Publication archives

The conventional wisdom in Washington these days is that presidential trade-negotiating authority, which passed the House of Representatives by a single vote in 2001, will never get renewed after it expires in June 2007. That bleak assessment notwithstanding, some business lobbyists have privately begun to discuss just what it would take to pass such legislation.

Agriculture Under Secretary Mark Rey today announced that the public will have another month to comment on a list of forest lands that would be available for sale in a proposal to provide funding to extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (SRS).

An environmental group may proceed with its bid to block harvesting of burned trees in the El Dorado National Forest because forest managers have not adequately assessed the effect of the logging on the California spotted owl, a U.S. appeals court ruled Friday.

If a tree grows in the forest and nobody cuts it, should it be taxed? Apparently yes, according to state officials who are advising local tax assessors on how to tap all those oaks, maples and pines that landowners have on their property for cash. The trouble is, this newfound revenue source could sprout unforeseen problems.

The lure of money is shaping the nation's 155 national forests: more advertising, more fees, more roads to draw timber sales and lumber mill jobs.

A tree that many consider the most valuable in Southeast Alaska is finding it hard to adapt to a warming planet. The yellow cedar is able to withstand bugs and decay like no other tree in the 16 million-acre Tongass National Forest. Its outstanding durability and creamy texture make it a prize for Alaska Native carvers, weavers and the wood products industry.

The region's largest infestation of mountain pine beetles in 20 years has hit more than a million acres of forests in northern Idaho and Montana, while 2.5 million acres in Washington face disease and insect problems. Recent flight surveys by the U.S. Forest Service and state forest management agencies found that years of drought have left forests in the Northwest vulnerable.

The state, a conservation group and two timber investment companies have agreed to buy about 69,000 acres in northeastern Wisconsin from a paper company, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Wednesday.