PB Lends Name To Tree Fight

[Ace]

Pierce Brosnan Lends Name To Tree Fight: Measure would bar logging ancient trees except in emergencies

DON THOMPSON

Associated Press
Jun. 14, 2004


SACRAMENTO - After actor Pierce Brosnan became the latest celebrity to back a ban on logging California's oldest trees, an Assembly committee Monday passed a bill it had stymied last year.

Brosnan, the latest actor to play secret agent James Bond, urged the Assembly to follow the Senate in approving a bill that would allow only emergency logging in private and state forests of large hardwoods, redwoods, giant sequoias, Douglas firs and Port Orford cedars that were growing when commercial logging began in 1850, the year California became a state.

After it had delayed the bill last year, the Assembly Natural Resources Committee approved it 7-1 Monday, but only after bill sponsor Sen. Don Perata promised he will resolve provisions that committee members said could hurt responsible landowners.

Timber land owners argued the bill will harm the economies of rural timber communities, which have already been pounded by restrictions on logging. It will also make millions of dollars of valuable timber impossible to sell, thereby forcing owners to chop it down before the legislation makes it worthless, said representatives of the California FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified Landowners, a group of land owners who cut timber.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection also opposes the bill as "unnecessary and scientifically unsound" because old growth forests are protected under other existing laws.

That's not enough, bill supporters said.

"These ancient trees are a link to our past and our hope for the future," Brosnan said at a news conference before the vote. "Along our coastlines, deep in the valleys, atop the mountains and in the forests, old growth trees are a living symbol of California's natural, historical, cultural heritage."

His wife, environmental activist Keely Brosnan, called the trees "a natural wonder" that provide important habitat for many species, including endangered ones.

Singer Bonnie Raitt and famed tree-sitter Julia "Butterfly" Hill previously endorsed a variation of the bill that backers tried unsuccessfully to put before voters in the form of a ballot initiative.

Only 3 percent of the trees remain, and of those just 1 percent are on nonfederal land and would be affected by the bill, said Perata, D-Oakland. The Campaign for Old Growth estimates the bill could protect as many as 3 million trees spread over millions of acres, mainly in the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, Siskiyous and coastal mountains.

Meanwhile, the same committee advanced, 7-0, a bill requiring four firefighters on state wildland fire engines, instead of the current three, and extending the fire season year-round in Southern California.

It also approved, 7-0, a bill requiring counties with oak woodlands to develop measures for developers or farmers who want to remove oak trees to make up for the losses, including planting oak trees somewhere else.

Committee members also conditionally approved, 6-1, putting before voters a California Clean Air Bond Act. If voters approve, the state would borrow $5.15 billion to pay for converting farm equipment to cleaner-burning technology, to offer farmers incentives to phase out agricultural burning, to research and reduce emissions from confined animal facilities, and other air quality-related programs.

ON THE NET

Read SB754, SB1346, SB1334 and SB403: www.senate.ca.gov

Campaign for Old Growth: www.ancienttrees.org

Forest Stewardship Council: fscus.org

[curious george]

I don't deny that saving the old trees is important...but do these groups ever try to help find ways for the loggers to continue to make a living?

cg

[Ace]

These trees are suppossed to already be protected but the current law didn't extend past Federal lands. They account for 1% of the trees available for logging on non federal land that would be affected by this bill. I have sympathy for the loggers but if they can't make a living without logging that 1% then they should find another occupation.

Any how a headline only in California:

James Bond battles Terminator over bill

Pierce Brosnan and Gov. Schwarzenegger key players in forestry preservation

By Steve Geissinger - SACRAMENTO BUREAU

SACRAMENTO -- James Bond went nose to nose with The Terminator on Monday over controversial, ancient-forest protection legislation by a powerful senator who represents the urban Bay Area.
And Bond accomplished his mission -- as always -- at least for now. But the saga isn't over.

Put another way, in the ever-zanier state Capitol, environmentalist Pierce Brosnan, well-known for his portrayal of the British super-spy in some James Bond films, met with top aides of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger,

of "Terminator" movie fame, over a bill by Senate Majority Leader Don Perata, D-Oakland.

With Brosnan's help, Perata convinced an Assembly committee to approve a bill it blocked a year ago that would plug legal loopholes allowing the cutting of old-growth, heritage trees on non-federal land.

Foes argued the measure would be costly while supporters said it would affect relatively few landowners.

Analysts said the measure, SB 574, is now likely to zip through the rest of the Legislature on its way to Schwarzenegger.

"Californians and most Americans believe that our ancient trees are protected but loopholes in the law still allow these trees to be cut down," Brosnan said at a Capitol news conference before the committee hearing. "This bill deserves the support of the full Legislature and Gov. Schwarzenegger."

But the governor's aides said he has yet to take a position on SB 754.

The Assembly Natural Resources Committee, on a 7-1 vote, advanced the bill to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, after which it would go to the full floor of the lower house and back to the Senate for consideration of amendments.

