A California company is drumming up support for the environment, one dollar at a time. Drum Workshop, which produces drums and drum accessories at its Oxnard headquarters outside Los Angeles, will donate $1 to American Forests for each drum it sells.

The company, which annually sells an average 5,000-6,000 drumsets and up to 7,500 individual snare drums, thought donating to American Forests was a good way to give back.

"When we were looking at different options, we liked American Forests' philosophy. Donating to plant trees is a great way to give back to the environment," says Carrie Lombardi, Drum Workshop's director of purchasing.

The company manufactures several lines of drums, including the high-end "Private Reserve" drums, made from high-quality wood, as well as other drum sets and brightly colored snare drums. The company claims an impressive roster of celebrity endorsers, including Mick Fleetwood, Def Lepperd's Rick Allen, and Randy Guss of Toad the Wet Sprocket.

"Tree-planting is a good cause, especially for a company that uses wood in its products. It's important to do our part," says Lombardi. "By the end of the year we hope to donate thousands of dollars to plant new trees."

At nearly 100 feet tall, the Wye Oak, the long-standing national champion white oak and Maryland's state tree, seemed to fill the skyline. Its gnarled trunk stretched upward, reaching with massive limbs to cradle a crown spread of nearly 120 feet. A wooden fence surrounded it, defining the edges of what was the state's tiniest park and one created solely to protect a revered tree.

The Wye Oak, likely Maryland's most beloved citizen, was somewhere around 460 years old when it fell in high winds during a June thunderstorm. The outpouring of grief seemed appropriate for a tree that had become a national treasure: Mourners came by the thousands to gawk, shed tears, and pick up a leaf or a twig; news stories ran in papers nationwide; and the state carefully gathered and stored as much of the tree as it could until a suitable use can be decided upon.

The Wye Oak was one of only four trees that had held their title as the national champion of their species since American Forests began keeping records back in 1940. In fact, the challenge to find a white oak bigger than Wye Mills' tree launched American Forests' National Register of Big Trees. (The search to find a new national champion white oak for the 2004 Register is now underway.)

For tree lovers, the Wye Oak stood as more than a symbol of the grandeur nature could achieve. American Forests links people to trees and the conservation movement by using big trees such as the Wye Oak as a focal point. When American Forests created the Register in 1940, it was as a means of bringing public attention to the fundamentals of the nascent tree conservation movement. When people can see and touch big trees, they experience a mature piece of the natural environment in a lasting way.

The Wye Oak-which watched civilizations come and go from native Americans to the first European colonists to the present day-was also a symbol of stewardship and thoughtful care. The tree, hollow at its core and held together with 2 miles of cabling, was with us for so long because of steps taken to protect it nearly a century ago. The state of Maryland bought the tree and the two lots on which it stood back in 1939 to keep the tree from ever being cut down.

And although the Wye Oak has died, the issues for which it stood will live on. Perhaps its passing will inspire a whole new generation of conservationists.

Writing in the Maryland newspaper Bay Weekly, columnist Bill Burton recalled:

"Some were married under her spreading boughs, and others popped the question beneath her. Many an old-timer could recall picnicking as a child under her shade, while still others had just come to gawk as they drove past. All who had seen her standing never forgot her enormous proportions: a pretty much worn-out trunk rotted inside yet still with a girth of 32 feet.

" 'Tis said four men could play cards around a table within her trunk, that's how round she was. Cables secured her limbs and infrastructure, she was well trussed, yet she was still alive, respected and loved, all 100 feet or more of her as she still reached for the sky. Those who saw her standing will remember her that way, an oak with the indomitable spirit of this great hardwood species."

Sunday, September 8, was a perfect day for baseball. As a breeze wafted the smell of peanuts and hot dogs onto the field and the grounds crew prepared for the game against the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees took the field . . . to plant a tree.

Relief pitcher Steve Karsay, first baseman Ron Coomer, and left fielder Rondell White represented the team in accepting a memorial plaque and a coral burst crabapple to be planted in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. White later obliged fans with the game-winning homer.

