Forest Service in the News©
NATIONAL NEWS
National Forests Fall Victim to Firefighting, Healthy Forest Act - Plan to Protect Residences Costs Trees, Money, Washington Post
Biscuit Fire Review: Living in Fire Prone Natural Landscapes - Reducing the Risk to Rural Communities from Wildfire, Conservation Biology Institute
Terrorist or EcoPatriot?, Baltimore Chronicle op-ed by Andrew George
High Knob Area Being Hurt by Excessive Logging, Kingsport Times News - Clinch Coalition op-ed

Time for plain talk about wildfires - Transform our backcountry into a theme park. Call it Tree World. Build Lego trees to replace nature's versions, which, after all, are actually weapons of mass destruction, North County Times
Get tankers into service, Rapid City Journal editorial
End of the Wild - Weeds, Relics, and Ghosts remain, Living On Earth
Terrorist Tree Huggers - Environmentalism breeds terrorism, TomPaine
Job Opening: FSEEE Advocate, Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics

Stop the plunder at Tongass Forest, Post-Intelligencer editorial
Pay to play could become permanent, Twin Falls Times-News
Creative accounting backfires in forests - Robbing money from land management programs to cover firefighting deficits is self-defeating, Missoulian editorial
As fire season ignites, Smokey Bear's legacy lingers - Land managers talk about letting fires burn, but politics douse the flames, High Country News
Simulation sifts data for where to sniff smoke - USFS PNW Research Station: Researchers create a system for predicting where smoke from wildfires will head, and it's accessible online, Oregonian

Memos say Bush administration wouldn't study fire retardant risk - Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries told USFS to consult on fire retardant use, SF Chronicle - Barnard AP 6-17-04
Memos released in FSEEE lawsuit say Bush administration wouldn't study fire retardant risk - USFS denial could cause ban on retardant use, SF Chronicle - Barnard AP 6-18-04 revised
House blocks funds for Tongass roads - Opponents say bill will doom what's left of Southeast's struggling timber industry, Juneau Empire
Wildfires Bring Jobs and Money to Reservations - Disasters Mean Steady Work for Some Indians, Washington Post
White River NF: Ketelle retiring as forest supervisor for a promotion to Washington Office to set national policy on recreation issues like fee-demo, and to work on marketing efforts for the Forest Service, Aspen Times
Huron Manistee NF: Debate rages as Kirtland's warbler count goes on - Bird only nests in young jack pine forests: Fire, and clearcuts planted with jack pine restore the species, Bay City Times at Ann Arbor News
GAO Audit: Cost of Fires Hurting Prevention - Feds take from fire prevention, recreation, and conservation programs to fight wildfires, SF Chronicle AP
Fires in the west: They're waiting for the big one - Will this year see yet another series of forest blazes?, The Economist
WORLD NEWS
Stop the bulldozers, beg tiny tribe - "Please do not touch the forest, because it gives us life. Please stop the bulldozers.", IOL World
Greenpeace exposes Danzer Group's involvement in bribery and illegal logging - Investigation reveals more evidence of forest crime in Africa, Greenpeace

Chainsaws Threaten Bolivia Nature Preserve, Tierramérica - Inter Press Service

Lebanon: Trail blazers - Forests and fires in the Mediterranean, WWF Newsroom
Illegal Logging in the Boreal, Taiga Rescue Network
Forest industry buzzing with work - Higher prices, new government policies bring sense of optimism to the woods after seven bad years, Vancouver Sun

Save Our Forests, Ghanaian Chronicle editorial
CONGRESS & WASHINGTON
Critical-habitat benefits distorted, group claims - Bush officials accused of trying to limit protected areas, Denver Post
Bush Administration Suppresses Facts to Weaken Endangered Species Act - NWF Report Finds Critical Habitat Reductions Based on Distorted Economic Data, National Wildlife Federation
Legislation would force bad decisions, cut out public voice - NEPA gutted in sneak attack, Oregonian op-ed
Parks at a loss - Terror alerts deprive some national parks as staff are shifted to other sites - Park entrance fees to help pay for anti-terror measures, Los Angeles Times


Stop the plunder at Tongass Forest, Post-Intelligencer editorial
Pay to play could become permanent, Twin Falls Times-News
Wyoming lawmaker seeks special firefighting aircraft - Amendment would not provide any money for purchase, Missoulian
Senate Resolution Honors Wilderness Act, Environment News Service
Votes for Forests, Washington Post editorial
Species act hearing first in a series, Klamath Falls Herald and News

