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Table of Contents I. Announcements II. What's Happening? II. Special Offer |
1 Million Trees for California Infinity Broadcasting and American Forests hope to raise $500,000 during the month of October to plant 1 million trees in wildfire-ravaged southern California. During October, Infinity’s eight radio stations in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside will broadcast public service announcements to encourage listeners to donate. Infinity Broadcasting is the parent company of CBS. American Forests created California Wildfire ReLeaf in 2003 in response to an outpouring of concern from California residents and people across the United States. The series of large fires that burned across southern California destroyed more than 1,900 homes and over 500,000 acres. Those interested in contributing to help reforest southern California can plant trees online at www.wildfirereleaf.org. Contributors also can call American Forests at 800-368-5748 and specify California Wildfire ReLeaf. [Back to Top]The urban forest is an untapped resource-one that can help cities meet regulatory requirements for clean air and water, revitalize neighborhoods, and reduce the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure. American Forests' November 2005 National Urban Forest Conference, Nature At Your Service, will show how to reconnect people to their city's natural resources. The latest chapter in urban thinking for the 21st century recognizes the ecological city and the importance of respecting and using natural systems of forests, soils, water, and air to support urban areas. The conference is designed for both those who want to influence the direction of their community and those who must meet environmental quality requirements. From local to regional perspectives, look for the latest technologies, emerging public policies, and tools to help put the urban forest to best use. The 2005 National Urban Forest Conference will be held November 17-18, 2005, in Charlotte, NC. Visit our website www.americanforests.org for more information. [Back to Top]Take a Break, Plant a Tree There's still time to get away from it all, and tree-lovers have a couple of options to help the environment while having fun. Austin-Lehman Adventures will plant 25 trees with American Forests on behalf of each family booking an outdoor adventure through 2004. Each family will also receive a one-year membership to American Forests, including its quarterly magazine. Start thinking hiking, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, or canoeing in places like Yellowstone, Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, the Canadian Rockies, or Whistler in British Columbia. For more information: www.austinlehman.com Jackson Hole Mountain Resort passholders last season purchased a special lanyard that resulted in the planting of 1,100 new whitebark pine seedlings on the border of Yellowstone National Park. The Jackson Hole resort was so pleased with the response that it's again offering guests and passholders the opportunity to purchase the American Forests Lanyard for their lift ticket or season pass. For more about the program or about Jackson Hole Mountain Resort: www.jacksonhole.com [Big Trees, Big Value]American Forests will be talking up the importance of big trees to communicate the value of urban forests, thanks to a cost-share grant from the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council and the U.S. Forest Service. The two-year project, Big Trees = Big Value, will use American Forests' National Register of Big Trees to make the point. The Register lists the largest known of 826 species of native and naturalized trees in the U.S. Among the planned improvements to make the online Register more accessible: an interactive website, online database, criteria for tree species' eligibility, measuring standards, and a national training forum for Big Tree coordinators. Virginia Tech and The Davey Tree Expert Company are partners in the project. [Back to Top]Clif Bar Inc is committed to people's health and the environment-and to reducing its ecological footprint along the way. With that in mind, Clif Bar started its Cool Commute program, planting trees to offset the carbon emissions of its employees' commutes. Those trees are being planted in areas burned by wildfire. Click here to learn more about American Forests' Wildfire ReLeaf program. For more on Clif Bar's organic ingredients and green business practices, www.clifbar.com. [Back to Top]Got Leads wants to go the extra step for its customers and the communities in which they live, so the national direct mail marketing company will plant five trees for every 1,000 pieces of direct mail delivered. The goal: 25,000 trees planted annually in Global ReLeaf Forests nationwide. Got Leads specializes in the mortgage industry but services a variety of homeowner-targeted companies. www.got--leads.com. [Back to Top]
More Threats for Siberian Tigers The endangered Siberian tiger, already suffering from habitat loss and a shrinking population in the wild, now faces yet another threat: distemper. The New York Times reports vets for the Wildlife Conservation Society has confirmed one of the Russian tigers has died from canine distemper. There are thought to be 400 or fewer of the Siberian tigers left in the wild; an outbreak of distemper could decimate the population. The Times reports that 10 years ago canine distemper killed about 1,000 lions in Tanzania's Serengeti reserve. Years of intensive logging, agricultural development, uncontrolled forest fires, and ruthless poaching have shrunk the tigers' forest kingdom to a small corner of the Russia. Suitable habitat for tigers and their prey have either disappeared or been fragmented into a few isolated parcels. American Forests' Trees for Tiger program plants native Korean pine in the Russian Far East to increase habitat for these endangered cats. In addition to providing needed travel corridors between the parcels, American Forests' planting will provide needed food. The nuts from the protected Korean pine, called the "bread of the forest" by locals, provide a food source for tiger prey-wild boar, elk, and deer-as well as local villagers. Click here to learn more about American Forests' Trees for Tigers. [Back to Top]When athletes lit the Olympic flame in Athens this past summer the cause of sustainable forestry burned a little brighter too. That's because the torch handle, constructed from a New Zealand native hardwood, was certified as being ecologically and silviculturally sound and socially and economically beneficial to local communities. Twelve thousand official torches also made from the certified maple beech wood carried the sustainability message around the world. "The use of sustainable wood for the torch holding the Olympic flame sends a clear message to the world's citizens that we have a collective responsibility to conserve the world's forests, says Tensie Whelan, executive director of the Rainforest Alliance. The wood was certified by SmartWood, a program of the Rainforest Alliance, and accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council. American Forests' Policy Center advocates for the restoration