.” The Cleveland Peninsula between Ketchikan and Wrangell is known for its richness of large mammals such as moose, mountain goats, wolverine, wolves, and brown and black bears, and also supports superb wild fisheries. In annoucing the appeal, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council said this area provides outstanding economic and local use opportunities and represents some of the best of Southeast Alaska’s rich and rugged wild. The opportunities for adventure and independence are immense according to the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council which is a coalition of eighteen volunteer citizen conservation groups in fourteen communities across Southeast Alaska, from Ketchikan to Yakutat. http://www.sitnews.us/0106news/010906/010906_emerald_bay.html

2) According to the Associated Press, state forestry officials have approved a timber sale of about 13-hundred acres near Talkeetna. The sale near Kroto Creek, off Petersville Road, is the state’s largest timber offering in the Mat-Su Borough in nearly two decades. The sale got approval despite opposition from local groups. They claim logging could open up the area to four wheelers that could damage streams that support salmon and trout populations. Some also questioned whether logging would harm local tourism-based businesses such as sled-dogs tours and flightseeing operations. Opponents have until January 24th to appeal the decision. But supporters like the Alaska Moose Federation, Alaska Forest Association and the Resource Development Council say the sale will create jobs and improve moose habitat. http://www.ktva.com/local/ci_3385637

3) A new trade agreement between Washington and Beijing may make it easier for Alaska logs to be sold in China, one of the world’s most populous nations with a booming economy, state officials said. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources helped broker the trade agreement, which will allow Alaska logs to be fumigated in Fujian Province in eastern China. China — an emerging market for Alaska timber — requires that all wood products be rid of bugs before entering the country. Until the trade agreement was signed last month, most China-bound Alaska logs underwent fumigation aboard freighters anchored in Japan. Fumigation isn’t done in Alaska because of the roadless nature of most logging sites, according to the state Division of Agriculture. The cold climate also isn’t conducive to effective use of methyl bromide, the insecticide of choice in log fumigation. Under the new protocol, the logs will be decontaminated at a newly built fumigation plant at Putian, in Fujian Province, said Doug Warner, DNR marketing specialist. Fumigating in China should reduce costs for Alaska log exporters and allow more lower-end logs to be sold in China, Warner said. http://www.adn.com/money/story/7339672p-7251733c.html

British Columbia:

4) Nahanni National Park Reserve is Canada’s most renowned northern boreal wilderness area. One of the first ever World Heritage Sites declared by the United Nations, the national park protects a spectacular corridor along the South Nahanni River – but too little else. The current park boundaries leave out important wildlife habitat, most of the watershed – the creeks, streams and mountains that give rise to the South Nahanni River — and the globally significant caves, towers, and sinkholes of the Nahanni karstlands. Right now, 32 kilometres upstream from the national park, within the watershed, a proposal for a zinc/lead/silver mine at Prairie Creek is being pushed forward by Canadian Zinc Corporation. The mine is perched mere metres from the rushing, clear waters of Prairie Creek, which tumble down to the South Nahanni River. This part of the Nahanni region is vulnerable to earthquakes and floods, making it a high-risk site for a mine, and putting the water, wildlife and wilderness values of the area at risk should the mine proceed. The company wants to upgrade a long-abandoned winter road to the site to create an all-season mine haul road. This road would cross through the rugged but delicate ecosystem of the Nahanni karstlands. Scientists fear that the road could damage the globally unique, delicate limestone caves and other karst formations along the route, and lead to groundwater contamination from toxic spills. The federal government has committed to expanding Nahanni National Park Reserve. Boundaries are now being studied. CPAWS and Local First Nations in the Dehcho and Sahtu regions – the area where the watershed is located – support protection of the entire South Nahanni Watershed. http://www.cpaws.org/action/nahanni.php

5) Please review the species to be listed and provide your comments through the registry. Your participation in the decision-making process will help ensure the best decisions are made. Comments must be received by February 15, 2006. Of the terrestrial species, 17 are known to occur in BC. The species; their taxonomy; their assessed status; and their principal, general location within the province are listed below. All of these species assessed as endangered or threatened occur in southern BC: four of these are plants or mosses associated with the Garry Oak ecosystem, mainly on south Vancouver Island; and nine species are found in south-central BC, mainly in the south Okanagan Similkameen:
Dense-flowered Lupine -Vascular Plants – Endangered – Victoria area
Dense-spiked Primrose – Vascular Plants – Endangered – Southeast Vancouver Island
White Meconella – Vascular Plants – Endangered – Coastal S. Island and islands
Macoun’s Meadowfoam – Vascular Plants – Threatened – S. Island and islands
Banded Cord-moss – Mosses – Special Concern – Southwest coast
Branched Phacelia – Vascular Plants – Endangered – South Okanagan, Osoyoos
Grand Coulee Owl-clover – Vascular Plants – Endangered – South Okanagan
Rusty Cord-moss – Mosses – Endangered – South-central BC
Spalding’s Campion – Vascular Plants – Endangered – Southeastern BC, Roosville
Williamson’s Sapsucker – Birds – Endangered – Larch forests, mountains, S.-Central.BC
Alkaline Wing-nerved Moss – Mosses – Threatened – South-central BC
Cliff Paintbrush Vascular – Plants – Threatened – Southwestern BC, Cascades
Mountain Holly Fern – Vascular Plants – Threatened – Tulameen Valley
Showy Phlox – Vascular Plants – Threatened – Okanagan Valley
Ancient Murrelet – Birds – Special Concern – Queen Charlottes
Red-legged Frog – Amphibians – Special Concern – Islands and southwestern BC
Western Yellow-bellied Racer – Reptiles – Special Concern – South-central BC
As well as using the registry, you can contact the following staff if you have any questions related to the listing process, specific species, or recovery planning under the Species at Risk Act.nFor Parks Canada (Garry Oak ecosystems): Brian Reader, Species at Risk Ecologist brian.reader@pc.gc.ca 250-363-8560

Washington:

