Biodiversity loss accelerates with 1 million species at risk of extinction, UN report finds
PBS - May 6, 2019
People are putting nature in more trouble now than at any other time in human history, with extinction looming over 1 million species of plants and animals, scientists said Monday.
But it’s not too late to fix the problem, according to the United Nations’ first comprehensive report on biodiversity.
“We have reconfigured dramatically life on the planet,” report co-chairman Eduardo Brondizio of Indiana University said at a press conference.
Species loss is accelerating to a rate tens or hundreds of times faster than in the past, the report said. More than half a million species on land “have insufficient habitat for long-term survival” and are likely to go extinct, many within decades, unless their habitats are restored. The oceans are not any better off…
Plan has new rules on killing wolves that prey on livestock
Associated Press Monday, April 15th 2019
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — With Oregon's wolf population growing, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on Monday issued a draft conservation and management plan that established a new timetable involving when wolves can be killed for preying on livestock.
The old plan allowed for hunts after two confirmed wolf depredations of livestock in an area. The new plan would allow hunts only after two confirmed depredations within a nine-month period, said Derek Broman, state carnivore biologist.
The new plan also includes a hefty section on how to attempt to resolve conflicts involving livestock without killing wolves, which environmental groups prefer, Broman said.
The goal of the 160-page proposal remains the same as previous plans issued in 2005 and 2010: "To ensure the conservation of gray wolves as required by...
Wolves ‘Established’ in Netherlands for First Time in 140 Years
Olivia Rosane Apr. 10, 2019
For the first time in 140 years, wolves have an official home in the Netherlands.
Ecologists told BBC Radio 4 that a female wolf they had been tracking had stayed in the country for six months and could therefore be called "established," BBC News reported Tuesday.
The ecologists had been tracking two females in the Hoge Veluwe nature reserve, which has now been designated as a wolf habitat, Dutch News reported. There is also evidence that a male wolf has been moving in and out of the area, and scientists told BBC that the wolves could form a pack within...
Biodiversity loss accelerates with 1 million species at risk of extinction, UN report finds
PBS - May 6, 2019
People are putting nature in more trouble now than at any other time in human history, with extinction looming over 1 million species of plants and animals, scientists said Monday.
But it’s not too late to fix the problem, according to the United Nations’ first comprehensive report on biodiversity.
“We have reconfigured dramatically life on the planet,” report co-chairman Eduardo Brondizio of Indiana University said at a press conference.
Species loss is accelerating to a rate tens or hundreds of times faster than in the past, the report said. More than half a million species on land “have insufficient habitat for long-term survival” and are likely to go extinct, many within decades, unless their habitats are restored. The oceans are not any better off…
Plan has new rules on killing wolves that prey on livestock
Associated Press Monday, April 15th 2019
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — With Oregon's wolf population growing, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on Monday issued a draft conservation and management plan that established a new timetable involving when wolves can be killed for preying on livestock.
The old plan allowed for hunts after two confirmed wolf depredations of livestock in an area. The new plan would allow hunts only after two confirmed depredations within a nine-month period, said Derek Broman, state carnivore biologist.
The new plan also includes a hefty section on how to attempt to resolve conflicts involving livestock without killing wolves, which environmental groups prefer, Broman said.
The goal of the 160-page proposal remains the same as previous plans issued in 2005 and 2010: "To ensure the conservation of gray wolves as required by...
Wolves ‘Established’ in Netherlands for First Time in 140 Years
Olivia Rosane Apr. 10, 2019
For the first time in 140 years, wolves have an official home in the Netherlands.
Ecologists told BBC Radio 4 that a female wolf they had been tracking had stayed in the country for six months and could therefore be called "established," BBC News reported Tuesday.
The ecologists had been tracking two females in the Hoge Veluwe nature reserve, which has now been designated as a wolf habitat, Dutch News reported. There is also evidence that a male wolf has been moving in and out of the area, and scientists told BBC that the wolves could form a pack within...
Forest Web of Cottage Grove
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Welcome to Forest Web…
Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them...This simple quotation lives at the heart of Forest Web. If we want to change this sad truth, we need to change the concepts of how we relate to the natural world on which all of us depend.
Root systems may occupy an area four to seven times the surface area
occupied by the crown of the tree. Not only do these roots provide
nutrients to the tree and prevent soil erosion, they also play host to a
variety of fungi, or Mycorrhizae, forming symbiotic relationships.
These fungi receive sustenance from the tree and, in turn, increase
the efficiency of the tree’s root system, creating a web throughout a
healthy forest.
Forest Web applies this lesson from Nature to our organization,
working with a variety of environmental groups and individuals,
co-hosting events and hikes, collaborating on lobbying efforts and
united campaigns, and sharing information and support to nurture
all our common goals.
And, to continue building this network, we operate an ever-growing email list, Facebook page and group, YouTube channel,Instragram account,Forest Web blog, and this website to activate, educate and inform. To receive updates, action alerts, and event notices, please contact us at forestweb.cg@gmail.com.
Fire Ecology of Spotted Owls -
Conversation with Dr. Monica Bond
Environmental Groups Call for a National Forest Policy to Protect Mature, Old-Growth, Trees, Forests
Forest Web is proud to be a part of a coalition of more than 70 groups who launched a new campaign on February 15th called the Climate Forests Campaign and called on the Biden administration to take executive action to protect mature trees and forests on federal lands, which are critical in the fight against climate change.
