PRESS RELEASE

Ecological Internet (EI) welcomes news that ANZ Bank of Australia will not fund the Gunns Tasmanian pulp mill [search]. In a statement ANZ announced it will not provide finance for the AU$ 2 billion project to pulp ancient forests for throw-away paper products, but did not provide a reason for withdrawing. International environmental protest spearheaded by Ecological Internet, in support of local protests, certainly played a major role.

ANZ Bank, and the Australian and Tasmanian governments, have been targets of environmental protest in country and from Ecological Internet and other overseas groups for years. Most recently, in early April, nearly 3,000 EI Earth Action Network participants from 87 countries sent a quarter of a million protest emails to ANZ and the Australian government asking that ANZ withdraw funding. The Australian national government was also called out for their hypocrisy in supporting protection of forests overseas to address climate change, but not in Tasmania.

Continue reading "VICTORY: Ecological Internet Welcomes ANZ Bank Withdrawal from Tasmanian Pulp Mill Disaster" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Australian media reports "Plans for Tasmania's controversial $2 billion pulp mill are dead [ark | search]... following reports the ANZ bank will pull out of funding the project." ANZ has not yet publicly confirmed the decision, yet should they do so, this would be a tremendous victory for the ancient forest protection movement.

Let's hope this is more than Green wishful thinking. Yet, clearly the Gunns' much maligned Tasmanian pulp mill proposal [alert] -- the focus of protest by many including Ecological Internet's Earth Action Network -- is facing troubles as its construction is much delayed. We have protested the mill on half a dozen occasions over past years, most lately targeting ANZ funding apparently with some impact. We must intensify protests until Australian ancient forest logging ends.

Ancient forest logging releases vast carbon stores [search] at great expense to the climate. The Australian government must end its ridiculous double-standard regarding international and domestic forest protection in regard to climate.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is easy to rail against "illegal" logging [search], when in fact typical "legal" commercial logging is far more extensive and destructive in total to the world's biodiversity [search], climate [search], water [search] and biosphere [search]. Both liquidate life giving natural habitats, and more people are realizing they are mostly ecologically indistinguishable [ark]. Ancient primary forests industrially harvested for the first time are in fact destroyed -- in terms of being a fully intact ecological system with a unique, unimpaired evolutionary trajectory -- regardless if society considers it legal or illegal. Natural and planted secondary forest ecosystems managed industrially as tree farms become further ecologically diminished with each successive harvest including continued toxification, soil diminishment, species and genetic loss, reduced carbon and water holding potential, and so many other symptoms of ongoing biological homogenization.

Humanity's relationship with all forests must be transformed if we are to stop the hemorrhaging of lost species and halt transformation of the atmosphere. Industrial forestry [search] is incompatible with sustaining the full range of natural forest values [search] -- from species to genes, from soil microbes to local microclimates, from a forest stand to the Earth system and everything in between. Solving the biodiversity [search], climate [search] and water [search] crises requires a new forest protection paradigm that optimizes ecosystem, biodiversity and climate values while ecologically sustainably harvesting the annual growth increment (minus ecological restoration of natural capital to account in the future for past damage).

Continue reading "Legal Logging Destroying the Earth's Biodiversity, Climate, Water and Biosphere" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

Patagonia's wild rivers to be dammed, destroying ancient temperate forests, for 50 years of electricity; please let supposedly environmentally responsible Home Depot know they should not be doing business with the project's primary Chilean advocate

TAKE ACTION! One of Chile's last true pristine and intact wildernesses is to be dammed and logged to provide hydroelectricity. The dams -- two on the Baker River and three on the Pascua River -- would irretrievably damage Patagonia [search], one of the Earth's wildest and most beautiful places. The HidroAysén project will flood river valleys containing several thousand hectares of ancient primary forests. The project's transmission line would require extensive clearcutting of further pristine Chilean native forests [search], clearing more than a 1,500-mile swath that will impact fourteen national parks and wilderness reserves.

Shockingly, the main Chilean project proponent -- the Matte Group -- does extensive business with U.S. mega-corp Home Depot [search], broadly perceived as being "green". In consultation with International Rivers, Ecological Internet is working to get Matte to withdraw from the project by highlighting their business interests with Home Depot. Please challenge Home Depot to live up to their green image and refuse to participate in the greenwashing of Patagonian wild river and ancient forest destruction. Insist Home Depot cease doing business with Matte until they withdraw from HidroAysén. TAKE ACTION!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Greenpeace warns in a new report entitled "Turning Up the Heat" that industrial logging in Canada's boreal forests [ark] threatens to turn the country's vast northern forest into a source of global warming. Greenpeace-Canada diagnoses the problem -- Boreal ancient forest logging causes climate change -- while being myopic and inconsistent on the solution, insinuating that industrial logging of ancient forests can be done acceptably. Yet we know first-time selective logging of primary forests releases immediately at least 40% of their carbon, while forever dimininishing future carbon holding potential, leaving behind much diminished tree plantations.

