Here is the weekly news digest from Natural Resources Advisor Greg Giusti:
Congress must move on farm bill, Passing measure by end of the year would give farmers needed 'certainty.', Fresno Bee Editorial, Dec. 06, 2012
California farmers need a predictable safety net. And all of us have an interest in adequate nutrition, as well as conservation programs and other land policies that minimize the effects of floods, drought and erosion. Unfortunately, the nation's five-year farm bill expired on Sept. 30 because House Republican leaders failed to bring a new bill to the House floor for a vote. It is not too late, however.....
Lumberyards object to state wood tax, Lumber sellers say the 1% assessment will hurt business by raising prices. But home builders don't object to the law, expected to raise $35 million a year for forest land regulation and firefighting. Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times, December 5, 2012
SACRAMENTO — Some California lumber sellers are angry about a new state tax on 2-by-4s, plywood and other forest products, and they want to make sure that their customers blame the governor and legislators for the upcoming hike in building costs. The 1% special assessment, proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown and approved in September by lawmakers, is expected to raise $35 million a year to pay for the regulation of commercial forest lands and for firefighting and prevention......
Lumber industry rebounding, but still below pre-housing bust levels, By David Benda, Redding Record Searchlight, November 30, 2012
While the north state's forest products industry is rebounding from the construction depression, production levels are still below where they were before the housing bust. "You are seeing an uptick in demand, but it is relative to a very low starting point," said Mark Pawlicki of Sierra Pacific Industries in Anderson. "The last few years have been so bad. So any increase at all looks pretty significant.".....
West Coast log exports up, lumber exports down, by Suzanne Stevens, Portland Business Journal, November 28, 2012
It was a mixed quarter for West Coast timber exports. Log exports from Oregon, California, Washington and Alaska increased by 9 percent in the third quarter to 412 million board feet valued at $512 million, up 12.5 percent from the previous quarter. Lumber exports, however, declined 8 percent to 186 million board feet valued at $133 million, down about 10 percent......
High Court to decide how logging roads regulated, By JEFF BARNARD, San Jose Mercury News, Dec 1, 2012
GRANTS PASS, Ore.—The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to switch gears on more than 30 years of regulating the muddy water running off logging roads into rivers. At issue: Should the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency keep considering it the same as water running off a farm field, or start looking at it like a pipe coming out of a factory? The case being heard Monday in Washington, D.C., was originated by a small environmental group in Portland, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center......
Forest Owners Call Final EPA Rule Premature, Citing Legal Uncertainty, NAFO, November 30, 2012
The National Alliance of Forest Owners expressed concern that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule clarifying that logging and forest roads are not industrial activities subject to mandatory “point source” stormwater permits under the Clean Water Act is premature, citing the legal uncertainty caused by releasing the rule before a legal determination by the Supreme Court. The rule was signed by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson today.....
Prevent legal quagmire for timber industry, The Oregonian Editorial, December 05, 2012
The nation's timber industry experienced a low moment before the high court on Monday when a last minute action by the Environmental Protection Agency complicated an effort to clarify a provision of the Clean Water Act. We wouldn't be surprised if the industry's lawyers and representatives downed a few drinks that evening while contemplating the possibility that Congress might soon be their best avenue for relief. The point of clarification involves ditches and culverts that drain runoff, often muddy, from logging roads....
Can the EPA end logging? Supreme Court to decide, By Rebekah Rast, Net Right Daily, Nov 28, 2012
In June, when the U.S. Supreme Court came out with its ruling regarding the health care law, everyone sat on the edge of their seats in anticipation. And for a good reason; this law impacts every American. Likewise, the Supreme Court is hearing the case Georgia-Pacific West v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center that will greatly impact an entire sector of businesses and jobs across the nation. This is one of the biggest environmental cases to come before the Supreme Court in years. One that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said has the capacity to “shut down forestry on private, state, and tribal lands.”
U.S. Forest Service chief says timber harvest must increase, By SEAN ELLIS, Capital Press, Dec 4, 4012
BOISE -- Representatives of Idaho's forest industry reacted positively to U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell's announcement that timber harvest on federal land would increase by 20 percent over the next couple of years. Tidwell told members of Boise's City Club Nov. 30 that this year's severe wildfire season is an example of why it's critical to restore forest health by clearing out some of the fuel that is leading to much bigger wildfires......
Protected green sturgeon habitat upheld, Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, Nov 30, 2012
A federal judge on Friday upheld habitat protections for the green sturgeon, a threatened species, in the Sacramento River, Bay Area waterways and coastal waters from Monterey Bay northward, rejecting challenges from the building industry. The National Marine Fisheries Service properly considered potential economic impacts before designating the waters critical habitat for the fish in October 2009, said U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton of Oakland......
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Releases Annual List of Candidates for Endangered Species Act Protection,Chris Tollefson, US Fish & Wildlife News, November 20, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released its Candidate Notice of Review, a yearly appraisal of the current status of plants and animals considered candidates for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Three species have been removed from candidate status, two have been added, and nine have a change in priority from the last review conducted in October of 2011......
Report says California's green transformation could push up energy prices, By Dana Hull, San Jose Mercury News, Dec 4, 2012
California's aggressive plans to build a clean-energy economy could mean higher energy prices for consumers and businesses, according to a report released Monday by the Little Hoover Commission. The report largely focuses on California's so-called renewable portfolio standard, which requires utilities to obtain a third of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020. Utilities like PG&E are well on their way to meeting that goal......
An overhaul of CEQA looms large, Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee, DEC. 03, 2012
It's been 42 years since then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signed the landmark California Environmental Quality Act, an early victory for the nascent environmental protection movement that has since become a very powerful force in state and national politics. Whether CEQA and its legislative progeny, including the most recent anti- global warming laws, have truly protected California's environment or merely morphed into vehicles for those on the political left to pursue other ideological goals remains a bitterly debated issue......
13 things to know about California's cap-and-trade program, By Dana Hull, San Jose Mercury News, Dec 2, 2012
State regulators are celebrating California's first-ever auction of greenhouse gas emissions allowances held Nov. 14. So what exactly happened? Why does it matter? And what happens next? We've gotten many questions about the cap-and-trade program from our readers at the San Jose Mercury News; here's answers to several of them.....
New Statewide Campaign Launches -- Encourages Californians To "Invest From The Ground Up", S. Carolina Herald, November 27, 2012, Campaign to Raise Awareness, Show How Investing in Trees and Green Spaces Is a Cost-Effective Way to Increase Value of Homes and Businesses
SAN RAFAEL, CALIF., NOV. 27, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the California Urban Forests Council formally launched its new "Invest From the Ground Up" campaign and website. The campaign is designed to help California homeowners and business owners see the true value of one of the most basic and cost-efficient investments Californians can make in their communities: caring for their trees, parks and green spaces. The initiative is funded by the US Forest Service and CAL FIRE, and includes partnerships with the Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture and California ReLeaf......
LEED is losing, and we all know why, Chris Sullivan, Smartplanet.com, November 21, 2012,
The U.S. Green Building Council’s building rating system remains a common benchmark for the building industry, and it has decent brand recognition. But it’s largely by default. The certifications are losing cachet among just about every constituency it needs to endure.....