6) Normally, if someone kills or harms an endangered species, that person is in big legal trouble. But Washington’s timber industry won’t face such prosecution under a controversial 50-year deal worked out with the federal government by the state Department of Natural Resources. Debora Brown Munguia was often the face of the DNR as the agency advocated for the deal. She answered the public’s questions, defended the state’s position and dealt with federal wildlife officials on behalf of the state. Just days after the final state document needed to obtain the 50-year Endangered Species Act exemption went to the printers in late December, Munguia announced that she would become governmental relations director at the Washington Forest Protection Association. An environmentalist lawyer who has clashed with the state over the deal is questioning whether Munguia’s move violates the state’s ethics law. He and a former state lawyer who is now a law professor said her acceptance of the job raises questions about her actions while still a state employee. “The problem with people switching hats like this is that it undermines the public’s confidence that the government is objective,” said Peter Goldman, head of the Washington Forest Law Center. “The fox used to be just watching the henhouse. Now the fox is inside the henhouse eating the hens, or at least sharpening the knives.” The state ethics law says a state employee is not allowed to help anyone “in any transaction involving the state in which the former state officer or state employee at any time participated during state employment.” The maximum penalty for violating it is a $5,000 fine. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/254868_munguia07.html

7) There is a big battle brewing in Washington State. North of Seattle, there is a small mountain called Blanchard Mountain. It’s a wonderful place, with some actual, real old growth forest left. The land is controlled by the state, but is being given to a logging company for rather devastating logging. The area is highly prized, has a huge recreational list, to include rock climbing, hang gliding, hiking, biking, legitimate horse trails, etc. and the plan by the loggers will absolutely devastate the land, ruining the area for decades for a short-term supply of a relatively small amount of money for the local school districts. Once again, our local people are being seduced with small, quick returns for long term damage. At the moment, it’s simply wonderful. It’s fabulous, it really is. But it won’t be for much longer. Remember, 5 minutes out of your day can make a huge difference. When they discover that people from all over the U.S. are aware of their plans to destroy this place, it will make them think twice. Politicians rely on the short memory of voters when they vote for bad bills, etc. Let them know that our memories are NOT short! Take a minute to explore that web site. The little mountain is fantastic, close to thousands of people, and once the logging roads are in, it’s a total waste. Please take 5 minutes and DO SOMETHING about it! –Robert Tice http://www.blanchardmountain.org/faq_important_addresses.html

8) SEATTLE — A federal judge who struck down a Bush administration decision to ease logging restrictions last summer issued an injunction Monday blocking as many as 144 timber sales in three states. The timber sales in Washington, Oregon and California had been approved under the administration’s decision to stop requiring that the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management look for and protect rare plants and animals before logging on 5.5 million acres covered by the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan. The Bush administration eliminated the so-called “survey and manage” rule in spring 2004 as part of a legal settlement with the timber industry. Environmental groups sued over the decision, arguing that it was arbitrary and that the government had not evaluated what the effect would be on protected species such as the red tree vole and the great gray owl. In August, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman agreed, striking down the new rule. At the time, she did not say whether she would allow the 144 timber sales — approved since the rule’s adoption — to proceed. About half of those sales included old-growth logging. In her decision Monday, she reinstated the survey-and-manage rule, and made clear that no timber sales would proceed unless they met that standard. The potential harm to the approximately 300 species protected by the old rule outweighed the potential harm to the government, which put its projected economic loss from stopping the timber sales at $2.7 million. The judge noted, as the environmental groups had, that the court should not be concerned about any money the government stood to make by breaking the law. http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060110/NEWS06/60110041

9) The city of Bellingham should bring a 10-year, $44 million Greenways levy to voters in May, Mayor Mark Asmundson proposed Monday night. Wading for the first time into the debate over how much money should be raised for the parks and trails tax measure, Asmundson gave initial details at the Bellingham City Council’s Monday night meeting. Asmundson said the city would seek a levy raising 57 cents per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value in its first year. That would cost the owner of a home with the assessed value of $250,000 an additional $142.50 a year in property taxes. Nearly two-thirds of that money would go toward acquiring new land for parks, trails and green spaces, especially in the northern part of the city, Asmundson said. And placing the measure in a May 16 special election would avoid competition with the Bellingham School District’s $67 million bond vote in March, he said.
“One of the beauties of the Greenways program is you come back to the voters on a regular basis,” Asmundson said. “It’s their way of checking in and making sure you’ve kept faith.” And over time, voters have kept the faith in Greenways. Twice before, in 1990 and 1997, voters approved Greenways levies and property owners paid nearly $27 million since in taxes to support buying land. However, two competing groups are trying to bring their own Greenways levies to this year’s ballot. One proposal, Greenways 2006, would raise $41.5 million over 10 years. The other, Greenways Legacy, would raise $60 million over 15 years, with $13.5 million going toward purchasing land on Chuckanut Ridge. http://news.bellinghamherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060110/NEWS06/601100328

10) Tom Banse, of National Public Radio, is doing a story on moss-harvesting and moss cultivation that may be of interest to you. This will be aired on Morning Edition sometime in the next few days. Tom is tackling the story from several angles. Last week, he interviewed Dr. Pat Muir, a bryologist/ecologist at OSU. She recently did research and wrote a paper on the amount and value of harvested mosses nationwide. She found that overharvesting of mosses is definitely going on, and the industry is expanding in its need for moss, with subsequent damage to the primarily old-growth forests from which these mosses are being stripped. This morning, Tom accompanied Hannah Anderson and me to Griffin Middle School. We have started a project with 8th grade science class students to develop horticultural techniques to grow mosses inside and in pots, with an eye to making sustainably grown mosses commercially available in the future. He also interviewed me about the efforts of prisoners and correctional center administrators whom we worked with at the Cedar Creek Correctional Center over the last two years to raise mosses and contribute to the sustainable practices. Tom can’t say exactly when the piece will air, but it may be as soon as this evening (January 11), or (more probably) tomorrow morning, on Morning Edition. He explained that this is a story that is “timeless”, meaning it is not about current events and can be aired whenever, so it may not air until Monday. When it comes on, it will be on KPLU and KUOW. They play it four times during the morning between 5:30 and 9:30 am. Several hours after it is played, you can pick it up off the web at www.kuow.org or http://www.evergreen.edu/ican

Oregon:

