ForestBytes --- June 2001 Volume II, Issue 14 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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? $ A Hot Topic $ Add a Dollar, Plant Wildfire ReLeaf $ Tell Two Friends $ Planting Trees, Honoring Veterans $ Conference Registration Now Online $ AMERICAN FORESTS Receives Award II. Check It Out! $ Turn Your Radio On $ "Trees at Risk" $ Stop the Junk Mail $ "Earth On Edge" $ Olympian Rallies Skiers to Regreen Sarajevo III. Global ReLeaf Project of the Month $ Beaverkill/Willowemoc Watershed, New York IV. Environmental News from ENN.com $ "U.S. Forest Service Chief to Proceed with Road Ban" $ "Moderate Logging Benefits Some Rare Forest Plants, Conservation Study Shows" == What's Happening? ====================================== ------------------------------------------------------------ A Hot Topic ------------------------------------------------------------ More than 370,000 acres have burned in Florida as a result of spring wildfires. And the worst may be yet to come: The National Weather Service predicts the southeastern and western United States could experience drought conditions through August. Drought conditions are exceptionally high in the central part of Florida and state officials fear this summer could be even drier than last year, the driest on record. Get the latest on wildfires in Florida at: http://www.americanforests.org/global_releaf/wildfires/florida.html Visit the website of Florida's Division of Forestry: http://www.fl-dof.com/fire2001/index.html Is drought forecast for your region? http://enso.unl.edu/monitor/monitor.html Meanwhile, AMERICAN FORESTS is calling on corporations, businesses, and individuals everywhere to help reforest areas in Florida and throughout the country burned in recent years by catastrophic wildfires. Through its Wildfire ReLeaf program, AMERICAN FORESTS supports tree-planting projects to help regenerate scorched areas in places like Florida. Much of our work focuses on reforesting ecologically sensitive areas such as along streams, which desperately need trees to prevent erosion. Erosion, which dumps silt into streams and rivers, can have a devastating effect on wildlife and the food chain as a whole. Groups from both the public and private sectors have joined Wildfire ReLeaf. The USDA Forest Service is now matching donations to Wildfire ReLeaf, tree-for-tree. Learn more about Wildfire ReLeaf by visiting: http://www.americanforests.org/global_releaf/wildfires/index.html See where AMERICAN FORESTS has worked to restore burned areas in Florida: http://www.americanforests.org/global_releaf/wildfires/florida_projects.html ------------------------------------------------------------ Add a Dollar, Plant Wildfire ReLeaf ------------------------------------------------------------ Between June 18th and July 8th, specialty retailer Eddie Bauer will conduct a special promotion that encourages customers to support Wildfire ReLeaf through the company's "Add a Dollar, Plant a Tree" program. That means customers who add one dollar to their online, catalog, or in-store Eddie Bauer purchases will plant one tree in a Wildfire ReLeaf ecosystem restoration program. Eddie Bauer, its associates, and customers have been the largest source of contributions to Global ReLeaf since 1995. Now with the company's pledge of 1,000,000 trees, it is the largest supporter of Wildfire ReLeaf to date. Visit an Eddie Bauer store, and tell your friends to "Add a Dollar, Plant a Tree" before July 8th. Click to www.eddiebauer.com. Read AMERICAN FORESTS' press release on the Eddie Bauer/Wildfire ReLeaf promotion: http://www.americanforests.org/news_and_pubs/news_rel.html ------------------------------------------------------------ Tell Two Friends ------------------------------------------------------------ Those of you familiar with AMERICAN FORESTS know the organization plants millions of trees each year in dozens of ecosystem restoration across America and around the world. You also know that many of these trees increase habitat for threatened and endangered species and provide other important environmental benefits such a removing pollutants from the air and filtering polluted runoff. Today, no other nonprofit organization in the United States is planting more trees for environmental restoration than AMERICAN FORESTS. But, some people are unfamiliar with AMERICAN FORESTS' tree-planting efforts. So in an effort to let more people know about the organization, we're asking for your help this month. We are asking each ForestBytes subscriber to email information about her or his favorite AMERICAN FORESTS program to two friends. Encourage them to email the information to two other friends. That's it! Send your two friends information about Wildfire ReLeaf, Trees for Tigers, planting trees to offset carbon dioxide emissions, or Global ReLeaf. You may simply want to forward this issue of ForestBytes to them and recommend that they sign-up for the monthly email newsletter. To receive ForestBytes, click to www.americanforests.org, and look for the newsletter sign-up box. One person CAN make a difference in the world. You can be that person by helping educate others about AMERICAN FORESTS' efforts to plant trees around the world. ------------------------------------------------------------ Planting Trees, Honoring Veterans ------------------------------------------------------------ An Eisenhower Green Ash tree now majestically stands at the George Bush (Sr.) Presidential Library in College Station, Texas. Mary Eisenhower, granddaughter of President Eisenhower and chief executive