and maintenance of healthy forest ecosystems. Click here to read our Ecosystem Restoration and Maintenance Agenda. [Back to Top]The builders of a new upscale housing development called Jumeira Islands in the United Arab Emirates plan to use "hydrogel" technology to improve water retention and plant an attractive oasis, reports the New York Times. Desert conditions are not exactly favorable to tropical gardens, but with the help of the same science that created disposable diapers, the Jumeira Islands could be blooming in no time. Disposable diapers use hydrogels to take in "liquid" and prevent leaks. To transfer the technology to soil, scientists had to make sure their product would allow for a gradual release of water (a quality you obviously don't want in diapers). Back in the 1980s, many believed hydrogels were the answer for struggling non-Western farmers. Since then, hydrogels like Stockosorb and TerraCottem have been used in small-scale projects, but are generally too pricey for commercial farming. The success of the landscaping at Jumeira Islands may jumpstart hydrogels' popularity. There are some concerns, but if used correctly the technology could help preserve water in some of the driest regions of the world. Regardless, the effort may prompt other companies to develop options that one day could make desert-growing a viable and affordable opportunity. [Back to Top]Residents of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, are pretty much sick of Dutch elm disease. The disease, a notorious fungus that chokes up trees' water transport systems, first visited Stevens Point in the 1960s and 1970s. Unfortunately, that wasn't the last of it. Its return was facilitated in part by "cool" and "wet" spring and summer weather, according to the city's website. Now "as many as 100 infected trees could be cut down," reports the Stevens Point Journal. Dutch elm disease can be spread either by beetles or through trees' roots. Since the fungus prevents trees from taking in water, one noticeable symptom is discolored leaves and branches. In its early stages the disease can be treated by injecting a fungicide into the tree and removing infected limbs. Now, just as in the first outbreak, the city is taking preventative measures to save as many elms as possible. Forestry officials are inspecting trees and marking infected ones with an orange dot. Residents have to remove dotted trees on their own property. More than a few people were shocked to discover their trees were carrying the fungus. Kirsten Hoffenberger expressed the view of many when she told Stevens Point Journal, "it's sad to see such a beautiful tree go," referring to her own cherished front yard elm. [Back to Top]Lemurs may play a big role in propagating the forest of Madagascar, according to National Geographic. These mostly small primates, which among other things provide a clue to our own evolution, live exclusively on the island nation off the east coast of Africa. There, scientists Chris Birkinshaw of the Missouri Botanical Garden of St. Louis and Joerg Ganzhorn of the University of Hamburg, Germany, contend that lemurs fill an important ecological niche, eating and releasing seeds from fruit while they go about their business. Birkinshaw tells National Geographic he believes lemurs are attracted to specific varieties of fruit with a particularly savory smell. He says that lemurs tend to go for fruit that isn't all that showy in appearance, as a result of their "poor color vision." He also offers the possibility that lemurs remember where good feeding-grounds are located. His research in the northern area of the island reveals that "54 percent of the tree species and 67 percent of the individual trees there [have] grown from seeds dispersed only by the black lemur." Ganzhorn does not believe that lemurs are especially attracted to certain fruits, or that trees have changed to suit lemurs' palates. But he tells National Geographic that "there are definitely fruits that are only eaten by lemurs and that situation is in all forests of Madagascar." His own research reveals that lemurs "disperse" 10 percent of seeds in Western Madagascar. Both scientists agree that lemurs need protection. Rampant tree-cutting threatens the small primates' habitat. "If these animals are gone, then the forest has a harder time regenerating," Ganzhorn tells National Geographic. [Back to Top]Researchers are putting up "traps" in northwest and central Ohio to track the movements of the emerald ash borer, reports the Detroit Free Press. The traps involve stripping bark from ash trees and then dousing the exposed wood with a "sticky substance," much like the technique used in flypaper and some mousetraps. Emerald ash borers arrived in Ohio in 2003 and researchers believe the bugs are moving south. Until now, though, predicting the ash borers' route has been somewhat of a guessing game. The emerald ash borer could cripple the Midwest if left unchallenged. It targets green, white, and black ash trees and destroys all three varieties in two to three years, according to the U.S. Forest Service's North Central Research Station website. The bug came to Ohio via Michigan, and Ohio has put a ban on all ash trees from its northern neighbor. Other precautions in Ohio include quarantining infested "sites" and removing trees "in a half-mile circle," says Detroit Free Press. Trees from infested areas were not allowed to be transported out of those areas. Even with all the precautions, the ash borer has surprised local researchers by appearing in droves near the Toledo Express Airport. "These infestations were there long before they were discovered," Dan Herms, a scientist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center told Detroit Free Press. But the ash borer will lose the element of surprise, if the traps are successful at capturing them. [Back to Top]Heard It Through the Grapevine Annoying vines that strangle trees in Westchester, New York, now must face the music, says the New York Times. Thatcher Drew, who hails from Bronxville, founded a volunteer organization called Vinecutters, to do just what the name implies: cut and kill invasive vines before those vines kill trees on the Bronx River Parkway. Vinecutters targets two particularly rampant invasives, the Asiatic bittersweet and the porcelain berry, both originally grown as "ornamental plants" and groundcover. When these vines wrap around trees they often block the sunlight and become a heavy nuisance. Trees aren't able to grow naturally with vines choking them. Vinecutters assembles "15 'die hard' volunteer[s]" to handle the problem. Their vigilance is producing results, founder Drew tells the New York Times. Local park officials are spread too thin and don't have the necessary funds to make a significant dent in the viney population. New "training sessions" help Vinecutter volunteers become as well-versed as the experts on removing vines. A major incentive for volunteers: the prevention of roadside accidents from vine-laden trees adjacent to roads. Get $50 off The Sharper Image's Professional Series Ionic Breeze Quadra Silent Air Purifier. 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/ Forest Bytes Don't forget to forward this information to friends or colleagues. |
