This Week we have 33 stories from: Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Philadelphia, North Carolina, Canada, Ireland, Finland, Nigeria, India, Burma, Philippines, Indonesia and Australia.
Alaska:
1) Even as Ketchikan has seen changes in its economy in the past, we will continue to see them. As the fishing industry declined, it opened the way for the timber industry. Then in 1997, Ketchikan was doomed to lose another industry, the timber industry, only to be replaced by the Tourism industry. I expect that in time, we will develop other economies. Who knows what they will be. But as with all changes, people balk at them. I’m sure fishermen didn’t want to see the changes that diminished their industry. Likewise, it was painful to lose the Pulp Mill and all it offered Ketchikan. There are many who’d like to see us go back to those days. Tourism is a bird of a different color. Some of its benefits to the community are obscure but everybody can see the jaywalkers and gawkers. Downtown has changed for many reasons. I believe it would be starkly vacant without the plethora of tourist shops. The main economy of local Ketchikan has moved to the west end and it probably would have happened with or without the tourists. So, I wonder if people complained about construction of the Pulp Mill. Did they complain about the construction of the numerous housing projects it engendered? I suspect there have always been complainers. Now we complain about tourists and cruise ships. But these very things are keeping our taxes down and paying for other things indirectly such as non-profit organizations and schools who receive grants from the city and borough. We may not see the benefit directly as we saw with past industry, but it’s there. That doesn’t mean we have to roll over and move out of the way for tourism unencumbered. http://www.sitnews.us/0206Viewpoints/022206_anita_hales.html
2) The kids on Gastineau Avenue called the little cat “Raven” because he was black and perched in a tree. He’d been there four days since a neighbor, looking out her kitchen window, had first spotted him. In early December’s stiff winds and bitter cold, he sat in the old alder tree, far out on a branch and silhouetted against the winter sky. Climbing trees is instinctive; kittens start doing it when they are just a few weeks old. It’s one of a cat’s primary means of escape. But climbing down does not come naturally. It’s a skill they have to learn, Raven obviously hadn’t learned it yet. It took repeated attempts, a 30-foot extension ladder, and someone willing to climb it to get Raven down. The top rung reached just to the base of Raven’s branch, which soared up another 10 feet. When the man appeared at the top of the ladder, calling, the cat ventured near enough to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck. It’s a familiar story, and one that usually has a happy ending. Most cats who get stuck up in trees survive. Like Raven, almost all are youngsters who shoot up a tree to get away from something that’s frightened them. Cats start the climb with a leap, dig in with their claws, and use their strong haunches to power upward. Climbing down is much harder. Because of its downward-curving claws, the cat can’t go headfirst. He has to back down, hanging from his less powerful front legs, lifting one at a time to dislodge the downward-curving claws. So how do you get a cat out of a tree? First, give him some time to get over the scare that put him there and to screw up his courage to try coming down. A cat in good shape who has had some climbing experience usually can make it on his own. The cat is most likely to come down at night. Just before bedtime, go to the base of the tree, call the cat and make a show of leaving tempting food there. Then go directly inside. Don’t call the cat from inside the house; that will confuse him. You want to draw him directly down to the base of the tree. Most cats will descend on their own in a day or three. After that, it’s time to borrow a ladder. Lean it solidly against the tree with the top rung as close as possible to the cat. It’s a lot easier for him to come down a ladder than the tree trunk. Wood or fiberglass ladders give better purchase, as do ladders with flat steps instead of rungs. If you decide it’s time to climb, put on a heavy jacket and gloves. A frightened cat will grab onto you like a drowning man with four sets of grapples. Don’t try to carry the cat down. You can end up shredded or flat on your back on the ground if he suddenly starts struggling. http://juneauempire.com/smart_search/
British Columbia:
3) COQUITLAM – Susan Harper watched helplessly Tuesday as chainsaws ripped into the trees on her neighbour’s property on Seaforth Crescent in Coquitlam. The trees on her property will soon be coming down, too, and there appears to be nothing she can do about it. “We have western red cedars and a sequoia, our neighbour has a dogwood and he also has an arbutus tree, my other neighbours have willow trees and cherry trees,” she said. “Every one of them is going to be gone.” The trees are being removed on orders of Kinder Morgan Canada, the company which recently purchased Terasen Gas, including the Trans Mountain Pipe Line. The trees are growing on the right-of-way for the pipeline that carries crude oil and refined products from Edmonton to marketing terminals and refineries in the Greater Vancouver area and Puget Sound in Washington state. The line was built in the 1950s, and although Harper and her husband were aware of the 18-metre right-of-way when they bought their home in 1997, they were shocked to receive a letter earlier this month from Kinder Morgan Canada, informing them the trees would go as part of a cleanup program. “I’m in agreement they need to have access to the pipeline,” she said. “My concern is I don’t believe every single tree has to go for that to happen.” http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=bce9819b-f6e1-4ec0-90fb-8bc3babe321a&k=
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4) VANCOUVER — A court action aimed at reversing a decision by the B.C. government to ease regulations on the use of more than 70,000 hectares of private land near Port Alberni came to a sudden halt yesterday. A lawyer for the Tseshaht First Nation announced in court that the band had agreed to enter into discussions with the province and Island Timberlands LP, to try to resolve a dispute over use of the land. “We will begin the process of consultation immediately,” Tseshaht lawyer Karim Ramji said. “If the parties feel that not enough progress has been made, they can come back to court.” “When you come to court, you may not get the satisfaction you want,” warned Judge Gerow, who appeared visibly impatient during the first day of submissions on Monday. At one point, she told Mr. Ramji to point out the “relevant passages” in a book filed with the court that detailed the history of the Tseshaht in the area of the private lands. “I am not going to read the whole book,” the judge said. The disputed land area, which is in the centre of Vancouver Island, has been private since 1887, when the federal government transferred ownership to the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Co. The land was acquired in May of 2005 by Island Timberlands, a new company owned by Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and two major Canadian pension funds. The Tseshaht and the Hucapaseth First Nation are among the native bands with claims over parts of the private lands. Documents filed by Island Timberlands as part of a bond offering last year suggest that the company intends to increase the “rate of cut” on the private lands by 500 per cent, the Tseshaht said. Tseshaht Chief Les Sam said that despite the delay in the court hearing, he believes the band has a strong case to show a “significant level of infringement” of its rights. He also suggested that a helicopter ride over the land is the best way to see what is actually taking place. If the Tseshaht and the province are not able to make progress in their discussions, the court proceeding is scheduled to resume on June 5. Judge Gerow suggested yesterday that all sides should try to streamline the case and that there was no need to include historical-themed books as part of the court record. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060222.BCLOGGING22/TPStory/National
