Chestnut tree restoration under way at Bankhead
[Alabama] Researchers have planted hybrids at the Bankhead National Forest in an effort to restore the majestic American chestnut that once dominated the Southeast. Researchers at the American Chestnut Foundation are cross breeding the American chestnut with Asian and European varieties resistant to the blight. …researchers are planting mixtures of hybrids across the Southeast to determine where they should be planted and what the trees need for survival.

The idea of rebuilding old-growth by well planned ecosystem management has obvious appeal. Some forest plans, including the Northwest Forest Plan, assume that late seral (old-growth) forests will develop automatically when second-growth forests are placed in reserve, particularly if they have biological legacies such as standing live and dead trees and fallen trees or logs. But ecosystem management, Andy Carey says, must evolve. Managing for a fully functioning old-growth ecosystem, requires more than merely preserving some features of an intact ecosystem, such as a certain number of snags and logs per acre.

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[New York] Taking what’s been called a leadership position among financial service firms in the corporate green movement, the Charlotte, N.C.-based financial giant set aside all but $2 billion of its commitment for lending, advice and market creation to help commercial clients finance the use and production of new products, services and technologies. The bank also will launch the capability to trade carbon emissions credits, a move designed “to enable clients to achieve carbon emission neutrality through existing and emerging market mechanisms.” The bank’s also evaluating investment management solutions that incorporate forest conservation principles consistent with those defined by the Forest Stewardship Council. In addition, Bank of America will commit $1.4 billion to achieve LEED certification — short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — in all new construction facilities and banking centers, including a New York City skyscraper expected to open late in 2008.

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[Washington, DC] A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill to ban the use of illegally-harvested timber and wood products. Support for the legislation has been widespread. Pressure has come from both the domestic logging industry and green groups which, for a change, are on the same side of an environmental issue. Lawmakers said the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Rainforest Alliance, United Steelworkers, and Wood Flooring International have all pledged support for the bill.

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[Vermont] Warmer-than-usual winters are throwing things out of kilter, causing confusion among maple syrup producers, called sugar makers, and stoking fears for the survival of New England’s maple forests. While some farmers and other Vermonters suggest the recent warm years could be just a cyclical hiccup of nature or the result of El Niño, many maple researchers now say it seems more like a long-term trend. Since 1971, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data, winter temperatures in the Northeast have increased by 2.8 degrees.

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Though its numbers are growing, the Florida panther continues to lose habitat to development; will the nation’s most endangered cat run out of room to roam?

[Florida] As it has so many times in the panther’s recent history, hope for a new life for the animals had collided with stark reality in Southwest Florida, where the last remaining population of the cats exists in a kind of limbo between survival and extinction. But lately, many more cats are dying, too, suggesting to some that the recovery may have already peaked. Wildlife experts say a population of at least 240 panthers is needed to ensure survivability over the long haul. But even at the current level of 100 cats, South Florida appears to be running out of room.

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[Oregon] Carbon-credit trading is on the rise worldwide, but woodland owners will need to overcome serious obstacles to gain a foothold in the new market, according to several industry experts at the Forests, Carbon and Climate Change Conference in Corvallis, Ore. Although the carbon credit cap-and-trade system has grown into an estimated $40 billion global industry since being implemented in 2005, “forest carbon was a trivial part of that,” said Bettina von Hagen, vice president of forestry for the Ecotrust nonprofit group. “It’s not a done deal that we will become part of the mix unless we begin to shape the rules in Oregon” and elsewhere. Difficulties in measuring offset emissions, managing risk, navigating complex rules and committing to lengthy contracts all impede the growth of the forest carbon market, said Matt Delaney, a forestry consultant.

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ArborGen LLC is a leader in the research and development of applications in genetics aimed to commercialize and reduce the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol from woody materials. The southeastern United States has an abundance of forestry production, accounting for nearly 62 percent of U.S. timber. Although the area has only a couple of ethanol plants in Kentucky and Tennessee, the forestry industry is becoming more important to ethanol producers looking to use wood sources for heat and power. … ArborGen LLC, a genetically engineered tree production company based in Summerville, S.C., … is diligently working to develop varieties of trees that have been genetically engineered to have superior characteristics as a feedstock. ArborGen technology enables the potential to grow the trees in five- to seven-year rotations with production rates exceeding long-term targets of 10 dry tons of biomass per acre each year. Despite the controversy over genetic engineering, one thing has remained constant-ArborGen’s progress toward commercializing products based on its research and development platform. [Full article available with subscription]

This report is an economic and policy assessment of the biological effectiveness and economic efficiency of incentive mechanisms for private landowners to conserve U.S. biodiversity. Its focus is on rural lands that tend to be used for forestry, agriculture and residential purposes. Its audience is those working to amend the 2007 Farm Bill to improve its effectiveness in conserving native habitat and to enhance the capacity of the Endangered Species Act to encourage voluntary activities that are beneficial to listed species. From Defenders of Wildlife

Second-growth oak forests in the central hardwoods region are considered compositionally unstable in the absence of large-scale disturbances.
While prescribed burning and mechanical thinning treatments are potential options for managing succession in mixed-oak forests, few studies have adequately studied tree successional patterns in mature stands following application of these anthropogenic disturbances.

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Until recently…smaller diameter trees have been overlooked commercially in favor of larger trees that are more cost-effective to remove and process. With a dwindling supply of larger trees and a changed public perception that generally favors the preservation of large trees, the recognition of the fire risk posed by an overabundance of smaller diameter trees has led to an emerging consensus that smaller trees are an economic resource rather than a liability to be cut and burned in place.

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Governor Crist’s concerns over global warming, coupled with a dramatic increase in construction and operating costs, have many in Tallahassee wondering if a proposed coal-fired power plant is in their best interests. The Governor is reportedly consdiering alternative energy sources.

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