Author: Site Owner

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

Your white Christmas is on the way out – Quartz

Climate change is winning the war on Christmas – temperatures in 82% of US cities in a study from NOAA have risen by at least 0.5°F since 1970.

How 30 Million Dead and Dying Trees Are Reshaping Puerto Rico’s Forests – Earther

When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017, it knocked out power island-wide, battered infrastructure, and stripped forests of their leaves. Over the months that ensued, upwards of a thousand people would die as a result of the storm. So would about 30 million trees.

How Did Sacramento Get So Many Trees? – capital public radio

The first known reference to Sacramento as the “City of Trees” dates back to 1855, and by the early 1900s the saying had clearly taken hold.

Study: Slow Growth Ahead for the Forests of the Southwest – Arizona Public Media

Forests in Arizona and the rest of the Southwest are entering a slow-growth period due to climate change.

American Forests, the oldest national conservation organization in the United States, teamed up with Alliance Data and Texas Trees Foundation (TTF) in 2017 to implement an urban heat island study in Dallas County. The study, which was recently published in Governing, identifies where the region is experiencing high urban heat island temperatures and the associated effect on air quality, and where greater tree canopy coverage could mitigate the issue.

Governing sites that, “Tree planting and preservation are three and a half times more effective in lowering temperatures as ‘cool materials strategies,’ such as the use of paving and roofing materials that reflect light.”

The study also uncovered that Dallas is warming faster than all but two large U.S. cities, which means hotter nights and even hotter days. Within urban heat islands, the hottest areas in the city, temperatures average over 100 degrees for more than five months out of the year. The study is serving as a catalyst for developing a strategy to promote tree canopy policies and long-term funding support with local government, civic and non-profit organizations.

The article states, “While planting 1,000 trees is a good start, much more needs to be done. To have a real impact on urban heat island effects, TTF reported, Dallas needs to add about 250,000 trees to its canopy.”

A more detailed breakdown of the study’s results can be viewed in a presentation by Dr. Brian Stone, Georgia Institute of Technology, who helped make the study and its data a reality. Read the full report.

The 51^st annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting was hosted December 10-14, 2018, in Washington, D.C., where more than 20,000 attendees from around the globe assembled for the largest worldwide conference on Earth and space sciences.

AGU, dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, showcased the return of AGU TV at the Fall Meeting and was broadcast at various kiosks around the convention center as well as in the hotel rooms of meeting attendees. Programming highlighted the latest research and emerging trends within the fields of Earth and space science. Through a partnership with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS), American Forests was even featured on an AGU TV episode!

The American Forests video delivered a strong message that forests face existential threats from climate change and that their future depends on the expert assistance and guidance of foresters and others who manage our forests. This work deeply integrates climate science into effective forest management — helping forests overcome climate change threats while at the same time slowing climate change by trapping more carbon.

NIACS has created the most cutting edge model for making this science-into-practice connection and has partnered with American Forests to spread the approach as widely as possible.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards®, as part of its commitment to sustainable practices, will be partnering with American Forests to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the awards with the planning of 25,000 trees.

We spoke to actor Jason George, star of ABC’s Station 19 and long-time cast member in Grey’s Anatomy, about the guild’s environmental focus. George heads up the organization’s diversity efforts.

“It’s been a real honor to be involved with SAG,” George said as we discussed the ten consecutive annual “Green Seals” awards the union and the awards program had received for its green practices. “They don’t do it for the pat on the back, they do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

We talked about George’s relationship with the outdoors, which started in his hometown of Virginia Beach. “Everyone needs to be close to some natural thing that is big enough to make you feel humble. I grew up next to the ocean which made my personal problems really small.”

He spends a lot of time at the ocean with his wife, the poet Vandana Khana, and their three children, Jasmine, Arun and Nikhil. We talked about where he grew up, especially crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. “It was like one of the seven wonders of the world,” he said. “Just the most amazing expanse of ocean and sky and it went on and on.”

Talking about the water, one thing he noted as unique to hometown was that the forests grow directly to the sea. “These pine trees grow right onto the beach; I’ve never seen anything like that anywhere else.”

As a child he loved playing among those trees. He says he would build a fort in the middle of the woods, then come back and find some other kids had added to it. George says his favorite tree is the pine tree; “It’s the scent and smell of home.”

This connection to the woods of his hometown brought him back to American Forests. “It’s great to be part of SAG,” he says. He stresses that the partnership with American Forests is one of the visionary things about the union.