Washington:
5) Puget Sound Energy and the Cascade Land Conservancy announced a tentative deal Friday that could lead to the protection of 3,000 acres along the White River east of Enumclaw in King and Pierce counties. If completed, the transaction would be one of the largest for the Cascade Land Conservancy, which agreed to pay market value for the property. An appraisal is expected to take several months. The final price could be more than $10 million. Cascade Land Conservancy, a nonprofit that has been purchasing and acquiring natural spaces since 1989, would seek partners to purchase the land, including local governments, tribes and possibly developers, said spokesman Ryan Dicks. “We’re open to working with all kinds of different partners,” he said. The land was acquired about a century ago to be part of Puget Sound Energy’s White River Hydroelectric Project. The acreage is now considered surplus. Elk, deer, bears, cougars, bald eagles, great blue herons, wood ducks and other wildlife frequent the property’s forests, wetlands, canyons and meadows. “The property holds significant ecological value, whether as lowland habitat for fish and wildlife or simply as a place for people to enjoy nature,” said Phil Bussey, Puget Sound Energy’s senior vice president of corporate affairs. http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=conservancy18m&date=200
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6) For sale: One beautiful canyon with a river running through it. Good for kayaking and gold panning. Ringed by old-growth timber and home to five species of fish, including endangered chinook salmon. No set price – make an offer. President Bush proposes that the U.S. Forest Service sell eight miles of the upper Sultan River to generate money for schools and roads in counties with Forest Service land. Bush wants to sell 300,000 acres of public land around the country to generate more than $1 billion. The 1,360-acre Sultan River gorge is too isolated and rugged to be developed, but it could be logged. The parcel is next door to the reservoir that is the source of most of Snohomish County’s drinking water, and just around the bend from Snohomish County PUD’s Jackson Hydroelectric Project. Federal officials said they don’t know how much the land is worth, but the Forest Service in 2000 tried to sell the 1,360-acre parcel to the city of Everett for $15.5 million. At the time, the Forest Service said the land was worth $500,000 and the timber on it was worth $15 million. Everett wants the land, but is not willing to pay $15 million for timber that can only be logged with a helicopter, said Tom Thetford, Everett’s utilities director. “It would be very difficult, at best, to do anything with it,” he said. Still, if the land has to be sold, the city would like to get it because it is so near the system of dams, tunnels, pumps and reservoirs that supplies 80 percent of Snohomish County’s drinking water and generates up to 8 percent of the PUD’s electricity. The PUD is studying Bush’s proposal, said Neil Neroutsos, a PUD spokesman. The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest has been trying to sell the land in the gorge for more than a decade, said Barbara Busse, a district ranger at the Skykomish Ranger Station. “This is an isolated piece of national forest surrounded by other ownership,” Busse said, adding that it is more than five miles from the main forest. The Sultan River gorge was once known as one of the best sections of river for whitewater kayaking in the Western Washington. The river ran hard most of the year, and the rapids were world-class. That was before Everett and the PUD put up Culmback Dam in 1965. Now, flows through the gorge are strictly controlled and are rarely high enough to bother running, said Chris Jonason, owner of Wave Trek, a kayak and rafting outfitter in Index. “In the last 10 years, it’s only been run six or seven times,” she said. That happens when Spada Lake gets so full the city and PUD must release extra water through the gorge. http://heraldnet.com/stories/06/02/21/100loc_a1land001.cfm
Oregon:
7) More than 20,000 acres on the Goosenest Ranger District and 1,736 acres on the Fremont-Winema National Forests are part of a U.S. Forest Service land sale proposed under President Bush’s 2007 budget. No land on the Modoc National Forest, based in Alturas, is included. The proposed sales are part of the Bush administration’s plan to sell more than 300,000 acres of national forest land to help pay for rural schools and roads in 32 states. About 33,000 acres on the Klamath National Forest have been selected for the sale, which still needs congressional approval. Of that amount, more than 20,000 acres are on the Goosenest, which has an office in Macdoel and land throughout the Butte Valley region. “Several are parcels that do not have any road access,” said Laura Allen, Goosenest district ranger. Others, she said, are in checkerboard patterns that are difficult to manage. The Herd Peak Lookout off Highway 97 is included in the Goosenest parcels. Virtually all land surrounding the lookout is private. Other chunks also are interspersed with private land off Highway A-12. All are west of Highway 97, except for one small section near the Butte Valley National Grasslands. The acreage on the Fremont-Winema includes 24 parcels that range in size from three acres to just under 197 acres. Sixteen parcels are within the Lakeview District, where the proposed sale would include 1,316 acres. Five parcels totaling 240 acres are included on the Silver Lake District, one parcel of 120 acres is on the Klamath District, and two parcels totaling 60 acres on the Bly District are included. No one was available Thursday at Forest Service offices in Klamath Falls or Lakeview to specify the location of the parcels. In Oregon, 10,581 acres of Forest Service land have been targeted for sale, if the president’s proposed budget survives congressional debate. http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2006/02/17/news/local_news/local1.txt