The measure was introduced in the first year of a two-year session. The Assembly Natural Resources Committee rejected it last July due to opposition but granted it reconsideration.

Perata's bill is aimed at plugging legal loopholes that allow cutting of Coast Redwoods, Douglas firs, giant sequoias, Port Orford cedars and hardwoods that have been alive since 1850 on non-federal land. The year is significant because trees develop old-growth characteristics at about the 150-year mark.

Later, during the legislative hearing, which was not attended by Brosnan, a host of environmental groups and other bill supporters said that comprehensive laws are needed to protect the small number of remaining old-growth trees on non-federal lands because modern forestry technology makes it economical to harvest them.

Forests containing old-growth trees are valuable for tourism, aesthetic appreciation, biodiversity, resistance to disease, water quality and wildlife habitat, supporters said.

Foes of the legislation -- which include the California Forestry Association and Forest Landowners of California -- argued that old-growth trees are adequately protected in state parks, national parks, wilderness areas of U.S. forests and by the timber industry's own stewardship programs.

Furthermore, bill opponents said, complying with the bill would be costly, largely because of the need to identify old-growth trees, set aside buffer zones around them and deal with the resulting restrictions on harvesting practices.

Foes and supporters alike attended the news conference before the hearing but they -- and news representatives -- were nearly outnumbered by movie star fans. And, though that's no longer unusual at the Capitol, Brosnan did not disappoint onlookers as their cameras clicked away.

Accompanied by his wife, Keely, he looked a lot like the British super spy he's played in the movies. He wore black slacks and a light gray sport coat over a bright blue shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, as if he were about to sit down at a tropical bar, introduce himself as "Bond, James Bond," and order a martini, "shaken, not stirred."

[Ace]

Malibu Times: Brosnan behind saving 'living symbols'



Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith speak at the Campaign For Old Growth fundraiser June 14 at AXE restaurant in Venice.

Pierce Brosnan, Keely Shaye Smith host fundraiser to help save old-growth trees.

By Austen Tate/Special to The Malibu Times

"Raise awareness. We are here for one reason and one reason only. To protect the last one percent of California's old growth trees, an irreplaceable national treasure," resonated the voice of Pierce Brosnan, actor and environmental/political activist, who made an appearance at AXE restaurant in Venice last week to help bring attention to the plight of California's old growth trees.

The event raised funds for Campaign for Old Growth, an organization whose mission is to protect the last of California's ancient trees, including coast redwoods up to 2,000 years old.

Hosts Brosnan and wife Keely Shaye Smith, who first introduced Brosnan to the cause, along with many others who all share the same "green" vision, have been fighting to pass the Heritage Tree Preservation Act for the past year.

About 200 environmental and humanitarian activists gathered together June 14 at AXE to hear the next step in helping to keep California's old growth trees alive. The outdoor, airy setting set the right mood for a lively and communicative crowd of politicians, activists, entertainers, artists, healers and donators all there to support and pass the new bill. Although the act failed to pass the California Assembly last year, the legislation will be introduced to the state Legislature later this summer by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-East Bay).

Susan Moloney, activist and founder of the Campaign For Old Growth, gave birth to the project in 2000 after she had supported Julia Butterfly Hill in a tree protest. She had traveled all over the world and came back to discover California's majestic trees were being cut down.

"There was no real comprehensive law in place to prohibit the cutting of ancient trees," Moloney said. "And I thought well, there ought to be a law."

Her mission to save old-growth trees started with an attempt to get an initiative on the ballot, collecting signatures and delivering her message to people around the state, country and world. Afterward, she signed up Congressman Don Perata onboard as author of the bill who introduced it to the Legislature.

When asked what it takes to get the bill passed, Perata, who was at the fundraiser, simply ran down the list: "It takes staying in touch with people, getting them to appropriate hearings in Sacramento and paying people who can help guide us through the labyrinth of passing the bill through. You need money to move in Sacramento."

Moloney's relentless efforts and dedication to the cause boldly led her to the capital in Sacramento on a 52-day hunger strike to keep the issue alive. Since then, she has gotten support from such organizations as the Sierra Club, NRDC, California Democratic Party Environmental Caucus, Environmental Media Alliance, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Earthways Foundation)) and from celebrities such as Brosnan, Martin Sheen, Jackson Browne, Don Henley and more.

"[Pierce and Keely have] helped us get the word out, get other people involved, and were truly inspiring and wonderful on board," Moloney said.

Last year, the measure failed by only a few votes.

"[We received] 39 out of 41 votes ... so we are close!" Keely Smith exclaimed to the crowd. "It's still legal to log these ancient trees. Old-growth forests are on the verge of extinction. But, the well-financed and politically connected timber industry would like us to believe they are planting new ancient forests. Tree plantations are not ancient forests. Ancient forests are made up of numerous species that support biodiversity, plants and animals."

