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The Nation’s Biggest Trees Announced (americanforests.org/ForestPress)

Photo by Ray K. Saunders Washington, D.C. A stately white oak in Virginia, a massive bristlecone pine in Nevada and a towering Coast-Douglas fir are among the new stars on a biennial list of the nation’s largest trees. Today, AMERICAN FORESTS, the nation’s oldest conservation group, unveiled the 2004-2005 National Register of Big Trees. AMERICAN FORESTS created the Register in 1940 as a way to champion forest conservation by recognizing the outstanding specimens of the nation’s native and naturalized trees.

2005. January 23.

US Forests Cost-Effective against Global Warming, Study Concludes (Reuters/ForestPress)

By Christopher Doering, WASHINGTON The cost of using forests to remove greenhouse gases from the air could be about the same as cutting pollution with fuel switching or energy efficiency improvements, according to a new report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. The Pew study estimated it would cost between $25 and $75 per ton to remove 300 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year through sequestration projects using vast expanses of forest land. Trees can absorb and store carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to global warming. If the cost to remove carbon was between $30 and $90 a ton, that would be roughly the same as other emission reduction measures used to trim energy consumption in buildings, automobiles and appliances, the report said.

2005. January 21.

Off-duty wildlife ranger suspected of poaching killed in Kenya (AFP/ForestPress)

NAIROBI Kenyan authorities said Wednesday they had shot and killed an off-duty wildlife ranger on a game reserve in central Kenya and had launched an investigation into his alleged involvement in a poaching gang. The unidentified ranger was accompanying a group of apparent poachers at the Lewa ranch based in Solio near the town of Nyeri on Tuesday when he was killed in a gunbattle with Kenya Wildlife Service and police officers, the KWS said.

2005. January 21.

’Continued structural changes of Finnish forest owners’ organizations (ForestPress)

The number of forest management associations in Finland has decreased to 155. As a consequence of mergers decided upon in 2004 the total number of forest management associations was reduced by three at year's end. The purpose of the mergers is to improve the services supplied by forest management associations to forest owners and to permit more efficient safeguarding of their interests.

2005. January 20.

Indonesia to Replant Mangroves in Tsunami Defense (Reuters/ForestPress)

By Andrew Quinn, JAKARTA Indonesia will replant huge swathes of mangrove forest along its vulnerable coastline to help provide a buffer against possible future tsunamis, the forestry minister said. Environmental experts say Southeast Asia's mangroves -- many of which have been ripped out to make room for shrimp and fish farms -- could have helped slow the Dec. 26 tsunami by providing a barrier between the killer waves and land.

2005. January 20.

Rosia Montana 's Carnic Massif: Not for Sale! (ForestPress)

Rosia Montana , Romania The Alba-Iulia Court of Appeal has suspended the discharge certificate for the so-called Carnic/Cirnic Massif. The decision was taken following a request calling for an urgent decision by ‘Alburnus Maior'* . Gabriel Resources (TSX: GBU), a junior Canadian mining company, intends to realize Europe's largest open-cast mining development in Rosia Montana entailing, amongst other, the involuntary resettlement of over 2000 people as well as the destruction of unique archaeological and natural sites. Over 1000 archaeologists and expert institutions have protested against the destruction of Rosia Montana 's unique archaeological heritage. Whilst according to Gabriel Resources the Carnic Massif is set to become the so-called Cirnic open pit, French archaeologists researching the massif since 2000 unearthed unique pre-Roman and Roman mine galleries in a remarkable state of preservation.

2005. January 20.

Deer eating away at forests nationwide (The Associated Press/ForestPress)

Population boom: 500,000 to 25 million in a decade ALBANY, N.Y. - Forty years ago, Charlie Scheer rarely saw a deer near his 625-acre nursery on the eastern end of Long Island. Today, he regularly sees five or six just crossing the road when he drives to his local deli in the morning. For Scheer, 63, president of the Long Island Farm Bureau, the animals are more akin to vermin than furry woodland creatures. Across the country, the rising white-tailed deer population is wreaking havoc on farms, changing the ecology of forests and causing ever more motor vehicle accidents and fatalities.

2005. January 19.

Hunters target another wolf (ForestPress)

Norway's top environmental official insists that wolves will continue to be protected in the country, but now another one may be hunted down. A female wolf suspected of attacking and killing around 100 dogs has raised the hackles of those living the eastern portions of Akershus and ?stfold counties. She was once a member of the so-called ?rjang-Kongsvinger pack, but lately she's been roaming on her own.

2005. January 19.

Press room

Alterglobalists' Week in Hungary

2005, February 11-16. In February 'Protect the Future' (Hungary) is organising two international conferences (Feb. 11-13 : Public Services, Globalisation and Sustainability; Feb. 13-16 : Seattle To Brussels Network Conference) in which we would like to ensure there is a significant participation from organisations from Central and Eastern Europe concerned about; - the privitisation of Public Services, GATS and/or the EU's 'Bolkenstein Directive', - agricultural 'reform' in the guise of inequitable and unsustainable EU and global agricultural trade agreements - GMOs - sweatshop production - international trade injustices perpetrated through the WTO - Fair Trade and other consumer issues such as eco-labelling, access to information, product boycotts, etc.

