We Save Trees - Environmental Concerns

It's not only clear cuts that do the damage but also logging roads. According to conservation biologist Reed Noss, over 90 percent of the erosion in a clear-cut forest is due to the roads themselves, as opposed to the resulting stumpy landscape. Besides crippling the forest's ability to retain water for summer drought, road building and clear-cutting also increase siltation in creeks up to 25 times, according to a US Forest Service study. Maxxam/Pacific Lumber regularly clear-cuts on steep and unstable slopes causing even more drastic soil erosion and siltation build up. Siltation chokes and kills salmon and their eggs. Siltation also poses dangers to humans as bacteria and intestinal parasites such as Giardia cling to soil particles in the water. The more particles in the water the more parasites. Water municipalities respond to this by adding more chlorine. But adding chlorine creates dangerous byproducts; a 1992 Health Canada study found up to a 50% increased cancer risk for long-term chlorinated water users.

Old growth forests help fight global warming. Research concludes that old, wild forests are far better than plantations of young trees at ridding the air of carbon dioxide, which is released when coal, oil and other fossil fuels are burned. In old forests, huge amounts of carbon taken from the air are locked away not only in the tree trunks and branches, but also deep in the soil, where the carbon can stay for many centuries, said Kevin R. Gurney, a research scientist at Colorado State University. When such a forest is cut, he said, almost all of that stored carbon is eventually returned to the air in the form of carbon dioxide. "It took a huge amount of time to get that carbon sequestered in those soils," he said, "so if you release it, even if you plant again, it'll take equally long to get it back."

Have you ever walked through the forest on a foggy day and seen drops dripping from the trees? Hikers and backpackers know that on a foggy day in the forest you can get soaked. That's because the dense, needled foliage can trap fog droplets, and shed them on the ground below. There is evidence that fog drip is essential to the forest's survival. It comes from Cornell University ecologist Todd Dawson. According to Dawson, about a third of the moisture that falls in the forest actually comes from fog drip off trees. During the dry season under growth foliage get two thirds of their water from fog drip. In an area that has been clear cut many plants cannot survive or grow back because of the loss of fog drip water.

To head off environmental catastrophe, north coast environmental groups demand that lumber companies use sustainable, long-term logging methods and:

Despite public outcry and a court order, Hurwitz and his company Maxxam continue to destroy and wreak havoc on the environment as fast as they can. Their liquidation and profit making tactics include- Cutting down ancient old growth trees, (of which there is less than 3 percent remaining.) Clear-cutting steep and unstable slopes, which causes extensive soil erosion. Using herbicides mixed with diesel fuel to reduce new growth. Planting GMO seedlings in rows, Doug Firs in what was a redwood forest and vise versa.
	California law does limit the practice of clear-cutting, but not enough! The areas that are adjacent to a new clear-cut may be clear-cut after five years. Thus, an entire watershed may be lawfully clear-cut, roaded, and burned in as little as 6-10 years.
Clear-cutting breaks the circle of life in a forest. Trees provide fog drip water, shade, bio-material, soil holding root systems, and habitat for endangered animals. All of these are essential for a healthy forest. One of the biggest impacts of industrial clear-cutting is the irreparable damage done to the soil. Healthy soil is integral to rebuilding healthy, productive, biodiverse forests. Logging companies often claim that they are restoring forests by replanting. To Maxxam/Pacific Lumber replanting means planting GMO seedlings in rows, often planting Doug Firs in what was a redwood forest and vise versa. Replanting trees does not make a forest. The impacts of clear-cutting on forest biodiversity far exceed what replanted seedlings trees can repair. Studies in Redwood Parks have found it takes 1 million seedlings to get one ancient tree. Not to mention a couple thousand years!
The floods of 1955 and 1964 wreaked havoc along Bull Creek because of widespread clear-cut logging in its headwaters. Almost forty years later, the area is still scarred and barren.
It's not only clear cuts that do the damage but also logging roads. According to conservation biologist Reed Noss, over 90 percent of the erosion in a clear-cut forest is due to the roads themselves, as opposed to the resulting stumpy landscape. Besides crippling the forest's ability to retain water for summer drought, road building and clear-cutting also increase siltation in creeks up to 25 times, according to a US Forest Service study. Maxxam/Pacific Lumber regularly clear-cuts on steep and unstable slopes causing even more drastic soil erosion and siltation build up. Siltation chokes and kills salmon and their eggs. Siltation also poses dangers to humans as bacteria and intestinal parasites such as Giardia cling to soil particles in the water. The more particles in the water the more parasites. Water municipalities respond to this by adding more chlorine. But adding chlorine creates dangerous byproducts; a 1992 Health Canada study found up to a 50% increased cancer risk for long-term chlorinated water users. Old growth forests help fight global warming. Research concludes that old, wild forests are far better than plantations of young trees at ridding the air of carbon dioxide, which is released when coal, oil and other fossil fuels are burned. In old forests, huge amounts of carbon taken from the air are locked away not only in the tree trunks and branches, but also deep in the soil, where the carbon can stay for many centuries, said Kevin R. Gurney, a research scientist at Colorado State University. When such a forest is cut, he said, almost all of that stored carbon is eventually returned to the air in the form of carbon dioxide. "It took a huge amount of time to get that carbon sequestered in those soils," he said, "so if you release it, even if you plant again, it'll take equally long to get it back." Have you ever walked through the forest on a foggy day and seen drops dripping from the trees? Hikers and backpackers know that on a foggy day in the forest you can get soaked. That's because the dense, needled foliage can trap fog droplets, and shed them on the ground below. There is evidence that fog drip is essential to the forest's survival. It comes from Cornell University ecologist Todd Dawson. According to Dawson, about a third of the moisture that falls in the forest actually comes from fog drip off trees. During the dry season under growth foliage get two thirds of their water from fog drip. In an area that has been clear cut many plants cannot survive or grow back because of the loss of fog drip water. To head off environmental catastrophe, north coast environmental groups demand that lumber companies use sustainable, long-term logging methods and: Stop the practice of clear-cutting. Stop cutting old growth. Stop cutting trees on steep and unstable slopes. Stop using herbicides and diesel fuel to reduce new growth