House blocks funds for Tongass roads - Opponents say bill will doom what's left of Southeast's struggling timber industry, Juneau Empire
House cuts funds for Tongass roads - Environmentalists rejoice at vote but Senate still must approve amendment, Anchorage Daily News
Chabot cuts at Alaska timber subsidy, Cincinnati Enquirer editorial
Where Roads Shouldn't Be, LA Times editorial
White River NF: Ketelle retiring as forest supervisor for a promotion to Washington Office to set national policy on recreation issues like fee-demo, and to work on marketing efforts for the Forest Service, Aspen Times
The Environment Shortchanged, NY Times editorial
For Land's Sake - Congress can defund Tongass road building and require using the Land and Water Conservation Fund for its intended purpose, Boston Globe editorial
GAO Audit: Cost of Fires Hurting Prevention - Feds take from fire prevention, recreation, and conservation programs to fight wildfires, SF Chronicle AP
Off-Road Vehicle Case Is Rejected - Environmental groups had sued to protect lands being studied for wilderness designation, LA Times
NORTHERN REGION (Region 1):
Montana and Northern Idaho
Forest releases post-fire salvage proposal, Kalispell Daily Inter Lake
Plan to purge fish released, Kalispell Daily Inter Lake
Gambling Yellowstone, Idaho Statesman editorial

Burned-out, but beguiling, Helena Independent Record
Prospectors set up shop in Mont. 'shroom boom, Wall Street Journal at Az. Daily Star

Helena may lose Forest Service jobs, Helena Indepedent Record
Settlement reached in Lolo forest logging suit - Forest won't build new roads to log burned trees, Missoulian
Creative accounting backfires in forests - Robbing money from land management programs to cover firefighting deficits is self-defeating, Missoulian editorial
Wyoming lawmaker seeks special firefighting aircraft - Amendment would not provide any money for purchase, Missoulian

Bitterroot Forest to use helicopter rappel crews - In the works for six years, new tool will allow safer approaches to forest fires, Ravalli Republic
Wildfires Bring Jobs and Money to Reservations - Disasters Mean Steady Work for Some Indians, Washington Post
The Snowmobile Menace, New York Times
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION (Region 2):
Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming

Wilderness up for lease - Citizen wilderness areas have lost protection under Bush, The Vail Trail
Lessons learned from Storm King, Glenwood Springs Post Independent



White River NF: Ketelle retiring as forest supervisor for a promotion to Washington Office to set national policy on recreation issues like fee-demo, and to work on marketing efforts for the Forest Service, Aspen Times
Battle of the calculators - A battle over cutting trees on public lands in the Black Hills could expand from the courts to the chalkboard and calculator, Black Hills Pioneer
SOUTHWESTERN REGION (Region 3):
Arizona and New Mexico
National Forests Fall Victim to Firefighting, Healthy Forest Act - Plan to Protect Residences Costs Trees, Money, Washington Post
Forest rangeland health to be studied, Silver City Daily Press
The Piñon Mystery, The Eldorado Sun
Feathered Culivators, Eldorado Sun

Ugly trade along the Verde, Arizona Republic op-ed
An anniversary we'd rather not remember, White Mountain Independent editorial

As fire season ignites, Smokey Bear's legacy lingers - Land managers talk about letting fires burn, but politics douse the flames, High Country News
Fire 'insurance', The New Mexican
Fires Taking Toll on Rare N.M. Salamander - Federal ESA listing is what is needed, say Forest Guardians, Albuquerque Journal

Cibola Forest Areas to Close to Public, Mountain View Telegraph
National Forest Shuts Areas, Albuquerque Journal
Bosque Ablaze!, El Defensor Chieftain 6-19-04
Tree Deaths Blamed on City Spray, Albuquerque Journal AP
Wildlife Service Orders Wolf Killed, Albuquerque Journal AP
Jewels in our crown - Lawmakers must throw off partisanship and get trust-land reforms on November ballot, Arizona Republic
INTERMOUNTAIN REGION (Region 4):
Southern Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and SW Wyoming
Idahoans should keep an open mind on White Clouds wilderness plan - Despite a road that runs through it, Idaho Statesman editorial

Big Cottonwood's path of great resistance - Popular one-mile hike closed by Forest Service due to resource damage, Salt Lake Tribune
Boulder-White Cloud plan scrutinized - Stakeholders cautiously optimistic on Simpson's wilderness, recreation plan, Idaho Mountain Express
Challis NF and the Bush administration, Pocatello Idaho State Journal letter

Litigation put on hold, Elko Daily Free Press
Groups want Jarbidge road closed, Elko Daily Free Press