2005. January 18.

Tsunami healing through school (BBC News)

By Peter Dobbie Galle - Question: When does education become welfare? Answer: When you are 10 years old and have lost almost everything you possess to an act of nature you cannot possibly comprehend. I met Thirindra at the Sudarma school on the day of class registration - two weeks and one day since the tsunami hit. He was one of 628 pupils who had turned up for the most mundane of educational necessities, apparently showing that, despite his youth, he was here, he was alive and ready to return to normal. This tall young boy, with his quiet disposition and his bag of cooked rice and sweet-corn, displayed nothing more than curiosity in the noise and the rubble: What was that white van with Unicef plastered down one side doing in his school playground?

2005. January 18.

Catastrophic strom damage to Danish forests (Nordic Family Forestry/ForestPress)

The hurricane that hit Scandinavia on 8th January was equally disastrous for forests in Denmark as for those in Southern Sweden. The hurricane felled 2 million cubic meters of timber, which represents a little more than total annual felling in Denmark. The damage occurred in Northern Jutland. The great majority of fallen timber is coniferous wood. Most of the fallen forest will presumably be replanted with deciduous trees, in particular with oak.

2005. January 18.

Exports blamed for Amazon deforestation (Financial Times)

By Raymond Colitt in Sao Paulo New evidence that the rapid expansion of Brazil's export-fuelled agriculture sector is contributing to the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is emerging from a study being finalised by a group of leading environmental organisations. However there are indications that the government may have indeed become more aware of the problem after years of denying such links. Soyabean farming, the leading crop, has expanded by more than 50 per cent since 2001 and earned Brazil more than $10bn (€7.5bn, ?5.3bn) in foreign exchange last year. While soyabean farmers do not usually clear forest themselves, the authors of the report say, they fuel deforestation by driving cattle and rice farmers deeper into the forest. “Soyabean farming induces deforestation, it drives the agricultural frontier,” said Roberto Smeraldi, co-ordinator of the study conducted by the Brazilian Forum of 19 environmental organisations, including the WWF, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.

2005. January 15.

WOODLAND AWARD

Forestry Commission Scotland is hoping to encourage support for community woodland projects in the Stranraer area after success in helping to attract ?39,500 for a community park in East Ayrshire. The money for the Ayrshire project at Bellsbank Woodland was awarded out of the Fresh Futures programme which aims to improve the quality of life in Scottish communities. From the cash boost, a community roundhouse and bird-hide, made from timber donated by the Commission, is to be built, as well as a small network of new woodland paths. Foresters in Galloway are hopeful that the success of the Ayrshire project could have positive spin-offs closer to home. Dunragit wood, six miles east of Stranraer, has real potential for a community led initiative. The wood is already being used by locals so any improvements would benefit the community.

2005. January 15.

Estonia's timber industry shaken, not felled, by weekend storm (AFP)

Tallin The storm that raged across northern Europe at the weekend felled vast tracts of timber in the Baltic state of Estonia, creating a glut of wood on the market that some fear will bring down prices but others say is a blessing in disguise for this important export product. At least one million cubic metres of wood came down during the storm, according to preliminary estimates by the Estonian state forest management centre. "More than 20 percent of the planned cutting of state forest for this year has already been made -- by the storms," Ulvar Kaubi, marketing manager of the forest management centre, told AFP. "This means we have to fully review our cutting and sales plans for the year."

2005. January 15.

Storm causes unprecedented damage to northern Europe's forestry sector (AFP)

A storm that lashed northern Europe at the weekend caused unprecedented damage to forests in Sweden and the Baltic states and now threatens to put hundreds of small forest owners out of business, industry officials said on Tuesday. In Sweden, the country hardest hit by the storm where seven people died, the Federation of Forest Owners, Skogsaegarna, estimated Tuesday that 60 million cubic meters of wood were uprooted or damaged in just several hours overnight Saturday to Sunday, in what it called a "national catastrophe". "That's the equivalent of four years of felling. And that's an average, which means that some small owners saw their entire property destroyed by the storm," federation chairman Christer Segersteen told AFP. The damage to Swedish forests is the worst in 100 years, the National Board of Forestry said. In 1969, two storms led to the loss of 35 million cubic meters of wood.

2005. January 15.

USDA moves to protect nation's trees from 'sudden death' syndrome (USA TODAY)

By Elizabeth Weise, Tough new federal regulations designed to protect the nation's flora against the devastating plant disease known as sudden oak death syndrome take effect today, requiring nurseries in California, Oregon and Washington to be inspected, tested and certified before they can ship out of state. As much as 20% of the nation's plant material is estimated to come from those states, according to the American Nursery and Landscape Association. All growers in those states - about 2,400 - must have their stock certified by officials of USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service. And that means before spring, when millions of gardeners across the country will hit their local garden supply stores expecting shelves full of plants.

2005. January 15.

France to host major forum on species loss (AFP/ForestPress)

PARIS A major conference on biodiversity will take place in Paris from January 24-28, the French ministry of research said Monday. The forum, taking place at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) headquarters, will be attended by 1,200 researchers, environmentalists and decision-makers, it said. The conference was sketched by French President Jacques Chirac at the G8 summit in Evian, France, in June 2003.

2005. January 15.

News

Greenies continue their old-growth vigil (Herald Sun)

CONSERVATIONISTS yesterday continued a protest to stop old-growth logging in Victoria's southeast. Spokesman Billy Dain said logging trucks had been turned away from the Ellery forest, 40km northeast of Orbost, since 3.30am on Wednesday. One woman sat in a wooden structure, 8m above an access road, while two others were on a 30m-high tree platform connected to logging machinery, he said.

2005. January 15.