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Table of Contents I. Announcements II. What's Happening? III. Activities and Links |
American Forests Continues Partnership with Interface, Inc As part of an employee recognition program, Interface, Inc., a global manufacturer, marketer, installer and servicer of products for the commercial, residential and institutional interiors markets, has joined American Forests' efforts to plant 5,000 trees in a Global ReLeaf project in the Texas Lower Rio Grande region. These trees will be used to support two key programs instituted by Interface, in keeping with their goals to create a more sustainable model for industry. The first program allows employees to donate a gift of trees in lieu of receiving a more traditional service award. Employees who select this option sponsor the planting of 80-400 trees, depending on their years of service. The second program, called Clean Co2mmute, allows employees to purchase trees to offset the CO2 emissions from the fuel consumed during their commute to and from work. Also as a result of their commitment to the environment, Interface has partnered with American Forests' Global ReLeaf tree-planting program to offset the emissions from all business-related air travel. In 2002-03 Interface, Inc. sponsored the planting of more than 15,000 trees through that program. As the Interface web site states, "Sustainability is hard work." "Becoming a sustainable enterprise is like climbing a mountain that is "higher than Everest." For many companies, the first and most difficult step on that climb is not on the mountain itself, but rather admitting that the mountain exists." "Interface is proud to be able to expand our partnership with American Forests with the addition of these two new programs, allowing us to further integrate sustainability into the everyday lives of our employees," said Dr. Mike Bertolucci, president, Interface Research Corporation. In addition to engaging its stakeholders in the identification of resource efficient transportation programs that help reduce harmful emissions, Interface is also committed to waste reduction efforts and the identification of renewable energy sources and strategies for operating its facilities. For more information on Interface's journey to sustainability, please view their online sustainability report: http://www.interfacesustainability.com [Back to Top]Local Scouts Volunteer For Planting Day On Saturday, January 17, 2004, more than 100 Boy Scouts and community supporters will assemble just south of Astor, Florida to plant pine and hardwood seedlings as part of their efforts to work towards their Forestry Merit Badge. Staff at Ocala National Forest in Florida have been working with Lake District Scouts as they prepare to help replant a slash pine plantation that flourished until 2000 and 2001--when southern pine beetles devastated the pine trees. In addition to slash pine, Scouts will replant longleaf pine, which has bark that is less susceptible to insect and wildfire damage.The bark of a longleaf pine is less susceptible to insect and wildfire damage. Swamp tupelo, red maple and dahoon holly trees will be planted as well to provide a variety of habitat for wildlife in the region. American Forests' Global ReLeaf program has helped fund 250 acres of the reforestation effort. Members of the Astor Kiwanis Club are supporting the volunteer planting day by providing lunch for the Boy Scout participants. The day will conclude with a closing ceremony where at which community groups and scouting units will be recognized for the day's accomplishments. Boy Scout units that have 60 percent or more of their membership involved in the day's activities may be qualified for a "Hornaday" Certificate, a service award in natural resource conservation. The troop number for each Scout unit that participates in the day's event will be named on a plaque, posted on the newly planted area. For more information about Global ReLeaf and the 2003/2004 planting projects, please visit www.americanforests.org or contact us at forestbytes@amfor.org. [Back to Top]Historic Tree Nursery Collects Seeds, Preserves Legacy Every fall, American Forest's Historic Tree Nursery conducts a nationwide seed collection at sites associated with historic events and famous people. The seeds are grown into offspring historic trees at our nursery in Jacksonville, Florida. With trees representing over 200 historic sites already growing in the nursery and with the flood of historic tree nominations received for the upcoming National Register of Historic Trees, you can only imagine-seed collection has become quite a large task! This September, American Forests held the National Urban Forester Conference in San Antonio, Texas where the Historic Tree Nursery called upon any and all individuals willing to assist in the collection effort. With the help of urban and state foresters and other individuals affiliated with environmental organizations throughout the country, the Historic Tree Nursery was able to collect from approximately 100 historic sites ranging from Hawaii to Vermont. Some of the sites include The Alamo, Montpelier (home of James Madison), Brown Chapel AME (where Martin Luther King Jr. rallied during the Civil Rights Movement) and the Mark Twain Cave (a famous location referred to in his books). Seed collection experiences proved to be quite enjoyable as