Forests in the News©
NATIONAL NEWS
Scientists Warn Against Fast-Track Logging in Forests Recovering from Fire - 169 Sign Letter Saying Logging Can Set Back Forest Recovery, Increase Fire Risks, Unified Forest Defense Campaign
Committee to Mark Up Bipartisan Forest Recovery Bill - FERRA authors, scientific community discuss need for rapid restoration, Resources Committee
The Science Behind FERRA, House Committee on Resources
Forest Policy: Easy to salvage, Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial

Official calls sale of forest land 'pure fiscal insanity' - Commissioners slam proposal to sell off 2,100 acres in Boulder County, Loveland Reporter-Herald
Pete should speak out against Bush land sale: NM Sen. Pete Domenici, Santa Fe New Mexican editorial
Protest the sale of the public's forest land, Roanoke Times op-ed by retired FS forester
Comments welcome in proposed Bienville NF land sale, Scott County Times - Forest, Mississippi

Biscuit Fire tests effectiveness of forest thinning and prescribed burning practices - "The number of trees killed in the Biscuit Fire was highest in the thinned areas we studied, most likely due to slash left after the thinning treatment", USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station
Right stand on public lands, Denver Post editorial
Selling forests to the highest bidder, Courier-Journal op-ed by Rep. Chandler
Forest sales need scrutiny, Coalfield Daily Progress
Rep. Taylor: Forest land sale unlikely, Asheville Citizen-Times
Land sale not wisest course , Montgomery Advertiser letter
Forest Service needs more budget, not just volunteers, High Country News letter from Woody Hesselbarth
Ads in the forests, Summit Daily News at Jackson Hole Tribune
Meet the Beetles, Washington Post letters
The Forest Service is issuing a final directive to Forest Service Manual 1330, Environmental Management Systems (EMS), to provide overall guidance to Forest Service line officers and employees on how to include EMS in carrying out national forest land management planning regulations, Federal Register

President threatens our legacy, Helena Independent Record op-ed
Please, no take-backs, Summit Daily editorial
Rural schools act will be fully funded, Billings Gazette op-ed by Conrad Burns and Denny Rehberg
Hidden ties: Big environmental changes backed by big industry - Lobbyists and industry officials who once pushed for the president's Healthy Forests legislation now collaborate with Rep. Pombo to alter the Endangered Species Act, ACS: Environmental Science & Technology

Forest Service "Draft" Competitive Sourcing Green Plan - Highlights of the FY 2005 - FY 2009 Competitive Sourcing Plan, PEER
The sell-off of America continues - Bush should stick to destroying woodlands on his Texas ranch with his personal chainsaw, Idaho Mountain Express editorial
Land Sales for Rural Towns - The Bush administration wants to sell national forest land to fund services in rural communities, Living on Earth
BLM land sale plan criticized - While the proposed sale of National Forest lands has outraged many Western residents, a second plan to sell off public lands to raise money to offset the federal budget deficit has gotten little attention, Independent Record
Maps of forestland for sale put online, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Don't sell off forest land, The Tennessean editorial
A Lousy Land Deal, Winston-Salem Journal editorial
Forest Service land for sale?, Summit Daily News
Land sale piques county's interest, Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald

Protecting forests, The Roanoke Times editorial
Fees on some e-mail spurs protest, New York Times at Financial Express

'Rapid Warming' Spreads Havoc in Canada's Forests - Tiny Beetles Destroying Pines - Pine Beetles Likened To 'Silent Forest Fire' In Canada, Washington Post
Senators question shift in fire funds, The Albuquerque Tribune
Land Management By the People, For the People - How appeals affect forest management, Forest Magazine
Senators get earful on forest labor abuse - The Pineros: Men of the Pines, Sacramento Bee
Contractors rip rivals for pineros' plight - A U.S. Senate panel takes up wage and safety issues today, Sacramento Bee
A Good Job For Some - Working in the woods is hard and dangerous work, but don't sell it short, Forest Magazine

Congress barks at forest sales - Critics from both parties protest a Bush administration plan to raise $800 million for rural schools by selling federal land, Denver Post
Forest sales cut, but doubts remain - Critics are still leery of the plan to sell timberland to help fund rural schools, Sacramento Bee
More foes emerge in bid to sell public forest land - Public comment period starts on proposal to benefit rural schools, Asheville Citizen-Times
Forest land sale proposal stirs comment Changes in the proposal fail to mollify conservationists and others who object to the federal government's plan, The Roanoke Times
Bush forest sale proposal runs into buzz saw, Colorado Springs Gazette at Salt Lake Tribune
Bush Plan to Sell Public Lands Assailed, ENN Knight Ridder/Tribune

