CLEAR November 2022

clear@lists.cheatlakeclear.org

1 participants
2 discussions

Timber Controversy | The Intermountain Newspaper, November 15, 2022
by Duane Nichols 15 Nov '22

15 Nov '22

https://www.theintermountain.com/news/local-news/2022/11/timber-controversy/ Timber Controversy ~ Protesters met by counter-protesters in Elkins Local News by Edgar Kelley, Staff Writer, The Intermountain Newspaper, 11/15/22 The Inter-Mountain photos by Edgar Kelley A group of activists and community members were joined by several organizations Monday at the Monongahela National Forest Headquarters in Elkins for a protest against a planned project at the Upper Cheat River Project Area. ELKINS — A group that gathered to protest a planned project for the Upper Cheat River Project Area Monday at the Monongahela National Forest Headquarters on Sycamore Street were met by a group of counter-protesters. The 86,138-acre project area is located north of Parsons and encompasses 33,991 acres of National Forest System land within the Upper Cheat River watershed. According to U.S. Forest Service documents, the purpose of the project is to improve forest health and age class diversity, improve wildlife and fish habitat, restore soils and riparian corridors, and provide a network of sustainable roads. As part of the project, commercial regeneration harvests (clear cuts) have been proposed for 3,647 acres dispersed among about 140 separate units throughout the project area. Activists and community members joined the West Virginia Chapter of Sierra Club, Speak For the Trees Too, Friends of Blackwater, West Virginia Highland Conservancy, and West Virginia Environmental Council Monday to voice their opposition against the project Monday in Elkins. “This year West Virginia has suffered the effects of flooding from extreme weather — a trend that will only get worse as climate change intensifies in the decades ahead,” said Sierra Club member Jim Kotcon. “Clear-cuts planned on the Upper Cheat Headwaters would remove trees on steep slopes, which increases the risks of flooding. “Cutting down these trees makes no sense, especially because they are the best at fighting climate change by sequestering carbon. The answer is literally standing right in front of us — we need to preserve these trees.” The group of counter-protesters, however, support the planned project. Eric Carlson, executive director for West Virginia Forestry Association, rallied a group to come together and show support for the proposed project at the Forestry Headquarters Monday. “The reason we are here today is because this forest for the last several decades has not had the kind of attention in needed in order to improve and make it a healthy forest,” Carlson told The Inter-Mountain. “In this latest project that has been proposed, it is an area where they are going in and try to restore some upper highland spruce forests, restore the old forest that has been there, and to regenerate the forest in a good condition to try an deal with some of the non-native species. It’s a very light treatment, they’re are only going to treat about 3% of the project area that is under consideration.” Carlson, who represents forest owners, loggers and manufacturers that produce wood for product of all types, said companies are going to spend millions of dollars for the right to work with the Forest Service to acquire the timber harvesting of the wood. “Up to 25 % of the money comes back to our counties for schools and roads to educate out children here, so we think that’s really an important connection to the community,” Carlson said. “Just look around Elkins. a lot of the jobs here are with the flooring plant, the saw mills and the cabinet factories.” For more information on the proposed project, visit www.fs.usda.gov.

1 0

Rally held in Elkins to protect trees within Monongahela National Forest - WV MetroNews
by Duane Nichols 15 Nov '22

15 Nov '22

https://wvmetronews.com/2022/11/14/rally-held-in-elkins-to-protect-trees-wi… Rally held in Elkins to protect trees within Monongahela National Forest From the MetroNews Service, November 14, 2022 ELKINS, W.Va. — Conservation advocates are urging federal officials to protect mature and old-growth trees in the Upper Cheat River within the Monongahela National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a project that would clearcut 3,500 acres of mature, old-growth trees in the area, according to John Coleman with the Horseshoe Run Community group. Coleman told MetroNews the project would log forests on very steep slopes, leading to increased risk of flooding and sediment deposition in the rivers and streams. “Living inside the project boundary, a bunch of us here in the community are concerned about the flooding and a number of other things that would be a result of this project,” Coleman said. Coleman joined advocates with Speak For The Trees Too, West Virginia Chapter of Sierra Club, Friends of Blackwater, West Virginia Environmental Council and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy for an afternoon rally outside the U.S. Forest Service office in Elkins on Monday. “The community here is trying to negotiate with the Forest Service to improve the project in some ways and maybe reduce some of the cutting on the sleep slopes, but we actually haven’t heard back from the Forest Service,” he said. Protecting our mature and old-growth forests is one of the most affordable and effective solutions to address climate change, protect biodiversity, and provide access to clean water at home and demonstrate global leadership. #COP27 — Sierra Club (@SierraClub) November 14, 2022 In addition to flooding concerns, Coleman said he’s also worried about invasive weeds that are coming off the national forest. “Unfortunately, they got planted back in the 1970s and 1980s. The forest service planted a lot of shrubs for wildlife habitat, but unfortunately those have spread across not only the national forest, but off into our farm, others farms and people’s property,” he said. The forest provides clean drinking water and flood protection for communities, wildlife habitat for endangered species and miles of trails to explore the outdoors, Coleman said. “We get our drinking water right off the forest. The national forest is 50-75 feet behind our house and our spring is right there, so I would really like the forest to spend some time figuring out how to protect people’s drinking water supply,” he said. Advocates also fear that opening the canopy will increase temperatures in cold-water streams that native brook trout require for their survival. The move would impact important habitat for other species like long-eared bats and hellbender salamanders. Monday’s rally was part of a nationwide effort to protect trees in national forests. A spokesperson with the U.S. Forest Service wrote in an email to MetroNews on Monday, “We continue working jointly with our colleagues at the Department of Interior to both determine definitions and complete an inventory of old-growth and mature forests on lands managed by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management by April, 2023, as tasked in Executive Order 14072. Synthesizing old-growth forest information on a national scale is a critical first step to informing further science questions and future management actions.” xxx

1 0

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

CLEAR November 2022