Forest Service in the News©
NATIONAL NEWS
Salvage logging becomes key issue for forest ecologists - Harvesting dead trees undermines ecological benefits of fire, SF Chronicle AP
Forest salvage policies 'need a rethink' - Natural disturbance recovery processes are badly impaired by human attempts to clean them up, The Age
Federal Lands Task Force, Idaho Dept. of Lands
Wildfires generate business, Billings Gazette
Green Burials, Living on Earth
The Good Wood guide, WWF Forests for Life Programme

Protesters say Extinctions Likely, Ashland Daily Tidings
A Plea For Biodiversity - Activists stage a mock funeral in Medford as the comment period for a Northwest Forest Plan impact statement ends, Mail Tribune
"Certified Deception" ad, Rainforest Action Network
Hall of Shame, Don't Buy SFI

Park fee plan is a bust, Denver Post editorial
Enviromentalists say Bush budget an illusion, Albany Democrat-Herald - Daly AP
Old-growth activists target Weyerhaeuser; 5 arrested - Activists hang banner from construction crane, Seattle Times
Suit filed over forest-thinning project, The Business Journal of Phoenix
Dead Trees May Benefit Forest, Mountain View Telegraph

Fie on Forest Fees, Idaho Mountain Express editorial
Craig emerges to defend rights of public land users - Idaho Sen. Larry Craig deserves praise for voting against forest access fees last week, Twin Falls Times-News editorial
To Fee... or Not to Fee, Inside Outside Magazine
Congo Basin Forest Partnership Signed Into Law, Office of U.S. Congressman Ed Royce
Salvage-logging plan likely to be trimmed - The Forest Service might reduce the number of trees cut in the Biscuit fire zone, Statesman Journal
Environment Among Topics At National Urban Planning Conference - USFS Chief Bosworth to speak at APA conference, American Planning Association

Some Adventure: Jail for Hiker - We'll just continue to take a pass on the misguided implementation of the Adventure Pass, Pasadena Star-News editorial
Senators Scold Interior Secretary Norton for Ignoring Info Requests - "Shame on you", Domenici said, Environment News Service
NEPA at 35 Sound but needing an update, United Press International
WORLD NEWS
Forest salvage policies 'need a rethink' - Natural disturbance recovery processes are badly impaired by human attempts to clean them up, The Age
Salvaging trees after fire causes damage - New research on salvaging trees after a disaster has revealed it can cause even more damage to the environment, ABC News
Facing a World of Fire and Ice - More doom and gloom from eco-radicals? Frozen countries, massive famine, shattered economies -- even nuclear war -- as a result of climate change? Nope, this is the Pentagon speaking, Vancouver Sun

Cut debts, save the forest, Aspen Times letter


Stop the state forest devastation!, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation
Estonian Timber Trouble, Taiga Rescue Network
Forest Industry Takes Step Towards Boreal Conservation, Forest Products Association of Canada
Forest safety group calls for changes in attitude, training: The message must be taken directly to the workers, the report says, Vancouver Sun

Curbing illegal logging, Malaysia Star

Thousands face job loss as Victoria reallocates timber - In the province's most sweeping transfer of timber rights ever, 27 forest firms will lose eight million cubic metres of timber, Vancouver Sun
Victoria's new timber rules put Island town at risk - Winter Harbour's W.D. Moore Logging could lose its cutting rights, Vancouver Sun

Congo Basin Forest Partnership Signed Into Law, Office of U.S. Congressman Ed Royce
PNG timber industry 'out of control', ABC Radio Australia News
Protesters go out on a limb, Sydney Morning Herald
Anti-logging protesters blockade Weld Valley - The organisers of another protest in Tasmania's southern forests say they are in for the long haul, ABC News
Millions go to improve timber sales, Victoria Times Colonist

Liberia: Environmentalists Report Illegal Logging, UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

CONGRESS & WASHINGTON
Ranchers split on supporting grazing permit buyout, Climas - Southwest Climate Outlook - U. of Arizona
Rep. Shays gets 'A plus', The Norwalk Hour [CT]
Park Service Urged To Sit Out Bison Slaughter, House Committee on Resources (Democrats)