The crabapple was the first of American Forests' Memorial Trees to be planted in New York; one tree will be planted for each of the victims and heroes who died at the World Trade Center. Memorial plantings will also take place in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

"It was amazing to be standing in front of thousands of screaming fans to present the tree to the city of New York," says American Forests' senior vice president Richard Crouse, a lifelong Orioles fan who admitted to backing the Yankees for that one day. "Many people came up after the ceremony to thank us for planting trees for their friends and family. It was a touching experience."

Accompanying Crouse on the field for the pregame ceremony were Elise Gourley and Mariann Dicarlantonio, district directors for retailer Eddie Bauer, which is sponsoring American Forests' Memorial Tree Groves campaign; deputy city parks commissioner Liam Kavanagh; and baseball fans Chris Fedor, 5; Ethan Fedor and Charlie Nelson, both 7; Guy Steward, 9; and Corey Fedor and Matt Wheelright, both 13.

"I was proud to be standing out there on the field to present the tree to the Yankees," said Eddie Bauer's Elise Gourley. "It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life."

American Forests' Memorial Tree Groves campaign was created as a living tribute to the firefighters, policemen, and other victims and heroes who lost their lives September 11. Eddie Bauer has pledged $500,000 to support the campaign and is asking customers to add a dollar to their purchase totals through January 2003 to help plant Memorial Trees. Donations can be made at any Eddie Bauer retail store, through the Eddie Bauer catalog 800/426-8020, or online at www.eddiebauer.com.

American Forests will plant more than 2,800 of the 6- to 10-foot-tall trees in New York; 40 at a fire fighting training facility in Somerset, Pennsylvania; and 368 near the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. At least 184 trees will be planted on Washington, DC's Kingman Island, to show the national scope of the tragedy. American Forests is working with local groups and agencies to plant the trees, including: New York City's Parks and Recreation Department; Hudson River Park Trust; Lower Hudson River RC&D; SUNY at Stony Brook; Washington, DC's Office of the Mayor; and officials from Arlington County, Virginia.-Rachel Brittin

Gorlacheva Katya, age 8, Lazo village. "Tigers are playing in the forests."

Kukushkina Nastya, age 13, Lazo village. "Father have a rest (father-tiger is resting)."

Tyuhteva Sasha, age 12, Preobrazhenie village. "Stream in the foraest."

If you drew a wild animal with which you shared a habitat, what would it be: a deer, a raccoon, maybe a bear? In Russia's Far East, that animal is the endangered Siberian tiger, and 61 elementary students drew pictures of the big cats recently as part of American Forests' campaign to protect and restore the animal's forested habitat.

The children helped plant trees over the past year for American Forests' Trees for Tigers campaign: 3,000 seedlings in Lazo village, 1,000 in Benevskaya village, and another 1,000 in Chernorychenskoe village.

The 5 winners are shown at right. Other finalists in the competition were: Vilson Sveta, age 10, Preobrazhenie village; Strotckaya Katya, age 13, Lazo village; Petrovetc Yulya, age 11, Preobrazhenie village; Vilchenko Lyuba, age 12, Preobrazhenie village; Afanasev Afanasii, age 10, Lazo village; Halilov Ahmad, age 13, Lazo village; Blohina Tanya, age 12, Preobrazhenie village; Smirnova Lyuda, age 10, Lazo village; Aicygina Nastya, age 10, Lazo village.

For thousands of years vast, undisturbed forests of native Korean pine, oak, birch, fir, and maple stretched from the heart of Russia to the Sea of Japan. Wide-ranging and solitary, Siberian tigers rule a domain inhabited by wild boar and elk, which feed on the Korean pine's meaty nuts.

But years of intensive logging, agricultural development, and uncontrolled forest fires have taken their toll on those undisturbed forests-and on the Siberian tiger. Only a few hundred adult cats remain. American Forests' goal is to plant 200,000 habitat-expanding trees this year and millions more in the years to come.

Afanaseva Nadya, age 13, Lazo village. "Taiga is a home for tigers."	Pustovaya Irina, age 10, Lazo village. "Tiger's family."

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (SD) put Congress, the Administration, the forest industry, and environmental groups in a dither in July when he inserted an amendment into an emergency supplemental appropriations bill. His amendment recognized the high risk of wildfire posed by deteriorating forest health conditions and authorized forest treatments-the thinning of small trees and creation of fuelbreaks-in specific areas around Norbeck Wildlife Preserve and Beaver Park Roadless Area in South Dakota's Black Hills National Forest.

