Monthly Archives: September 2011

Drop in gypsy moths called encouraging

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Chattanooga Times Free Press; 9/30/2011
Excerpt:   “In their battle against killer moths, Tennessee and Georgia officials appear to be gaining the upper hand.
The number of gypsy moths, voracious Asian invaders capable of chomping the leaves off trees, dropped to the lowest number since 1981 in Tennessee.
After collecting their traps this year, forestry officials found only 13 of the bugs in the entire state during their annual sampling.
“Normally we’ve got from several dozen to several hundreds,” said John Kirksey, resource protection unit leader with the Tennessee Division of Forestry. “There’s reason to be thinking that things have improved.”…”

Read more at  http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/sep/30/drop-in-gypsy-moths-called-encouraging/?news

Counties Brace For The Worst As Timber Payments End

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Oregon Public Broadcasting; 9/30/2011
Excerpt:   “For the past decade, Oregon counties have federal timber payments to fund education, roads and other county services based. How much a county got depended on historical timber receipts.
Well, today that law, known as The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act expires. Discussions are underway in Congress about what comes next, but with nothing firm in place, counties are bracing for the worst….”

Read more at http://news.opb.org/article/counties-brace-worst-timber-payments-end/

Forest Service Report Documents Environmental Benefits of Wood as a Green Building Material

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USDA News Release; 9/29/2011
Excerpt:   “WASHINGTON, Sept. 29, 2011 – The findings of a new U.S. Forest Service study indicate that wood should factor as a primary building material in green building, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today.
The authors of Science Supporting the Economic and Environmental Benefits of Using Wood and Wood Products in Green Building Construction reviewed the scientific literature and found that using wood in building products yields fewer greenhouse gases than using other common materials.
“This study confirms what many environmental scientists have been saying for years,” said Vilsack. “Wood should be a major component of American building and energy design. The use of wood provides substantial environmental benefits, provides incentives for private landowners to maintain forest land, and provides a critical source of jobs in rural America.”…”

Read more at  http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2011/09/0426.xml&contentidonly=true

Obama Administration opposes release of public lands

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Rochester Examiner; 9/28/2011
Excerpt:   “H.R. 1581. Become familiar with it, as you’re going to be hearing quite a bit about it (from both sides of the aisle), and in the coming days, and how it affects us here in NY.
H.R. 1581 (otherwise known as the Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act of 2011) was written by Representative Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) to “release wilderness study areas administered by the Bureau of Land Management that are not suitable for wilderness designation from continued management as de facto wilderness areas and to release inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System that are not recommended for wilderness designation from the land use restrictions of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Final Rule and the 2005 State Petitions for Inventoried Roadless Area Management Final Rule, and for other purposes.”
On Monday, President Obama denounced this proposed legislation citing that it potentially opens up these lands to timber harvesting, oil and gas development, and use by motorized vehicles….”

Read more at  http://www.examiner.com/government-in-rochester/obama-administration-opposes-release-of-public-lands

Beetle-kill pine, other wood pushed as power source — and way to aid ailing Colorado forests

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Denver Post 9/29/2011
Excerpt:   “CARBONDALE — The Roaring Fork Valley lies close to abundant coal and gas fuel sources. But wood is the fuel that has a local consortium — and a state senator — fired up as an energy source that also would aid Colorado’s ailing forests.
A Roaring Fork Valley consortium found through a two-year study that there is plenty of wood in the form of drought- and beetle-killed pine, fire-stoking brush, aged aspen and construction scraps to make it a feasible adjunct to traditional fossil-fuel energy sources. Burning wood for fuel also is viewed as a potentially important part of saving the state from a conflagration like the one that ravaged Arizona forests this summer….”

Read more at  http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19000681

Bill could open up Glacier National Park to Homeland Security projects

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The Coeur d’ Alene Press; 9/29/2011
Excerpt:   “Glacier National Park’s border with Canada is marked by broad prairies and majestic mountains. A bill in Congress cosponsored by Rep. Dennis Rehberg could conceivably allow the Department of Homeland Security to put roads and other access venues in areas currently managed as wilderness.
The proposed “National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act” would give Homeland Security broad powers over land that borders foreign countries….”

Read more at http://www.cdapress.com/news/outdoors/article_49d9b32c-330b-5e13-9e0f-369c6ebf2371.html

Feds probe national forest rape

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Asheville Citizen Times  9/28/2011
Excerpt:   “FRANKLIN:  Federal authorities are investigating a reported rape in Nantahala National Forest in Macon County.  The attack happened on a forest service road, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Stevin Westcott said Tuesday.
He declined to provide other details of the incident, including whether the attacker was still at large, citing the ongoing investigation.  “We are working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office on this case,” Westcott said. “There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered. We don’t want to compromise this investigation.”…”

Read more at   http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20110928/NEWS/309280020/Feds-investigate-rape-Nantahala-Nat-l-Forest?

Local group to sue over herbicide spraying

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Helena Independent Record; 9/28/2011
Excerpt:   “Aerial application of herbicides including clopyralid and picloram is planned to take place next week on 1,200 acres in the Ogden Mountain and Nevada Mountain areas to try to knock back spotted knapweed infestations, but it may be subject to a lawsuit.
Treatment of lands on the Helena National Forest, as well as on private property in the area, is part of an ongoing effort, according to Shawn Heinert, the Lincoln Ranger District’s rangeland specialist. It should only take a few days at the most, but they hope to conclude aerial operations by Oct. 14….”

 

 

Read more at  http://helenair.com/news/local/local-group-to-sue-over-herbicide-spraying/article_72b09696-e998-11e0-abbe-001cc4c002e0.html

San Francsico Peaks, Snowbowl, continue to draw attention

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Northern Arizona News; 9/27/2011
Excerpt:   “This past Tuesday, President Ben Shelly of the Navajo Nation addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council about the concerns of his people regarding the treatment of Navajo ancestral lands — with a particular emphasis on the snowmaking operations on the San Francisco Peaks.
“I was happy to address them on the issue of sacred sites of indigenous peoples,” Shelly said. “I was hoping to relay a message that I’m having a problem with things [having] to do with our sacred sites.”

Read more at  http://northernarizonanews.com/blog/2011/09/27/san-francsico-peaks-snowbowl-continue-to-draw-attention/

Ag Sec Tom Vilsack pitches high concept to Robert Redford

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Sacramento Bee; 9/26/2011
Excerpt:   “U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, in California to talk jobs, innovation, and exports, veered off script in a meeting with The Bee’s editorial board todayand told about his big Hollywood idea.
A fan of author Timothy Egan’s book, “The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America,” Vilsack told about using what influence he has to try to get a movie made about it.
Vilsack, the former governor of Iowa, said the book “has everything,” from towering figures Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot to civil rights and racial issues, not to mention a really big fire….”