11) According to “The Facts and Myths of Post-Fire Management: A Case Study of the Biscuit Fire, Southwest Oregon” the Forest Service has lost approximately $14 million in sale preparation and administration costs on logging projects in the Biscuit fire area. This finding undercuts the agencies frequent argument that logging is needed to generate revenue to pay for other activities. “The public needs to know that post-fire logging is a lose-lose proposition; the taxpayer loses by footing the bill and the environment loses by damaged soils and degraded fish and wildlife habitat,” said Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala, a report author and forest ecologist with the World Wildlife Fund, “The report found that for the Biscuit logging project expediting logging would not have made a difference in dollars and cents because of the steep terrain and difficult access.” The late Robert Wolf, a noted forest policy analyst with the Congressional Research Service who died last week, figured that at a sale price of $153 per mbf, the Forest Service would lose $1666 per acre on Biscuit logging. With actual prices averaging only $74.58 per mbf for the twelve Biscuit sales, Wolf’s figures indicate that the agency lost over $13 million after logging 3800 acres. Wolf’s analysis shows that even if the agency had received its inflated estimated bid price of $250 per mbf, the Biscuit sales would have still lost money and that the more acres logged the higher the financial losses would become. The study team documented extensive damage to the area’s regenerating forest, especially in the Fiddler Late-Successional Reserve (previously set aside for old-growth values), due to excessive logging. Of special concern was the loss of larger trees in logged stands, as these trees are the building blocks for future forests and are critical to fish and wildlife species. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_30197.shtml

California:

12) In a case that echoes the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, two Northern California Republican congressmen used their official positions to try to stop a federal investigation of a wealthy Texas businessman who provided them with political contributions. Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz, documents recently obtained by The Times show. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was seeking $300 million from Hurwitz for his role in the collapse of a Texas savings and loan that cost taxpayers $1.6 billion. The investigation was ultimately dropped. The effort to help Hurwitz began in 1999 when DeLay wrote a letter to the chairman of the FDIC denouncing the investigation of Hurwitz as a “form of harassment and deceit on the part of government employees.” When the FDIC persisted, Doolittle and Pombo — both considered proteges of DeLay — used their power as members of the House Resources Committee to subpoena the agency’s confidential records on the case, including details of the evidence FDIC investigators had compiled on Hurwitz. Then, in 2001, the two congressmen inserted many of the sensitive documents into the Congressional Record, making them public and accessible to Hurwitz’s lawyers, a move that FDIC officials said damaged the government’s ability to pursue the banker. Pombo, in his own 2001 floor statement, suggested that the banking regulators were using strong-arm methods against Hurwitz, or what Pombo called “tools equivalent to the Cosa Nostra — a mafia tactic.” (Note: Charles Hurwitz is Maxxam / Pacific Lumber the largest liquidator of ancient redwood forest of the past 30 years.) http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-banker8jan08,0,1764103.story?coll=la-home-headlines&
track=morenews

13) “The FDIC has been on the record ever since the beginning of this that our case against Mr. Hurwitz had nothing at all to do with the trees. It was about recouping as much money as we could for the taxpayers who lost $1.6 billion when his S&L failed,” spokesman David Barr told The Associated Press. He said the tree-swap idea was Hurwitz’s to begin with. But Rep. Richard Pombo said Monday that his effort to scuttle a federal investigation of a Houston millionaire was meant to counteract environmentalists and officials in President Bill Clinton’s administration who were trying to obtain thousands of acres of redwood trees the man’s company owned. Pombo acknowledged publicizing documents related to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. investigation into a failed savings and loan association of which Hurwitz owned 24.9 percent. In a report inserted into the Congressional Record June 14, 2001, Pombo accused the FDIC and the Office of Thrift Supervision of being conspirators in a scheme to obtain thousands of acres of redwoods in Headwaters Forest in exchange for debt Hurwitz owed from the association’s collapse. “This is a classic property rights case where you had the government coming in and trying to take away someone’s property,” Pombo said Monday. “That’s what I’m about; that’s what motivated me to run for Congress in the first place.” http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2006/01/10/news/7_pombo_060110.txt

Vermont:

14) “There are less than a handful of places left in the East where you can stand and see nothing but the work of nature – where man has been removed from the equation and the land has reclaimed its own. Glastonbury Mountain is one of those rare places.” Peter Sterling, Wilderness Organizer for The Wilderness Society, speaks so passionately about this particular mountain because it is Vermont’s last chance to permanently undo the remnants of development in such an expansive tract of land. At one time, 80 percent of Vermont was clear-cut to make room mostly for sheep and dairy farms, and opened to unrestricted logging that left scars across the land. The Glastonbury area was no exception. Luckily, though, Glastonbury Mountain was one of the earliest pieces of land purchased by the federal government to become part of the national forest system. The proposed Glastonbury Mountain Wilderness is already part of the much-larger Green Mountain National Forest and it would be a 30,000-acre addition to the 60,000 acres of Wilderness already designated in Vermont. Today, it is truly a wilderness healed by the hand of nature. In fact, it is the last wild peak in Vermont over 3,700 feet that has no mechanized access. That accomplishment makes Glastonbury Mountain a haven for an array wildlife, hikers, birdwatchers, and all outdoorsmen and women who seek an experience undisturbed by the noise and air pollution that accompanies motorized vehicles and crowds. For those brave souls who endeavor to climb to the top, they are rewarded with a panoramic view of Vermont’s legendary Green Mountain chain to the north and the Berkshires of Massachusetts to the south. There is even a fire tower that visitors can climb up to get above the highest trees to really take in the unbroken granite backbone of southern Vermont’s wilderness. http://www.wilderness.org/WhereWeWork/Vermont/glastonbury.cfm

Georgia:

15) Georgia Tech’s Shelton said pulp wood-based ethanol facilities could be a boost to the state’s hard-hit forest products industry, which saw jobs decline to 136,000 in 2003 from 204,000 in 2000. In Atlanta, a company called C2 Biofuels LLC is exploring a $150 million to $200 million plant in South Georgia that would make 50 million gallons of ethanol a year from wood pulp. C2 in December signed a deal to work with Georgia Tech researchers to create technologies for such a facility. Observers say the plans signal the emergence of an ethanol industry in the state. And the companies aren’t alone. Xethanol Corp., a New York company, reported in a Dec. 27 Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it plans to build ethanol production facilities near high-usage areas on the East Coast and West Coast, including potentially Georgia. The company said it is in preliminary discussions with a Georgia-based group to establish Atlantic Xethanol LLC, which would explore opportunities in Savannah and Jacksonville, Fla. “There’s a buzz around the industry, certainly in the Southeast,” said Matt Hartwig, communications director for the Renewable Fuels Association, a Washington, D.C.-based industry group that represents ethanol producers. If all the projects come to fruition, the United States could see another 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol production capacity come on line in the next year and a half, he said. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10771352/

Michigan:

16) IRONWOOD– Mild winter weather is hurting Upper Peninsula lumber operations, delaying the freezing of the ground that allows loggers to do their job, experts say. Normally, wet conditions drive loggers out of the woods by late October or early November, said Gogebic County forestry and parks director Dick Bolen. “Cold generally allows the necessary freeze by sometime in December,” Bolen said. This year, the cold weather has not come. “What we need is some below-zero weather to slow this water down. If I could wish for anything, that would be it,” said Scott Robbins, a manager at the Smurfit-Stone Mill in Ontonagon. “It’s not good,” Al Steege, operations manager at the Keweenaw Land Association in Ironwood, told the Daily Globe for a story Saturday. “Basically, the ground is very wet. … The only areas where we are logging is on sandier ground, and those areas are limited.” Steege said about 75 percent of his company’s logging crews were idle. Bolen said one logger had a dire warning. “He said that if he’s going to go belly-up, 2006 will be the year,” said Bolen. “I know guys who haven’t had a week of work in well over 10 weeks. They’re only able to work a day here, a day there.”Logging activity in the Ottawa National Forest, which covers about 1 million acres in the western Upper Peninsula, has slowed. “We try to set up most of our logging during the winter, because we need the ground to be frozen,” said Bob MacGregor, who works in the forest’s Bessemer Ranger District. “Probably 75 percent of our sales are winter only.” “It’s affecting our operations big time,” said Don Holm, a forester with Stamford, Conn.-based International Paper Co. “Our crews have basically been unable to work for the last three or four weeks, simply because of the weather. When they do work, it’s a day or two here, a day or two there.” Holm helps manage 70,000 acres from an office in Marenisco. “This time of the year they’re normally going full-blast,” said Holm. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct—loggingslowdown0109jan09,0,5302806.story?col
l=ny-region-apconnecticut

Maine:

17) ETNA — Industry analysts offered both good news and bad news following the release of U.S. newsprint consumption figures for November by the Pulp and Paper Products Council (PPPC). The good news is that the continuing slide in newsprint consumption is not as dire as the numbers suggest, due to offsetting factors; the bad news is that the downward trend is expected to continue. The release of consumption figures trailed the release of the PPPC’s other newsprint statistics on Dec. 22, as consumption data was not available at that time (Forestweb, Dec. 22). November’s newsprint consumption by U.S. daily newspapers was down year-over-year by 7.0%, bringing the year-to-date total to 5.3% below a year earlier, according to the PPPC. However, analysts say mitigating factors such as the slide in basis weight should be considered. “To be sure there are a number of different trends behind the consumption decline,” noted Mark Wilde, research analyst with Deutsche Bank. Because consumption figures track tonnage rather than surface area, they do not take into account the decline in grammage, which measured 47.5 g/m2 through September versus 48.2 g/m2 in 2004. “This suggests that perhaps 1.5% of the 7.0% drop may be tied to lighter basis weights,” Wilde said. http://www.mediainfo.comeandp/columns/forestwebs_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001842639

USA:

18) They were the grunts in what was called FDR’s Tree Army, and the expectation for personal monetary gain was hugely restrained. For all their labors in America’s wilderness, the boys of the CCC got “a dollar a day, three hots and a flop.” The CCC was the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s many New Deal agencies that blossomed like spring flowers in 1933 to deliver America from the grips of the Great Depression. The CCC’s generous slice of this exotic mélange of economic, social and political problems was to get things going in the woods; to plant trees, fight forest fires and erosion, and to build roads, parks, buildings, dams and bridges in every state in the union. Ralph Halbert of St. Paul was a “soil soldier” in that Tree Army. He was 19 when he went into the CCC in northern Minnesota, and it is now important to him, at 83, that this army be remembered for its work. He and his wife, Mary, are active in a movement to add Minnesota to the 29 states that have already erected monuments to the men of the CCC. Roosevelt was sworn into office on March 4, 1933. Congress enacted the CCC program March 31, and the first CCC camp was established by April 6. By that July, there were 1,300 camps nationwide and 61 in Minnesota. Staffing of this gigantic program was quite simple. In 1932, one-fourth of the nation’s men ages 18 to 25 were out of work, and the original goal was to enroll 250,000 men. That number was revised to 600,000 by 1935. But there wasn’t much gold-bricking that went on, if you look at the accomplishments of the Tree Army. In its nine years, enrollment in the CCC totaled nearly 3.5 million young men who worked out of 4,500 camps nationwide. They built 125,000 miles of roads, developed 800 state parks, planted between 2 billion and 3 billion trees and sent allotments home to their families totaling $662 million. The motto of the CCC? “We can take it!” http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/13581570.htm

Canada:

19) Canada’s northern Boreal woodlands, comparable to the Amazon in terms of their natural wealth and ecological importance, are under threat, the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) has concluded in a new report. The vast Boreal region stretching across the north in seven provinces and all three territories contains the last natural, original forests remaining in the world. It comprises 6 million square kilometres and contains as many as 2 million lakes. The Boreal is a vital part of Canada’s “green account” – the natural capital that makes the country one of the wealthiest in the world. In terms of its environmental importance – as a repository for biodiversity and a counterbalance for carbon emissions contributing to climate change – the Boreal forest compares with South America’s Amazon. The new NRTEE State of the Debate report warns that this precious resource has been affected seriously in recent decades by logging, mining and energy extraction and global warming. Planned, measured, sustainable development of the Boreal is essential to enable these crucial economic activities to thrive while protecting the equally crucial natural environment. http://www.nrtee-trnee.ca/eng/programs/Current_Programs/Nature/Boreal-Forest/Documents/Boreal-Futures/Bor
eal-Futures_Contents_E.htm