That in and of itself wasn't surprising. Many congressmen and women favor such actions under the National Fire Plan's "hazardous fuels reduction" provisions. But Daschle may have gone too far by including a provision exempting these forest treatments from environmental assessment, administrative appeals, and judicial review. His intent was to ensure prompt implementation of these actions, but such exemptions are seen as politically out-of-the-question by most members of Congress and anathema to environmental groups.

By inserting the exemption in his amendment, Sen. Daschle-wittingly or unwittingly-set into motion a series of political responses by other members of Congress and the Administration. Those responses are sure to make for interesting legislative action and contentious debate when Congress returns from its August recess.

Shortly after Sen. Daschle's amendment, Rep. John Shaddeg (AZ) and several other Republican members introduced a bill in the House (H.R. 5309) that would allow Forest Service regional foresters to exempt tree-thinning activities from environmental review, appeals, and judicial review. A group of Western senators announced plans to develop legislative proposals on wildfire and forest health issues during the congressional recess and then attempt to attach them to the FY 2003 Interior Appropriations bill (S. 2708) when it goes to the Senate floor in September.

President Bush added his voice on August 22, proposing a "Healthy Forests" initiative that would "improve regulatory processes to ensure more timely decisions, greater efficiency, and better results in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires by restoring forest health." The President's proposal, though only broadly outlined, includes provisions to:

• Allow the use of long-term stewardship contracts "for thinning trees and brush and removing dead wood."
• Expedite the implementation of hazardous fuels reduction and forest restoration projects, similar to Sen. Daschle's exemptions.
• Ensure that judges give greater consideration to long-term risks to people, property, and the environment in legal challenges to forest health projects.
• Remove administrative obstacles to allow timber projects under the Northwest Forest Plan to proceed without delay.

As Congress and the Administration gear up to work on these proposals, we believe it important to frame the debate clearly. The key issues of reducing wildfire threats and restoring forest conditions haven't changed much since the National Fire Plan was developed, they've just been reinforced after this year's fires. Let's not lose sight of the goals articulated in both the National Fire Plan and the Western Governors' long-term strategy:

1. Improve fire prevention and suppression.
2. Reduce hazardous fuels.
3. Restore fire adapted ecosystems.
4. Protect communities.
5. Ensure accountability.

We believe the Western Governors' long-term strategy-developed with a diverse set of participants, including community groups and environmentalists-is still the appropriate framework to meet these broad goals. Their strategy is based on principles such as broad collaboration, engaging communities in planning and implementing projects, monitoring, and consistent funding.

Other forestry issues, such as those related to the Northwest Forest Plan, are important but don't need to be addressed in this policy context. We are developing some suggestions that might help move the legislative debate forward:

• Have communities engage in watershed- or landscape-scale planning efforts that identify priority areas for fuels reduction or forest restoration. These priorities could include areas adjacent to private properties or structures, along roads, and around community water-supply areas.
• Identify priority projects through collaborative community-based processes and expedite them through administrative procedures, taking care not to violate environmental laws and citizen's rights.
• Have Congress provide significant and consistent funding for hazardous fuels reduction and forest restoration projects. Have the Administration ensure that the funds are effectively directed to these priority projects.
• Other funding mechanisms, such as goods-for-services and receipts retention, might be used to help cover the costs of fuels reduction and restoration work. These mechanisms should be clearly separated from the Forest Service's stewardship contracting demonstration program so as not to threaten the integrity of that valuable program, which has broader objectives.
• Make changes to existing laws or regulations in an open, inclusive manner that ensures citizen participation. We should not subvert existing laws, but rather address underlying problems with how they are being implemented.

Our hope is that the momentum for forest policy action generated by this year's fires and Senator Daschle's amendment will lead to practical steps to enable more fuels reduction and restoration projects, done through collaborative, community-based plans with monitoring systems that build trust and ensure learning. Now is not the time to suggest major deviations from the Western Governors' framework, deviations such as broad exemptions from environmental laws, fuels reduction or thinning on a massive scale, or funding mechanisms that might breed further distrust.

Over the past few years the trend has been toward finding common ground on our need to address wildfire threats and improve deteriorating forest conditions. Let's build on that common ground, not lose it.

-Gerry Gray