New Jersey: Rebuilding a wooden boardwalk without destroying rainforest is unlikely?

During Wednesday’s City Commission meeting, Ocean City resident Steven
Fenichel likened the city’s decision to a murder plot done behind
closed doors, detailing how the use of rainforest wood would
negatively affect the climate, the environment and the indigenous
people of South America.

Fenichel had previously opposed the use of
tropical hardwoods in his hometowwn. Construction crews coped with
cold, blustery conditions as they worked on the Boardwalk Tuesday, but
inside City Hall the discussion was heated as officials and
environmentalists debated what material to use to reconstruct the
popular walkway. The city had planned to use domestic black locust
wood to rebuild the Boardwalk, but the first shipment the contractor,
Walters Marine Construction, received contained such poor quality wood
that “nine out of 10 boards were rejected,” City Engineer Marc
DeBlasio said. The city is now considering using tropical hardwoods,
such as ipe, harvested in rainforests, to replace the black locust, a
move that drew fire from local environmentalists. DeBlasio said the
city’s contract with Walters Marine required the use of black locust,
and “It is their inability to secure this that has put the city in
this position. …We would be absolutely negligent … if we accepted
those boards,” DeBlasio said. Tim Keating of Rainforest Relief also
spoke at the meeting, armed with a sample board made from black
locust. “You gave me a sample of material that doesn’t exist,” Troiano
said of the pristine board. Troiano said the city expected top quality
wood and didn’t get it. “This city in no way is promoting the
destruction of the rainforest,” Troiano said.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/185/story/360382.html

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