Continue reading "Greenpeace's Inconsistent Forest/Carbon Message on Display in the Canadian Boreal" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Done properly tree planting [search] is a hope filled expression of love for nature. But making a hole in the ground and dropping in the seedling is only the beginning. Nearly all planted trees require years of care including watering, weeding and even fencing to become established. Ill-conceived mass tree planting efforts are failing in Nigeria and worldwide [ark] because of failure to plan for this aftercare and other issues like using the wrong species in the wrong place. This is but one misunderstanding regarding tree planting and the environment.

Trees help remove carbon and help restore terrestrial ecosystems, but planted trees are generally not forests. Plantations of only one, often exotic, tree species are crops and not forests. Forests include diverse native tree species with associated understory plants, wildlife and soil microcobes. A natural forest provides ecological processes that are generally absent in tree farms including cycling of water and carbon, while creating soil and habitats.

Continue reading "Planting Trees is the Easy Part" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Strong Link Between Land Clearance and Climate Change Found in Queensland" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I have resisted as long as I could pointing out the fact that Western forest fires are precisely in line with long-standing predictions regarding regional impacts of climate change [ark] [more\ark] expected in West/Southwestern United States. Ecological truth must be spoken often and loudly. Of course there are other exacerbating factors that interact with global heating including poorly planned urban sprawl [search], fire suppression in wildlands [search] evolved to burn, and over use of ecosystem water [search].

But these all are exacerbated by, and pale in comparison to, well known overwhelming implications of regional climatic shifts: "The catastrophic fires that are sweeping Southern California are consistent with what climate change models have been predicting for years... and they may be just a prelude to many more such events in the future – as vegetation grows heavier than usual and then ignites during prolonged drought periods. 'This is exactly what we’ve been projecting to happen, both in short-term fire forecasts for this year and the longer term patterns that can be linked to global climate change... In the future, catastrophic fires such as those going on now in California may simply be a normal part of the landscape.'"

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TAKE ACTION: Australian media reports that Australia's Federal Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Malcolm Turnbull, will be announcing this week whether the federal government will provide environmental approval for the proposed Tasmanian ancient forest fed pulp mill. As expected the Tasmanian state parliament recently rubber-stamped the project. However, Malcolm Turnbull then announced a six week extension to decide whether the federal environmental would approve the project. Of particular concern was the mill's proposed effluent discharge into the area's fragile marine environment. This extended period of consideration is nearing its end.

It is also reported that Gunns logging and Tasmanian government have sent a high profile delegation to Canberra for last minute lobbying. Meanwhile Australian and international protest continues to surge against the ill-conceived, fast-tracked doubling of logging in Tasmania's ancient forests for throw away paper products. Ecological Internet's network alone has sent 387,476 protest emails to Australian authorities form 3,545 people in 83 countries. The world's forest and climate protectors need to make a final push on this difficult and detestable matter. TAKE ACTION!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (2)

ALERT UPDATE! The Tasmanian state parliament has, as expected, approved the proposed ancient forest fed pulp mill. However, in a positive development, the Australian federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced that he is extending the time available to decide whether to grant federal environmental approval for the project for another six weeks. This comes as Australian and international protest is surging against the ill-conceived, fast-tracked doubling of logging in Tasmania's ancient forests for throw away paper products.

This provides extra time to let federal politicians know that Australians and the World do not want or need this polluting forest-hungry pulp mill. The momentum is on our side! The alert has been updated and is now targeting the Environment Minister. Please send or resend in order to have your concerns registered within the federal public commenting process, which offically ends on Friday, August 31st (but this alert will remain live nonetheless). YOU MAY WANT TO NOTE WHETHER YOU ARE AN AUSTRALIAN OR GLOBAL CITIZEN BY EDITING THE SAMPLE LETTER.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

