Nevada governor chides Forest Service over fire

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's governor has criticized a U.S. Forest Service decision to let a wildfire burn unchecked for two weeks, allowing it to "get out of control."

A lightening-caused fire that ignited Aug. 21 in northeast Nevada has grown from about 13 square miles to 76 square miles, officials said. It also has moved to within 4 miles of the small town of Jarbidge.

The blaze was 30 percent contained Sunday. No homes were threatened, and no major injuries were reported.

"The forest fire that we have today was allowed to get out of control, knowing the dangers of the fuel loading and the weather conditions — dry, hot, windy," Gov. Jim Gibbons told the Elko Daily Free Press.

The Forest Service initially tried to fight the fire, which is burning in a remote area of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, but pulled out after deciding the area's rugged terrain put firefighters at risk.

"We weighed the firefighter safety issues against the values that we were trying to protect and decided to take a less aggressive strategy to managing the fire," Forest Supervisor Ed Monnig told The Associated Press. "Unfortunately, we had several strong wind events that have pushed the fire beyond anything we predicted."

Fire experts had predicted there would be less than a 2 percent chance of the fire escaping the wilderness, Monnig said.

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Govt plans Traveston tree planting

The Queensland Government is aiming to plant up to two million forestry trees as part of the construction of the proposed Traveston Crossing dam near Gympie in the state's south-east.

The Government is this week calling for expressions of interest from forestry plantation operators to grow the trees.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Infrastructure Minister Paul Lucas said the proposed plantation would cover more than 2,000 hectares.

"Not only will the forest initiative revitalise the Mary Valley timber industry, the offsets of up to 850,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions will more than offset the dam's estimated 140 tonne construction footprint," he said.

The president of the Save the Mary River Coordinating Group, Kevin Ingersole, does not believe planting the trees will offset the carbon emissions from the controversial dam.

"Two hundred and seventy thousand tonnes a year is the estimate of the emissions from that dam. The pumping cost emissions are about 130,000, so if the dam operates the way they say it would basically it's going to emit about 400,000 tonnes a year and I don't think they've taken that into account in their two million trees," he said.

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Invest in the future: Plant a tree

Libba Wolfe

Maybe you started reading my last column about utility line tree planting and thought, “Don’t need it” and turned to the funny pages.

Maybe you live in a new neighborhood where all the utility lines are buried.

Or maybe you’re considering a new tree in the back yard or the lower 40 where overhead wires aren’t a concern.

There still are many factors to consider when planting a tree. The first one, and I should have mentioned it last time, is a call to Miss Utility, (800) 552-7001 or simply 811. Planting a tree isn’t like slipping petunias in. You’re dealing with a big hole and big roots.

The utility companies will mark your lines within seven days of your call. So much easier than digging into your gas line. Also, 10 years down the road, when your water line needs repair and your tree has to be uprooted, you’ll wish you had called.

When I called Eric Wiseman, urban forester at Virginia Tech, I wanted to talk about trees to plant under utility wires. And we did. He’s a real “tree man” and I picked up all kinds of tips on tree selection.

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Plan before planting trees

Libba Wolfe

I planned the layout of my sidewalk and front yard borders around three magnificent old Norway maples. The weakest one didn’t survive the construction process and we had to take it down three years ago.

The second one, despite intensive professional care, quickly lost its will to live. My husband worried that if we didn’t take it down, we’d find it crashed into the living room one windy night.

Even when a tree is obviously dying, it’s a hard decision to take it down. It’s been gone since mid-June.

Losing a big old tree changes everything. Its absence still brings me up short when I drive up our street. The rooms on that side of the house have been hot as blazes this summer. And the shade-loving plants that thrived under its canopy have fried in the afternoon sun. Oh, I miss that tree.

I’ve since found out that Norway maples have a healthy life expectancy of 35 to 45 years. It must have been the “it” tree in the 1940s and ’50s. My neighborhood is full of them and many are dying.