Pay to play could become permanent, Twin Falls Times-News

Fires in the west: They're waiting for the big one - Will this year see yet another series of forest blazes?, The Economist
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST (Region 5): California
Rainbow Family Gathers on Modoc National Forest - Rainbow Gathering Information/News/Updates, USFS
Following the Money - Development and recreation, not safety, paramount in San Bernardino NF, San Bernardino Sun
Veteran logger sees danger, San Bernardino Sun
Drought takes toll on trees, Los Angeles Times

Over the Rainbow lies a great big mess, Klamath Falls Herald and News editorial
Rainbow Family brings back 1960s, Klamath Falls Herald and News
Rainbow Family Gathers on Modoc National Forest - Rainbow Gathering Information/News/Updates, USFS

Time for plain talk about wildfires - Transform our backcountry into a theme park. Call it Tree World. Build Lego trees to replace nature's versions, which, after all, are actually weapons of mass destruction, North County Times
Land sale may fund ranch deal, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza

Forest Service Holds "Idea Meeting", Lake Arrowhead Mountain-News
Trailblazers find a labor of love - Hardworking volunteers clear scenic Tahoe paths for generations of hikers, Sacramento Bee

Fighting Fire, San Francisco Chronicle editorial
James Bond battles Terminator over bill - Pierce Brosnan and Gov. Schwarzenegger key players in forestry preservation, Tri-Valley Herald
PACIFIC NORTHWEST (Region 6):
Oregon and Washington
Biscuit Fire Review: Living in Fire Prone Natural Landscapes - Reducing the Risk to Rural Communities from Wildfire, Conservation Biology Institute
Deschutes NF: Forest lakes monitored for algae problems - Health advisory issued to avoid contact with Lava Lake, Bend Bugle
On the Lookout for Owls - The northern spotted owl sits in solid shape in Douglas County, but it's still in danger overall, Roseburg News-Review
Standing up to ride on Mount Hood - Mountain bikers fight a proposed expansion of federal wilderness on Mount Hood, Oregonian

Treesitter Injured, Treesit Blog

Fremont-Winema NFs: Committee members sought, Klamath Falls Herald and News
Some fear oak illness effort may fall short - A federal and state inspection program begins testing for the fatal fungus in hopes of certifying the state is disease-free, Oregonian

Good and Bad News in Spotted Owl Review, Oregon Public Broadcasting
Scientists: Owl habitat `critical', Eugene Register-Guard AP
Panel: Nature poses more risk to owls - Some scientists find that logging is not the primary harm to habitat of the northern spotted owl, Oregonian
Endangered Spotted Owl Definition Narrowed, Oregon Public Broadcasting
Species act hearing first in a series, Klamath Falls Herald and News
Umpqua NF: Rotenone still tops tui chub list - Comments generate no new issues, and that is still the preference for dealing with Diamond Lake's tui chub problem, Mail Tribune

Court Blocks Oregon Salvage Logging, Environment News Service
Simulation sifts data for where to sniff smoke - USFS PNW Research Station: Researchers create a system for predicting where smoke from wildfires will head, and it's accessible online, Oregonian
Lookout destroyed by Biscuit fire rises anew like mythical Phoenix - Volunteers donate $40,000 in labor to rebuild the building, a vacation retreat for many before the 2002 conflagration, Oregonian
Nurseries face oak disease test - Federal inspectors will gather plants to test for sudden oak death from about 2,000 nurseries in Oregon, Portland Oregonian
Weyerhaeuser supports Metolius Preserve, Portland Business Journal

Logging protesters use steel container - Greenpeace activists are cut free and arrested after stalling a crew sent to work a federal sale near Glendale, Oregonian
Chains of protest broken - Greenpeace members try to block log road near Glendale by chaining selves to container, The News-Review
Willamette and Deschutes NFs: Morel mushrooms sprout profit - More pickers scramble to make money hunting mushrooms in forests, Statesman Journal
Survey measures Mount Hood wilderness visitors - A close review of traffic in the Mount Hood National Forest finds an unexpected number of people off the beaten track
Judge halts logging of burned timber - The order to stop work in an older forest reserve could be a prelude to challenges of cutting in the larger Biscuit fire area, Oregonian
SOUTHERN REGION (Region 8):
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Terrorist or EcoPatriot?, Baltimore Chronicle op-ed by Andrew George
High Knob Area Being Hurt by Excessive Logging, Kingsport Times News - Clinch Coalition op-ed

Forest service timber sales on the rise - Delayed for years by lawsuits and the discovery of a rare bat, several timber sales are now under way on WNC's public forestlands, Smoky Mountain News
Different kinds of logging, Smoky Mountain News

Forest Service hosting two summits, The New Bern Sun Journal