In a last minute effort to hand out forests to cronies before his term ends, the Bush administration has proposed eliminating protections from 1.5 million acres from Northwest forests considered critical to the survival of the northern spotted owl [search]. This will reopen the 1990s battle between timber production and wildlife habitat on public lands, and there is little reason to believe that this is scientifically justified in terms of owl habitat and forest health. This comes as the scientific basis for Bush's languishing "Healthy Forests" [search] policy of logging and replanting burned forests [more] rather than allowing them to regenerate naturally has been shown definitively to be bad science. An important new study has found that subsequent fire severity is much worse in logged and planted areas, compared to those that had burned severely and were left alone in an earlier fire. There appears to be no ecological truth (or for that matter truth of any kind) that the Bush Administration is unable to spin, twist or outright lie about. How did this man come to be trusted with the Earth's climate and America's forests? Let's hope the planet can survive another year and a half of what will certainly be renewed last minute assaults upon life giving ecosystems.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

TAKE ACTION! Let the Finnish government know that the age of ancient forest logging is over; that these forests are needed for climate buffering, biodiversity protection, forest restoration seed stock and are vital to achieving global ecological sustainability

The Finnish government is destroying the largest unprotected ancient forests in Finland. Only 4.4 percent of Finnish forests are classified old-growth forests. Still a large part of the little that remains is in danger of being destroyed. In Finnish Lapland the state owned logging company Metsahallitus has started clearcut logging huge areas of old-growth forests in November despite the strong national support for protection and several international biodiversity declarations Finland has signed. Logging and road construction have already started or are being planned in at least six areas. Finnish Lapland's forest wilderness is one of the largest and most important remaining in Europe, and Finland and other European countries have zero credibility in demanding tropical rainforests are protected in developing countries even as they mop up the remainder of their ancient forest ecosystems. This highly damaging industrial clearcut logging will permanently destroy unique natural values including reindeer herding and nature tourism. These unique ancient forests with up to 500 year old pine trees are being logged mainly for pulp and paper. In an evil ecological crime, old growth forests which maintain the biosphere in an inhabitable condition are being processed into magazine papers, envelopes and copy paper. Please ask for an immediate end to these outrageous ancient forest loggings. Let the Finnish government know that the Age of Ancient Forest Logging is over; and that all remaining old-growth must be protected and assisted to expand and restore itself.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Their survival depends upon maintaining and establishing corridors between large habitats

TAKE ACTION: Asian elephants once ranged throughout most of Asia, but their habitat has been reduced to isolated fragments, often with boundaries that restrict traditional migrations and gene flow. An expanding human settlement/wildland interface has lead to increased pressure on populations due to human-elephant conflicts ranging from poaching to crop-raiding and roadkills. Habitat fragmentation [search] leads to the isolation of populations, and for wide-ranging animals, it may result in several isolated populations that are too small to be viable. It is imperative for continued existence of Asian elephants in India [search] that immediate efforts be focused towards protecting known key populations and creating corridors that can facilitate animal migration and gene flow. We are appealing to you to PLEASE immediately write to the Government of India, to DEMAND that they get serious about protecting South India's wild elephants!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

The on again, off again, U.S. roadless forest rules of former President Clinton are back in effect. In a setback for the Bush administration, a federal judge rejected a rule that allowed logging roads in national forests' last large roadless [search] wilderness areas. Whoop, whoo - this is a major victory for the many groups working daily on this matter for years - a movement really - of which Ecological Internet and our network has been a part - including generating thousands of comments in the rules original formulation. We have done at least a half dozen alerts on the matter over the past 10 years (for an oldie but goodie see this 2001 alert). Ecological Internet and its predecessors including Forests.org are becoming ancient like the forests they seek to protect ;-)

Continue reading "VICTORY: U.S. Roadless Forests Sleep More Safely for Now" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBacks (0)

The latest development in America's roadless forest catastrophe (search) has unfolded, as the Bush administration moves ahead with turning the fate of America's last large forest wildernesses over to states and ultimately industry cronies. It is reported that three Eastern states' petitions to continue protecting their roadless forests have been granted, in a predude to old-growth forest logging handouts in the West. Already in Oregon the Bush Forest Service continues with plans to log roadless forests that burned (more) a few years ago but are regenerating nicely and remain a large roadless wilderness, despite the state's Governor asking that logging of roadless forests end. Which is it Mr. Bush? Can states determine the fate of their forest heritage or will your government do so (as long as more logging is the guaranteed outcome).