The Campaign For Old Growth effort will affect these "living symbols," as Brosnan called old-growth trees, on state and private land in California.

"It is our responsibility ... to save these trees not only for ourselves and our children, but for the health of the entire planet that is already in critical condition," Brosnan said.

More information on the bill and Campaign For Old Growth can be found at www.ancienttrees.org

[sparklingblue]

No offense cg, but I'm sure these landowners will be able to find another source of revenue. One might then also argue for whaling and other acts that endanger the environment in a similar fashion. People can always get a job, but we cannot give back to the environment what we have destroyed.

Again, hats off the Pierce for his commitment.

[curious george]

sparklingblue said:

No offense cg, but I'm sure these landowners will be able to find another source of revenue. One might then also argue for whaling and other acts that endanger the environment in a similar fashion. People can always get a job, but we cannot give back to the environment what we have destroyed.

Again, hats off the Pierce for his commitment.

Little slow in replying, aren't we? Check the date on my post.

cg

[curious george]

Wow. After just having read about this, I came across the following article in Reader's Digest. (I excerpted the most relevant section, although the whole thing is worth reading for drivers.)

One can only hope that this issue is being address in tandem with saving old growth trees. This is not a joke!

****

3 Hidden (and Deadly) Road Hazards


Killer Trees

The sky was clear on September 21, 2004, as Harris Township, Minnesota, maintenance workers Kenneth Johnson, 42, and James Booth, 40, drove their pickup truck down Lakeview Drive near Lake Pokegama. They had no idea that 10 yards off the road a 50-foot oak was set to fall and crush them to death. To the untrained eye, the tree looked fine. "It had green leaves on it, but once it fell, you could see the inside was really rotted through," says Dennis Kortekaas, the township board's former chairman.

Instances of trees smashing into moving vehicles are rare, but anecdotal evidence says they're increasing. Federal highway statistics show trees killed, at most, one person a year between 1999 and 2003, but Reader's Digest found five tree-related deaths in 2004 alone, and serious crashes in New Jersey, Virginia, Tennessee and Louisiana. One of the worst was in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

About 6 p.m. on April 19, 2004, Stephen Spruck, his wife, Suzana Dedivanaj-Spruck, and their 6-month-old daughter, Kristina, were headed home on the Saw Mill River Parkway when a 50-year-old ash crashed onto their Toyota 4Runner. Crushed like a tinfoil ball, the SUV veered off the road, rolling several times before coming to an upside-down stop. Stephen and Suzana were dead. Kristina, strapped into her car seat, survived with minor injuries.

School principal Tatiana Ferraro was coming from the opposite way when she saw the tree begin to fall. "It was like watching something in slow motion," she says.

After the crash, Frank Buddingh, a local arborist, contacted the state transportation department to offer his expertise. Upon meeting with state officials, Buddingh says, he was amazed to find that New York didn't have a standard protocol for tree evaluation. On the drive home, he reports, he spied some 300 trees in need of removal: "They were either dead or dying, and potentially able to collapse. Trees like that weigh tons; they'll penetrate your car like a spear."

Transportation department spokesman Robert Dennison disputes Buddingh's claim. In New York's Hudson Valley region (which includes the Saw Mill parkway), Dennison says, workers cut down 5,000 trees each year. (Citing pending litigation, he declined comment on the tree that killed the Sprucks or on eyewitness accounts of extensive tree-removal work on the parkway after the accident.)

The tree trouble is sure to get worse, says Bruce Fraidech, a vice president at Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories in Charlotte, North Carolina, because many of those planted as the suburbs began to form after World War II are nearing their end. The problem has grown dire enough to attract government scrutiny. Joseph O'Brien, a United States Department of Agriculture plant pathologist in Minnesota, and several colleagues began to detect an uptick in tree failures several years ago. They responded by compiling the first comprehensive guide for communities to manage tree risk. Since its 2003 publication, nine municipalities have convened workshops on how to use the manual.

O'Brien notes that when budgets are tight, tree care isn't always a priority. Not so in Greenburgh, New York. Two years ago, the town paid $9 million to settle a tree-related lawsuit. Now, says town supervisor Paul Feiner, the town spends more than $100,000 a year on inspecting and removing trees, and residents are urged to report troubled trees. What do they look for? Dead branches; big cracks in the trunk; missing or sunken bark; small, off-color leaves; and exposed or damaged roots. Says Feiner: "Who would've thought that in addition to worrying about a nearby nuclear plant and being the target of terrorism, we'd have to worry about trees?"

www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=15257&pageIndex=2

****

cg

[sparklingblue]

cg said:

sparklingblue said:

Little slow in replying, aren't we? Check the date on my post.

cg

I'm sorry! My environmentalist side got the better of me--I didn't check the date at all. You may not believe this, but your post showed up as new for me.

[curious george]

No big deal. Just a little kidding.

cg