Help Prevent Logging at Robinson Forest, Kentucky

    The University of Kentucky is preparing to log some one thousand acres of its 14,786-acre research, demonstration, and teaching forest on the Cumberland Plateau in eastern Kentucky. This forest, Robinson Forest, is far from being old growth, as it was completely logged between 1900 and 1920.  Nevertheless, as Dave Maehr, Conservation Biologist in the Department of Forestry has written, "its age, its structure, and its size make it unique in the region," and, because of these characteristics, its biodiversity "is also unique."  The university plans to conduct a Streamside Management Zone Study, comparing the logged acreage to control acres, for the purpose of determining the effects of logging on streams. The streams in question are "reference water" for the state, that is water from other streams is compared to the study streams to determine its purity. Thus, the study streams are among the cleanest in Kentucky; the absurdity of subjecting them to the effects of logging is obvious.  Furthermore, conservationists are afraid that logging the proposed acreage will lead to further logging and eventually to mining the coal under the forest. 

    The timber cut in the project will be sold to raise money for scholarships for students from Eastern Kentucky, but the university can find the money elsewhere.  The Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club is asking that letters urging protection for the forest be sent to Dean Scott Smith, College of Agriculture, Room S 123, Agricultural Science Building N, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506 with a copy to President Lee T. Todd, Jr., Office of the President, 101 Main Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-00320.  It suggests that readers seeking more information, email Elizabeth Glass at rhinoglass@aol.com or call her at 502-243-2338.

                                                                                                    --posted November 8, 2007

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Support for Roadless Legislation Needed

    May 24, more than 140 members of the House of Representatives introduced the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2007, which would permanently protect 58.5 million acres of forest land in thirty-nine states.  Eighteen senators introduced a parallel bill in the Senate.  

    The Roadless Area Conservation Rule established under President Clinton limited road building, logging, and other development on about 50 million acres of forest land.  The Bush administration repealed the rule, but Federal Judge Elizabeth LaPorte in the U.S. District Court for North California found that the administration had acted illegally and reinstated it.  The roadless acreage therefore has protected status at the present time, but the administration is accepting state petitions for exemptions from the rule under the Administrative Procedures Act.  The future of the forest land is uncertain unless the Roadless Area Conservation Rule is codified into law.

    Members of the House and Senate need to hear from constituents that the bills that have been introduced are important to them.  To see copies of the legislation and a list of the original cosponsors, go to the web site of the American Lands Alliance, www.americanlands.org, and click on "Breaking News: Senate and House Introduce Roadless Legislation."  Electronic letters can be sent from the American Lands web site.

                                                                                     --posted May 25, 2007

Rally for Climate Change, April 14 

    Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature, is spearheading the organization of a day of rallies intended to force Congress and the administration to take action to slow climate change. Last year McKibben organized a walk across Vermont to call attention to the climate change issue.  This year he and colleagues are going national with the aim of stimulating the growth of a much needed mass movement.  The change in climate now occurring is a manmade phenomena that will strip natural areas of any claim to being "original" or "primary."  Participate April 14 to help protect our forests, grasslands, and wildlife from climate mayhem.  At http://stepitup07.org you can find whether any events are already being organized near you and, if not, sign up to organize one yourself.  Make sure to contact the media in advance about any events that you organize.         

                                                                                        --posted March 28, 2007

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3/11/06

US  Forest Service Threatens to Sell Old Growth in North Carolina

             The Bush administration has proposed selling nearly 1500 acres in Madison County, North Carolina  despite the fact that the acreage includes old growth with trees more than two hundred years old.  The land is within Pisgah National Forest and is in twenty-five “small” tracts, many of them remote and isolated. 

            The older forests in the county tend to be predominantly Chestnut Oak and to be on or above steep rocky cliffs. Examples of old-growth sites that would be sold are Chestnut Oak forest on a cliff above Woolyshot Branch in Spring Creek and a rock cliff forest on Dixon Mountain, where an oak that was cored turned out to have 266 growth rings and a hollow center.  Such tracts are prime habitat for Black Bear who like to travel along ridges and who seek out large trees for their dens.        

            The sale of the land would be conducted under the “Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Land Sales Initiative.”  The US Forest Service is accepting comments on this Initiative until March 30 by e-mail to <SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us>.  Concerned citizens are also contacting their representatives in the US Congress.  

Sources:  Josh Kelly, old-growth researcher, and the Western North Carolina Alliance (www.wnca.org)

Help Save A Primeval Forest in Northern Europe

            The 1600 sq km (617 square mile) Bialowieza Forest , “the last large remaining fragment of primeval deciduous forest” in northern Europe is disappearing.   Bialowieza is a remnant of the forests that once covered the lowlands of Europe and is home to a rich wildlife, including wolves, lynx, and Wisent (Bison bonasus)j.  Polish scientist Thomas Wesolowski in an article in Conservation Biology (“Virtual Conservation,” October 2005, pp. 1349-1358) presents the urgency of the situation and calls for help. 

