[SustainableTompkins] FL Nat. Forest to sell off old growth pines!ACT NOW!

[Elan Shapiro]

Well-known and highly respected ecological forester Mike DeMunn has 
asked me to distribute his urgent message below. Please distribute 
this widely.
Tony Ingraham
<mailto:owlgorge at earthlink.net>owlgorge at earthlink.net


Urgent Message to All Conservationists

The Finger Lakes National Forest is preparing to put out to bid a 
timber sale (the Cotton-Mill sale) which includes cutting all of the 
last OLD GROWTH white pine on the Finger Lakes National Forest, 
despite the fact that they gave their word that they wouldn't do it!

Call or email the Finger Lakes National Forest and demand that none 
of the white pine be cut for this or any future timber sale. Act on 
this now!

Call: Finger Lakes National Forest, Hector, N.Y. Phone: 607-546-4470.

<http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/gmfl/contact/index.htm>http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/gmfl/contact/index.htm

Contact Mike DeMunn at 607-546-4902 for further information.

Those who care about the environment need to be alerted to the 
pending deplorable action of the U.S. Forest Service in the Finger 
Lakes National Forest.

Within a planned timber sale, there are old growth white pine trees 
marked for cutting! These trees are very large and awesome to behold 
and are likely over 200 years old. They are by far the largest and 
oldest of their species on the entire 17,000 acres of the Finger 
Lakes National Forest and perhaps in all of western Schuyler County 
and beyond.

The trees are located on the top of Burnt Hill Road in Hector-Logan, 
N.Y. They can be seen from miles away towering above the rest of the 
forest on the Hector ridge and give the viewer a glimpse of what the 
ancient virgin forest looked like centuries ago. These white pines 
are beyond question the crown jewels of this national forest and it 
is unthinkable that ALL of them would be marked for logging!


The white pine is the sacred tree and symbol of the Iroquois Indian 
nations. These trees are survivors from the time the Indians 
inhabited this area. Old growth white pine is the rarest of the rare 
because it was so sought after for building purposes since settlement 
times. From a forest management perspective, there is not a single 
reason to cut these ancient trees, except they are big, old, and have 
at best some minor economic value.

  These old white pine trees do not belong to the U.S. Forest Service. 
They belong to the American people, to natural history. They are 
every bit as rare and important to ecology and human society as any 
endangered species would be. The people of the future have a right to 
see these living trees, and not just the stumps of where they once 
stood for centuries.


The U.S. Forest Service was asked to NOT cut these old white pines 
and they gave their word that they would leave them alone. Time is 
now of the essence and all conservationists must act quickly by 
contacting the U.S. Forest Service at 607-546-4470 (Finger Lakes 
National Forest) and expressing your outrage at this senseless act. 
Let us hope there has been "miscommunication" on their part instead 
of deliberately breaking their word. ACT NOW on this matter.

Contact Mike DeMunn at 607-546-4902 for further information.

[Mike is a native of the Finger Lakes area. He has worked in various 
parts of the country for both the US Forest Service and the National 
Park Service, and he is an expert on old growth forest. He works as a 
private forestry consultant, helping landowners manage their woods 
with sustainable forestry practices. He is a leader in land 
conservation in the Finger Lakes area, and he is an author. He lives 
in Burdett, N.Y. near the Finger Lakes National Forest.
I hope to get some photos of these trees soon. Tony Ingraham.]
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