The Forest Service Is Dead; Long Live the Forest Service! - It's time for conservationists to collaborate with an agency they've long demonized, Grist magazine
Behind the De Soto debacle: Call it commercialization, call it privatization, St. Petersburg Times
Under Fire - The fires of Yellowstone changed fire policy as we know it, Forest Magazine
Supertanker readied for wildfire season - The 747, a former passenger jet, awaits federal OKs at business in Marana, Tucson Citizen
WORLD NEWS
Save Remote Panama Rainforest from Hydro Dams, Center for Biological Diversity
Department of Homeland Security Allowing Illegal Mahogany Imports, Say Native Peruvians and U.S. Conservation Group - Indigenous Groups and NRDC Announce Lawsuit to Stop Contraband Shipments, Natural Resources Defense Council


No more teak forest in Shan State - Logging in Shan State has been carried out by many ceasefire and business groups, it has been causing complete ruin to forests on many parts of Shan State, Shan Herald Agency for News
India: The terrible price paid for economic progress - Tragic cost to the people of the forest, UK Independent
Minister bans Embu forest activities, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation

Illegal Logging - looking at how NZ can help, Ministry Of Agriculture And Forestry

Forest fire, Scotsman News
A Bear of a PR Scam, The Dominion: letter
Log exports hot topic in Alberni, Parksville Qualicum News
Huge horses, small (environmental) footprint - Harvesting wood doesn't always have to involve gigantic machines and roads cut into the forest, Globe and Mail

Australian Logging Tragedy: Ancient Old-Growth Turned to Paper - Protest against Gunns of Tasmania goes global, ask business partners to divest from Gunns, Forest Conservation Blog alert

Forest Mafia destroy forest, Central Chronicle--Madhya Pradesh
Militant Peasants Raid Aracruz Farm in Brazil - Plantation grows green desert of eucalyptus for bleached pulp, Planet Ark

Climate change catches up with Canada's forests - The mountain pine beetle, which usually is kept under control by severe cold, is wreaking havoc, Washington Post at Duluth News Tribune
Forest jobs vanish, home values sink on Charlottes - Islanders blame uncertainty as Victoria, the Haida negotiate land-use plan, Vancouver Sun
Emerson not at B.C.'s service, Vancouver: Straight.com
Making the North a forestry superpower, Northern Ontario Business
Great Bear Rainforest wins partial protection, Raincoast Conservation Society
Grassy Narrows steps up fight against Abitibi, Weyerhaeuser - Grassy Narrows band members are planning to take their fight against clearcutting to American boardrooms, Kenora Daily Miner and News

Mass Plunder of Forest Reserve, Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)

Surigao cops seize log haul, Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro
Saving Paradise, Greenpeace

Indonesia: Fighting illegal loggers, Jakarta Post at Forests.org
Sumatra fired up to save its elephants In the past, the hungry strays were shot or poisoned. Now, they're driven back to the forest, The Star
Forestry minister to relocate wild elephants to original habitat - The village is near a protected forest which is also the habitat of wild elephants. Some villagers might have opened a farming land in the protected forest, which triggered the elephants to run amok and destroy the villagers` houses, Antara News

Primates harvest bee nests in Ugandan reserve, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Warning over `deadly' toxins from pulp mill - Reject Gunns plan, national adviser tells public meeting, The Examiner

PNG forest-saving initiative launched, Australian Assoicated Press (AAP)
CONGRESS & WASHINGTON
Committee to Mark Up Bipartisan Forest Recovery Bill - FERRA authors, scientific community discuss need for rapid restoration, Resources Committee
The Science Behind FERRA, House Committee on Resources
Forest Policy: Easy to salvage, Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial

Taylor to forest chief: Sale won't happen, Hendersonville Times-News
Rep. Taylor: Forest land sale unlikely, Asheville Citizen-Times
Forest Service needs more budget, not just volunteers, High Country News letter from Woody Hesselbarth
The Forest Service is issuing a final directive to Forest Service Manual 1330, Environmental Management Systems (EMS), to provide overall guidance to Forest Service line officers and employees on how to include EMS in carrying out national forest land management planning regulations, Federal Register
Stop Bush's Bulldozers, SF Bay Area Indymedia
Forest bill HR 4200 permits recovery options, Roanoke Times op-ed by Rep. Bob Goodlatte
Udall, allies at odds over beetle battle - Conservationists say Rep. Mark Udall's push for rapid forest thinning opens the door to abuses, Denver Post
Coalition comments re BLM Rule to categorically exclude grazing permits & most resource extraction activities from NEPA review, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, Earthjustice, Western Watersheds Project

Rural schools act will be fully funded, Billings Gazette op-ed by Conrad Burns and Denny Rehberg
Hidden ties: Big environmental changes backed by big industry - Lobbyists and industry officials who once pushed for the president's Healthy Forests legislation now collaborate with Rep. Pombo to alter the Endangered Species Act, ACS: Environmental Science & Technology

Forest Service "Draft" Competitive Sourcing Green Plan - Highlights of the FY 2005 - FY 2009 Competitive Sourcing Plan, PEER
A move to ease pesticide laws, San Francisco Chronicle