Missing Link in Biden’s Climate Agenda: Letting Older Trees Grow
“It’s completely unacceptable that federal land managers lack strong policies to protect old trees and forests, given all we know about how critical they are to our climate and biodiversity,” said Randi Spivak, public lands program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’re calling on President Biden to safeguard these beautiful, life-giving ecosystems to have a shot at a livable planet. It’s cheaper, smarter, and quicker than logging them. We just need to let them grow.”
Today’s campaign launch comes a year after Biden signed an executive
order setting a path to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by
2050 and work with partners internationally to put the world on a
sustainable climate pathway.
This month marks the 117th anniversary of the U.S. Forest Service. For
more than a century, the agency has focused much of its resources on
logging and timber sales. The Climate Forests Campaign is calling on
the Biden administration to kick off a new era of climate and forest
policy that values trees and forests as key pieces of the climate solution.
Forests, particularly older forests, store vast amounts of carbon and
continue absorbing carbon as they age. Logging trees in these areas
releases most of that carbon back into the atmosphere. Even under the
best-case scenario, newly planted forests would not reabsorb this carbon
for decades or centuries —timescales irrelevant to avoiding the worst
consequences of climate change.
Older trees and forests also are more fire resistant and help curb the effects of climate change by slowing soil erosion and moderating temperatures.
Carbon-absorbing older forests are also the best habitat for thousands of wildlife species, including spotted owls, red-cockaded woodpeckers, and pine martens.
The last comprehensive federal policy to protect national forests, the Roadless Rule, was enacted in 2001 under President Bill Clinton. The rule was adopted to protect nearly 60 million acres of designated roadless areas from logging and roadbuilding, safeguarding significant stands of remaining old growth. Though these areas act as a critical carbon sink, most older trees on federal land lie outside of roadless areas.
“Older forests on federal lands work as a natural climate solution, drawing down massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” said Spivak. “The science is clear that we should be protecting existing old-growth trees and allowing mature trees and forests to grow. This would show the world that Biden takes his pledge to end global forest losses seriously.”
Other members of the coalition include the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, Environment America, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands, Standing Trees, Sierra Club, Southern Environmental Law Center and Wild Heritage.
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Montana cannot be trusted with grizzly bear & wolf management
by Lara Birkes
Mongabay - May 1, 2023
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The U.S. State of Montana’s legislature has recently proposed a litany of extreme anti-wildlife bills despite widespread and diverse opposition.
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Grizzly bears are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, but Montana lawmakers and Gov. Greg Gianforte are pushing measures that would issue grizzly bear kill permits to ranchers using public lands, for example.
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The state has also opened up unlimited wolf hunting along Yellowstone National Park’s border, despite the fact that those wolves spend 96% of their time in the park.
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This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Whether you live in Big Sky country, have enjoyed its natural wonders as a tourist, or marveled at the iconic imagery of Yellowstone National Park’s bears and wolves from afar – what’s happening to wildlife in the American West should concern you.
Montana’s state legislature has proposed a litany of extreme anti-wildlife bills despite widespread, diverse, and credible opposition. The onslaught began in 2021 and continues in this legislative session with the introduction of bills that go from bad to worse.
Last session those included snaring, night shooting and baiting wolves, and approving bounties to encourage more killing. It targeted black bears too, allowing the use of hounds after Montana had banned that for a century. And it opened up unlimited wolf take along Yellowstone’s border, despite the fact that those wolves spend 96% of their time in the Park and provide incredible research data that helps us manage them everywhere…
U.S. has inventoried old-growth forests. Will protection be next?
By Anna Phillips
Washington Post – April 20, 2023
In a first-ever finding that could increase protections for remaining U.S. forests, the federal government estimated Thursday that more than 100 million acres of old-growth and mature timberlands are still standing on public lands, despite decades of commercial logging, wildfires and climate threats.
The findings, the result of a year-long review ordered last year by President Biden, are likely to inflame tensions with the timber industry over which forests — especially those in the western United States — should remain unlogged. But they are energizing many conservation activists, including those who argue that old-growth forests are vital for storing carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change.
“It’s extremely encouraging that the Biden administration is recognizing the value of mature and old-growth trees,” said Blaine Miller-McFeeley, senior legislative representative at Earthjustice. He said the environmental law group supports rules “that will protect and restore climate forests for future generations from the threats they face today, including unnecessary logging…”
Forest Service takes key step toward first national rule to protect mature, old-growth trees, forests
Announcement advances Biden’s 2022 Earth Day Executive Order
Earth Justice – April 20, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to reports, the U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday a pathway for protecting mature and old-growth trees and forests as part of a strategy to improve the climate resilience of federally managed forests. The agency is pursuing a rulemaking process, which will involve a public comment period to gather input on new policies the agency can adopt.
Additionally as reported by the Washington Post, the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released an inventory of mature and old-growth forests, the first of its kind, as required by President Biden’s Executive Order, 14072. Mature and old-growth forests are essential for watershed health, provide critical wildlife habitat, are generally more resilient to wildfire and are an important natural climate solution, absorbing and storing tons of carbon.
Members of the Climate Forests Campaign, a coalition of more than 120 organizations working to protect mature and old-growth trees and forests on federal land, praised these announcements as a significant step forward.
The coalition has been elevating calls from community members, scientists, and activists around the country about the necessity of protecting these trees and forests, including from the ongoing threat of logging…
Earth Day Rally for Forests & Climate
When: Saturday, April 22nd at 1:00pm
Where: The Old Federal Building, 211 E. 7th Avenue, Eugene