I’ve spent the summer dithering about what to replace it with and how to adjust my plantings. My dilemma is complicated by the utility lines running to the house.

Let’s face it. Putting in a border of shrubs and perennials is short-term gardening. Even the longest-lived can be moved or removed if you make a mistake. Planting a tree involves long-term thinking and deserves serious thought.

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State to Preserve Heart of Adirondacks

State environmental officials agreed on Thursday to preserve a vast swath of wild acreage in the northern part of Adirondack Park, using a combination of outright purchase and conservation easements meant to protect both wilderness and jobs.

The deal was praised by environmental groups, which had urged the state to act quickly to gain control of most of the 161,000 acres that the Nature Conservancy acquired from a paper company last year. The land is considered crucial to protecting the heart of the Adirondacks.

Local leaders in the Adirondacks, who have been concerned about land conservation crowding out economic opportunity, will have several months to approve or reject the plan.

As laid out by state officials in meetings with local officials and environmental groups on Thursday, New York State will buy more than 57,000 acres that had been owned by Finch, Pruyn & Company since the Civil War and add it to the existing forest preserve, which is off limits to development or timber cutting but open for public recreation.

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eMinutes(R) Commits to Plant 10,000 Trees by 2013

Law firm launches paperless campaign to encourage digital document delivery, increase efficiency

LOS ANGELES, Aug 29, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- eMinutes(R), a leading provider of legal counsel related to business formation and the maintenance of legal entities, announced today that it will plant trees on behalf of clients who choose their paperless delivery option. To date, the company has planted more than 2,200 trees through American Forests(R), and they've set a five-year deadline to reach the 10,000-tree milestone.
As a law firm that forms hundreds of corporations and LLCs every year and maintains the corporate records for thousands of entities, eMinutes relies heavily on paper. The firm's founder sees digital document delivery as an opportunity to increase the firm's productivity, enabling them to offer a greater level of efficiency to clients throughout the world.
"Like most law firms, we churn through a shocking amount of paper," said Jeffrey Unger, founder eMinutes ( http://www.eminutes.com). "With paperless delivery, everyone wins -- the clients, the environment, and the firm itself."

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Trees damaged by storm can be saved

Some trees ravaged by Thursday's freight train of a storm may be salvageable, desert garden experts say.

The storm uprooted everything from eucalyptus to ocotillo and even split the trunks of trees in half.

How can you tell if your tree can be saved?

"If the roots aren't out of the ground, then it's probably salvageable. If the roots are out of the ground, I probably wouldn't bother," said Jay Harper of Harper's Nurseries & Landscape Co. in Mesa and Scottsdale.

That is a good rule of thumb for trees, but cactuses and succulents such as ocotillos probably can be replanted with success even if the roots are out of the ground, Harper said.

As for a split trunk, you can try applying a pruning sealer on the damaged area and then wrapping the trunk with cloth tree tape, Harper said. Sometimes, a tree will knit back together, Harper said. If the trunk is big enough, you can even drill a hole and bolt it back together, he said.

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Minister bemoans fragmented forest ecosystem

Mrs. Esther Obeng Dapaah, Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines has blamed the state, traditional and civil society organisations for the nation's highly fragmented forest ecosystem.

She said satellite images have revealed the fragmented forest system, which has consequently denied wild animals the requisite space to regenerate.

Mrs Dapaah made the observation in a speech read on her behalf at a national workshop at the University Ghana, Legon, to develop a framework for the establishment and management of Community Resources Management Areas.

The framework is to be incorporated into Ghana's Forest Master Plan, which is currently under review.

The CREMA, an initiative of the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, has the aim of providing skills, capacity, and finance to communities to better handle and preserve the forest resources in the areas where a CREMA is established.

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Greening Soweto, tree by tree

Thousands of trees are being planted in Soweto under the award-winning Greening Soweto, aimed at turning the sprawling township into an urban forest ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. And the City is calling on more people to participate.