            Completely protected forests amount to less than 0.1% of Europe ’s woodlands and are mostly in little populated regions and on terrain inhospitable to agriculture. Bialowieza is an exception.  It is easily accessible and on rich soil.  The forest survived largely intact from the fourteenth century to the early twentieth century, because it was a royal hunting preserve.  Logging began with the Germans in World War I.

            After World War II, the forest was divided between Poland (40%) and the Soviet Union (now Belarus 60%).  In the Polish portion, a 4700-ha Bialoweiza National Park has been strictly protected; commercial logging has taken place over the remainder.  The doubling of the area covered by the National Park in 1996 and the establishment of new nature reserves in 2003 made little difference.  As of 2001 stands 100 years of age or older covered only 20% of the managed forest.

        .  In the Soviet era, extensive drainage works were constructed, but commercial logging did not take place.  When Belarus came into existence, it set aside a 15,700-ha national park and encouraged logging elsewhere in the forest. Now a sawmill complex has been built within the park, and commercial logging is proceeding even there.

            Despite the destruction, patches of forest that retain characteristics of primitive forest, not found in other European temperate forests, remain: stands with multiple stories, much dead wood, large trees, diverse tree communities, and variation in age and size of trees within stands, with some individuals 400-500 years old.  The wildlife population is diverse.  Although the forest has not yet been completely inventoried, some 900 species of vascular plants, 200 Bryopsida, 400 lichens, 3000 fungi, more than 9280 insects, 178 breeding birds, and 58 species of mammals have been recorded.  Furthermore, the species are present in communities in which “interrelationships among species and their abiotic environment” are retained. 

            The forest is indispensable to scientists, as it is the only place where “one can still observe ecological and evolutionary processes once typical of the biome of deciduous and mixed-deciduous European forests.”  It is also a benchmark against which other European forests can be judged. Research in the forest has resulted in more than 4000 scientific publications.   

            The completely protected Bialowieza National Park is not large enough to preserve the characteristics of the primeval forest and its natural processes.  Wildlife populations are already being adversely impacted.  Scientists, non-government organizations, and many members of the general public in Poland and Belarus realize this, but presentations to the governments and protests have not stopped the logging.       The forest can only be saved by international pressure on the governments of Poland and Belarus and on European institutions, particularly the European Union, which could change the attitude of the national governments and furnish financial help. In the long term, such legal measures as the transformation of the entire forest into a strictly protected binational park need to be put in place.  In the short term, the essential is an immediate ban on “all logging in natural stands of the forest.”  

            Polish conservationists have organized an international forest protection campaign to culminate with a concert in Biolowieza Village March 3; and the struggle in Belarus continues.  Below are a number of actions readers can choose to take.          

              Send hard-copy letters to

President of Poland, Lech Kacyznski,ul. Wiejska 10, 00-902 Warsaw, Poland (include a request that he initiate legislation on behalf of the forest)

Janusz Reiter, The Polish Ambassador, Polish Embassy, 2640 16th Street, NW, Washington , DC 20009

President of the Belarus Republic, A. G. Lukashenko, 38 Karl Marx Street, Minx, Belarus 220016  (and a copy if possible to the person below)

Minister of Natural Resources of Belarus, L. I. Khoruzhick, 10 Kollektornaya Street, Minsk, Belarus 220048

           In  the European Union, contact through a hard-copy letter and/or e-mail the following: 

 Mr. Stavros Dimas, Commissioner for the Environment, stavros.dimas@cec.eu.int

 Mrs. Danuta Hübner, Commissioner for Regional Policy, Cabinet-Huebner@cec.eu.int

 Janez Potocnik, Commissioner for Science and Research, janez.potocnik@cec.eu.int

 The address for letters for each of the three people in the European Commission is European Commission, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium.

            Written communications need not be lengthy; but should include the fact that the forest is an international treasure and that logging of stands of natural origin must be banned immediately.  Each hard-copy letter to Europe requires 84 cents in stamps (air mail).

             Coverage of the issue in the North American media would be immensely helpful in putting  pressure on the governments of Poland and Belarus.  If you can, call the attention of the media to Bialowieza Forest .  English-speaking conservationists in Poland who can conduct interviews by telephone can be identified through an e-mail to this web site or to the ones listed below. 

            If you live in a major city, visit the Polish embassy/consulate to speak to the staff (US addresses at  www.polandembassy.org/Links/p7-2.htm ) or distribute flyers or organize a demonstration outside the embassy/consulate and send out press announcements on your action.

            Further information and photographs can be found at http://www.republika.pl/bialowieza_forest/ and http://bison.org.pl/ .

             Our description of the forest above is based on the article by Wesolowski cited above, “Virtual Conservation:  How the European Union Is Turning a Blind Eye to Its Vanishing Primeval Forest”; the actions are drawn from the web sites listed and from personal communications from Stefan Jakimiuk and Eunice Blavascunas in Poland.   

    2/17/06  UPDATE on Bialowieza  Demonstrations at Polish embassies and consulates across the world are planned for March 3.  Phone calls to embassies and consulates March 3 would strengthen the expression of public opinion.  The site http://bison.org.pl/ gives location and other contact information for every embassy and consulate.  (Look in the right hand column of the home page for Polish diplomacy.)