News archives

Monday, February 28, 2005

International certification for forests
From the Nepali Times Nepal’s community forests have been awarded an international certification for sustainable extraction of herbal and medicinal products. The Rainforest Alliance is to award the first community based non-timber forest products certification in Asia to the Federation of Com... Continued...

Anti-Sprawl Laws, Property Rights Collide in Oregon
From the Washington Post, By Blaine Harden HOOD RIVER, Ore. -- The nation's strongest laws against sprawl are beginning to buckle here in Oregon under pressure from an even stronger, voter-approved law that trumps growth restrictions with property rights. In a collision between two radically ... Continued...

Illegal logging threatens orangutans' habitat, survival
From the Washington Post, via the Chicago Tribune, by Ellen Nakashima KALIMANTAN PROVINCE, Indonesia -- Three men in a canoe drew near swiftly from behind and overtook another canoe carrying a local environmentalist, Bastarin, on a river deep in the wilds of the Borneo rain forest. Bastarin, o... Continued...

The Farmer As Conservationist Is Key to Audubon California Program
From Environmental Defense Wildlife-friendly hedgerows between crop fields and progressive views of conservation-based agriculture are both taking root in Yolo and Solano Counties, where Audubon California's Landowner Stewardship Program has partnered with farmers and ranchers on 26 projects in i... Continued...

On EC Bar Ranch, Conservation Increases Profits (AZ)
From Environmental Defense Where the White Mountains rise above arid eastern Arizona, three miles outside the tiny town of Nutrioso and 15 miles from New Mexico, lies the EC Bar Ranch. And where conservation practices and ranching economics intersect, stands the ranch's owner, Jim Crosswhite. His... Continued...

Utah and Other States Set Aside Funding for Rare Wildlife and Plants
From Environmental Defense via Conservation Incentives Late last year, USDA Utah State Conservationist Sylvia Gillen announced that $1.4 million of the state's FY2005 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding will be awarded to at-risk species projects. Three other states with simil... Continued...

'Green' products hard to define
From the Boston Globe via the Duluth News Tribune, by Beth Daley Deep green in color and with an aroma of fresh sassafras, Simple Green is a popular household cleaner marketed to environmentally concerned consumers. It bills itself as nontoxic, the "safer alternative" to other cleaners. But on... Continued...

Trees on Plains Rivers? Yes, Authors Claim
From Buffer Notes Riparian restoration efforts today often focus on reintroducing native species and plant types. A recent article in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation is a reminder that historical references about streamside vegetation can be tricky. The article appeared in the Septe... Continued...

Electrical power from the forest (MN)
From Minnesota Public Radio, by Bob Kelleher Most of the state's electrical power is generated in coal fired power plants. But coal has its critics. Many consider coal a dirty fuel. A new project on the Iron Range will produce a significant amount of electricity from wood. Proponents say the wood... Continued...

Recycling's next frontier: Poop as paper (Australia)
From MSNBC, by Miguel Llanos Inspired by elephant dung, an Australian company plans to use kangaroo poop to make stationery and other paper products. Creative Paper Tasmania is looking for 200 to 400 pounds of dung, following in the footsteps, so to speak, of pioneers like the Thai Elephant Co... Continued...

Thursday, February 24, 2005

The Blue Ridge Forest Cooperative (VA)
From The Southern Forest Network Landowner cooperatives have organized across the U.S. to facilitate profitable and sustainable management on private forestlands. In Virginia, the Blue Ridge Forest Cooperative is ready to take off. Meet Harry Groot: Harry is a landowner, farmer, and s... Continued...

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Wisconsin to create 3,000-acre state park
From the Pioneer Press, by Kevin Harter Nearly 3,000 acres of woodlands lying 70 miles from the Twin Cities and containing several pristine streams and lakes will become a state park under what Wisconsin officials are calling one of the most important la... Continued...

Will Steger warns of global warming's danger for state (MN)
From the Duluth News Tribune, by Scott Thistle ST. PAUL -- Two experts with firsthand knowledge of the planet's warming warned state legislators Monday to heed signs of global climate change. Arctic explorer Will Steger and Twin Cities meteorologist Paul Douglas urged state lawmakers Monday to... Continued...

County board turns down group forest certification (MN)
From the Park Rapids Enterprise, by Heather Leinen If a tree falls in an uncertified forest, will anyone want to buy the lumber? That’s the question the Hubbard County board faced at their meeting Wednesday, when they ultimately decided against certifying the county’s forests. Forest certif... Continued...

Careful Flooding May Restore Iraq Marshes
From Reuters via Planet Ark, by Maggie Fox Wetlands that once sheltered Marsh Arabs and a host of wildlife in southern Iraq are being partly restored and could offer a haven once again if it is done right, experts said on Saturday. Luckily, water coming into the area from the Tigris and Euph... Continued...

Investigative arm of Congress says wildfire strategy needs focus
From the Associated Press via World Link, By Jeff Barnard GRANTS PASS - The U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior need to develop a long-term wildfire strategy that gives Congress a better idea how much money is really needed to thin forests and where the work is needed most, the Gov... Continued...

Tree-Eating Insects Threaten EU-US Packaging Trade
From Reuters via Planet Ark BRUSSELS - Insects in wood packaging that may emerge to destroy European forests are threatening $80 billion worth of trade between Europe and the United States, officials and diplomats said on Friday. From March 1, all wood packaging imported into the EU will have ... Continued...

Biodiesel: Pumped up about cleaner fuel
From the Seattle Post Intelligencer, by Kristin Dizon Biodiesel is all around us -- in our ferries, buses, garbage trucks, passenger cars, tractors, Army trucks, sailboats and more -- yet surveys show that only one in four people knows about this alternative, non-toxic fuel made from vegetable oi... Continued...

Agriculture Blamed for Brazil Violence
From the Associated Press via Yahoo, by Michael Astor and Alan Clendenning ANAPU, Brazil - Three decades after settling in the remote rainforest to clear brush and grow cocoa under the shadows of towering jungle trees, Luis Domingues da Silva is starting to see the first hints that Brazil's boomi... Continued...

Environmentalists Sue Bush Administration over New Forest Rules
From the Associated PRess via the Sacramento Bee, by Matthew Daly Environmentalists sued the Bush administration on Thursday over new rules for managing the 192 million acres of national forests. The rules issued in December give managers of the 155 national forests more discretion to approve ... Continued...

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