Here is a digest of news about California forestry from Natural Resources Advisor Greg Giuisti:
Two Tahoe teens represent U.S. in forestry contest, Sacramento Bee, SEP. 13, 2012
Two Lake Tahoe teens are representing the United States in Moscow at the ninth annual Junior Foresters' Competition this week, the first time the United States is participating in the event. This year, 60 students from 32 countries are competing before an international panel of 15 forestry experts who will judge the students' projects......
Study Ties Forest 'Greenness' in Western US to Snowpack Extent, ScienceDaily, Sep. 10, 2012
Results of a new study tie forest "greenness" in the western United States to fluctuating year-to-year snowpack extent. The results show that mid-elevation mountain ecosystems are the most sensitive to rising temperatures and to changes in precipitation and snowmelt.....
California consumers to fund state oversight of timber industry, Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill that sets a 1% tax on lumber sales, relieving logging firms of the cost. Government suits over fire damages are also restricted, By Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times, September 12, 2012
SACRAMENTO — California consumers will pay a new tax to fund government oversight of the state's vast timber industry under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday, relieving logging companies of the cost. The measure also benefits the industry by restricting how much money government agencies can seek when suing for damages in wildfires caused by negligent practices. Federal prosecutors and members of President Obama's cabinet had fought the bill, which tightens the rules for tallying damages......
State launches Fire Prevention Fee Website, By Cal Fire, Placerville Mountain Democrat, September 12, 2012
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) has launched a Website to provide residents across the 31 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA) with information about the Fire Prevention Fee bills. The Board of Equalization began mailing the bills alphabetically by county on Aug. 13.
Leading Publishers Partner with SFI in Responsible Forestry, Sacramento Bee, SEP. 12, 2012
MILWAUKEE, Sept. 12, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Four leaders of the North American publishing industry announced today they will partner with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) to help spur the growth of certification to preserve and protect forests.
Time Inc., the National Geographic Society, Macmillan, and Pearson will become Founding Partners of the SFI Forest Partners Program. The alliance was announced at the SFI annual conference in Milwaukee, attended by foresters, land owners, conservation groups, First Nations, industry and government agencies.....
How the new lumber tax might affect Humboldt; Local lumberyards caught off guard, Luke Ramseth, Eureka Times-Standard, 09/10/2012,
Humboldt County timber experts say a new 1 percent lumber tax that squeaked through the California legislature late last week will be largely beneficial for area timber producers and environmental groups. But, it's caught some retailers off guard. ”Boy, did they slip that on through,” said Eric Almquist, owner of Almquist Lumber in Arcata. “I get industry newsletters, and I haven't seen anything on it.”.....
Sierra National Forest Dinkey Collaborative Open House on September 19, 2012, Sharing mission of restoring and maintaining the health of public lands and ecosystems, Sierra Sun Times, Sept. 10, 2012
September 10, 2012 - Clovis, CA – The Sierra National Forest, public stakeholders and community members are hosting the Dinkey Collaborative’s first open house, Sept. 19 from 6:30 to 8:30pm at the Central Sierra Historical Society and Museum in Shaver Lake, CA......
Forest Service says fewer trees dying from pine beetles in West, MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press, The Republic, September 10, 2012,
BILLINGS, Mont. — A pine beetle outbreak that has left many Western states with vast stands of dead and dying trees has eased for the second consecutive year, the U.S. Forest Service said Monday. With fewer trees left for the beetles to eat, officials said a 2011 aerial survey recorded beetle-killed trees on 3.8 million acres of public and private land. That's down by more than half from 2009, when about 9 million acres with dead trees were tallied.....
Plan for Giant Sequoia monument limits felling, TRACIE CONE, Associated Press, The Washington Examiner, September 10, 2012
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) The federal government's long-awaited plan for managing the health of the largest forest of giant sequoias on earth limits logging and emphasizes fire as the primary means to restore the forest's health. The U.S. Forest Service's plan for the Giant Sequoia National Monument in the Sierra Nevada was released Tuesday, and initial readings have environmental groups cheering that logging would be a method of last resort.....
$180,000 In Healthy Forest Grants, Sabrina Ambler, My Mother Lode, September 07, 2012
Mariposa, CA -- Calaveras and Tuolumne counties will recieve $182,866 for three projects from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. Approved by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy's (SNC) Governing Board the over $2.1 million in "Healthy Forest" grants is for 24 projects in 14 Sierra counties. The projects (listed below) are designed to reduce the risk of forest fires and protect California's watersheds.....
Blodgett Forest tour focuses on water quality, By Dawn Hodson, Placerville Mt. Democrat, September 05, 2012
ROB YORK, MANAGER of the Blodgett Forest Research Station shows Upper Watershed Tour participants an area that was control burned in the fall of 2007 at the Research Station near Wentworth Springs Road, outside of Georgetown. Good forest management was the focus of the last of the watershed tours on Friday, Aug. 17......
Asia and U.S. demand boosts sawlog prices allowing B.C. to buck global trend, By Ross Marowits, The Canadian Press, August 28, 2012
MONTREAL — British Columbia bucked a global trend as strong demand from Asia and the United States boosted sawlog prices in the second quarter. Global prices fell for the fourth consecutive three-month quarter and were 11.5 per cent lower than a year ago, industry publication Wood Resource Quarterly said Tuesday.....