Judge Halts Calif. Sequioa Logging Project

[Eugene]

Judge Halts Calif. Sequioa Logging Project

Tuesday November 15, 2005 4:31 AM

By OLIVIA MUNOZ

Associated Press Writer

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - A federal judge stopped a logging project in
Giant Sequoia National Monument on Monday, keeping intact more than
1,000 acres in a preserve that houses two-thirds of the world's
largest trees.

Judge Charles R. Breyer issued a preliminary injunction blocking a
timber sale, saying the U.S. Forest Service had ignored extensive
research on how commercial logging would affect wildlife in the
region.

"We hope they're finally getting the message," said Deborah Reames,
an attorney with Earthjustice, one of several environmental groups
that brought the lawsuit.

Reames said the project would have hurt wildlife, some of which is at
the point of extinction.

<snip>

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5415605,00.html

[Kralizec]

1. Why the hell are we hearing about this from "The Guardian" before than

any American media source?!

MSM is still firmly in their control.

[northzax]

8. it's the news cycle

plain and simple. It's morning in the UK, and after the cycle in the US.

here's the San Jose Mercury News story, for instance.

[Kralizec]

9. I am trigger-happy tonight, hehe. My bad. n/t

[northzax]

14. they're just such a big target

it's hard not to take the occasional shot at them...

[henslee]

15. No, keep it up. Odds are, you'll be right most of the time.

[DanCa]

2. Good news (nt)

[niallmac]

3. Why do we need to cut these trees down?

Has anyone followed these trees to the mills and to production to see what exactly it is that is so god damned important that we have to cut down Giant Sequoias? Or am I being uppity?

[Trillo]

7. Just a couple of guesses...

a "big" tree cuts into "more" board feet? A "big" tree allows the cutting of larger pieces?

http://www.calearth.org/cvillage/cvillage.htm
(someone else posted this link on DU, don't remember the username, just repeating it here)

[niallmac]

10. Oh. Big trees. Big lumber. Big shoes...

Wow those are pictures are really excellent! Thank you. Why can't we build like that?
Why can't the use of redwood timber be made to be as un cool as wearing
dead animals to keep warm?
Again, thanks. I never saw that building method before.

[XemaSab]

11. There's more here than meets the eye

Wood is the only building material that withstands quakes. All those dead and homeless people in Pakistan? Lived in adobe houses. As a Californian, I love my wood frame house.

According to the article in the Guardian, they're taking out small fuels, not big sequoias, which are commercially worthless. Giant sequoias are fire-adapted, and while I agree that 30" dbh is excessive, they need to clear out the fuels before they can burn it. Giant sequoias NEED fire to germinate their seeds.

Giant sequoias are totally different than coast redwoods. I'm personally unopposed to responsible logging of second and third growth coast redwoods. It's a great weather-resistant building material, and it grows quickly.

Does anyone know what animals were named in the suit? Pacific Fisher and Spotted Owl?

[Tesha]

13. Nonsense.

> Wood is the only building material that withstands quakes.

Nonsense. Structural steel works just fine too, probably better than
most wood frames even *IF* the wood frame is correctly built with
earthquake ties.

Tesha

[XemaSab]

19. Oops

Forgot about steel. You're right, of course, but it's not a very common building material out here.

[Xithras]

29. Steel is common in commercial applications out here.

The problem with structural steel is that it's expensive, and building our homes out of steel would drive the cost up by 25% or more. In a state where a modest two bedroom can already cost over a half million dollars, that kind of price increase just isn't economically possible.

So we build our homes out of much cheaper materials like wood.

[MisterP]

30. that's what we have tree farms for

[Xithras]

33. Sadly, many of our national forests have become tree farms.

A great example near my home is the Stanislaus National Forest. Practically every square inch of it has been cut or burned at some time, and it's no longer a natural forest. It's been replaced by a monoculture of quick growing lumber trees conveniently spaced for future harvests. Logging continues there to this day without so much as a word of objection from anybody, because there's really nothing left to "save" anymore.

