ForestBytes --- April 2002 Volume III, Issue 23 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.americanforests.org AMERICAN FORESTS People Caring for Trees and Forests Since 1875 To subscribe to ForestBytes: Visit http://www.americanforests.org/ If you find this information valuable, please pass it on to friends and colleagues. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TABLE OF CONTENTS I. What's Happening? * Registering Big Trees * Tree Stories to Premiere in Washington * Michigan Meeting on Linking Communities * Planting Trees, Paying Tribute II. Check It Out! * Olympic Green * Cleaning the Water * Tree Stories * Casey Trees Endowment Fund III. GLOBAL RELEAF Spotlight * Wildfire ReLeaf IV. Environmental News from ENN.com * National Champion Trees Crowned * Reports Conclude Much of World's Remaining Intact Forests at Risk == What's Happening? ====================================== ------------------------------------------------------------ Registering Big Trees ------------------------------------------------------------ Where is the largest bur oak in the United States? How tall is the tallest sugar maple? These and many other large tree facts can be found in AMERICAN FORESTS' 2002 National Register of Big Trees. The Register is included as an insert in the spring issue of American Forests magazine, which is being mailed this week to members of AMERICAN FORESTS. Published every other year by AMERICAN FORESTS, the National Register of Big Trees lists the largest specimens of 826 native and naturalized trees in the United States. With help from big tree hunters across the country, AMERICAN FORESTS has maintained and published the Register since 1940. Click to http://www.americanforests.org/resources/bigtrees/ for more information about the National Register of Big Trees. Visit http://www.americanforests.org/membership/ to become a member of AMERICAN FORESTS and receive the Register as a gift. You can join, or purchase the Register for $7.95 plus shipping and handling, by calling 1-800-368-5748. ------------------------------------------------------------ The Premiere of AMERICAN FORESTS' Tree Stories ------------------------------------------------------------ The premiere of "Trees Of Our Capital" was an astounding success last month. The show, part of AMERICAN FORESTS’ Tree Stories, a series For Public Television showcasing America’s Trees and Forests, was held at the U.S. Botanic Gardens. A panel discussion followed the premiere with Holly Shimizu, Executive Director, U. S. Botanic Garden; Dr. Thomas Elias, Director, U.S. National Arboretum; and Mark Buscanio, DC State Forester. AMERICAN FORESTS' Tree Stories follows Jeff "the tree guy" Meyer, project director of AMERICAN FORESTS' Historic Tree Nursery, as he wanders the country in search of amazing trees and the people, places, and legends connected to them. Part travelogue, part ecology lesson, and frequently humorous, AMERICAN FORESTS' Tree Stories offers viewers a look at the off-beat, joyous, and even strange ways people appreciate the nation's most recognizable trees. The 13-part show series, which airs on public television this spring, showcases topics ranging from national champion trees and the people who hunt for them, to elegant getaways high in the treetops. Join Meyer as he searches swamps for big trees, wanders the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, and visits an amusement park where the fun is in the trees. For more information about Tree Stories visit www.treestories.org or click to www.historictrees.org for details on AMERICAN FORESTS' Historic Tree Nursery. Check your local listings for showings -- http://www.pbs.org/whatson/index.html ------------------------------------------------------------ Cleaning the Water ------------------------------------------------------------ In recent months, AMERICAN FORESTS' policy experts joined local and national partners, including the US Forest Service and the Communities Committee, for a meeting in Ironwood, MI, titled "Linking Communities to the Montreal Criteria and Indicators." This meeting is part of a three-year project which provides unique opportunities for local, regional, and national groups to explore how community-level data assists national-level data in describing and assessing forest sustainability and community well-being. Lessons from this project will contribute to federal efforts to prepare a comprehensive report on the state of the nation's forests. In addition, the national effort to link different levels of sustainability indicators will contribute to material for the "2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development" in Johannesburg, South Africa later this year. For more information on the 2003 report, please visit http://www.fs.fed.us/sustained/index.html. To get more involved in national forest sustainability efforts, please visit the Roundtable on Sustainable Forests at http://www.sustainableforests.net. ------------------------------------------------------------ Planting Trees, Paying Tribute ------------------------------------------------------------ Support for AMERICAN FORESTS' Memorial Trees Campaign continues to grow as corporations, nonprofits, agencies, and individuals across America recognize the importance of creating living tributes to the victims and heroes of 9/11. Working with local partners, AMERICAN FORESTS is currently organizing the planting of thousands of trees in honor of the men, women, and children who died on September 11, 2001, and for the fire fighters, policemen, and other heroes who responded that day. Specialty retailer Eddie Bauer is now collecting donations at its 500-plus stores, online at www.eddiebauer.com, and through catalogue purchases that will help plant one tree for each person who lost their life on 9-11. Visit an Eddie Bauer store today and support the Memorial Tree Groves program. Visit one of 1600 IGA grocery stores and help plant trees through the AMERICAN FORESTS' Patriot Trees for America Campaign. From April 27 to May 10, IGA cashiers will invite customers to make donations toward the planting of AMERICAN FORESTS' Historic Trees in their community in remembrance of those who lost their lives on September 11th. Anheuser-Busch Inc., including Budweiser and O'Doul's, is a proud sponsor of AMERICAN FORESTS' Patriot Trees for America campaign. To find out more about AMERICAN FORESTS' Patriot Trees for America, go to