officer of People to People International, and Dr. Douglas Menarchik, director of the George Bush Presidential Library, helped plant the tree during a ceremony conducted on June 6th, the 57th anniversary of D-Day. The memorial tree planting was part of Operation Silent Witness, a national campaign to honor the men and women of America who served during World War II. Between May 24th and June 6th, some 2,300 VFW posts across the United States participated in Operation Silent Witness, a campaign by AMERICAN FORESTS, the VFW Foundation, Wal-Mart, and Scotts. Operation Silent Witness donated an Eisenhower Green Ash to each of the 2,300 VFW posts for local tree-planting ceremonies. It was the largest memorial tree-planting campaign in the history of AMERICAN FORESTS. The campaign kicked-off May 24th in Kansas City, Missouri, at an event hosted by People to People International, an organization founded by President Eisenhower. The Eisenhower Green Ash, grown by AMERICAN FORESTS' Famous & Historic Trees project, is a direct-offspring of a tree that stands at President Eisenhower's birthplace in Denison, Texas. Prior to becoming President, Eisenhower served as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in WWII. Order your own Eisenhower Green Ash at: www.historictrees.org For more information on Operation Silent Witness, visit: http://www.walmartstores.com/newsstand/archive/prn_silentwitnesssplash.shtml ------------------------------------------------------------ Conference Registration Now Online ------------------------------------------------------------ People interested in attending the National Urban Forest Conference, September 5-8, can now register online at: https://www.americanforests.org/trees_cities_sprawl/conference/registration_form_Cart_fees.php At a time when the urban environment and its trees are under increasing stress, urban foresters, city planners, environmentalists, citizen activists, and others will gather in Washington, DC, as part of a national effort to focus attention and resources on the nation's "green infrastructure." AMERICAN FORESTS, a pioneer in applying satellite imagery to the urban environment, is convening a National Urban Forest Conference September 5-8, 2001, at Washington's Omni Shoreham Hotel. The theme of the conference, "Investing in Natural Capital," highlights the extraordinary economic and environmental benefits of urban trees. The conference will bring together a broad range of people to examine the latest trends, public policy, technology, and action programs to engage communities in rebuilding the urban environment, especially its trees and forests. The Conference program can be found on AMERICAN FORESTS' website, www.americanforests.org. The deadline for early registration is July 15th. ------------------------------------------------------------ AMERICAN FORESTS Receives Award ------------------------------------------------------------ The Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) for the Winter Olympic Games of 2002 has given a Spirit of the Lands Award to AMERICAN FORESTS' "A Tree for Every Child" program. SLOC officials recognized the environmental education program with a Certificate of Outstanding Achievement. A distinguished panel of ten environmental education experts from around the country reviewed and scored each submission. Since the beginning of "A Tree for Every Child" in January 2000, we have provided more than 3,000 classrooms and schools with educational packets geared towards helping teachers educate students about the benefits of trees and forests. Many teachers used "A Tree for Every Child" in their Earth Day activities this April, raising money to help AMERICAN FORESTS plant Global ReLeaf trees for the environment. To date, students participating in "A Tree for Every Child" have planted more than 65,000 trees in AMERICAN FORESTS' Global ReLeaf reforestation projects. K. Lanphier, a middle school science teacher in Illinois, had this to say about "A Tree for Every Child." Last year, "we sent in $100 and received a Moon sycamore, which we planted in front of our new learning center. This money was collected in only 5 days with the kids throwing in their change after lunch and after school! This year we participated again and this week collected the $100 in just two days!!! We are looking forward to receiving our Mount Vernon Red Maple. Please publicize this great program. It's a good way to get kids involved." Visit http://www.americanforests.org/global_releaf/earth_day_promo.html to learn more about "A Tree for Every Child." Check out http://www.slc2002.org/ for more information on SLOC's environmental programs. == Check It Out! =========================================== * Gerry Gray, vice president of AMERICAN FORESTS' Forest Policy Center, is a guest on this week's Environment Show, a radio program syndicated nationally to more than 175 public and commercial stations across the United States. This program, which begins airing June 16th, features Gray and two other experts discussing the issue of wildfire, the threats it poses, and how these threats can be reduced. Gray, Lyle Laverty, director of the Forest Service's National Fire Plan, and fire ecology professor Wally Covington join host Peter Berle for the discussion. Tune in to The Environment Show at: http://www.wamc.org/green.html * Like so many cities across the country, Worcester, Massachusetts, has experienced a decline in its urban trees over the years. Around 1900, Worcester reportedly had lush urban canopy with an estimated 50,000 city trees. Today, the city is down to 20,000 trees. The