8) An unusual tract of land halfway between Coos Bay and Bandon – featuring a half-mile of spectacular ocean frontage; miles of logging roads suitable for equestrian, all-terrain vehicle and hiking use; and more than 1,700 acres of commercial forest – has been put on the auction block by the Rosboro Lumber Company. The nearly 2,500-acre Seven Devils property lies just south of the Shore Acres and Cape Arago state parks, about 15 minutes north of the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. The reserve price for the entire property has been set at $6.975 million.”There’s a national base of potential buyers for a piece of land like this.” While it’s not unusual for timber companies to sell off large tracts of timber – Rosboro has decided to divest itself of the Seven Devils tract in favor of acquiring land closer to its other holdings throughout the state, he said – this particular sale stands out because of its views of the ocean and its proximity to cities and recreational facilities. The northernmost parcel of the Seven Devils auction – South Cove – includes more than 253 acres south of Cape Arago State Park. It rises up to 400 feet above Seven Devils Beach, with ridgetop areas reached by logging roads that weave through the area. In addition to the views that make it desirable for seasonal recreation and camping, the tract has 70 acres of spruce and hardwood trees in its southeast portion; much of the remainder has been replanted to Douglas fir within the past 10 years, for a total projected yield of 1.45 million board feet. The reserve price for the South Cove tract has been set at $695,000, which could be rescinded if bids for the total property do not equal the overall reserve price. The midsection of the Seven Devils tract, 5 Mile Creek, includes a little more than 569 acres and contains about 3.1 million board feet of Douglas fir and cedar trees; about 70 percent of the growth falls into the six. The largest piece of the Rosboro sale – about 1,635 acres – makes up most of the “tree farm,” with 12.4 million board feet, mostly on the western half of the gently rolling hills. http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/02/21/f1.bz.develop.0221.p2.php?section=business
9) Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Brian Baird (D-WA) are ignoring science and ecological facts to push a new logging bill in the House of Representatives. The ironically-named Forest Emergency Recovery and Research Act would push logging after natural disturbances, undercut public oversight, water-down environmental safeguards and promote artificial planting that is unnecessary, and costly to taxpayers. The bill includes no protections for old-growth reserves, roadless forests or other sensitive areas. Making matters worse, it is a financial boondoggle that would subsidize industrial logging on public land with taxpayer dollars. Senator Gordon Smith is pushing a similar bill in the Senate. Both bills have lost support in the wake of the OSU College of Foresty/BLM censorship debacle. To learn more, visit:
http://www.siskiyou.org/ecodefense/postfire_leg.cfm
10) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs your comments to help them write the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Elliott State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan. The 93,200 acre Elliott State Forest, near Reedsport, contains native forests over 140 years old, a haven for murrelets who need mature forests near the Pacific Ocean to raise their young. Old forests are rare on the central Oregon coast. Currently, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) must look for signs of nesting murrelets before they log. If found, they have to log elsewhere. That could change. The ODF wants to increase logging and stop protecting all nesting marbled murrelets. The ODF has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for permission to clearcut up to 1,000 acres of the best murrelet habitat in the Elliott, per decade, even if murrelets nest there. The ODF even wants to clearcut known murrelet nest sites found since 2004. Please write to the USFWS to be a voice for the marbled murrelet. Choose something below to write about. 1) The proposal to clearcut murrelet habitat will nearly double logging on the Elliott over 10 years, from 23 to 40 mmbf a year. There is no reason for this. The Elliott has been managed legally for the past 10 years while protecting the marbled murrelet. 2) Scientists say “In Oregon, only 2000-4000 birds remain, mostly in the central coast region.” That includes the Elliott. This is too important and rare a habitat to increase logging these big trees. 3) Murrelet populations in Washington, Oregon, and California are declining rapidly and will be extinct within the next 50-100 years if the present conditions continue. 4) Half of the Elliott has already been clearcut. The other half should be reserved for recreation, wildlife, and as a source of clean water for fish and people. Write to: Kemper M. McMaster, Oregon State Supervisor U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2600 S.E. 98th Avenue, Suite 100 Portland, OR 97266-1398 kemper_mcmaster@fws.gov
11) In the fall of 2005, the six BLM Districts in Western Oregon began revising the plans that guide management of 2.5 million acres of mostly forested land. The BLM took information gathered from the public and from internal sources to create a new document, available for comment, which lays out the planning direction and goals for the revision process. The “Planning Criteria & State Director Guidance” document lists four management alternatives that the BLM proposes to use as the basis for an environmental impact statement being prepared this year. The planning criteria is troubling on several fronts. First, the BLM has interpreted the 1937 O&C Act to mean timber is the dominant use of these lands in Western Oregon, despite language in the Act and court rulings to the contrary. It also proposes alternatives for the plan that wouuld undermine the Northwest Forest Plan, the scientifically-sound plan adopted more than 10 years ago to preserve old-growth habitat and streamside reserves. The BLM has proposed to eliminate protection for old-growth forests and to conduct logging near and through streams. Please take the time to comment on the BLM’s “Planning Criteria & State Director Guidance.” Some points to consider in your comments: 1) The Northwest Forest Plan is an integrated plan that includes both BLM and National Forest lands. Talking the BLM out of the Northwest Forest Plan would be like pulling a thread that would unravel the whole plan. Consider an alternative that strengthens the Forest Plan’s protections and reserve system instead of dismantling it. 2) Public and scientific agency input is vital to planning at the project level. Do not reduce or eliminate analysis and input required by NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and other important environmental laws. 3) Old-growth and clearcut/regeneration logging is highly controversial and damaging. Continued use of this type of logging will result in delays and protests. Consider an alternative that eliminates old-growth logging and regeneration harvests and instead produces timber through restoration thinning of already-managed forests. Send Comments to: BLM, Attn: Western Oregon Planning Revision [OR-930.1] PO Box 2965 Portland, OR 97208 orwopr@or.blm.gov
