Author: Site Owner

Check out what’s happened this week in forest and environmental news!

Do the Western national forests need to be liabilities? – Washington Examiner

National forests are valuable assets, but the cost of managing threats like wildfire, climate change and pests is causing speculation as to who should actually be responsible for caring for these forests.

Accepting Rejection: Why Don’t All City Residents Immediately Welcome Trees? – Medium

Sarah Anderson, American Forests’ Senior Manager, Tree Equity Programs, responds to the New York Times article “Free Trees? Many Detroit Residents Say No Thanks,” and how our organization is working to achieve Tree Equity.

These maps show you every tree in your city – Fast Company

Instead of expensive and time-consuming human surveys, these maps are made by AI–and could help cities figure out where they most need to plant trees.

Arborists are bringing the “dinosaur of trees” back to life – Quartz

Saplings from stumps of the world’s largest, strong and longest-lived trees are being cloned to create redwood “super groves,” a project that was previously thought impossible.

Once derided, ways of adapting to climate change are gaining steam – National Geographic

Recognition is spreading that communities need to build resilience to climatic and coastal threats even as the world seeks ways to curb emissions driving global warming.

Over 22,000 Forest Service Employees Are Furloughed, Delay in Cost-Sharing (Matching Funds) for CFLRP and NFS lands are Preventing Forest Management Actions

Washington, D.C. (January 11, 2019) – The impact of the government shutdown, now entering its 20th day, is being felt by federal employees and far beyond Washington, D.C. Employees of the U.S. Forest Service and other federal employees all over the country have just missed their first paycheck due to the shutdown, putting unacceptable and undeserved financial stress on these hard-working public servants. 

But the cost to America’s forests is just as great. With the U.S. Forest Service’s more than 22,000 employees on furlough, essential forestry activities that protect communities from wildfire and other critical functions are being impacted. In addition to U.S. Forest Service personnel managing national forests, the shutdown also impacts federally-funded work by private contractors to mitigate fire dangers, and federal science experts who have had to step away from urgent efforts to find ways to make our forests more resilient to drought, pests and wildfire.

“American Forests helped to create the U.S. Forest Service in 1905, so we understand the importance of federal workers. This shutdown is putting unneeded personal stress on Forest Service employees and stopping important work that keeps our National Forest System healthy and resilient,” said Jad Daley, President and CEO of American Forests. “Our at-risk forest areas, especially those already vulnerable to wildfire, drought, pest and disease, will only be more at risk because of the work that is not getting done due to this shutdown.” 

Daley also noted the direct impact on American Forests, which is working under federal grants that will not be reimbursed until the shutdown ends. In addition to receiving federal grants, American Forests provides the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with cost-share funding for reforestation. Those projects have come to a halt. 

“American Forests and our corporate partners and private donors across the country are proud to raise funds that help replant trees on national forests and wildlife refuges,” said Daley, “So we have some standing to ask the federal government to keep up its end of the bargain. We urge lawmakers of both parties to end the shutdown, and to use other means to find consensus on our budget priorities.” 

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ABOUT AMERICAN FORESTS

American Forests inspires and advances the conservation of forests, which are essential to life. We do this by protecting and restoring threatened forest ecosystems, promoting and expanding urban forests, and increasing understanding of the importance of forests. Founded in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the country and has served as a catalyst for many key milestones in the conservation movement, including the founding of the U.S. Forest Service, the National Forest System, establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and thousands of forest ecosystem restoration projects and public education efforts.

MEDIA CONTACT

Lea Sloan | Vice President of Communications | 202.370.4509 (direct) | 202.330.3253 (mobile) | lsloan@americanforests.org

Check out what’s happened this week in forest and environmental news!

Access to national parks, forests limited after government shutdown – KOMO NEWS

The ongoing government shutdown has resulted in limited service in national parks and forests, with search and rescue, visitor centers, trash collection and more all lacking.

Gender equality vital part of forest-based climate action, says CIFOR scientist at COP24 – Forests News

At U.N. climate talks in Poland last month, scientists stressed the need for gender equality in tree-based climate initiatives, citing links between inclusive processes with more equitable outcomes and better environmental performance.

Extreme weather in 2018 was a raging, howling signal of climate change – The Washington Post

Flooding, drought, wildfires and dangerously high temperatures – 2018 saw it all, and these extreme weather patterns are likely to continue this year and into the future.

Forests, like humans, require a balanced diet – Science Daily

Forests’ ‘fast food’ diet of carbon dioxide is causing them to grow faster, but the growth may peak as the trees deplete nitrogen in the soil.