[Gregorian]

17. People want kids. Kids need houses once they grow up.

And cars, and vcr's, and jobs, and food, and water, and travelling...

Times six billion.

Metal studs means mining. Which means gasoline use. Plastic studs would be oil. Which would mean ANWR, and wars.

Pick your sickness. Six billion is WRONG. And there's no way of getting around it- with this many people, you cannot give them what they want, and still have a planet.

[Xithras]

28. They're not cutting Giant Sequoias.

They're cutting cutting pine and other trees located within the Giant Seqoia National Monument. I've seen photos of the cut area, and they'll actually clearcut and entire area and leave nothing standing but the big Sequoias.

What's really sad about this is that the original argument that the area was a fire hazard is actually valid. The Sequoia groves in the national park are in serious danger from tree overgrowth, and one big forest fire could wipe them all out. The problem is that rather than selectively thinning the surrounding forest like any intelligent person would propose, they came up with this plan to start clearcutting sections and replant with wider tree spacing.

The tragedy here is that the forest probably won't get thinned now either, putting the Sequoias in even grater risk for being destroyed.

[pinniped]

4. Always the same reason.

Whether it be the * infiltrated EPA, the * infiltrated US Fish and Wildlife, or the * infiltrated US Forest Service, some punks always ignore the research or take shortcuts at the expense of our planet.

--...saying the U.S. Forest Service had ignored extensive
research on how commercial logging would affect wildlife in the
region.--

F-assholes.

[Carolab]

5. Press release from The Sierra Club

http://www.sierraclub.com/pressroom/releases/pr2005-11-14.asp

Joining the Sierra Club as plaintiffs for this case are the Tule River Conservancy, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign, Earth Island Institute, and Sequoia Forestkeeper. Earthjustice also served as co-counsel, along with the Sierra Club.

I gave them money to fight this. I am so glad it helped.

[fooj]

6. Thank you Sierra Club!

:loveya: :loveya: :loveya: California APPRECIATES you!

Peace.

[Carolab]

12. Minnesota appreciates them too.

I have appreciated the beauty of those trees on visits to my brother's home in San Francisco.

Two activist groups who will definitely put your donations to great use: the Sierra Club and the ACLU.

[wordpix]

16. E.Coasters love Sierra C. too . ANYTHING the &!#@ multinational timber

barons say about selective cutting of only immature trees is bullshit---at the very least, be skeptical. First, small Sequoias grow to large ones; second, I wouldn't trust the forest rapists anymore than BushCo can be trusted. They're part of the same * cabal.

[henslee]

18. awesome pic.

[fshrink]

20. A terrorist among us!

One of our judges hates out freedom! How many thousands of good, hard-working americans could work at the super-mall that could be built there! The individual should be appropriately "questioned" by patriotic services.

[Le Taz Hot]

21. This may be off the subject

but can I just point out that this federal judge is from Fresno? You know, the place way too many on this board delight in denigrating? Now, excuse me while I place the hayseed back in my mouth.
:sarcasm:


LTH
Fresno Resident

[MisterP]

31. hey, at least nobody's inviting al Qaeda to obliterate you

[Xithras]

32. This particular judge is well known for environmental levelheadedness.

IIRC, this is the same federal judge who ordered the irrigation districts to start putting water back into the San Joaquin recently. Definitely a good guy.

[lakeguy]

22. i've never been to see these trees and I'll likely never go to ANWR

but i will always support saving these places. it makes no sense to destroy these treasures forever just to enjoy some short term gains.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. This is wonderful news!

:bounce::bounce::bounce:

[Overseas]

24. Glad to hear it !! Save the trees-- impeach the Bushes !! NT

[wordpix2]

25. now we need SierraClub to lead effort in protecting grizzlies-Gale NoBrain

of Dept. of Interior just proposed to take them off Endangered Species list. Public comment coming up next. Let's let them HEAR IT, the fuckers.

[usregimechange]

26. He is Justice Breyers brother, a Clinton appointee both of them

[progressoid]

27. "Mathes said he did not know if the Forest Service would challenge

the injunction"

Bet they will if any of *'s pals have anything to say about it.