12) Even on sunny winter days, old-growth fir and cedar drip rainwater on this nature preserve in the center of the gorge. Diack grew up on this land as the son and nephew of the couples who protected the gorge for 30 years. . It was the wilderness of the gorge that struck Diack’s father, Dr. Sam Diack, and uncle, Dr. Arch Diack, when they first saw it in the 1930s. One of the young physicians, Sam, would have a founding role in the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, earning him the nickname “father of OMSI.” The other, Arch, would change the Sandy River’s fate through his environmental leadership. He would also change medicine by inventing the automatic defibrillator. In 1941, the brothers bought 288 acres in the gorge for $4,000 and built tiny riverside cabins for their growing families. For decades, the families worked the farm that Sam Jr. now owns. But they left the rugged gorge alone. By the 1960s, the pressures of the growing metropolitan area caused Multnomah County to consider zoning the land along the Sandy for urban growth. One day, Arch’s wife, Fran Diack, now 97, read about a little-known nonprofit called The Nature Conservancy. The family’s donation, Fran Diack remembers, shocked friends who asked incredulously, “You’re just going to give it away?” Conservationists heralded it as a seed that might hold back the bulldozers of development. In 1970, the family gave 156 acres — more than half of its land in the gorge — to The Nature Conservancy. It was one of the national nonprofit’s first holdings in the Northwest. Since then, the Diack donation has become part of nearly a half-million acres the conservancy preserves in Oregon alone. The family inspired a lasting movement to protect the Sandy River’s wilderness. Government and nonprofit agencies have since protected 7,000 acres in the Sandy’s watershed. Even the planned breaching of Portland General Electric’s Marmot and Little Sandy River dams in a few years may have ties to the environmental efforts set in motion by the Diacks. Every day Diack wanders the preserve, where he clears wind-felled trees from the narrow road. He checks the Sandy’s water flows online, then walks the ever-changing beach. “It was the family’s cathedral,” Diack says of the gorge. Diack wonders what will happen to the riverbanks when the Marmot Dam is breached in 2008 and the sediment built up behind it is released. He worries for the fragile salmon and steelhead spawning beds that are keeping alive a remnant of the fish runs he remembers as a boy. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_south_news/114024590517960.xml&coll=7&thispa
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California:
13) EUREKA — The New Year’s Eve winds that felled dozens of trees in Sequoia Park may be something of a windfall for the city. The city is getting ready to take bids to salvage about 75 redwood and grand fir trees that were knocked to the ground by the west wind that ripped up Martin Slough that day. Those trees — after cleanup, restoration and other costs — could bring in $25,000 to $30,000 to the city general fund. It would be the city’s first timber sale in recent memory. ”This is the first time we’ve had this kind of volume,” said Tom Coyle, park maintenance chief. About 2 acres of the popular 67-acre park were savaged by the storm, mostly between the zoo and the duck pond and along the park’s main road. Early estimates found there are 90 mbf — thousand board feet — of grand fir and 50 mbf of second-growth redwood that fell. Coyle hopes to get $250 per thousand board feet for the fir, barely enough to cover the cost of removal, but possibly $1,000 per thousand board feet for the more valuable redwood. In most areas some logs, limbs and needles will be left to provide nutrients to the soil and habitat for wildlife. Along the main road, though, the wind storm sped up a process envisioned in the park’s 1993 master plan. That called for encouraging an open, meadow-like area in a spot dominated by short-lived grand fir. ”Mother Nature kind of did it for us,” Coyle said. http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_3526322
Montana:
14) HELENA – Montana’s top five elected officials on Tuesday narrowly turned down a state lands exchange that has inflamed passions from Hamilton to Lincoln for weeks. Gov. Brian Schweitzer cast the final, deciding vote against exchanging 800 acres of state lands near Sula for 1,458 privately owned acres near Lincoln. Bitterroot Valley landowner J.R. Miller Ranches, which would have obtained the 800 acres as part of the deal, also had agreed to kick in $320,000 as a donation. The exchange was part of a broader deal between Plum Creek Timber Co., which is divesting some of its wooded lands, and the Blackfoot Challenge, a group of private landowners along the Blackfoot River. The Millers bought the Lincoln-area parcel in order to trade it for the 800-acre Bitterroot piece adjoining its ranch. All such land exchanges must be approved by the state Land Board, the five-person panel made up of the state’s top elected officials: Schweitzer, State Auditor John Morrison, Secretary of State Brad Johnson, Attorney General Mike McGrath and Superintendent of Public Schools Linda McCulloch. Morrison and Johnson sided with Schweitzer in quashing the swap, on a 3-2 vote. Schweitzer said he decided to vote against the measure, however, because an accompanying land deal to expand public access in the Bitterroot Valley is far from guaranteed. He also said he opposed it because the issue caused so much heartache in the Bitterroot Valley. State Land Commissioner Mary Sexton said the vote signals the end of the line for the swap. Schweitzer also took a swipe at Ravalli County residents faulting the Blackfoot Challenge for harnessing state and federal resources in planning for the future of their valley. The Bitterroot Valley, which is studded with unplanned subdivision development, could use a little planning, he said. “That’s called deciding your destiny in advance so you’re not reactive,” Schweitzer said. “Plan your community in a way where your children and grandchildren will be proud of what you’ve done.” Sexton said the department, which supported the swap, wasn’t disappointed with the outcome. “It’s been a healthy debate and it certainly shows the interests Montanans have in their public lands,” she said. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/02/22/news/local/news03.txt
15) U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., says a proposal to sell federal lands to pay for reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Act is “dead in the water.” The Bush administration’s fiscal year 2007 budget request to Congress calls for selling upward of 300,000 acres of federal land to help offset the cost of reauthorizing the legislation that helps stabilize county and school budgets in areas with large tracts of federal land. The Forest Service has identified about 14,000 acres of “isolated tracts” in Montana that could be sold as part of the proposal. Burns co-sponsored the original Secure Rural Schools Act legislation in 2000 and remains a “strong supporter.” Last week, the senator’s staff met with representatives of the Montana Wilderness Association, National Wildlife Federation and county governments. Following the meeting, Burns said he was no longer interested in including the Bush administration’s proposal in “my Interior bill.” Burns chairs the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. “We’ll find a way to get this done without shortchanging Montanans’ access to public lands,” said Burns. “Montanans are a common-sense bunch, and I appreciate the help of everyone who sat down with my staff and me this week and shared their thoughts.” http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/02/21/news/top/news01.txt