Paging Teddy Roosevelt, Washington Post letter
Yellowstone should be managed by trust, Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment
Chambers Wins One, The Land Line
U.S. Special Counsel Enters Chief Chambers Case - Investigation into Legality of Don Murphy's Actions Against Park Police Chief, PEER

Park fee plan is a bust, Denver Post editorial
Enviromentalists say Bush budget an illusion, Albany Democrat-Herald - Daly AP
Preeminent Scientists Protest Bush Administration's Misuse of Science - Nobel Laureates, National Medal of Science Recipients, and Other Leading Researchers Call for End to Scientific Abuses, Union of Concerned Scientists

Congo Basin Forest Partnership Signed Into Law, Office of U.S. Congressman Ed Royce

Time to make a stand against stiff forest fees - Congress can start now in dismantling the excessive taxation of forest access fees, Twin Falls Times-News editorial
An Enemy of the Environment - Bush appoints William Myers III to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, New York Times editorial
Senators Scold Interior Secretary Norton for Ignoring Info Requests - "Shame on you", Domenici said, Environment News Service
NM Ojito Wilderness bill snagged - DOI wants to use Ojito bill to set a precedent in limiting its responsibility for managing Indian Trust lands, Albuquerque Tribune
NEPA at 35 Sound but needing an update, United Press International
Grazing plan is unbalanced, Denver Post editorial
NORTHERN REGION (Region 1):
Montana and Northern Idaho
Fire-ravaged forests vulnerable to erosion, Kalispell Daily Inter Lake
Wildfires generate business, Billings Gazette
Park Service Urged To Sit Out Bison Slaughter, House Committee on Resources (Democrats)

New gas pipeline planned, Kalispell Daily Inter Lake
Senators urged to fight energy bill - Great Falls mayor joins group protesting measure over potential Rocky Mountain Front development, Missoulian
Fires cost Flathead County $1.5 million, Kalispell Daily Inter Lake
Yellowstone should be managed by trust, Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment

Darroch-Eagle timber sale refuses to die, but it should, says former Forest Service forester and district ranger, Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Let it die, Bozeman Daily Chronicle letter
Lawsuit filed over Rock Creek logging - District ranger defends need to thin forest; groups claim danger to wilderness, fish too great, Missoulian
Rep. Jackson salvage "poll" causes flap - Forest service not interested in results, Hungry Horse News
Gone in a flash - A May deadline looms as Whitefish residents try to keep some land open around their booming town, Missoulian

Idaho lawmakers unanimous on logging decision - Lands department will add 10 new workers to develop timber sales, Spokesman-Review
Judicial roulette, Casper Star Tribune

Forest plans would allow more burning - Montana proposal aims to protect nearby residents, Spokesman-Review
Big Sky sues Moonlight Basin, Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Mining may no longer be king of the mountain - Court ruling gives land managers power to say 'no' to mining companies, High Country News

Roads, Grizzlies Both Important - The silent majority want to protect bears but also want to be able to reach a favorite trout stream without hiking 20 miles, Kalispell Daily Inter Lake editorial
Prairie dog poison ban lifted, Rapid City Journal
Forest Service Backpedals On Prairie Dogs - Agency Rescinds 2000 Ban on Black-tailed Prairie Dog Poisoning, Forest Guardians
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION (Region 2):
Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming
Southern Rockies Wildlands Network Vision, Colorado Mountain Club Press
Last stand at Bair Ranch, The Vail Trail
Drilling a nasty business, Aspen Times letter
Butte in the balance, Vail Daily News

Denver potential loser in South Platte plan, Rocky Mountain News editorial

Park fee plan is a bust, Denver Post editorial
Pike and San Isabel NFs: Providing water while protecting Platte - Historic proposal is the happy result of collaborative effort, Rocky Mountain News
Forest thinning budget: It's never enough, Rapid City Journal editorial

