March 5, 2010
I. Forestry News
State and Local1. A Clear-Cut Controversy
2. USDA Announces Guaranteed Loan to Biorefinery
3. Report: Logging Won't Halt Beetles, Fire
4. More than 2,000 Trees to Be Planted
5. Budget Writers Back Increased Idaho Timber Harvest
II. Federal Lands
1. Northwest Forests Rank Best for Carbon Storage2. Drug Gangs Taking over US Public Lands
3. Northern Region's Top Forester Discusses Challenges Agency Faces
4. NIST, NASA Launch Joint Effort to Improve Climate Data
III. Forests Products Industry
1. Forest Products Cooperative Seeking Project Proposals2. Lumber Company Receives Grants for Expansion
3. IP Launches "Down to Earth" Website
IV. Sustainability & Biomass
1. The Green Building Battles2. Money Doesn't Grow on Trees, but Biofuel Does
3. Haiti Quake May Provide Opportunity to Restore Rural Ecology
V. Science & Technology
1. Seeing the Hidden Services of Nature2. Researchers in Kenya Promote Eucalyptus
3. Coyotes Love New York, Too
VI. Resources
1. Mapping Website Tracks Changes and Threats to Southern US Forests2. CAL FIRE Seeks Public Review on Draft Forest and Range Assessment
3. Friend or Foe? Beavers Can Be Either
VII. SAF News
What's New1. Renew Your Membership
2. Support the Foresters' Fund
3. Ben Meadows Announces Natural Resource Scholarships
Convention & Meetings
1. SAF State Society Meetings
Media Moments & Newsletters
1. Lawmakers Want Oversight on Payments to Organizations
Annoucements
1. Here's How to Help The Forestry Source
I. Forest News
State and LocalMarch 4 - According to the Boston Globe, during the past five years, state foresters have been clear-cutting diseased and aging timber across Central and Western Massachusetts, but forestry officials acknowledged that they sometimes violate their own rules.
2. USDA Announces Guaranteed Loan to Biorefinery
March 3 - The US Department of Agriculture announced that Range Fuels, Inc., a Colorado-based firm with a planned biorefinery located near Soperton, Georgia, is the recipient of a loan guaranteed by USDA Rural Development to make cellulosic biofuel from wood chips.
3. Report: Logging Won't Halt Beetles, Fire
March 3 - According to New West, a new report released by Oregon-based National Center for Conservation Science and Policy, found that bark beetle outbreaks may not lead to greater fire risk and that thinning trees won't keep the beetles from spreading.
The report, which comes amid Colorado's bid to exempt itself from roadless protections put in place in the waning days of the Clinton administration, finds that beetle-killed trees have little impact on fire danger because they drop their dead needles within three years, reducing the fuel in the tree crowns that often causes forest fires to spread.
4. More than 2,000 Trees to Be Planted
March 2 - According to the News-Telegram, Worcester City officials hope by the end of next year to have replaced all public street trees that fell victim to the Asian longhorned beetle or the December 2008 ice storm. About 2,400 street trees were lost as a result of the insect and the storm.
5 Budget Writers Back Increased Idaho Timber Harvest
March 3 - The Associated Press reports that the Idaho Department of Lands will be allowed to boost timber harvests from state land to 247 million board feet a year, up from 212 million now, according to the agency's fiscal year 2011 budget.
II. Federal Land Management
1. Northwest Forests Rank Best for Carbon StorageThe Lake Stevens Journal reports that, according to a new study of US Forest Service data, the national forests of Washington and Oregon are some of the hardest working in the United States when it comes to keeping global warming pollution out of the atmosphere.
2. Drug Gangs Taking over US Public Lands
According to the Associated Press, "not far from Yosemite's waterfalls and in the middle of California's redwood forests, Mexican drug gangs are quietly commandeering US public land to grow millions of marijuana plants."
3. Northern Region's Top Forester Discusses Challenges Agency Faces
The Missoulian recently ran an article on Leslie Weldon, the new overseer of US Forest Service management on 15 national forests and four national grasslands in three states. According to the paper, Weldon listed her priorities as "ensuring quality habitat, quality water, and healthy forests."
4. NIST, NASA Launch Joint Effort to Improve Climate Data
The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have launched a five-year joint effort to improve the quality of data returned by space-borne climate observation instruments. The mission is part of a longer-term effort to establish global long-term climate records that are of high accuracy and traceable to the international system of units.
III. Forests Products Industry
1. Forest Products Cooperative Seeking Project ProposalsThe Forest Service Southern Research Station, based in Asheville, North Carolina, was awarded $2 million in stimulus funds to set up a forest products cooperative which it hopes will grow the local forest product industry.
2. Lumber Company Receives Grants for Expansion
The Altavista Journal reports that Morgan Lumber Company in Charlotte County, Virginia, will gain 25 jobs with a new $4.2 million kiln. According to the newspaper, the company began in the 1940s as a small sawmill and now stands as a leader in the processing of southern yellow pine. It has grown to a modern, state-of-the-art operation complete with computerized sawmill, dry kiln, and planer mill.
3. IP Launches "Down to Earth" Website
International Paper has launched down2earthonline.com, a new website featuring information from the "Down to Earth"™ educational series of brochures. The series covers the most important environmental issues and trends in the paper and printing industries and uses facts gathered from reputable sources to address many "myths and misperceptions" surrounding paper and the environment.