http://www.americanforests.org/campaigns/memorial_trees/. You can also click on this link to send a friend a post card about our tree-planting program with IGA: (Link here from Josh) Earth Day Network and Earth Share also are partnering with AMERICAN FORESTS to plant memorial trees. == Check It Out! =========================================== * The Olympics are often associated with colors such as gold, silver, and bronze. But at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, green was an important part of the mix of hues because the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) made environmental health one of its major priorities. In fact SLOC created a program, titled Plant It Green, which encouraged people around the world to help plant two million trees by the beginning of the Games. AMERICAN FORESTS is proud to be a Plant It Green partner. Plant It Green is featured at http://www.saltlake2002.com/x/f/frame.htm?u=/news/slocmain_front.asp. Register your trees at this site http://www.saltlake2002.com/x/f/frame.htm?u=/news/slocmain_front.asp. To learn more about the environment programs of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, venture to http://www.saltlake2002.com/x/f/frame.htm?u=/news/slocmain_front.asp. * This year marks the 30th anniversary that Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act. At the time the important piece of legislation was approved, a large number of America's waterways were polluted from point and non-point sources. Since its passage, the Clean Water Act has helped improve the quality of Boston Harbor, Lake Erie, and many rivers, bays, lakes, and streams across the United States by reducing the amount of toxins and pollutants discharged into these waterways. Also in recent decades, researchers have learned a lot about the role trees and vegetation play in filtering polluted runoff and slowing storm water runoff. AMERICAN FORESTS has been a leader in this effort and the science and practice of urban forestry. The organization developed CITYgreen, innovative computer software that allows users to calculate the benefits trees provide urban areas. For example, a Regional Ecosystem Analysis of the Denver, Colorado, area shows that trees are providing services equivalent to a $44 million stormwater management system. Learn more about AMERICAN FORESTS' Regional Ecosystem Analyses by visiting http://www.americanforests.org/resources/rea/. Go to http://www.americanforests.org/productsandpubs/citygreen/ for details on CITYgreen. * Put your favorite tree on the map! If your community has a tree with historical, spiritual, scientific, artistic, literary or legendary importance, it could soon be listed on The National Register of Historic Trees. AMERICAN FORESTS' Historic Tree Nursery is conducting a nationwide search for historically significant trees and would like your nominations. If selected, your tree's story will be published in the upcoming National Register of Historic Trees book, with mentions online, and in local and regional media. Do you know of a tree in your neighborhood that's got what it takes? Send us your nominations by visiting http://www.historictrees.org/living.htm. * Across America, local nonprofit organizations are working to increase tree canopy in our cities and improve the environmental health and quality of urban areas. The Casey Trees Endowment Fund is among the groups doing great things. Ms. Betty Brown Casey, of the Eugene B. Casey Foundation, started the Casey Trees Endowment Fund after seeing a Washington Post story about AMERICAN FORESTS' study that showed a dramatic decline in the tree canopy of Washington, DC. With a $50 million fund set aside by Ms. Casey, Casey Trees is working with local groups and government agencies to restore the once lush tree canopy of our nation's capital. Since its inception, the Casey Trees Endowment Fund has generously supported AMERICAN FORESTS ecosystem analyziz of the Washington, D.C. metro area and our National Urban Forest Conference. Learn more about the Fund at http://www.caseytrees.org/. ******************* ARE YOU A MEMBER??********************* Our mission is to "help people improve the environment with trees and forests." You can help today by joining AMERICAN FORESTS. For your $25 membership, you'll get 25 trees planted for you in a damaged ecosystem or forest restoration project. You'll also receive: - A years subscription to our award-winning magazine - A Big Trees calendar - Your own copy of AMERICAN FORESTS' National Register of Big Trees - A window decal Join Today and tell a friend! Visit http://www.americanforests.org/ ************************************************************ == GLOBAL RELEAF Spotlight ==================== Spreading the news about Wildfire ReLeaf As drought conditions persist, many areas in the United States are experiencing an early start to the wildfire season. Parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, and West Virginia have already lost hundreds of acres to wildfire this year. With the help of individuals, corporations, and many others, AMERICAN FORESTS is raising funds to plant native trees in areas scorched by wildfire through Wildfire ReLeaf. The education and action program helps people understand the role of wildfire plays in some forest ecosystems, how they can reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire, and how they can help restore and regenerate areas that have been severely burned. Every donation to Wildfire ReLeaf plants two trees because the USDA Forest Service, a partner in the effort, is matching every tree planted, tree-for-tree. In 2002, AMERICAN FORESTS' Wildfire ReLeaf program is planting more than 750,000 trees to help reforest areas in Idaho, Florida, and Montana. Go to www.wildfirereleaf.org. Don't forget to tell a friend about the program. ======= ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS AND FEATURES FROM ENN.COM ============ * National Champion Trees Crowned http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?id=6573 * New Hampshire protects 171,500 acres of forest for logging, recreation, wilderness http://www.enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/04/04022002/ap_46827.asp ____________________________ ForestBytes __________________ Thanks for your support of ForestBytes, AMERICAN FORESTS' monthly email newsletter. Don't forget to forward this information to friends or colleagues. 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