Colorado:
16) GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Forest Service officials on Thursday departed from their usual caution when dealing with controversial issues and said environmentalists delayed a salvage project that could have prevented the spread of a spruce beetle epidemic. The project to clear thousands of trees toppled by a wind storm on 3,000 acres southwest of Glenwood Springs was approved in 2001. It was approved partly to remove dead trees that provide fertile ground for beetles and their eggs. Environmentalist opposed the project and after years of haggling, agreed on a salvage project that was launched this week.“The original treatments were proposed when the beetles were still contained to the blowdown trees,” the Forest Service said. “The settlement was made after the beetles had moved out of the blowdown and were killing healthy spruce.” Sloan Shoemaker, executive director of Wilderness Workshop, heatedly disputed the Forest Service’s news release, which he characterized as, “If those damn environmentalists hadn’t slowed us down we could have done something about this.” Thinnes said the spruce beetles’ work shouldn’t be confused with that of the mountain pine beetle, which attacks lodgepole pine and turns trees a rust color. The Vail area and Summit County have been hit hard by the mountain pine beetle. Environmentalists question why the agency wanted to interfere in a natural process. Spruce beetle outbreaks have occurred since there were spruce trees, Shoemaker reasoned. “This is what happens,” he said. “This is how forests regenerate themselves. They probably shouldn’t be doing anything, because it’s how healthy forests behave.” http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20060220/NEWS/60220018/0/FRONTPAGE
New Mexico:
17) A total of 306,628 acres of National Forest are up for sale under the current Bush proposal, including more than 7,400 acres in New Mexico. That’s more than 10 square miles of forest. Four of the parcels up for sale in the Cibola National Forest are 640 acres each – a square mile of forest which provides important water supplies and wildlife habitat. The complete list of places to be sold is available at: http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/spd.html Particularly hard hit would be the Zuni Mountains in the Cibola National Forest where roadless lands are threatened. The town of Grants receives its drinking water supplies from the roadless lands of the Zuni, and there is no reason to believe that once in private hands these lands will be managed for watershed protection. The forests of New Mexico are the source of valuable water for drinking and agriculture. We can’t afford to compromise this life-giving resource that is essentially provided free of cost. Whether large or small, these lands are all a part of America’s natural heritage. They should be preserved as a legacy for our children and grandchildren. Once these public lands are in the hands of developers and logging companies, they will be gone forever. Americans will never again have the chance to hunt, fish, camp or hike in these places. By trying to sell off public lands to developers, the Bush administration is turning its back on the legacy of Teddy Roosevelt, a fellow Republican. If Roosevelt were alive today, he’d give whoever thought of this a swift kick in the pants. http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/op_commentaries/article/0,2565,ALBQ_19866_4487299,00.html
Texas:
18) From Black Walnut to Green Ash to Laurel Oak, more than a dozen different types of trees were available at Wednesday’s annual seedling giveaway in Lufkin, but Pecan always seems to be the most popular. The City of Lufkin, Angelina Beautiful/Clean, and the Texas Forest Service partner each year to promote Arbor Day. Many people were looking forward to this year’s event because so many trees were lost during Hurricane Rita. Almost 2,000 trees were available, along with a pamphlet on how to take care of them. http://www.ktre.com/Global/story.asp?S=4538484&nav=2FH5
Pennsylvania:
19) HARRISBURG, PA— Home to the state’s most rugged and wild lands, Pennsylvania’s North Central Highlands is the most contiguously forested region between New York City and Chicago. The Conservancy’s West Branch Wilderness preserve near Williamsport consists of deep forested ravines, beautiful mountain views, and two excellent native trout streams. Longtime Nature Conservancy member and supporter Don Hamer recently donated $2.5 million to protect lands, waters, and natural areas in Pennsylvania and around the world. The gift will provide funding for the creation of the chapter’s Donald Hamer Pennsylvania Forest Conservation and Restoration Fund, help protect habitat at West Branch Wilderness in Pennsylvania’s North Central Highlands, and support the Conservancy’s international World Parks program. Vistas on the property afford an unspoiled view that stretches for approximately 50 miles across mountains to the northwest and southeast. Located beside Hyner View State Park, a popular hang gliding area, this wilderness is a recreational paradise. Partnering with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the North Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy is using forest restoration and land acquisition to protect these lands for future generations to enjoy. Most of the forests in the region have been cut over and replanted several times. They have been further weakened by disease and invasive species, resulting in forests that are severely fragmented and degraded. The Conservancy is working to restore the health of these forests and their historic composition. This includes planting hybrid American chestnut trees, which are resistant to the blight, an invasive pathogen from Asia, which reduced this species to a fraction of its historic range. The American chestnut once covered millions of acres on the East Coast. In addition to protecting the forests of Pennsylvania, this gift will be used to support The Nature Conservancy’s World Parks program. In 2004, governments of 188 nations around the world agreed to an ambitious pledge: to create a global network of parks and protected areas by 2012. As a result, the Nature Conservancy launched the World Parks & Protected Areas Fund to support these governments and communities in creating strong, sustainable regional and national park systems connected across the world. http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/pennsylvania/press/press2276.html
North Carolina:
20) BRYSON CITY, N.C. — World War II was in its parlous middle years when the federal government took about 100,000 acres from Swain County, N.C., to build a dam and generate more electricity. In return, it promised the county a new road. Now the National Park Service, which inherited half the land and all the local bitterness, must decide whether to keep that promise. Environmentalists are bent on protecting the area where the road would go, the quietest corner of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Descendants of the displaced families say that only a road will right old wrongs. The park service once opposed the construction but is now taking a neutral stance. Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, said in a Feb. 10 letter to Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton that the road would cost “three times the annual roads budget for the entire National Park Service.” He added that the road “would be a waste of money, unnecessary and an environmental disaster.” http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/national/21parkroad.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Canada:
21) All of Canada’s pulp, paper or packaging companies reported significant losses in the fourth quarter of 2005. Some experts would say that the situation warrants being called a crisis. The Canadian dollar, which has risen from 65 cents to 85 cents against the US dollar over the past couple of years, has put major stress on already existing weaknesses in the export-driven sector. Since 2003, almost 5 million tons of production capacity has been shut down by pulp, paper and paperboard producers and 7300 jobs have been lost across Canada. These figures apply to primary mills and don’t include cuts at secondary plants, job losses in the woodlands and sawmills. The soaring Canadian dollar, rising energy, and high fiber costs have taken flight and have collectively increased operating costs to the point of crises mode. In Atlantic Canada, stumpage fees which are negotiated in five- to 25-year deals, are the highest in the world rivaled only by Japan. Although New Brunswick remains a successful forest product exporter, we are faced with the real threat of Latin America and South America with its huge, fast growing, eucalyptus plantations becoming the low cost producers on the planet. This will exasperate an already precarious situation. Our governments will have a huge role to play in our forestry and fishing sectors as they relate to taxation, and provincial rules. Both need to change. All producers need to be able to grow and prosper to compete internationally, but can only do so if their costs are in line. http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060221/TPMONEY04/602210336/-1/MONEY
22) OTTAWA – “Short-sighted management and overcutting in the five major forestry provinces,” says a scathing report by the Sierra Legal Defence Fund. The group studied conservation laws in the provinces with the highest levels of commercial forestry – New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia – and found little to cheer. “The analysis found that forest conservation laws and policies in all five provincial jurisdictions is pathetic,” says the report, which gives Quebec the highest mark at 43 per cent, and Alberta the lowest at 24 per cent. The marks are based on 21 criteria relating to land-use planning, parks and protected areas, endangered species, use of pesticides and respect for aboriginal rights. Scientist Elaine MacDonald, author of the report, said forests are worth more intact than as sources of wood fibre. “There are not a lot of opportunities left in the world to preserve intact forests, and the boreal forest in Canada is one of those opportunities and it’s being squandered.” Alberta scores poorly because its parks are open to industrial activity, and the province has no stand-alone endangered species law. The federal government got a passing mark of 54 per cent because its endangered species legislation is stronger than that of any province, she said. But only a small portion of Canada’s forests are under federal jurisdiction.
Ireland:
23) Waterford– Last year the value of some of the county’s best specimen trees was underlined by the publication of The Champion Trees of Ireland: A Selection of Ireland’s Great Trees; published by the Tree Council of Ireland. It list thirty seven of County Waterford’s finest trees. But it does not claim to list all of the important trees in the county. The trees in Lismore Castle’s Yew Walk are among the many that would take literally centuries to replace by replanting. In general, trees are protected in Ireland under the Forestry Act of 1946 which means that anyone who wants to cut down a tree needs a Felling Licence from the Forest Service. There are exemptions for trees that are within 100 feet of a building and there are certain other detailed exemptions in urban areas and for trees that are certified to be dangerous. Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) are made by local authorities and are a Reserved Function, which means that they must be enacted by vote of the elected Members of the Council. Most TPOs in Ireland have been made when the Forest Service asks a local authority for its view on the issue of a felling licence. If the authority wants the trees to be preserved on amenity grounds, it has the option either to acquire the tree(s), or to make a TPO under the Planning Act of 2000. So far seventeen TPOs have been made in Co. Waterford and they are listed in the new County Development Plan. Anyone considering actions that might endanger trees covered by a TPO would have to apply for Planning Permission to do so. http://www.waterford-today.ie/index.php?id=17544&what=2&issue=290
Finland:
24) HELSINKI, 21 February, 2006 — According to special researcher Lauri Hetemäki of the Finnish Forest Research Institute, consumption of newsprint and office paper is decreasing in the Western countries. He expects also demand for magazine paper to decrease in the long run as the electronic media becomes more common. The forest industry views Hetemäki’s statements critically. Finnish KCL, a research company owned by the Finnish pulp, paper and board industries, believes the demand for paperboard will grow. According to KCL’s President Jukka Kilpeläinen, the Finnish forest industry uses a lot of money on research and product development. According to Finnish UPM’s technology manager, demand for bulk products will continue to grow on developing markets, and new, smart products have to be created for the mature markets. According to M-real’s research manager, paper is still a cost-effective and good information platform, but electronic paper will a fact in the future. http://e.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=48122
Nigeria:
25) With the company’s core value – Reverence for Life – on their minds, four team members from Endangered Species Chocolate (ESC) arrived in Nigeria on Feb. 3, 2006, to document ethically traded farming practices in the villages where ESC sources the cacao that makes the nation’s leading brand of all-natural chocolate. ESC representatives visited the villages of Etung L.G.A. and Bendeghe Ekiem in the Ikom region of Nigeria, which is located about 30 miles west of the Cameroon border. Taking more than 600 pictures and logging hours of video footage, the team followed the journey of its cocoa beans from the cacao trees on which they grow to the ocean vessels that transport them to the chocolate production facilities in Europe. Each step of the way, ESC representatives were able to confirm firsthand that the chocolate used in Endangered Species Chocolate products is ethically traded. The crops are harvested by adult workers who are paid a fair wage, and the money spent by ESC for the crop is used by the owner/farmer and benefits the village near the farm. ESC’s Nigerian mission confirmed that the farmers who produce the cacao used in the company’s nearly 30 products are making a fair wage and working under humane