WHEN Executive Mayor Amos Masondo led the planting of 6 000 trees to launch Greening Soweto in September 2006, an ambitious project to beautify the massive township ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, he began what has become Joburg's "biggest greening revolution".

Since then, 51 821 indigenous trees, worth R46-million, have been planted along Soweto's streets and in its gardens. Through Greening Soweto, a legacy project of the World Cup, the City aims to plant more than 300 000 trees in the country's biggest township.

"We are satisfied with the progress of the project," says Jenny Moodley, the spokesperson at Johannesburg City Parks, the agency charged with the mammoth task of implementing it.

With R7,6-million set aside for Greening Soweto, it is the City's biggest greening initiative. "It is by far the biggest greening initiative in terms of implementation. The landscape of Soweto is changing for the better."

In his budget speech for the 2006-07 financial year, Masondo said: "The greening of Soweto will receive R7,6-million, which will primarily be driven by the planting of street trees to enhance the quality of life and the environment; in 2006-07, 5 000 trees will be planted."

Johannesburg Water, City Power and Johannesburg Roads Agency are on board to ensure that there is sufficient water and power, and that roads are in good condition. The World Conservation Union and the national Department of Water Affairs and Forestry have also endorsed the programme.

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Trees blossom for Madiba

Nelson Mandela turned 89 yesterday, and to mark the occasion 89 trees were planted at Thokoza Park. Another sapling will be added each year on the day.

THE 89 young trees planted in honour of former president Nelson Mandela swayed gaily in the breeze and the colourful ribbons tied around them fluttered gently, much like they were doing the Madiba jive, the political icon's famous dance.

Near by, children from Henley Primary School in Rockville, Soweto, crooned a song specially dedicated to Madiba, lending a celebratory atmosphere to an otherwise quiet Thokoza Park.

Addressing guests who included Nthato Motlana, a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the acting managing director of City Parks, Geoffrey Cooke, Oscar Oliphant, the unit's senior manager of media liaison, said 18 July was a special day in the life of all South Africans and the world at large.

"Today we are celebrating the life of one of South Africa's finer sons, Madiba. Also, today we are gathered here to plant 89 trees, a symbolic gesture to mark Madiba's 89th birthday," he said.

City Parks would add one tree every year as Madiba grew older, according to Oliphant. "None of us know when we will stop planting the trees for Madiba, though."

Echoing Oliphant's words, Cooke said the planting of a tree epitomised strength and longevity. "We at City Parks are humbled in enrooting Nelson Mandela's beliefs in making the world a healthier, more peaceful and more environmentally friendly earth for generations to come."

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Plant a tree… plant many trees!

BY NOW, the normal just about anyone who either reads or watches TV is learning more about this phenomenon called global warming. What was an indistinct cry accredited previously to scientific kooks or others like them is hitting more and more closely to home. Especially when one considers that life will never be quite the same. For one, that oceanfront condo or seaside resort once so beckoning may not be such a welcome investment after all, especially with the threat of inundation so real and so near.

What can one do to help — even in a little way — alleviate global warming? I will not go into the whys and wherefores of why one should plant trees, but simply exhort everyone to get off his or her butt and get ready to plant a tree or trees after what promises to be a long hot summer. First of all, it is a big mistake to plant any trees or do serious gardening work at this time of the year. The heat and need for water will militate against your effort. Let nature take its course and wait for the rainy season to begin come June.

But wait… to plant trees, one will need seedlings. And not just any seedlings, mind you. One must first consider where one is going to plant his tree(s), and whether the area can support the type of tree one has in mind. For example, one should not plant forest type dipterocarps in areas like sidewalks that have those pesky Meralco or PLDT posts with lines and wires on them. Nor should one plant big trees where both plumbing and other sanitary facilities are located, like one’s village water system. So, read a bit and look around at what trees are already in place, and consider which ones will suit you best. Do you want trees with large leafy canopies, or large flowering shrubs that almost mimic small trees? Or do you want trees that will attract birds and bats, and help in the furtherance of the ecosystem?