IV. Sustainability & Biomass
BiomassAccording to E Magazine, as many as one in every five new homes and a quarter of municipal buildings and office towers are expected to qualify as "green" buildings two years from now. But determining what "green" means is easier said than done, for there is no single standard. With so much money riding on green building, one of the most heated fights is taking place in the forest products industry, where a rivalry between the country's two most successful forest certification bodies erupted in 2009
2. Money Doesn't Grow on Trees, but Biofuel Does
The website cleantechnica.com reports that the poplar tree has entered the crowded field of sustainable biofuel crops with China, Israel, and the United States racing to tap into its potential.
3. Haiti Quake May Provide Opportunity to Restore Rural Ecology
According to the Public Radio International program, The World, the January earthquake in Haiti was not as powerful as the one in Chile, but it was much deadlier. The Haitian quake killed more than 200,000 people. Haiti was more vulnerable than Chile, in part because of the environmental degradation in its rural areas. Now, development specialists say that a key to creating a resilient Haiti is to restore its ecological infrastructure.
V. Science & Technology
1. Seeing the Hidden Services of NatureEnvironmental management typically focuses on nature's resources like food, wildlife, and timber, but can miss hidden ecosystem services such as water purification, climate moderation, and the regulation of nutrient cycling. To help uncover those hidden benefits, researchers have developed a new tool that enables the simultaneous analysis and management of a wide range of ecological services.
2. Researchers in Kenya Promote Eucalyptus
According to the website Coastweek.com, when the eucalyptus tree was introduced in Kenya years ago, farmers heavily invested in it only to learn later that it has a serious negative impact on water sources. But during a recent debate on the issue held at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute, the tree was given a good bill of health.
According to Paul D. Curtis, associate professor of natural resources at Cornell University, coyotes, raccoons, and several other wildlife species can be very adaptable and can flourish in urban parks and green spaces, including areas such as Central Park in New York City.
VI. Resources
1. Mapping Website Tracks Changes and Threats to Southern US Forests tThe World Resources Institute has unveiled a new website and released a new report that it says will help people visualize the trends and drivers of change affecting southern forests.
2. CAL FIRE Seeks Public Review on Draft Forest and Range Assessment
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is seeking public review of the draft 2010 California Forest and Range Assessment. The public comment period begins March 1, 2010 and will end April 1, 2010. The document can be found on CAL FIRE's Fire and Resource Assessment Program website.
3. Friend or Foe? Beavers Can Be Either
According to the Gazette Times, the growth of beaver populations has resulted in more frequent interactions between people and the industrious rodents, sometimes leading to conflicts with homeowners, farmers, and timber managers.
VII. SAF News
What's NewNeed to renew your SAF Membership? Then visit the SAF website or call Christopher Whited at (866) 897-8720.
If your finances are making it difficult for you to maintain your SAF membership, then simply pay a portion of your membership now and we'll invoice you for the remainder in the second half of the year. We know times are tough and we will work with you to help make it as easy as possible to continue receiving the resources and benefits provided by SAF membership.
2. Support the Foresters' Fund
Your contributions to the Foresters' Fund support the efforts of SAF local units and committees spreading the message of sustainable forest management.
In 2009, the Foresters' Fund provided 20 grants to SAF unit projects totaling $30,000. Projects included tours for teachers, an educational DVD and displays, and family events such as Walk in the Forest and the Family Forestry Expo.
For more information, visit the SAF website to make a tax-deductible donation that will make a real difference in sharing credible, scientific information, creating community events, enhancing education, and more.
3. Ben Meadows Announces Natural Resource Scholarships
Ben Meadows Company has announced two annual scholarships administered through the Society of American Foresters for college students enrolled in natural resources programs.
The scholarships, one for academic achievement and one based on leadership, are each worth $2,500. Students must be entering their junior or senior years and enrolled full time in a Natural Resource curriculum at the baccalaureate level.
Applications are due by June 30, 2010. Eligible students are encouraged to apply. Instructions, complete requirements, and the application form can be found on the Ben Meadows website.
Convention & Meetings
Colorado-Wyoming SAF Annual Meeting
"Our Future Forests-Innovations in the Field of Forestry" is the theme of the Colorado-Wyoming SAF annual meeting to be held in Ft. Collins, Colorado, April 23-24. Natural resource experts will present information on Friday, April 23, and a field trip is scheduled for Saturday, April 24th.
Registration will soon be available. For more information contact Planning Committee Chair Steve Ambrose.
Inland Empire SAF Annual Meeting
The Inland Empire Society of American Foresters with the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service Northern Region, Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management, National Forest Systems, and the Research and Development arm of the Forest Service along with the Forest History Society are sponsoring the May 20-22, 2010, conference in Wallace, Idaho. It will examine the social and institutional conditions prior to the 1910 fire, the fires themselves, the impacts of the fires on resources and institutions, and discuss the possibility of such fires burning again. For more information and to request registration materials in advance, contact Richard Reid, IESAF Communications Chair.
Media Moments
1. Lawmakers Want Oversight on Payments to Organizations
According to the Little Chicago Review, a bipartisan trio of western members of Congress, US Representatives Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD), and Rob Bishop (R-UT) have teamed up to introduce the "Open EAJA Act of 2010." The bill seeks to reinstate critical oversight and transparency measures for payments made to organizations through the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). Several groups, including the Society of American Foresters, support the bill.
Announcements
1. Here's How to Help The Forestry Source
The Forestry Source welcomes contributions to:
- Here's How To…
- Science & Technology
- Commentary and Letters
- Society Affairs
To discuss an idea for a potential contribution for a How To article, Science and Tech article, letter, or commentary, contact Steve Wilent, Editor, at (503) 622-3033. Ideas and potential contributions to Society Affairs should be brought to the attention of Joseph Smith.
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