several collectors were joined by guests of both local and international significance. Loona Brogan, president of the Vermont Tree Society, arranged for Thomas Pakenham, British Lord and author of Meetings with Remarkable Trees and Remarkable Trees of the World, to accompany her as she collected seeds from the "Spirit of America" Sugar Maple, attracting local media in Vermont. With the assistance of Mayor Ian Sanford, Brian Waldrep of Auburn, Alabama collected 40 pounds of walnuts from the General Jackson Black Walnut tree in Sheffield, Alabama. Many others invited their students, colleagues, friends and family to share the seed-collecting experience. The American Forest's Historic Tree Nursery would like to thank everyone who helped in making this fall's seed collection so successful and enjoyable! Through the relationships that have developed, the Nursery will continue to call on these individuals for their great help and dedication to the Famous & Historic Trees Project. If you are interested in participating in future seed collections, please email Aimee Homan at ahoman@historictrees.org . [Back to Top]"Spirit of America" Touted as New England's Oldest Tree Seeds from the venerable "Spirit of America" Sugar Maple tree will be sent to American Forests' Historic Tree Nursery where they will be grown into new, direct-offspring historic trees. The "Spirit of America," a Sugar Maple located in Dorset, Vermont is approximately 400 years old is said to be the oldest in New England. At one time the tree shaded the house of Cephas Kent, who fought for independence and statehood for the state of Vermont. Dean Fausett, former owner of the property, claimed the tree witnessed the organization of the Green Mountain Boys, who plotted against the British during the Revolutionary War. The Maple, which at one time, shaded the house of Cephas Kent, who fought for independence and statehood for the state of Vermont has witnessed many individuals whose dedicated spirits led to the establishment of independence for both the United States and the state of Vermont. Each year, American Forests harvests seeds from historic trees, such as the tulip poplars at Mount Vernon, planted by George Washington in 1785; the honey locust tree at Gettysburg, Penn., that sheltered Lincoln when he delivered the Gettysburg Address in 1863; and the last living tree planted by John Chapman, the Johnny Appleseed. For more information about American Forests' Historic Tree Nursery and its trees, log on to www.historictrees.org. Each tree purchase helps fund American Forests' efforts to replant ecosystems damaged by wildfire, flooding or deforestation. A complimentary catalog is available at 800 320-TREE (8733). [Back to Top]American Forests is pleased to announce a new partnership with U.K.-based apparel company TaoWarrior, Ltd. TaoWarrior, Ltd will help American Forests' California Wildfire ReLeaf program by planting trees and will donate $1 for reforestration for every t-shirt sold. Tao Warrior, Ltd is a eco-friendly apparell company who liked the idea of planting trees to offset production costs. In November Tao Warrior launched their campaign at the Los Angeles, California deparment store, Fred Segal. The t-shirts will be sold nationwide in Fred Segal department stores. The goal is to sell one million shirts by Earth Day 2004. [Back to Top]
Chinese Beetle Destroying Nation's Ash Tree Industry A Chinese beetle that crept into Ohio after killing millions of ash trees in Michigan is eating away at the tree industry in states much farther away. West Coast nursery owners who supply the Midwest with seedlings say fewer customers are willing to take a chance on ash trees, once a popular choice for their hardiness. Scientists believe the emerald ash borer arrived in the United States from its native China with wood used to pack cargo. The beetle has infested or destroyed about 6 million ash trees in southeast Michigan, mostly near Detroit, and has been found in northwest Ohio and Maryland. Surveys by state agriculture and forestry officials have yet to find the beetle in Pennsylvania; monitoring sites with beetle traps are being established in the northwest corner of the state. Disease carried by bark beetles ravaged more than half of the nation's elm population after being discovered in Ohio in the 1930s. Many towns that lost elm trees replaced them with ash trees. Some tree growers have turned to maples and poplars instead of ash. So far, there's no insecticide that can do stop the disease, and the beetle doesn't have any known natural predators. The Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association's survey of 100 tree growers in Ohio found that the combined value of their ash trees was $20.2 million. Michigan has banned the sale of ash trees in the lower peninsula through August 2004 in hopes of gaining control of the pest. In southeastern Michigan, where the ash borer was first detected last year, tree growers have lost at least $9 million in sales. That doesn't include losses by retail garden centers and landscapers. [Back to Top]Bush Reverses Logging Ban in Alaska's Tongass Forest Two days before Christmas, the Bush administration announced that it is exempting Alaska's Tongass National Forest-America's largest-from a controversial Clinton-era ban on development in roadless areas of national forests. The administration says the change opens 300,000 acres of