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It’s tree planting time again

It's national Arbor Week next week and everyone has been urged to plant a tree. Joburg is taking up the lead, and will plant more than 60 000 trees in September.

ANOTHER sapling will be added to Madiba's collection of birthday trees in Thokoza Park, Soweto, to mark his 90th birthday, and the 90 990th tree planted for the Soweto Greening project.

Taking place on 4 September, the occasion will also mark the start of a month of tree planting for the City of Johannesburg as part of national Arbor Week.

"On the day, 1 000 trees will be planted at various institutions around Thokoza," says Jenny Moodley, the media spokesperson for City Parks. Madiba will be present to cut the ceremonial ribbon around the wild olive that will be planted in his honour.

In July 2007, the City planted 89 trees in Thokoza Park to honour Nelson Mandela during his birthday month, with the promise that a new tree would be added each year.

The tree that Madiba will be planting will be for ceremonial purposes only as City Parks has already planted all these trees, Moodley confirms. The more than 90 000 trees have been planted along main arterials leading into Soweto as well as throughout the township to green one of Johannesburg's most populated, but barren areas.

And it is a landmark target for the Soweto Greening project which is now approaching its third year. The project officially kicked off in September 2006 when Executive Mayor Amos Masondo planted the first 6 000 trees.

The target for the project is to plant 200 000 trees in the next three years. The Soweto Greening project has since also been extended to other marginalised areas, Moodley confirms.

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Funds available for tree planting

NORTHUMBERLAND - The local conservation authority has money available to help residents increase the forest habitat on their properties.

The Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA) is accepting tree orders and preparing planting plans for the 2009 planting season, said GRCA watershed stewardship technician, Pam Lancaster. Funding is available to assist landowners with planting within the GRCA jurisdiction, said Ms. Lancaster.

Partnerships between the GRCA and the Trees Ontario Foundation, the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation, the Municipality of Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham and the Municipality of Port Hope provide funding to help offset the cost of planting trees, she said. GRCA staff can order tree seedlings for landowners wishing to do the planting themselves or the GRCA can plant the trees for the landowners. Forests protect soil and water, increase habitat for wildlife, provide a renewable natural resource and enhance property values, she added.

For more information on the 2009 tree planting program, contact Ms. Lancaster at 905-885-8173.

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Tree Planting Trend Goes Corporate in Costa Rica

Yesterday one hundred people from the province of Alajuela gathered together and planted 3 trees each. Fruit trees, ornamental and timber trees found a new place in the Madre Verde Reserve of Palmares, in Alajuela. This activity, part of the Naturally Green (Naturalmente Verde) campaign was financed by Business Group M. The company is planning to sponsor two of the 40 hectares of Costa Rica Land that was chosen eight years ago to be used for the protection of the area’s water tables.

Such an activity is splendid in a country like Costa Rica where conservation plays such a big role in maintaining its ecological value and where development has begun to show some adverse effects. It is not an isolated case either. Tree planting is all over the news ever since the country announced its goal to plant 7 million trees in 2008, thus one-upping its achievement of planting 5 million trees last year. Everyone seems to be getting in on the fun, from elementary schools to surfers to large companies like Group M.

The word is spreading internationally as well. A program set in Ethiopia last year showed how some African women set a campaign and gathered hundreds of people so that they could all plant 11 trees each; research showed that a human being, throughout his lifetime, uses the equivalent amount of oxygen that is produced by approximately 11 trees. This is talking about the life of an African person. What we, in the modern world, consume with our cars and frequent flights, is another story!

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Tree supporters appeal ruling on UC stadium plan

Two days before the football season starts at UC Berkeley, a group of oak tree supporters and Memorial Stadium neighbors filed an appeal to stop the university from building an athletic training center next to the 75,000-seat bowl.

The appeal, filed Thursday with the state Court of Appeal in San Francisco, comes two days after an Alameda County trial judge lifted an order preventing the university from beginning construction on the $125 million project.

