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OSU report finds shrinking snowpack, healthy forests
Oregonian
11/24/2009
Snowpack in some of the Oregon Cascade Range is dwindling, but western Oregon's Douglas fir forests appear unchanged, according to an analysis of climate change by researchers at Oregon State University.
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Western senators sponsor bill to attack pine beetles
San Francisco Chronicle
11/23/2009
More than 2.5 million acres of pine trees in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming have been killed by tiny beetles that burrow under the bark and lay their eggs, turning the green needles to the color of rust as they feed on the tree and restrict its ability to draw water.
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Recovery invisible to OR's small towns
Salem Statesman Journal
11/22/2009
Oregon's economy has hit bottom, and a slow recovery is under way, state lawmakers learned from forecasters. But the folks in Willamina, Dallas and countless rural towns across the state - which in some cases are one mill closure away from 80 percent unemployment - aren't celebrating.
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Oregon tree farmers invest in the majestic redwood
Ashland Daily Tidings
11/19/2009
Oregon tree farmers are planting at least 20,000 coastal redwood trees a year in Lane and Douglas counties. They're driven less the awe the big trees inspire in many people, than by the best return on their investment in 30 or 40 years, when the trees are harvested.
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Forests fight climate change on two fronts
Oregon Public Broadcasting
11/19/2009
And at a hearing on Capitol Hill, forest officials and lawmakers discussed ways that federal forestland could help combat climate change on at least two fronts.
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Reading the tree leaves
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/15/2009
Riding his bike to work at Western Washington University, geophysicist Bernie Housen used to wonder how unhealthy it was to be breathing in all those exhaust fumes. Thanks to the tree leaves along his route, he now has proof that his concerns were well founded, in a remarkable piece of research that could one day lead urban planners to consult the trees on where bike or walking paths should be located.
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Low prices bode poorly for Christmas tree farms
Oregonian
11/12/2009
Darcy and Cory Miller have seen many market fluctuations during the nearly three decades that they have grown and sold Christmas trees at Oregon's Deep Creek Tree Farms in Eagle Creek. But never one as brutal as this.
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Students help 'heal' forest
Ashland Daily Tidings
11/12/2009
A slope scorched by the Siskiyou fire in September will have 300 new shrubs and trees thanks to a group of hardworking students from Ashland. The 12-acre replanting project is part of an effort to connect local students with the environment.
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Canada's boreal forest top-rated carbon warehouse
Vancouver Sun
11/12/2009
The boreal forest stores more carbon than any land-based ecosystem on the planet, according to a new report that says the Amazon is no match for Canada's boggy bush.
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Views: Economic growth is devouring world's rain forests
Seattle Times
11/11/2009
It is going to be a long time before we transform the world's transportation fleet so it is emission-free, writes columnist Thomas L. Friedman. But right now we could eliminate 17 percent of all global emissions if we could halt the cutting and burning of tropical forests.
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Canada commits to wilderness deal
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/09/2009
The federal government has agreed to what's being billed as an unprecedented commitment to wilderness conservation in North America.
Environment Minister Jim Prentice today announced he's signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States and Mexico that binds the three countries together in defending uninhabited spaces.
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LEED for weeds
New West
11/08/2009
A coalition of landscape architects and botanists has created the nation's first rating system for green landscapes. As LEED has done for buildings, the Sustainable Sites Initiative will do for outside spaces that sequester carbon, clean the air and water, increase energy efficiency and restore habitat.
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Rural NW could receive economic boost
Oregonian
11/05/2009
Rural and disadvantaged communities in the Northwest could receive an economic boost thanks to $30 million in new markets tax credits allocated to Portland-based Ecotrust. The nonprofit organization plans to target former timber towns struggling to recover jobs and tribes working for economic benefits by improving the health of forests.
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All in a tree's work
Oregonian
11/06/2009
Twenty years ago, a group of children planted a sugar maple tree behind Boise-Eliot School in North Portland. The tree was supposed to grow tall and spread a graceful canopy, but looks more like a lollypop. The unremarkable tree goes about its remarkable job: cleaning the air of pollution, capturing carbon dioxide and filtering stormwater, while providing shade and a sense of well-being.
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BC clear-cuts flout forest salvage efforts
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/05/2009
A stampede to harvest pine beetle-killed lumber in interior British Columbia has resulted in gaping clear-cuts that flout recommendations made at the beginning of the salvage effort in 2004, increasing the risk of floods.
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Obama tweaking roadless forest logging rules
Oregonian
10/28/2009
Environmental groups in May hailed the Obama administration's decision to effectively pause development in about 58 million acres of road-free federal forests, but that decision is being weakened, however slightly.
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Oregon law found to discriminate against enviro disputes
Eugene Register Guard
10/29/2009
People against logging old growth forests won an Oregon Court of Appeals ruling Wednesday that struck down a state law on grounds it treats an environmental dispute differently.
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Arcata Forest signs on to new carbon program
Eureka Times-Standard
10/25/2009
Arcata has committed just more than 20 percent of its community forest to grow trees and store carbon, part of a contract with the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. meant to reduce greenhouse gases.
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Thousands rally for action on climate
Vancouver Sun
10/25/2009
About 5,000 people, including a shouting, sign-waving group of secondary school students, demonstrated on Vancouver's Cambie Bridge as part of the International Day of Climate Change. They were among millions of people around the world who took part in weekend demonstrations demanding government action on climate change.
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Rallying for (climate) change
Oregonian
10/25/2009
Kayakers and canoeists formed a giant 350 in the Willamette River this weekend joining actions in 181 countries that urged world leaders to act quickly and aggressively to reduce carbon emissions that cause climate change. Many climate scientists say the Earth can remain healthy at a top limit of 350 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere.
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Missing the forest
Oregonian
10/25/2009
A new study suggests warming temperatures predicted over the next century could boost tree growth on Northwest forests, but less so at lower elevations where most of the timber is and temperatures are already warm.
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Tree farmers may profit from climate regs
KUOW
10/23/2009
In our region, private timberland owners, farmers, and some tribal governments are dreaming dollar signs thanks to a growing market for carbon offsets meant to temper climate change.
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Idaho nursery gives forests a start
Seattle Times
10/21/2009
A Coeur d'Alene nursery is a genetic storehouse for Western forests. One of six nurseries in the national forest system, it grows seedlings that can be used to replenish woods wiped out by fires.
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Global warming could boost NW forest growth
Oregonian
10/19/2009
Global warming could increase overall productivity in the Pacific Northwest's forests during the next century, a study concludes, but growth could decrease in the lower elevation forests that have accounted for more than four-fifths of the region's timber harvest in recent years.
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Forest study sees upside of climate change
Los Angeles Times
10/20/2009
While gradually warming global temperatures long have been seen as an environmental threat, a study released Monday suggested that the forests of the Pacific Northwest could see a substantial gain in productivity as the thermometer climbs.
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