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).

‘Bosco Verticale’ in Milan, Italy is an apartment complex featuring vertical forests. Credit: Boeri Studio, Paolo Rosselli

Check out what’s happened this week in forestry news!

The Allure of Vertical Forests — The New York Times

The Vertical Forest prototype was first constructed four years ago in Milan, Italy, where a pair of apartment buildings also housed 21,000 plants and 20 species of birds.

Congress Votes for Conservation with New Farm Bill — The Nature Conservancy

“This Farm Bill was the biggest opportunity in years for Congress to make the right policies for—and investments in—the conservation of private lands in the United States.” Thankfully, lawmakers seized that opportunity. They passed a bill that will help farmers, ranchers and forest owners become more sustainable and productive, while protecting lands and waters for the benefit of all Americans and wildlife.

Notes from the Tree Line: How to Grow a Forest in the City — Medium

“Urban street trees are living in the most hostile place possible,” says Earl Eutsler, associate director for Urban Forestry at the District Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Administration. “But it’s also where they do the most direct good in terms of environmental benefits and services to those people walking along streets, riding bikes along streets, even driving — because they’re a direct filter of the particulate matter that is emitted by cars and trucks.”

Half of Costa Rica’s Regrown Forests are Gone within Two Decades — Pacific Standard

Secondary forests—those that regrow naturally after being cleared or degraded—constitute more than half of existing tropical forests. When they are old enough, they support a wide range of species and store carbon at a higher rate than old-growth forest because the trees grow more rapidly.

Carbon Benefits Of Managed Forests — Science Trends

Forests have a complicated relationship with carbon and climate. They sequester huge quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, estimated at 10-20 percent of U.S. emissions, thus limiting its potential as a greenhouse gas. In turn, forests are also impacted by changes in climate, which affects how much carbon they store.

Washington, D.C. (December 14, 2018) — American Forests has released a statement applauding the inclusion of timber jobs, water restoration, conservation and innovative provisions in the $867 billion 2018 Farm Bill Conference Report. It was sent to the President’s desk for signature December 12, 2018:

“This final version of the Farm Bill will create jobs and increase timber, restore water quality and improve wildlife habitat by investing in collaborative approaches to managing our national forests through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP). Previously, the CFLRP reached its authorized funding cap, so no new projects could be added. This provision doubles the allowed spending cap to $80 million a year and extends the program authorization for five more years.

“The bill delivers conservation results on private forestlands in critical conservation areas, by investing in outcomes-oriented public-private projects through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The measure increases RCPP baseline funding from $100 million to $300 million, while maintaining mandatory annual funding at 7 percent of the Healthy Forests Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. It provides funding to conservation groups and farmers to work together to cut pollution and improve water quality, in part by restoring forested lands. The percentage of funding for critical conservation areas will rise from 35 percent to 50 percent.

“It also focuses new attention on forested buffers — which are critical for water quality — thanks to Senator Casey of Pennsylvania.  These improvements will reduce administrative burdens on landowners, establish a new level of transparency and accountability and ensure states like Pennsylvania can meet their forest buffer goals in partnership with the federal government.”

“We are pleased the bill will spark innovation. There are key provisions from the Timber Innovation Act that will provide funds for research and development of wood-building construction as well as wood innovation grants. Additionally, it reauthorizes authorities directing U.S. Forest Service and state counterparts to tackle forest health, wildfire, and drinking water protection.

“We do acknowledge there are many authorities that didn’t make it into the bill, and even Secretary Purdue was disappointed, we look forward to working with the next Congress to get stand-alone legislation that will give us the resources to solve the climate change crisis, address pest and disease infestation, and rebuild stronger forests across the country.”

“We thank Congress, especially Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire for her provisions to create energy-efficient wood energy systems and Senator Susan Collins of Maine for her provisions for creating new opportunities for the forest economy. We are proud that it has strong bipartisan support. The Agriculture Improvement Act will deliver important benefits — from jobs to clean air and water and healthy and resilient forests. It is a win-win for Americans and America’s forests.”

— Jad Daley, President and CEO, American Forests

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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 and thousands of forest ecosystem restoration projects and public education efforts. Since 1990, American Forests has planted more than 60 million trees in all 50 states and nearly 50 countries, resulting in cleaner air and drinking water, restored habitat for wildlife and fish, and the removal of millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

MEDIA CONTACT

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