"There are some basic legal and procedural issues we'd like to see resolved by a higher court," said Michael Kelly, president of the Panoramic Hill Association, representing the stadium's neighbors. "It's not surprising we had to go to the appeals court - the university has never lost in the lower courts in Alameda County."

The plaintiffs, who filed suit in December 2006, want the project scrapped because of its proximity to the Hayward Fault and the planned removal of 38 oak trees next to the stadium.

The court is expected to decide next week whether to lift the injunction preventing the university from beginning construction. If the court decides to hear the appeal, the injunction could be extended for a year or so, attorneys for both sides have said.

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Presidential tree planting

Aurora Parks and Open Space Department welcomed President Jimmy Carter, and his wife Rosalynn, to Bicentennial Park on Wednesday, Aug. 27. The couple planted trees alongside dozens of delegate volunteers during Delegate Service Day, part of the Democratic National Convention.

The event was coordinated by Democrats Work and hosted by the Aurora Parks and Open Space Department. Delegates and their families planted 76 new trees in Bicentennial Park; an appropriate number given that 1976 was the year of the US Bicentennial and also the year President Carter was elected.

The Carter family expressed their interest in preserving trees and working hard to improve communities across the country. The Aurora tree planting was one of thirty volunteer projects held across the metro area as part of the first ever Delegate Service Day

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Govt plans Traveston tree planting

The Queensland Government is aiming to plant up to two million forestry trees as part of the construction of the proposed Traveston Crossing dam near Gympie in the state's south-east.

The Government is this week calling for expressions of interest from forestry plantation operators to grow the trees.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Infrastructure Minister Paul Lucas said the proposed plantation would cover more than 2,000 hectares.

"Not only will the forest initiative revitalise the Mary Valley timber industry, the offsets of up to 850,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions will more than offset the dam's estimated 140 tonne construction footprint," he said.

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Bunyoro Kingdom in tree-planting drive

BUNYORO-KITARA Kingdom has launched a tree-planting campaign in an effort to prevent environmental degradation.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Aliba Emmanuel Kiiza, said they recently obtained funds from the UN Development Programme for the campaign that will cover Bunyoro region.

He was speaking last week after launching the planting of over 1,000 pine trees at Kagadi town in Kibaale district.
The premier, who represented the king, Solomon Gafabusa Iguru, said their plan was to turn Bunyoro into a green region to curb global warming.

Iguru went abroad on official duties.
On another matter, Kiiza urged the people of Bunyoro to plan how to benefit from oil exploration in the region instead of making “unnecessary noise” over oil shares.

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Tree-planting activities on

A tree-planting activity was held by wireless services provider Smart Communications Inc. at the Ipo Dam watershed in Norzagaray, Bulacan, recently as part of a three-year program of the PLDT Group, with mobile communications company NTT DoCoMo of Japan, a SMART press release said.

In the Visayas, tree-planting activities have started in Cebu in partnership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress-Visayas Regional Office, and in Iloilo, Negros Oriental, and Negros Occidental.

Public Affairs Community Partnerships senior manager, Darwin Flores, of SMART said their goal is to plant some 150,000 seedlings in various sites across the country by the end of November. Tree-planting initiatives like the one in Ipo Dam watershed is part of the company’s effort to contribute to the reduction of global carbon emission, he added.

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Venezuela’s “Tree Mission” Reforests 1,235 Acres in Central State

Mérida, August 27, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- Venezuela’s national tree planting program known as the “Tree Mission” has reforested 500 hectares (1,235 acres) in the state of Aragua, according to a statement released by the Environment Ministry.

The state level ministry director, Carmen Cannata, reported that during two large-scale tree planting operations last year, 290,000 trees of a variety of species were planted on river banks, in national parks, and other deforested areas across the state, which is on Venezuela’s central coast.

Environment Ministry workers teamed up with military personnel, military reservists, and the National Guard to carry out the operations. The total number of people involved was 850, according to Cannata.

Cannata said a new operation is planned to begin in the state of Aragua in September.

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