loss of city trees in Worcester is the subject of a new book, "Trees At Risk: Reclaiming an Urban Forest." It focuses on Worcester and its political, social, and resulting ecological shifts throughout the past three centuries. Evelyn Herwitz, a former Clark University journalism professor and current director of marketing & communications at Hebrew College, Boston, is author of "Trees At Risk." Chandler House Press, www.chandlerhousepress.com, publishes the book. The decline of the urban forest is a nationwide trend that AMERICAN FORESTS' Urban Forest Center has been documenting for the past five years. Learn about the organization's Regional Ecosystem Analyses at: http://www.americanforests.org/trees_cities_sprawl/urban_analysis/index.html Quiz: Is Colorado's Front Range losing trees like other regions in the country? Find out at: http://www.americanforests.org/trees_cities_sprawl/urban_analysis/AF_FrontRange.pdf * Are you tired of opening your mailbox to find catalogs and solicitations from companies you have no interest in? If so, there's a new online service you can use to block junk mail: Stopthejunkmail.com. There is a $10 fee for membership. Besides reducing paper waste, the service recently began planting trees through AMERICAN FORESTS' Global ReLeaf program. For every new subscriber to the service, Stopthejunkmail.com is planting one tree in a Global ReLeaf ecosystem restoration project. Reduce junk mail, save trees, and plant trees at: http://www.stopthejunkmail.com/ To find out how your corporation or business can plant trees with AMERICAN FORESTS, click to: http://www.americanforests.org/global_releaf/corporations/index.html * "Earth On Edge" is the title of a new documentary by noted journalist Bill Moyers. The program aims to showcase "data depicting the scale of human impact on the planet's life-support systems" and explore "one of the most important questions of the new century: What is happening to Earth's capacity to support nature and civilization?" The two-hour broadcast premieres across the nation on PBS on Tuesday, June 19, 2001, at 8pm (check local listings for the time). The broadcast will be augmented by an extensive educational website providing in-depth information about ecosystems as well as updates on their status and information about how concerned citizens can take action. For more information, visit: www.pbs.org/earthonedge. * In Reno June 10th, the Far West Ski Council honored 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Debbie Armstrong who, in turn, inspired the crowd to help her plant trees to reforest the war-torn hillsides of Sarajevo, the city where she earned her medal. Before the luncheon speech was over, ski clubs from San Diego, Modesto, San Francisco, and Sacramento presented Armstong with several hundred dollars in contributions and even one $25 casino chip from the Peppermill! Many Council members resolved to have a tree planted in Sarajevo for each of their members and to contribute trees for each skier trip their club sponsored this winter. The campaign goal is for 300,000 trees. For more on Armstrong and Global ReLeaf Sarajevo see the spring issue of American Forests or visit the information page at www.americanforests.org. ******************* ARE YOU A MEMBER??********************* Do your part to help the environment today by joining AMERICAN FORESTS. You'll get 25 trees planted for you in a damaged ecosystem or forest restoration project. You'll also receive: - A free subscription to our quarterly magazine - A free Big Trees calendar - A window decal Join Today! Visit http://www.americanforests.org/ ************************************************************ == GLOBAL RELEAF - PROJECT OF THE MONTH ==================== Beaverkill/Willowemoc Watershed, New York (2 projects) Some 110,000 willow, dogwood, eastern white pine, green ash, white ash, and other tree species will be planted along 40 acres to restore trout spawning streams. Private landowners, members of Trout Unlimited, local scout groups, and private contractors will conduct the planting. The watershed, which drains to the Delaware River, is prone to flooding. Planting trees will stabilize land along the riverbank, reduce flood speeds, encourage nutrient cycling, provide shade, and create habitat for animals. A second project will plant 38,800 trees to offset the negative effects of the state Department of Transportation's stormwater drainage systems and channel constraints. A substantial retrofit project is underway, including establishing trees along drains. == ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS AND FEATURES FROM ENN.COM ============ * "U.S. Forest Service Chief to Proceed with Road Ban" http://www.enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/06/06082001/reu_roadban_43933.asp * "Moderate Logging Benefits Some Rare Forest Plants, Conservation Study Shows" http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/06/06042001/loggingrare_43865.asp ____________________________ ForestBytes __________________ Thanks for your support of ForestBytes, AMERICAN FORESTS' monthly email newsletter. If you find this information useful, please forward it to friends or colleagues. FEEDBACK OR OTHER ASSISTANCE: mailto:forestbytes@amfor.org PLANT TREES WITH AMERICAN FORESTS: http://www.americanforests.org/global_releaf/ BECOME A MEMBER OF AMERICAN FORESTS: http://www.americanforests.org/membr_bnfts/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://www.americanforests.org AMERICAN FORESTS People Caring for Trees and Forests since 1875. ___________________________________________________________