Brazil:

20) BERKELEY – Trees, particularly those with deep roots, contribute to the Earth’s climate much more than scientists thought, according to a new study by biologists and climatologists from the University of California, Berkeley. While scientists studying global climate change recognize the importance of vegetation in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and in local cooling through transpiration, they have assumed a simple model of plants sucking water out of the soil and spewing water vapor into the atmosphere.The new study in the Amazonian forest shows that trees use water in a much more complex way: The tap roots transfer rainwater from the surface to reservoirs deep underground and redistribute water upwards after the rains to keep the top layers moist, thereby accentuating both carbon uptake and localized atmospheric cooling during dry periods. The researchers estimate this effect increases photosynthesis and the evaporation of water from plants, called transpiration, by 40 percent in the dry season, when photosynthesis otherwise would be limited. “This shifting of water by roots has a physiological effect on the plants, letting them pull more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they conduct more photosynthesis,” said co-author Todd Dawson, professor of integrative biology at UC Berkeley. “Because this has not been considered until now, people have likely underestimated the amount of carbon taken up by the Amazon and underestimated the impact of Amazonian deforestation on climate.” Twenty years ago, however, some small plants were found to do more than lift water from the soil to the leaves – they also lifted deep water with their tap root and deposited it in shallow soil for use at a later time, and reversed the process during the rainy season to push water into storage deep underground. Dawson discovered in 1990 that trees do this, too, and to date, so-called hydraulic redistribution has been found in some 60 separate deeply rooted plant species. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/01/11_amazon.shtml

Ireland:

21) Tollymore now attracts 200,000 visitors a year, writes Neil Johnston. The eventful history of the magnificent Co Down estate which became Northern Ireland’s first forest park is told in a fascinating new book. Tollymore: The Story of an Irish Demesne, has been published by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society on the 50th anniversary of the estate’s opening as a forest park in 1955. Equally appropriate is the fact that the book’s author is the Earl of Roden, whose family were still living in Tollymore when he was born. The Rodens had inherited the property in 1798 and were its residents for some 140 years before selling it to the Northern Ireland Government’s Department of Agriculture. In his handsomely illustrated account, Lord Roden traces the history of the 1,200 acre demesne from its early days as a 18th century deer park which provided much sought-after venison, and later, as a working forestry park, timber. Wood from the Tollymore oaks was used for the grand interiors of ill-fated liner The Titanic, but not all of the Tollymore oak went to the bottom of the sea. As the ship sank, a small ornately decorated section from its first class staircase broke off and floated to the surface, where it was recovered several days later by one of the search vessels. Apart from acquainting the reader with the natural beauty spots in the park, its streams, waterfalls and trees, Lord Roden also provides an informative guide to its distinctive gothic buildings, some of them the first of their kind in Ireland. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=675359

England:

22) The Forestry Commission cleared more than 500,000 trees blown down in January’s storms last year, in the biggest operation of its kind in Cumbria. Around 350 hectares of land – equal to 500 football pitches – were battered by the 100 mph gales which ravaged the county on January 7 last year and saw the worst flooding in more than 100 years. Ninety per cent of Forestry Commission property in Cumbria was closed to the public after the storms. Now, all but 0.5 per cent is open. Over 100,000 tonnes of trees has so far been removed across the county including most of those which came down at Grizedale and Whinlatter, as well as other areas of woodland such as High Stand, near Carlisle, and Miterdale in West Cumbria. The Forestry Commission’s Graeme Prest said: “The scale of the work to clear away trees brought down or damaged in the storms last January far exceeded anything we’d faced before. “Our top priority was to clear footpaths to make them safe for members of the public. This meant we were able to open most of the footpaths through the woods very quickly. “It has been a tremendous achievement for all those involved in this enormous task.” Work is continuing to remove the remaining 150,000 trees that had either been uprooted or badly damaged in the storms. Trees are being removed from Matterdale, near Keswick, while work will start shortly to remove trees that came down at Claife just above Windermere. Last year’s storms were the worst since 1968. However, there are now many more mature trees in Cumbria than in the sixties, so the impact of the 2005 storm on the county’s forest and woodlands was much greater. http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=318743

Africa:

23) The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says millions of people are at risk of starvation in the Horn of Africa due to drought and the effects of conflict. Dr. Razi Prabhu is regional coordinator for eastern and southern Africa for CIFOR, the Center for International Forestry Research. During droughts, forests have, and we’ve seen this in southern Africa, a really important role in providing a safety net function, subsistence function, for the poorest of the poor. So they go to the forest for food, medicinal plants, all sorts of things. This is their last reserve when there’s drought. And I think in that sense, Wangari Maathai is very right in calling for a stop to deforestation. In fact, she’s been at the forefront for reforestation. And if this is done properly then I think it offers a lot more resilience in landscapes which are affected by drought.” If there’s a lack of trees, is the land unable to retain water during rainy seasons? Prabhu says, “It really depends on what other kinds of vegetation cover you have. So if you have bush and grass there certainly will be a lot more retention. It also depends on what type of engineering you’ve got in landscapes.” http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2006-01-10-voa36.cfm

Kenya:

24) Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai urged Kenya’s government on Monday to do more to protect and rehabilitate indigenous forests, saying decades of deforestation had contributed to the current drought. The Kenyan government says at least 2.5 million people in the east African nation are on the brink of starvation due to severe drought, crop failure and depletion of livestock herds. “The tragedies that this country is facing today such as drought, famine and poverty have been exacerbated by the gradual degradation of our environment — including indigenous forests,” Maathai, who was awarded her Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her devotion to Africa’s forests, said in a statement. Kenya’s original forests have depleted over last century, starting during the time of British colonial rule when forests were cut down to make way for commercial plantations that were used to supply emerging timber and paper industries. After independence in 1963, deforestation continued legally and illegally, with trees cut down by settlers and squatters. “The cumulative effect of such clear-cutting gradually reduced indigenous forest cover to what is now a meagre 1.7 percent — which is alarming considering that two-thirds of Kenya is arid, semi-arid and desert,” Maathai said. Maathai said Kenya needed at least 10 percent of its land mass under indigenous forest cover. She said this would help to secure sectors like agriculture, water supply, health, hydro-power, tourism, timber and paper industries. “Unless we fully understand the linkages between indigenous forests and these economic sectors, we shall continue to trivialise both the role that these forests play in sustainable development, and the urgency with which Kenya needs to increase her already depleted indigenous forest cover.”
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09122907.htm