working conditions. “The ethical trade of our cacao is something we know is happening,” said Wayne Zink, CEO of ESC. “We have seen the farms and met the farmers. Ethical trade is their way of life, their way of doing business, just as it is with ESC. That, to me, is the most important thing.” “The farmers in Etung L.G.A. and Bendeghe Ekiem are in total control of their economic destiny,” Zink said. “These farmers have free will to sell their cacao to whom they want, when they want, depending on world market prices. Neither the government nor any third party sets prices. The farmers’ villages are flourishing and their economic well being is very clear to us.” In what clearly became the most emotional aspect of the journey, the ESC team was able to help provide clean drinking water for the two farming villages. According to Zink, children were often ill and missed school because of countless intestinal disorders as a result of drinking contaminated river water. Two large UNICEF filter pumps now provide potable water to the children and adults of Etung L.G.A. and Bendeghe Ekiem. “The dedication ceremonies for the water pumps were awe-inspiring and emotional,” Zink said. “After we unveiled the pumps, we pumped the water and drank it together. The water was delicious – cold, clear and clean.” While safe drinking water was needed desperately, schoolchildren were still learning in harsh environments. ESC provided the first curricular textbooks to the village’s “comprehensive secondary schools.” The company also donated desks and chairs so the children no longer had to sit on dirt floors. http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=16906
India:
26) JEYPORE: Environmentalists in tribal areas are concerned about the rampant chopping of trees in the Naxal-infested Narayanpatana range under Koraput forest division. What, however, has surprised them is that the smugglers have been cutting the precious trees from reserve forest in broad daylight. According to sources, in the past few months, trees in about 1,000 hectares of land in the reserve forest areas have been chopped off allegedly by the timber mafia and transported outside. But the Forest department is yet to inquire into the matter. If local tribals are to be believed, the timber mafia is active in Naryanpatana, Bandhugam Bargi, Bijapur, Langalveda and Chintaput forest areas. The modus operandi is same in all the areas. To begin with, the smugglers select a local man to identify the ‘suitable’ forest area. Later, they seek help of professional wood-cutters to get the trees chopped off, which are then transported either to the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh through Parvatipuram route or to Koraput, Sunabeda, Patangi, Rayagada and Damanjodi areas through Laxmipur and Kakrigumm routes. Incidentally, despite the thinning of trees by timber smugglers, the locals hardly complain. While some are happy earning a few bucks in this entire process, others prefer to stay quiet out of fear. As says Dula Ikka, a tribal of Bijapurghat, ‘‘they come, select trees, cut them in sizes and leave. We dare not protest it.’’ Since Narayanpatana is Naxal-infested, officials rarely visit the forest areas to review the situation and this works in favour of the smugglers. In fact, locals believe presence of Naxals has worsened the situation over the years. According to police, though during combing operation, they come across smugglers cutting trees, most of the time, they manage to run away and escape. Police have however seized about Rs 20 lakh worth precious timber in the past couple of months in Narayanpatana area. Forest officials too have seized Rs. 2 lakh worth wood in the recent past. http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEQ20060221014822&Page=Q&Title=ORISSA&Topic=0
Burma:
27) Feb 22, 2006 (DVB) – The Chinese government agreed to provide monetary support to the construction of Bamho-Myinkyina road which is vital to the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) controlled Laiza region and the KIO, in return, agreed to provide the Chinese with hardwoods including teak, it was reported. According to a resident in Bamho who doesn’t want to be identified, the agreement was signed in early 2005 between some KIO leaders and western China’s Yunnan State authorities. In accordance with the contract, the Chinese engineers started to build a road from Bamho to Myinkyina in the same year. But forest watchdog Global Witness and other environmental groups severely criticised the destruction of forests in Kachin State in a report published at the end of the year and Burma’s ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) suspended logging permission to the KIO. The Chinese engineers have stopped building the road and problems could arise between the Chinese authorities and the KIO, according to the resident. “The KIO and Jadeland company jointly build the road. Some Chinese engineers and workers are included but not that many,” said Gunmaw. “There are also some of our engineers. There are some Chinese engineers as they are near Laiza. We hired them on the principle of work.” He added that Jadeland is owned by a Kachin national named Zaw Khawng. “The expenses are paid by the KIO and Jadeland. We set aside some parts of the regional development budget to build the road.” He added that the construction of the road is ongoing and that more than half of the proposed road is finished. According to Global Witness, 90% hardwoods from Kachin State end up illegally in China. 36 Chinese nationals were arrested in January at Mansi for illegal logging but Gunmaw said that they are nothing to do with the KIO as it has stopped logging activities since last year. http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=6530
Philippines:
28) BENGUET – Five suspected illegal loggers in the Cordilleras were arrested as the regional police command stepped up its campaign on environmental protection in the wake of the natural disasters that nave claimed many lives and made hundreds of thousands homeless. Senior Superintendent Alexander Pumecha, Cordillera police information officer, said two people were arrested in Benguet for illegally transporting 466 board feet of pinewood said to have a market value of P13,500. In Abra, police also nabbed on February 19 Hilario Artates and Gatoc Gabo for illegally transporting 490 board feet of gmelina flitches valued at P12,250. Elements of the 1601st Abra Provincial Mobile Group spotted the forest products when the passenger jeepney was negotiating the Abra-Kalinga road. The suspects failed to present pertinent documents of the lumber when accosted by the police. Chief Superintendent Raul Gonzales, newly-installed Cordillera police director, said his command is strengthening its environmental protection crusade to prevent calamities. Law enforcement agencies led by the Cordillera police scored a major upset against illegal loggers in the region with the seizure of close to P80 million illegal lumber from January to December 2005. Illegal logging in the Coldilleras’ remaining forest reserves in the Cordilleras is unstoppable because of the lack of forest rangers, a local environment and resources officer here said. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=30696