Instead of Throwing Christmas Trees Away, What If We Recycled Them? – Discover

The holiday season might be over, but researches in Britain have found a new way to repurpose the most iconic decoration.

11 policy ideas to protect the planet – The Washington Post

We have until 2030 to implement drastic changes to avoid catastrophic warming – these 11 policy initiatives can help.

In October, volunteers from the Dorchester area of Boston gathered to plant fruit trees to complete the set-up for the new HERO Nurturing Center Inc. Hope Garden. The former vacant lot will serve as a community garden, food forest and gathering space for the neighborhood. Speak for the Trees, Farmers Collaborative, Boston Food Forest, HERO Nurturing Center and HomeHarvest all supported the planting. Funding from global marketing company Epsilon, an Alliance Data company based in Wakefield, Mass., and American Forests’ corporate partner, brought plans and efforts in Boston to fruition. See how we helped transform a community below!

By Emily Barber, Marketing Manager

On December 1, 2018, American Forests traveled to the city of Shoreline, Washington, a city just north of Seattle. Like most American Forests plantings, the day brought community members and local volunteers together to plant trees in an area of need. However, this planting was unique – it was the first project where the trees planted would earn carbon credits.

City Forest Credits is a Seattle-based nonprofit helping to fund urban forests through carbon credits, bringing the environmental benefits of trees to cities across America. Projects can sell these credits to local or national companies, thus generating new, private-sector funding to help keep our cities green, healthy and equitable. Mark McPherson, Executive Director, attended the Shoreline planting, getting his hands dirty and helping to explain the partnership between City Forest Credits and American Forests.

JoBeth Williams with the SAG Awards Committee; from left to right: Woody Schultz, Elizabeth McLaughlin, Jason George, Kathy Connell, JoBeth Williams and Daryl Anderson.

To celebrate the second year of our partnership with the Screen Actors Guild Awards®, American Forests chatted with the president of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, JoBeth Williams. Williams is known for her work on both sides of the camera, earning multiple award nominations for her roles in Poltergeist, the Big Chill, Kramer vs. Kramer, and for directing Frankie and Hazel and On Hope.

American Forests (AF): The SAG Awards have been a real environmental leader in Hollywood, having received ten consecutive Green Seals from the Environmental Media Association. What inspired you?

JoBeth Williams (JW): Becoming a greener production was a joint effort by our team. We are all committed to being as earth-friendly as possible. We each brought an individual environmental consciousness, and many contributed to instituting more sustainable practices. Using online voting and communications instead of paper and staging with green materials and equipment has been an ongoing process over the years. We recycle diligently at our offices and at our awards show venue.

AF: What are your hopes for the partnership between SAG and American Forests? What are some other foundation activities?

JW: Certainly the partnership with American Forests is very important for me. Planting new trees benefits the earth and everyone on it. By planting so many trees in our name, AF helps all people have better lives, which is the major goal of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.

Right now the Foundation is partnering with The Actors’ Fund to raise money and get aid to as many of our fellow performers as possible who have been affected by the terrible California wildfires. We urge everyone to go the SAG-AFTRA Foundation website. They will see Harrison Ford making a plea for those who need help to ask, and those who can to give.

AF: What role has the natural world played in your and your family’s life? 

JW: When I was growing up in Texas, we had a beautiful mimosa tree in our front yard. Its branches started spreading fairly low to the ground, so I could easily climb up into it. Its bright green leaves would spread so thickly that it formed a perfect hiding place for a young child to sit and dream about the future. Its fluffy pink flowers smelled so sweet and were so soft that I would brush them over my face like a powder puff and imagine what I might be when I grew up. Sometimes I would imagine myself a doctor, sometimes an actress; the whole world seemed open to me from that perspective in that tree. I felt at one with the world in that tree.

I have been to the John Muir Woods in Northern California and taken my sons there. In the presence of those ancient and majestic redwoods, I always feel the presence of a spiritual power, and I have shared that with my family. Trees are a gift we must protect because all life is connected to and through them.

When my husband and I bought our house in Los Angeles twenty years ago, the first thing we fell in love with was the trees. We have a star pine that is about 100 feet tall, we have California Oaks that are several hundred years old. We have over twenty-five different species of trees, many of which we have planted ourselves since we have lived here. We sit in our backyard most evenings and look at these beautiful trees and try to let go of the anxiety of the day.

JoBeth with her husband, John Pasquin.

Stay tuned for the next in our Q&A series with SAG Awards staff and leaders! The 25th Annual SAG Awards ceremony will be nationally simulcast live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019 at 8 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (PT).