25) Serena Mountain lodge has stepped up its re-afforestation exercise in parts of Mount Kenya forest. The area targeted for re-afforestation project covers 917 hectares of land located in parts of Hombe and Kabaru Forests in the Mount Kenya region. More than 1.6 million tree seedlings have since been prepared to cover the vast open area. As a result of human activities, the land surrounding the lodge stands bare with much of the plantation forest that comprised mainly of exotic cypress and pine trees having been seriously logged without any replanting being done. The lodge has since developed a two-pronged tree planting strategy where both indigenous and exotic trees that grow fast are planted. A huge collection of tree seedlings germinating naturally in the forests is being done to allow for fast growth. Trees species including Kenya pencil Cedar, East Africa yellow wood, East African Olive, pine, cypress and eucalyptus are now a common feature in the forest which has also seen the tree nursery grow to one and a half acres. The project which has also created employment and engage the work of an environmental Naturalist has grown to even involve the neighbouring community, schools, scientific clubs from schools wildlife clubs and hotel guests to participate in tree planting exercises. http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=30&newsid=65009

Madagascar:

26) Madagascar is one of the world’s most special places. An island slightly larger than the state of California, Madagascar is home to a bewildering array of wildlife from dancing lemurs to absurdly colorful chameleons. Eighty percent of the island’s species are endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else on Earth. On Madagascar you can find such evolutionary oddities as the fossa, a carnivorous mammal that looks like a cross between a puma and a dog but is closely related to the mongoose; the indri, a cat-sized lemur that leaps from tree to tree with ease and sings eery, whale-like songs; the sifaka, a lemur, that swears rudely but dances like a ballet performer; and the streaked tenrec, a spiny yellow and black insectivore that resembles a miniature hedgehog and makes grinding-chirping noises when threatened. The island has baobab trees, which look like they’ve been planted upside down; the rosy periwinkle, a delicate flower used to cure pediatric leukemia and Hodgkin’s disease; and an entire desert ecosystem consisting of just spiny plants. While Madagascar’s fauna is brilliant and spectacular, it is also highly endangered. Significant forest loss has put many of the island unique species and ecosystems on the brink of extinction. Madagascar’s disappearing wild lands result not from loggers, large-scale soybean farmers, or other forms of commercial exploitation, but from the actions rural families whose very survival is dependent upon subsistence use of the natural resources that surround them. Most Malagasy never have an option to become a doctor, computer programmer, factory worker, or secretary; they must live off the land and make use of whatever they can. Their day-to-day needs cost the country and the world through the loss of the island’s remarkable biodiversity. http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0109-madagascar.html

China:

27) BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhuanet) — The forest coverage rate reached 50.5 percent in Beijing by the end of last year, 8.6 percentage points higher than that of five years ago, according to the local forest administration. Beijing planted 294,100 hectares of trees in the past five years. The per capita green land reached 46 square meters in the city proper, according to the administration. During the past five-year period, Beijing built more than 100 stretches of green land each with an area of 10,000 square meters in the past five years, bringing the total acreage of public greenland to 5,490 hectares. Song Xiyou, head of the local forest administration, said that Beijing had set a target to raise local forest coverage rate to 53 percent by 2010, and green land would cover 45 percent of the total land space in the city proper, with the per capita green land reaching 50 square meters in the urban area. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/10/content_4033943.htm

Papua New Guinea:

28) Pacific Beat/Radio Australia reports that a number of timber owner groups in Papua New Guinea’s Sandaun Province are pleading with the National Forest Authority to step in and stop a foreign logging company from operating in their forests. The group’s representatives are now in the nation’s capital Port Moresby seeking a court injunction, in a bid to prevent Malaysian-owned company Samas Limited from operating in Aitape. The landowners have accused some community leaders–including PNG Forest Minister and member for Aitape-Lumi, Patrick Pruaitch–of selling off their resources without adequate consultation. Reports suggest the company had signed a logging agreement with landowners late last year–however, the forest owners deny this. http://www.pacificislands.cc/pina/pinadefault2.php?urlpinaid=19439

India:

29) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 87,000-hectare Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR), spread along the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, will soon be left at the mercy of rapacious encroachers. The Forest Department, which had all along been battling the Revenue Department to gain sole control over the land, seems to have given up the fight. A surprising unity of purpose has evolved between the two bickering departments. The reason: If the apex court concurs with a two-line footnote buried inside the V Gopinathan Committee report, the Forest Department will have to cede its control over CHR. Here is the Gopinathan Committee’s observation: “These areas were assigned and leased out during the last hundred years for cardamom cultivation and have lost the nature of true forests. They exist as forests only in government records.” However, the observations made by the Gopinathan committee in 1998 had been contradicted by the discovery in 2002 of Mathikettan, a 1281-hectare tract of virgin evergreen forests within the CHR. According to the Forest officials, there are many more undisturbed patches within the CHR like K R Vijaya Estate and Koshykkadu. Karunakaran wants the “frivolous” findings of the Gopinathan Committee report to be deleted and the CHR land to be conserved as forest. http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20060110003009&Page=R&Title=Kerala&Topic=0