To Fee... or Not to Fee, Inside Outside Magazine
How big is that tree?, Columbus Telegram

Paving Grand Mesa road could save millions, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
San Juan NF: Coal-bed methane expansion looming for southern Colorado - Study could cear way for methane-gas drilling, SF Chronicle AP
Roan Plateau: Drilling takes long road - Concerned public 'looking over our shoulder,' BLM official says, Denver Post

Prairie dog poison ban lifted, Rapid City Journal
Forest Service Backpedals On Prairie Dogs - Agency Rescinds 2000 Ban on Black-tailed Prairie Dog Poisoning, Forest Guardians
SOUTHWESTERN REGION (Region 3):
Arizona and New Mexico
Roundup Shuts Gila Forest Site Again, Albuquerque Journal AP
Now's the Time to Build Fire Defenses, Santa Fe New Mexican editorial
Trees in Mayor's Freeway Plans, Albuquerque Journal

Driving into Ironwood Forest, Arizona Daily Star

Ranchers, Forest Service Square off Over Grazing Rights in Gila NF - U.S. District Judge has ruled the ranchers have no claim to land, Santa Fe New Mexican
Cattle Battle Continues in New Mexico - See the video, Fox News

Save the Peaks effort draws 200, Navajo-Hopi Observer- News
Drop snowmaking idea, Arizona Republic letter

Dead Trees May Benefit Forest, Mountain View Telegraph
Picuris Pueblo Files Suit Against Mining Company - US Forest Service gave the land away to mining company patent, New Mexican
Grazing permit debate finds its way to Greenlee County - Laney's unauthorized trespass cattle still not removed, Eastern Arizona Courier

Suit filed over forest-thinning project, The Business Journal of Phoenix

Protecting forests, homes, Casa Grande Dispatch editorial
Facing the wild fires, White Mountain Independent op-ed
Should forest thinning always be profitable?, White Mountain Independent letter
Fire's aftermath fosters caution - Summerhaven: Some have rebuilt already, but key property owner is in no rush, Arizona Daily Star
Draw own conclusions about snowmaking, Arizona Daily Sun letter

AZ. Governor seeks prevention of more catastrophic wildfires - Firefighters offer support for Governor's forest health plan, Casa Grande Valley Newspaper

Cibola NF: Otero Fence Avoids Cleanup, Mountain View Telegraph op-ed
Cibola NF: Turkey Transplant, Mountain View Telegraph

New community fire protection rules overdue, Arizona Daily Sun editorial
Coconino National Forest: Assessment for $30M telescope begins - Proposed telescope requires impact study, Arizona Daily Sun
INTERMOUNTAIN REGION (Region 4):
Southern Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and SW Wyoming
Federal Lands Task Force, Idaho Dept. of Lands


Idaho lawmakers unanimous on logging decision - Lands department will add 10 new workers to develop timber sales, Spokesman-Review
Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game plans to restrict ATVs - There has been "overwhelming support" from the hunting public to the ATV restrictions, The Challis Messenger

Fie on Forest Fees, Idaho Mountain Express editorial
Craig emerges to defend rights of public land users - Idaho Sen. Larry Craig deserves praise for voting against forest access fees last week, Twin Falls Times-News editorial
Wasatch-Cache NF: East Fork Timber Salvage Sale Alert Proposes East Fork (Bear River) Timber Salvage Sale For North Slope Loggers!, High Uintas Preservation Council

State's Refusal to Share Public Documents Draws Challenge from Conservation Groups Utah Attorney General denied information requests regarding highway claims on public lands, Earthjustice Newsroom
Humboldt-Toiyabe NF Backs Recovery Plan to Save Threatened Sierra Fish - Trout that is native only to a creek south of Lake Tahoe is one of the world's rarest species, SF Chronicle AP
Contest marks logging conference, Reno Gazette-Journal
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST (Region 5): California
Firm Sued by D.A. Funds Bid to Recall Him - Pacific Lumber gives $229,000 to campaign to oust the Humbolt County official who filed fraud case, Los Angeles Times