the nearly 17 million-acre forest to logging, but according to USDA Forest Service reports, some retort that the roads that will be built to carry loggers into the forests will disrupt up to four times that much land. That's not good tidings for southeast Alaska's renowned salmon runs, which environmentalists say could be seriously harmed by development in the ancient forest. As reported in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, in the end, about 6.7 million acres of the 16.8 million-acre forest is permanently off-limits to all development. The current forest plan envisions allowing logging only about 676,000 acres, of which 330,000 acres are affected by the Christmastime decision. Have an opinion? How do you feel about this decision? You can write us at forestbytes@amfor.org [Back to Top]Soybeans Threaten Brazilian Rainforests According to a recent Associated Press article posted on the Environmental News Service, a new variety of soybean developed by Brazilian scientists to flourish in the equatorial climate is proving good for farmers but bad for the environment. Soybean plantations are claiming increasingly bigger swaths of rainforest to make way for growth and production, adding to the inroads by ranching. With soybean prices at a five-year high, thanks to a smaller than expected crop this year in the United States, Brazilian farmers are rushing into the jungle to take advantage of cheap land and grow soybeans for exportation into the United States. Last year, the Amazon lost 10,000 square miles as a result of the soybean industry's rise as a crop of choice- 40 percent more than the year before. Global Warming Puts Hundreds of Species "On the Brink" Hundreds of species of land plants and animals around the globe could vanish or be on the road to extinction over the next 50 years if global warming continues, scientists warn. The researchers concluded that if industrial nations do not curtail emissions of greenhouse gases, which trap polutants in the atmosphere, many species could soon be lost forever. The findings, which appear in January's issue of the journal Nature, explain that more than one-third of the 1,103 native species studied could disappear or approach extinction by 2050 as climate change turns plains into deserts or alters forests. Ecologists say climate change could hasten the effects of deforestation and the impact of invasive, nonnative species. Meanwhile, climate change models, developed by a United Nations panel, show the average global temperatures increasing by 2.5 degrees to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. According to Nature, the Earth has an estimated 14 million plant and animal species. Conservationists estimate 12,000 are threatened with extinction, although thousands of others are probably also on the brink. Keep reading ForestBytes for the latest news about trees and forests in the United States and around the globe. Have a question? Contact us at info@amfor.org. [Back to Top]
American Forests' Feature Creature: Louisiana Black Bear Scientists say thousands of black bear once roamed the rich forested bottomland of eastern Texas, Louisiana, and southern Mississippi. The exploitation of the bear for fur, meat, clothing and jewelry led to the demise of huge populations. Today, an estimated 300 to 400 bears live in a only a few small populations. Black bear - like many other species of bear-depend on large contiguous areas of forest. They evolved in thick, vegetative, impenetrable habitat. Louisiana black bears use trees for food and denning. The forest provides a wide array of fruits, nuts, meat, and insects, offering everything from blackberry and elderberry to palmetto and walking stick. Tree-planting projects offer real hope for these bears. Planting trees creates a quick boost to bear habitat in the South, thanks to long growing seasons and abundant rainfall. Louisiana black bear use those fast-growing trees for food and cover; other species, such as neotropical birds, deer, rodents, hawk, owl, eagle, fox, and bobcat, utilize the baby trees as well. The southern forest probably will never return to its presettlement state. But the wooded corridors, present a century ago, just might be possible. Cooperation, communication, and growing support for incentive programs make the future hopeful for the Louisiana black bear. To find out more about Global ReLeaf and other American Forests' tree-planting programs, visit www.americanforests.org. [Back to Top]Question: With American Forests' new National Register of Big Trees coming out in a couple months, can you name the state that had the most new champs in 2002/2003?
A) Arkansas If you answer correctly, by emailing us at forestbytes@amfor.org, you will be automatically included in the monthly drawing to win a tree! One lucky winner will receive a Historic Tree (species depends on your local climate) from American Forests' Historic Tree Nursery. Make sure you include your phone number and email address please!
Last Month's Answer: Douglas Fir. Congratulations Richard E. Johnson of Ohio! Are You a Member? You can do your part to help the environment today by joining AMERICAN FORESTS. Not only are 25 trees planted for you in a damaged ecosystem or forest restoration project, but you will also receive:
Join Today! Visit http://www.americanforests.org/ ENS and ENN News Links
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