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Numerous important forest land holdings are becoming available for purchase in the United States as logging companies realize these forests are more valuable for other purposes other than logging. The big question is whether land trusts and government will have the funds to buy and protect these lands, or whether they will be bought and developed for residential development. Given requirements for terrestrial ecosystem sustainability, and the shortage of intact natural ecosystems across many landscapes, one would hope these lands remain intact and are preserved. Think preserves not condos!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

TAKE ACTION
Protest against Gunns of Tasmania goes global, ask business partners to divest from Gunns
http://forests.org/action/alert.asp?id=gunns

Tasmania, Australia's old growth forests are highly threatened by the woodchip industry, as ancient forests are reduced to throw-away paper products. On March 6th, outraged world citizens protested Gunns Ltd's destruction of old-growth forests, and their undermining of democracy, at Australian embassies and consulates in America, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. Protestors wore tape over their mouths with the word "Gunns" printed on it to protest Gunns Ltd's continued attempts to use its wealth and power to crush dissent and silence its critics through the courts. Tasmania's iconic forests contain massive eucalyptus trees, some of the tallest hardwood trees in the world, and are home to many endangered species. Gunns Ltd exports over four million tonnes of native-forest woodchips each year, mostly to the Japanese paper industry, with more than 65% sourced from old-growth, high conservation value forests. This alert targets Gunns Ltd's business partners, with copies to the Australian embassies targeted by the street protests, asking that they divest themselves of investments in Gunns and end their involvement in old-growth logging. For more information and to take action now: http://forests.org/action/alert.asp?id=gunns

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Bush Administration continues its disregard for peer reviewed science which has irrefutably found that salvage logging of forests post fire is ecologically damaging - hindering natural regeneration while increasing the risk of additional fires. An ecological crime of vast proportions is being waged as efforts are made to discredit ecological science and its proponents. When America's large natural forests burn, do we want to replace them with monoculture tree plantations, or do we want to allow them to regenerate naturally as they always have after burning? America's political leadership will stop at nothing to further their political interests, including dooming their country to abject ecosystem collapse in the not too distant future. Shame on those proponents of salvage logging suckling on the teat of logging companies.

In Fire's Wake, Logging Study Inflames Debate

Logging after the Biscuit fire, the study found, has harmed forest recovery and increased fire risk. What the short study did not say... is that the White House has ignored science to please the timber industry... Logging after fires... generates about 40 percent of timber volume on the nation's public lands... Salvage logging and replanting can often succeed... if the intent is to turn a scorched landscape into a stand of trees for commercial harvest. If, however, Congress wants to promote the ecologically sound recovery of burned federal forests... the overwhelming weight of scientific research suggests that "salvage logging is not going to be appropriate."

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

All around us are indications of regional ecosystem collapse that together threaten humanity with global ecosystem collapse. The recent Philippine mudslide can be directly traced to deforestation, climate change and overpopulation. To say otherwise is to deny reality and scientific facts, and amounts to deadly obstructionism. We simply must confront these issues head on or we are doomed.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Rev up the chain saws, the Toxic Texan has renewed his war upon America's forests. A White House budget proposal released this week recommends more than doubling the annual timber harvested on public lands in Oregon, Washington and California ? to 800 million board feet.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

The American Scientist presents a good review of the science behind the environmental assessment of selective logging in ancient forests. Many important scientific and policy points are made which fly in the face of industry and mainstream environmental rhetoric that "sustainable logging" (usually mixed with additional vague assurances such logging is selective, ecosystem based, follows best management practices, or has been certified) has environmental benefits and can contribute appreciably to forest conservation in the world's remaining large primary forest wildlands.

Carbon storage in selectively logged forests has been shown in numerous studies to be appreciably reduced (from 25-70%). It has also been found that tropical forests take much longer to regenerate than generally accepted - in many cases hundreds of years, far longer than most "sustainable logging" operation's cutting cycles.

The potential for truly reduced-impact logging, what I call "eco-forestry" that is not large scale or industrial, to surgically remove individual trees maintaining ancient forest composition, dynamics and structure is noted. But in reality such codes are rarely followed.

Continue reading "The Myth of Selective Logging: Carbon and Regeneration" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

With the aid of greenwashing by the large mainstream and even "radical" environmental groups, 2/3 of Canada's ancient temperate rainforests are to be heavily industrially logged in return for vague protections in 1/3 of this planetary ecosystem treasure trove. Ecological Internet's network has campaigned against this deal in the past. There are no assurances these protection levels are adequate for regional ecosystem sustainability, that the logging can be done in a manner that maintains the full range of species, or that later the protected forests will not come under logging pressures.