30) GUWAHATI — The ranger of the Nambor reserved forest, K Z Zaman Jinnah, was arrested for allegedly murdering journalist Prahlad Goala of Assamese daily Asomiya Khabar in Golaghat on Friday last. Goala had reported on illegal felling of trees in the forest range. Goala, the Golaghat district correspondent of the daily, was reportedly killed by unidentified assailants who waylaid him at Thuramukh, about 10 kms from Golaghat town, when he was returning home from work. Sources said that Goala, travelling on a motorbike, must have been first knocked down by a vehicle after which he was attacked with steel rods, wooden sticks and axe, as injuries on his head, legs and body showed that he was not killed in head-on collision. Another scribe, working with daily Aji, informed the police when he spotted Goala’s body on the road. With the help of other journalists of Asomiya Khabar, the police reached the spot and arrested two persons who were trying to run away from a forest camp close to the place of the incident after finding blood stains on their clothes. Meanwhile, the police arrested Jinnah on the basis of a complaint filed by Goala’s wife, who alleged that her husband received threat calls for reporting on corrupt practices prevalent in the Nambor forest range. Atanu Bhuyan, editor of Asomiya Khabar, also confirmed that Goala was receiving threat calls from the forest ranger for the past several weeks for reporting on illegal felling of trees by a criminal gang which was allegedly patronised by Jinnah. Bhuyan also pointed out that six days before Goala was killed, the ranger had threatened his father and asked him to ‘‘control’’ his son. http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=85685

31) One of the villagers, Mr Ananda Pal alleged: “In broad daylight the villagers have seen miscreants cutting trees and are transporting in front of FPC members and police. No one has taken any steps to prevent them.” The loot are witnessed mainly in Junkura and Harmasra areas near Simlapal. The forest stretch there have variety of trees like Sal, Eucalyptus and Akashmoni, which have got immense teak value. Also the women are seen carrying remains of trees. The Bankura forest divisions have distributed more than Rs 3.5 crore among the members of the FPCs this year as a reward against the sincere services rendered by the FPC members. Mr Raju Das, DFO, Bankura (North), said: “We have got about 520 FPC in our division and we have distributed Rs 1.3 crore cash reward among the members this year. We are maintaining sincere vigilance in the forest stretches and poaching is being prevented to the extreme extent.” The Bankura (South) division, however, remained silent about the Junkura poaching. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=102656

32) NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has taken a serious view of Sangh Parivar’s plans for the newly invented festival of Shabarikumbh, which they intend to hold at a place called Subir in Dangs, Gujarat. A mammoth gathering is planned for the celebration of the kumbh mela in this forest area to be held between February 11 and 13. But with the forest being cut down in the name of religion, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has sent a team of officials to assess the damage from the preparations and report back. There has been some protest against the festival, too. Tribal activists say it is an attack on their distinct cultural identity, which the RSS fraternity is trying to transform and subsume into Hinduism. The Sangh outfit believes that the kumbh will provide a boost to the Hindu movement in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. “In particular, the vanavasi Hindu will get tremendous confidence. The momentum generated by the kumbh is expected to trigger the return of thousands of Christian vanavasi converts back to the Hindu fold,” says the website set up for the kumbh. The outfit also claims that not a single tree has been cut and adds that the effort will boost tourism in the area. For the Sangh parivar, it is a part of their crusade to counter the influence of Christianity. Their explanation for the kumbh goes thus: “Conversion to Christianity is invariably associated with separatism and terrorism as is evident in North-East Bharat. There are several areas in our country which have become hotbeds of christian missionary activity. The Dang district in Gujarat is one such area.” Gavit said around 50 local farmers have given a total of 250 hectare of land for the kumbh. There will be hospital facilities at three places including intensive care facility. http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1007031

33) Kiari, Himachal Pradesh: Environmentalists in Himachal Pradesh are claiming that the rampant cutting of trees for firewood is irreversibly depleting the state’s forest cover. Despite a Supreme Court ruling, the illegal cutting of trees in the forest rich Himachal Pradesh continues unabated. Experts say if unchecked, it will create a serious ecological imbalance in the region. Nearly 90 percent population of the hilly state makes a living on farming and in the absence of any other viable alternative to firewood, is forced to cut trees. Thanks to the ever-increasing price of essential fuels like cooking gas and kerosene, nearly 70 percent of the village population uses fuel wood for cooking. Environmentalists say the villagers use at least three million tonnes of wood for their daily needs causing ecological imbalance. “There is a lot of pressure on our forests in the hilly areas that the poor villagers are putting on them. Be it for cooking, or to save them from the cold or for any other purpose, the villagers are using at least three million tonnes of wood from the forest which is definitely putting a lot of pressure on the forest,” said Thakur Dutt, an environmentalist. http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=83862

Vietnam:

34) The Secretary General of the Vietnam Timber and Forestry Products Association, Nguyen Ton Quyen, talked with Vietnam Economic Times about Viet Nam’s export of wood products: The year 2005 marks an in-crease in wood export turnover compared to 2004 figures, in spite of many difficulties in material resources. How do you explain this increase? The State allows 150,000 cu.m of wood from natural forests and 1.2 million cu.m of wood from planted forests to be exported. However, the planted wood lacks the diameter and durability of natural wood, so it can be used for pulp and artificial plank. As a result, the wood industry must import US$600 million of wood from Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa and Brazil. Because of these countries’ protective policies, we had to purchase wood at a price 20 per cent higher in 2005. Buying and selling were not easy, as both sides need to have the Forest Stewardship Council certificate. We have to import wood in small amount as we do not have sufficient storage facilities. This increases the expense of collecting wood and finding storage. We currently need about 120,000 technical workers, but have only 20,000. http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01COM110106

Solomon Islands:

35) Women opposing logging in the Solomon Islands Makira Province will stage a peaceful protest at the provincial capital on Wednesday. The women are mainly from Mwanewiriwiri village on Ward 11 of Central Makira who have been blocking access to the forest where logging operations are to take place. Women representatives from the Honiara-based Regional Rights Resource Team and Paralegal community will fly to Kirakira to join the peaceful protest. A spokesman for the womens’ groups, Betty Luvusia says they will join the Makira women to show their support for the opposition to logging operations at Mwanewiriwiri, alleging that logging agreements and regulations have been breached. But landowners who have allowed their forests to be logged have accused the Honiara-based, Solomon Island Development Trust of influencing the women to oppose logging of their forests. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/bulletins/rnzi/200601091713/c1e1f2

Philippines:

36) Environment Secretary Michael Defensor canceled at least 8,000 pending forestry agreements and contracts nationwide yesterday as part of efforts to reorganize the country’s logging industry before he turns over the department to his replacement.
In separate orders, Defensor directed the cancellation of existing and pending applications for so-called industrial forest management agreements (IFMAs), industrial tree plantation lease agreements (ITPLAs), socialized industrial forest management agreements (SIFMAs) and community-based forest management agreements (CBFMAs) in eight regions. Defensor’s order effectively canceled 3,767 existing forestry contracts. The move also affected the over 5,000 tenurial applications pending with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The total number of logging agreements that were ordered canceled covers some 2.2 million hectares of forest lands in the Ilocos, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Visayas, and CARAGA regions. The remaining regions, meanwhile, have no forestry contracts. “The tenurial agreements (of the logging companies) were canceled mainly because of non-compliance and violation of the terms and conditions of the agreements by their holders,” noted Defensor. He said the cancellations were a result of a department evaluation of forestry contracts that he had ordered last year. According to him, some of the holders had failed to submit their so-called comprehensive development and management plan for areas being logged or had failed to comply with the terms and conditions set in their approved plans. http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200601100404.htm

37) Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra yesterday called on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to appoint a new environment secretary who will have the political will to protect the country’s remaining forests and environment. Navarra issued the call amid reports that the president is set to appoint a new environment secretary to replace Michael Defensor. He said the people should have a say on the new choice for environment secretary. The bishop aired concern over continued illegal logging and the resumption of mining being allowed by the government. Navarra also lamented the fact that Arroyo has yet to act on his complaint on the dismissal by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez of an illegal logging case filed against Don Salvador Benedicto Mayor Cynthia De La Cruz and her co-accused. The public was not happy with the decision, he said. Navarra said the country must have an environment secretary who is prepared to protect the country’s remaining forest from destruction, even if those involved are people in power. Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye in a press statement yesterday, said any change in the composition of President Arroyo’s Cabinet is designed to further strengthen the fight against poverty, bolster the rule of law and the country’s competitiveness in the world. http://www.visayandailystar.com/2006/January/09/topstory1.htm

Australia:

38) The limbs of the dead forest of Barren Box Swamp, near Griffith in southern NSW, clutch endlessly at the blue sky. Dick Thompson stands on a bank overlooking the swamp and observes: “It is a disaster area at the moment, but has the potential to be a top area.” Barren Box Swamp is quite a misnomer. It is not barren, being situated in the middle of the highly productive Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. The box, or black box, trees – a eucalyptus found near watercourses – have died and it has been a water storage area, not a swamp, since 1950. Thompson, as chairman of Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited, has lobbied since 1992 to have the swamp restored to its original wetland status. “Barren Box used to be only filled (under natural conditions) every 10 to 15 years,” he says. “It has been full up, until the last two years, for over 50 years. “All the box trees died from too much water.” The swamp is the main drainage and recycling point not only for the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, but also for the stormwater run-off and treated sewage of Griffith. Water stored there is used for irrigation. Now the 3000ha swamp is being divided into three sectors: 1000ha will remain as water storage, a 500ha intermediate cell will get water on a regular basis and 1500ha of wetland will receive water under a natural watering regime. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17775983%255E30417,00.html

39) A Logger was killed yesterday when a tree he was falling fell on him. The 31-year-old was working at a forestry coupe at Paynes Rd at South Forest, near Smithton, in the state’s North-West. Police said the man died at the scene. The accident happened just after 9am. Workplace Standards is investigating the incident and the Coroner’s office was notified. The man is the third since September to have died while falling trees. A 26-year-old man was killed near Exeter when he was struck by part of a tree he was helping a friend cut down and, just before Christmas, a 34-year-old forestry worker died when he was hit by a tree branch while felling near Bridport. http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,17776336%255E3462,00.html

40) The Western Australian Government has rejected a plan by a group of environmentalists to buy the rights to the Arcadia forest, near Collie, in an effort to stop it being logged. The Forest Products Commission is planning to log the forest as part of this year’s harvest plan. However, there is concern the logging would increase salinity problems and affect the biodiversity of the area. Campaign coordinator Peter Murphy says recent costing figures have valued the proposed logging area at less than $30,000. But he says he is disappointed Environment Minister Judy Edwards has rejected the group’s offer to purchase the rights to conserve area. “Because if the community were actually able to buy the logging rights to the Arcadia forest, it meant that it would go into protection,” he said. “But now once Arcadia’s logged, it’s gone forever and a win-win situation has gone begging for Arcadia.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200601/s1545059.htm

41) PRIME Minister John Howard’s brother Stan will be prosecuted for chopping down dozens of endangered trees. Stan Howard, who owns two adjoining properties in Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands, faces a jail term or a hefty fine if found guilty of knowingly cutting down the threatened species. Mr Howard’s wife Caroline recently bought the properties for nearly $6.2 million. According to a memo obtained by The Daily Telegraph, Mr Howard approved the trees be cut down because his caretaker, Rohan Corby, was worried the trees posed a risk to his children. In November, acting on a tip-off, a Wingecarribee Shire Council ranger visited Mr Corby’s home on the Howard property. The ranger had been tipped off by a neighbour, who was annoyed to see dozens of trees being lopped when she had waited a year to be granted approval to have 13 trees chopped down. When he met Mr Howard and Mr Corby, the ranger asked to look at the lopped trees and discovered between 60 and 70 trees had been chopped down. The trees, classed as Southern Highlands shale woodland and Robertson Basalt tall open forest vegetation, are protected under NSW laws as endangered species. Mr Corby told the ranger he arranged for the trees to be removed by a private contractor, to lessen the fire hazard risk to his house, the risk of snakes to his children and to help control the rabbit problem, the memo stated. Mr Howard, who told the ranger he had nothing to do with the clearing process other than approving the work to be carried out, said the contractor indicated the tree removal was legal. The council voted unanimously just before Christmas to prosecute Mr Howard. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17788349-2,00.html

World-Wide:

42) Forests were amongst the most controversial issues considered at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro where more than 100 countries agreed on a more sustainable development of their countries, which under Chapter 11 of the Agenda 21 (Combating Deforestation), includes sustainable forest management. Most Pacific Islands states are signatories to this agreement. Following this, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) as a mechanism to enhance global dialogue, policy, and action on forests, which was then succeeded by the UN Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF). http://www.pacificislands.cc/pina/pinadefault2.php?urlpinaid=19476