Senators question shift in fire funds, The Albuquerque Tribune
Senators get earful on forest labor abuse - The Pineros: Men of the Pines, Sacramento Bee
Contractors rip rivals for pineros' plight - A U.S. Senate panel takes up wage and safety issues today, Sacramento Bee
Overkill?, Tucson Citizen
Crossroads in the National Parks, New York Times editorial
Motor mayhem in the parks, Boston Globe editorial
NORTHERN REGION (Region 1):
Montana and Northern Idaho
In search of 'big daddy', Jackson Hole News & Guide

Land Grab, Independent Record letter

President threatens our legacy with assault on public lands, Helena Independent Record op-ed by Ed Tinsley, County Commissioner, Lewis & Clark County
Rural schools act will be fully funded, Billings Gazette op-ed by Conrad Burns and Denny Rehberg

BLM land sale plan criticized While the proposed sale of National Forest lands has outraged many Western residents, a second plan to sell off public lands to raise money to offset the federal budget deficit has gotten little attention, Independent Record
Helena NF: Movement on the Mike Horse, The Missoula Independent

Playing God in the Bob - Should we disrupt the wilderness to restore the native fish?, Forest Magazine
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION (Region 2):
Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming
Official calls sale of forest land 'pure fiscal insanity' - Commissioners slam proposal to sell off 2,100 acres in Boulder County, Loveland Reporter-Herald
Wolf Creek delays forum, Durango Herald

Right stand on public lands, Denver Post editorial
Ads in the forests, Summit Daily News at Jackson Hole Tribune
Forest Service needs more budget, not just volunteers, High Country News letter from Woody Hesselbarth
Backcountry skiers lament Burnt Mountain approval - Skico says terrain may be ready in time for next season, Aspen Times News
Udall, allies at odds over beetle battle - Conservationists say Rep. Mark Udall's push for rapid forest thinning opens the door to abuses, Denver Post
Public favors roadless status, Denver Post editorial
Hills plants gain cover, The Rapid City Journal

Please, no take-backs, Summit Daily editorial
Fourteeners free, Colorado Daily News
Vail land deal under appeal, The Denver Business Journal
Proposed land deals gain interest, The Capital Journal - Pierre, SD

Developer gunning for showdown - Rep. Larson up to Honts' challenge, eyes attending Wolf Creek forum, Durango Herald
Forest Service land for sale?, Summit Daily News
Land sale piques county's interest, Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald
Redrock canyons to get hard look at roadless meeting, Glenwood Springs Post Independent
GOP supports beetle bill, Summit Daily News
Judge OKs ski area avalanche work - Also rules that Silverton extreme skiers can still cross private mining claims, Durango Herald
Riverwire: Groups Crippled By Agreement - Potential wilderness motorized, River Runners for Wilderness
Memorandum of Agreement, Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association

Bush forest sale proposal runs into buzz saw, Colorado Springs Gazette at Salt Lake Tribune
SOUTHWESTERN REGION (Region 3):
Arizona and New Mexico
Pete should speak out against Bush land sale [NM Sen. 'Pete' Domenici], Santa Fe New Mexican editorial
Snow Allows For Brush Burn, Albuquerque Journal

Go green , New Mexico, The New Mexican

Weed Control Policy: Do No Harm, Albuquerque Journal op-ed

Supertanker readied for wildfire season - The 747, a former passenger jet, awaits federal OKs at business in Marana, Tucson Citizen
INTERMOUNTAIN REGION (Region 4):
Southern Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and SW Wyoming
In search of 'big daddy', Jackson Hole News & Guide

Ads in the forests, Summit Daily News at Jackson Hole Tribune
Gov. Huntsman's bogus roadless plan, Salt Lake Tribune op-ed by UEC

The sell-off of America continues - Bush should stick to destroying woodlands on his Texas ranch with his personal chainsaw, Idaho Mountain Express editorial

Bush forest sale proposal runs into buzz saw, Colorado Springs Gazette at Salt Lake Tribune
Find way to raise funds without selling forest land, feds say - Some Idaho areas on list are popular for recreation, The Idaho Statesman
Developer seeks forest land in Alpine exchange - Company would swap acreage along McCoy Creek in Idaho, Jackson Hole News&Guide
Timber town hopes to survive as lone sawmill closes, The Lewiston Tribune at Twin Falls Times-News
Uinta forest to have eco-impact evaluation - Energy leasing: The study will determine the suitability of future oil and gas exploration, Salt Lake Tribune
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST (Region 5): California
Sudden oak death plaguing W. Marin, Marin Independent Journal

Guinda water forum held, Daily Democrat
Trees' impact varies, Sacramento Bee

2 isle forests join 'experiment' - Big Isle tracts covering 40,000 acres will be part of a stewardship research program, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

USFS officials could face discipline for wildfire - Landowners seek recovery aid, answers on how flames escaped, Redding Record Searchlight
The BMP quandary, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza

Senators get earful on forest labor abuse - The Pineros: Men of the Pines, Sacramento Bee
Contractors rip rivals for pineros' plight - A U.S. Senate panel takes up wage and safety issues today, Sacramento Bee
A Good Job For Some - Working in the woods is hard and dangerous work, but don't sell it short, Forest Magazine
PACIFIC NORTHWEST (Region 6):
Oregon and Washington