By Liz Harper, American Forests

As our Champion Tree Archivist, Brian Kelley is traveling around the country to photograph all of American Forests’ Champion Trees. The project could last as long as a decade, as Kelley works to document all 700 trees.

In late November, Kelley set out to photograph the Champion Jeffrey Pine, a 173-foot tall specimen with a circumference of almost 23 feet located in a part of Yosemite National Park in Mariposa County, California. What he found there came as a bit of a surprise.

Kelley had been notified that the area where the Champion Tree was located wasn’t doing well. Considering the Jeffrey Pine he was going to see had only been nominated and confirmed as a Champion in 2018, he was anxious and eager to see what the tree and surrounding forest looked like and if it was still alive.

When he arrived on site, the area “didn’t feel quite right.” The canopy was thin and even from a distance, Kelley could tell the Champion Jeffrey Pine was dead. The once-proud tree was devoid of green needles and surrounded by mushrooms. Looking around the surrounding area, Kelley noted that it seemed as if there had recently been a fire in the area. Despite his disappointment, Kelley photographed the area and tree for documentary purposes.

Considering his options as to where to go next, Kelley decided to go see what is anticipated to be the new Champion Jeffrey Pine, once it has been properly verified. Jeffrey Pines thrive in that area of California, so it would only be a 3- or 4-hour drive to Sierra National Forest. From there he would be able to seek out a Jeffrey Pine even larger than the one that died. The anticipated Champion is truly striking, standing at 184 feet with a circumference of more than 24 feet.

The tree hasn’t officially been declared a National Champion yet because it was nominated so recently that there hasn’t been time to confirm its status. Once it is verified by a state coordinator, the tree can be declared the new Jeffrey Pine Champion. Located in an area that appears to have been cleared recently, the Champion is reported to be in great health and will hopefully be around for years to come.

Our Champion Tree Register is part of an effort to recognize and appreciate the biggest and most impressive trees across nearly 900 species. Such trees are an important component of healthy forests, which makes them important to the heath of people and animals, as well. Unfortunately, Champion trees and non-Champions alike are threatened by fires, disease and invasive species. The trees that make up our forests are special to us and we want to keep recognizing and cataloging them. Help us continue to honor these magnificent trees by supporting the Champion Tree Program today.

Left: The former Champion Jeffrey Pine. Right: Kelley next to the hopeful new Champion. Credit: Brian Kelley

Read the first part of our series with Jason George.

This year American Forests is partnering with the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards® to plant 25,000 trees in honor of the 25^th awards. To commemorate this partnership, Jason George chatted with us.

We first met George as Ben Watson, a surgeon on the long-running show Grey’s Anatomy. Last year Ben Watson became a firefighter – and Jason George joined the spin off, also produced by Shonda Rhimes, Station 19.

George as Ben Watson on Grey’s Anatomy. Credit: ABC

George recently told Bustle the chair of SAG AFTRA’s Diversity Committee was as important to him as his career as an actor. “It’s like the UN of under-represented communities,” he says. “We’re creating carrots and, where necessary, sticks to keep the industry moving.”

In addition to hiring diverse professionals in all areas of the entertainment industry, it’s essential to be sure people see themselves in the stories Hollywood is telling. “We have so many platforms now that the audience will go to where the stories are authentic. Diversity creates that authenticity and freshness. Creed is Rocky, but Creed being black is a new part of that story. Ocean’s 8 is Oceans, but interesting in different ways to new audiences because it’s told from women’s perspective.”

George got involved in working on diversity issues because his stunt man in an early movie was white. He was wearing make up to double for George. The actor insisted a black stunt double be hired and, when the movie said they couldn’t find one, he found one himself. George is clear: the people are out there. You just have to push the industry to expand its networks.

This January, SAG will offer the American Scene award, a prize offered to those productions that best depict the full breadth of diversity in the American setting.

Reflecting on SAG AFTRA’s industry engagement, George says, “I’ve been blessed to be part of the SAG Awards. I’ve marveled at the commitment of everyone involved. They push people to make movies and do the right thing.”

Part of the union’s commitment to doing the right thing has been an insistence on running an eco-friendly awards show – netting ten consecutive “Green Seals” awards in the last ten years. “The folks here are really committed to showing the industry that you can do good and do well at the same time, said George. “SAG shows the industry that you can make a good movie and take care of the other stuff. One helps the other.”

Stay tuned for the next in our Q&A series with SAG Awards staff and leaders! The 25th Annual SAG Awards ceremony will be nationally simulcast live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019 at 8 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (PT).