Continue reading "The Great Canadian Temperate Rainforest Sell-Out" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

An important component of policy to achieve global ecological sustainability will be restoring terrestrial ecosystems. Restoration ecology goes beyond plantation reforestation, seeking to reconstruct native communities of trees - indeed constructing a new forest modeled on what occurred there historically. The problem has been that restoration ecology efforts are usually small, token efforts that achieve little in regards to appreciably conserving and restoring regional ecosystems and biodiversity. One of the best examples of large scale ecological restoration of large forested landscapes of which I am familiar is taking place in Scotland, where more than seven million trees could be planted during an initiative to regenerate Scotland's native woodland. The Earth's biosphere is in a state of overshoot, meaning more ecosystems have been lost than the Planet can bear. Humanity must swiftly ramp up efforts to identify and restore ecosystems that are optimally placed for the most ecological benefit.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What to make of the recent scientific discovery that plants are a major source of methane - a particularly potent greenhouse gas? It is very important that these findings not be misconstrued to suggest that natural vegetation including forests are not important ecologically. Certainly forests are critical ecologically as repositories of biodiversity, wildlife, carbon, water, etc. But it is incorrect to assert that planting forests will have a major impact on remediating climatic change.

Continue reading "Plants Found to Release Methane" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I have written at length regarding how forest fires are often a natural part of forest ecology - resetting the system and providing for ecosystem renewal. And new scientific evidence establishes that logging following forest fires further damages forests - impeding regeneration, increasing the risk of further fires, and exacerbating climate change. "A general lesson has been the great resilience and recuperative capacity that are characteristic of natural forests."

Continue reading "Salvage Logging Hinders Regeneration, Increases Fire Risk, Causes Climate Change" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Rational, logical Darwinian science has won out over superstitious, antiquated creationism. And in a further repudiation of "unintelligent" design, Science magazine has named recent advances in the study of Evolution the science story of the year.

?Intelligent Design' Barred From Biology Class

A federal judge has ruled ?intelligent design? cannot be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, concluding that several school board members lied about their motives for introducing the concept to students.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Environmentalists are frequently disparaged for blaming supposedly "natural disasters" as being attributed to environmental decline. In the past year I have highligted the role of coastal development and ecosystem loss as a cause for damaged done by the Asian Tsunami and the Gulf Coast Hurricanes. It appears I missed one sign of ecological collapse in 2005 - the damage caused in Pakistan by the recent earthquake were greatly exacerbated by deforestation of the steep mountain slopes. Land slides claimed many lives and many deaths could have been prevented by maintaining and restoring natural forest cover on land slide prone areas in earthquake zones.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The issue of biofuels being made from oil palm and soya which are destructive to rainforest ecosystems is taking on a high profile in the conservation community. This issue was first raised by Forests.org and our international network earlier in the year with an alert to the EU. At that time, in my exhaustive perusal of forest news I had seen no mention of the the topic. Since our alert many other groups have become active on the matter. This is one example of the critical role that Forests.org plays in identifying and mobilizing actions against emerging threats to the world's forests and climate. Our innovative network has more impact than appreciated, and suble moves forward are as frequent as outright conservation victories.

EU must ensure bioenergy is really 'green'

Travelling in a car fuelled by biodiesel seems like a great, environmentally-friendly thing to do. However, if the biodiesel has come from soya planted in the Brazilian Amazon or palm oil from Indonesia, the green consumer is likely to be unwittingly driving another nail into the coffin of the world's great ecosystems."

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (1)

The interplay between forests and the atmosphere is complex and largely unknown. The conventional wisdom is that planting trees is a laudable response to climate change, but it is not so simple. A new study indicates trees planted in temperate areas actually raise temperatures by aborbing more heat - while trees in tropical areas transpire this heat more effectively thus leading to more cooling. These impacts may outweigh whatever benefits in terms of reduced warming result from carbon capture.

There is a whole array of unknowns regarding the interplay between forests and climate. Those with a vested interest in tree planting for alleged climate benefits must take heed or risk being label as charlatans. Other issues include whether replacing ancient forests with plantations may lead to more lost carbon storage than is gained by growing forests, and the possibility that if global warming continues apace forests - planted and otherwise - may suffer tremendous dieback and carbon release.

The lesson here is that given current knowledge humanity is well advised to focus upon reducing emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, energy efficiency and keeping existing carbon stored in intact ancient forests. Planting trees - particulary in monocultures outside of their natural ranges - should not be embraced as a climate change remedy at this point. By all means restoring of native forests where they traditionally occurred is another matter and should be pursued aggressively.