[SustainableTompkins] FL Nat. Forest -talk helps, keep it up

[Elan Shapiro]

Hey Elan:

Thanks for the heads up - I spoke with a person at the forest service 
who said he was taking a hi volume of calls and that the trees are 
already MARKED! He said he promised that nothing would happen to the 
trees until there was a resolution. He said there had been a public 
comment stage and no one had raised any objections - I asked how that 
could have happened given the current response and he said- "Well, 
that is suspicious - I promise we will get to the bottom of it."

Thanks again- David
(dsaiia at ithaca.edu)

Elan Shapiro wrote:

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

-- 
Elan Shapiro
Sustainable Tompkins Program Co-Chair
Sustainable Living Associates, Principal
Frog's Way B&B
211 Rachel Carson Way
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-275-0249

"We must be the change we want to see in the world"
	          Mohandas Gandhi