29) House Speaker Jose de Venecia has urged Filipinos to plant one billion trees to rehabilitate country’s denuded forest and in an effort to prevent natural disasters like landslides. “What happened in Southern Leyte, which now killed 94 village residents, is a wake up call for us to plant one billion trees,” de Venecia in a press conference here. He said the ‘One billion trees bill’ is now pending for its approval in the Senate, as he expressed hope that this will be become a law. Aside from ecological balance, massive reforestation will solve the drinking, irrigation, flood control and landslides problems, the speaker said. De Venecia said it will also free the country from importing lumbers from Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. He also cited Mayor Edward Hagedorn’s environmental advocacy through yearly tree planting activity, dubbed as “Pista Y Ang Kagueban” where thousands of trees were planted in the city’s denuded forests. http://www.bayanihan.org/html/article.php/20060222124626539
Indonesia:
30) “Don’t just blame us for stripping the forest — first take a look at what local people have done to conserve it,” said Haji Naim, 58, one of a group of farmers standing at the foot of the hilly Murhum Forest Park in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi. Along with the others, Haji is cultivating crops in the protected forest park — part of what he calls an “agroforestry” system. Haji Naim’s plot is planted with short-term secondary crops of corn and bananas, as well as longer-term plants like cacao, pepper, cloves and candlenuts. The partially forested land is still fertile and the local community enjoys abundant harvests in the area. But instead of being cut down as part of the land-clearing, the trees around the crops are conserved. But “agroforestry”, as Naim calls it, is really just another name for compromise. Located on land 200 meters above sea level on the city outskirts of Kendari, Murhum Park is supposed to be a protected forest zone. However, around 600 families in the districts of Kendari, West Kendari and Mandonga have formed 18 farm collectives engaged in the Murhum agroforestry effort. After about seven years’ cultivation, Naim now is reaping high yields. “I’ve gained my first cacao harvest in the past five months,” he said. Cacao and candlenuts can thrive on this land without extra fertilization. Naim is currently growing 70 candlenut and 300 cacao trees, with the latter producing up to 500 kilograms of cacao a season. This income alone is enough for him to support his family and send his children to school. Along with the perennial crops, the farmer groups are also growing quick-yielding trees, including bananas and corn. “These plants also flourish,” Naim said. However, the presence of wild boar in the protected area meant the crops had to be fenced of with bamboo, he said. The rise in fortunes of the farmers has led to increase in size of their traditional market in the Kemaraya subdistrict. Set on the banks of the Lahundape River, the once-local affair now serves buyers from other areas. However, while the farmers are happy, Kendari city residents and the municipal authorities are not so keen on the agroforestry scheme, which is technically still illegal. http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20060222.Q01&irec=0
Australia:
31) BRITISH MP Norman Baker will send a message to the Bracks Government today, hand delivering 2000 postcards from anti-logging campaigners. The postcards call on the Premier to stop logging in Victoria’s old growth forests. Mr Baker, the Liberal Democrat’s environment spokesman, is in Australia to tour Tasmania and Victorian forests. His previous anti-logging campaigns include a motion in the British Parliament in 2004 calling for the protection of Tasmania’s world class forests. http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18238356%255E2862,00.html
32) The Member for Ballarat East, Geoff Howard, says community consultation over logging at the Wombat Forest is not being prevented. Protesters gathered outside Ballarat State Government offices yesterday, voicing concerns over being shut out of discussions over logging practices. But Mr Howard says the original discussion group, the Timber Stewardship Council, no longer exists. “As I understand it, more than half of the members of the council resigned and so it was not functional,” he said. “I am concerned to see that we can get it up and running again and full community consultation can take place.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200602/s1575011.htm
33) Sooner or later, everyone encounters a kentia palm. Its ability to grow in low sunlight has made it one of the world’s most traded houseplants. “If you’ve been to a wine bar or to Starbucks, there may have been one in there,” said William Baker, a botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England. “Whether you realize it or not, you’re familiar with this palm,” he said. As ordinary as this houseplant may be, however, Dr. Baker and colleagues have found that it has an extraordinary story to tell about evolution. The kentia palm (Howea forsteriana) is found in the wild only on a single remote island in the South Pacific. Based on a recent study, Dr. Baker and his colleagues have concluded that roughly two million years ago, an ancestral species of palm tree living on the island split in two, and one became the kentia palm. The idea that members of a species living side by side can split into two species is controversial. Some scientists have presented evidence that the process has produced several species of plants and animals, but their ideas have met with intense skepticism. Dr. Baker and his colleagues present a similar picture of the kentia palm. The kentia palm grows only on Lord Howe Island, 350 miles east of Australia. The island is home to a similar species, Howea belmoreana. The kentia palm grows about 50 feet high, while Howea belmoreana reaches only about 20 feet. Kentia palms thrive on exposures of soft sedimentary rock, while Howea belmoreana grows mostly on soils formed from volcanic rock. By studying the palm’s DNA, Dr. Baker and his colleagues found that the two Lord Howe species are much more alike than either is to any other living palm. Based on the mutations accumulated in each species, they estimate that an ancestral palm arrived on the island long after the island formed about seven million years ago. About two million years ago, the sedimentary outcrops began to be exposed on the island. This was also the time when kentia palm split off from Howea belmoreana. Dr. Baker and his colleagues propose that the kentia palm evolved from palms that colonized the new outcrops. They were still close enough to the other palms to interbreed. But growing on the sedimentary soil may have changed the growth of their flowers. The scientists have found that the kentia palm flowers seven weeks earlier than Howea belmoreana, making it almost impossible for them to interbreed. Critics have raised a few possible alternative explanations for each study. It is possible, for example, that the palms might have evolved through geographic isolation on other islands. “I’ve read these papers fairly carefully, looking for weak points,” said Douglas Futuyma of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. “But I can’t find any.” http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/science/21spec.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin