March 26, 2004

Rendell Getting the Propaganda Tour Today

This is in this morning's Bradford Era:

HARRISBURG ‹ Gov. Ed Rendell will visit Kane Hardwood at 11 a.m. today to tour the sawmill operations and discuss the "importance of ensuring the long-term protection and productive use of Pennsylvania's forests."

The Democratic governor is traveling through the state to promote his "Growing Greener II" initiative.

The Growing Greener initiative is a four-year, $1.4 billion state initiative for land conservation and environmental protection.


Ok, now that is laughable. Rendell is going to tour Kane Hardwoods, Collins-Pine's (Oregon) main operator in Pennsylvania. That is correct, the same company that has been certified as "sustainable" for whole-heartedly embracing the "SILVAH" logging system designed to convert native forests to black cherry dominated tree farms. And they are calling this the "long-term protection ... of Pennsylvania's forests"? I would also dispute the "productive use", as if giving priority use of their lands to forest products equals "productive use". I have no problem with Collins-Pine emphasizing timber management on their lands, but calling a spade anything other than a spade is utter nonsense.

But this is also interesting. Most of the article is dominated by a one-sided report of propaganda from the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association:

Rendell's interest in the state's forests have concerned one forest products group.

According to a press release from the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association, association officials sent a letter to Rendell asking him to reconsider two components of his budget proposal that could have a negative impact on the state's forest products industry.

In the governor's plan, $100 million will be spent on new forest protection initiatives and the proposed implementation of the two fees on manufacturing operations.

"In his budget address, the governor expressed support for the Pennsylvania forest products industry," said Paul Lyskava, executive director for PFPA. "But these proposals are counterproductive and will only further add to the cost of doing business in the state."

The forest plan initiative is part of the governor's $800 million Quality of Life bond proposal.

According to Lyskava, "The U.S. Forest Service confirms in its ongoing forest inventory that there has not been a statistically significant loss in forest acreage over the past 15 years. Pennsylvania also has more forested acres now than it did in 1955.

The release continues with information that the state's forest land that is already protected from development through government ownership, land trust activities and Pennsylvania's Clean and Green Program includes 47 percent, or 7.8 million acres.


Ok, before I go on, lets strip this of the utter lies and propaganda. Lsykava is a propaganda artist left-over from the Ridge administration (he ran Ridge's Pennsylvania Hardwood Development Council whose expertise was exporting Pennsylvania logs and jobs). So it isn't surprising that this is the best nonsense that he can come up with. He argues that there has been no change in the amount of forest land in the last 15 years. Yeah, sure, I'll buy that. But what does that mean? Nothing, because the surveys he is citing consider clearcut lands and 20 year old unhealthy scrap woodlands as forests just the same as if it were old growth habitat where Northern Goshawk roam. His comments sound important but say nothing about the actual state of Pennsylvania forests.

And now for Lyskava's final claim. According to Lyskava 47% of our forest lands in Pennsylvania are locked up in state forest lands and the "Clean and Green Program." What, is he kidding us? The primary lands in the "Clean and Green Program" are industry lands (timber, coal, oil & gas, etc..). Just look at any Game Commission map showing the Clean & Green Lands. In fact, last I checked Collins-Pine was enrolled in this program except that they so badly wanted a profit at the expense of hunters that they violated the program's requirements to keep these lands open to the public.

Oh, but our favorite timber industry propagandists aren't done yet:

PFPA is also opposed to the governor's plan to impose two new fees on emissions and byproducts that are part of manufacturing processes, according to the release.

"For the forest products industry, these new taxes will have the greatest impact on value-added wood processors, including furniture and cabinet manufacturers, paper companies and producers of engineered wood products. Many companies in these sectors are already struggling to remain competitive in an ever-increasing global marketplace," added Lyskava.

The state's forest products industry includes more than 2,600 facilities. It employs about 90,000 Pennsylvanians, or about 11 percent of the state's manufacturing workforce.


Well, hot damned, the PFPA cares about the manufacturing sector? Well, not exactly I think. They include "engineered wood products" in their list of "value-added wood processors." What a joke. If there is a primary threat to real Pennsylvania manufacturers of furniture and cabinet makers it is the engineered wood products industries. And lo and behold, guess who the biggest polluters are amongst the PFPA's list of "value-added" industries: the chip & glue companies who make paper and engineered wood products.

This article prompted me to check out the PFPA's website where I encountered their new education program. And yes, it is a "curriculum" of blatant lies and propaganda intended for our schools - these industries love to brainwash people. Here I encountered their less than slick streaming "education" video. Their streaming video declares that "unmanaged old growth forests become stagnant and diseased." Enough said! Except then the video goes on to say that all harvesting must comply with "strict state regulations". Are they kidding? Pennsylvania has some of the weakest regulations in the country! I suppose truth is too much to ask. It is sad that so much of public education is guided by extremists like the PFPA. Who would have thought!? For some good comedy click here. Maybe someone can make a transcript.

Posted by jkleissler at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

March 03, 2004

Industry Spokesman warns of too many trees!

Jack Hedlund, executive director for the Allegheny Forest Alliance (AFA) is at it again -- warning the public that, yes, there are trees in the forest. The following is his letter to the editor that appeared in the Oil City Derrick on March 2:

At a recent meeting with Allegheny National Forest leadership, much time was spent attempting to legitimize reasons why the July windthrow clean-up would be stretched over three years and would be limited in scope.

An astute and concerned professional forester raised his hand and asked whether any attempt would be made to determine the value lost by these management decisions. Most in attendance agreed it was a legitimate question that deserved a creditable response.

Given the sea of red ink in which our government is swimming, you would think every effort would be made in all quarters of the government, including the United States Forest Service, to pay down the deficit. But, the windthrow issue is another case in point where federal bureaucracy prevents an expeditious response and politicians exhibit indifference toward the situation as well as potential solutions.

Perhaps even more glaring is the inventory situation. The ANF is currently overstocked with mature trees (close to 60 percent) desperately needing attention if for no other reason than sustainability and forest health. In addition, this national forest, unlike nearly all others in the system, is capable of turning a profit each and every year through appropriate management.

It is painfully clear the bureaucratic system from top down and the politicians from both sides of the aisle would rather tax or go further into debt than ambitiously seek ways to use the resources at their disposal to correct the problem.

Posted by Ryan at 03:52 PM | Comments (2)

December 27, 2003

Opportunity for public comment on proposed coker in Warren

Members of the public are being asked to provide public comment on the proposed coker at United Refining's refinery in Warren, PA.

Comments can be sent to: Warren County CAP, P.O. Box 2782, Warren, Pa. 16365.

DEP approved the construction permit application despite concerns from the community about the risk to residents health and harm to the environment. The Warren County Quality of Life Coalition has appealed the permit.

Posted by Ryan at 01:25 PM | Comments (4)

December 26, 2003

National Fuel subsidiary ordered to halt logging operations

*NOTE: The quotes used in this entry are taken from the Bradford Era, but the link to that site was not working, so I was forced to use the AP article in the Miami Herald...go figure. You can also view the DEP press release for more information.

The Miami Herald disclosed on Christmas Day that Seneca Resources, a subsidiary of National Fuel, was ordered by the Department of Environmental Protection to halt logging operations in McKean, Elk and Cameron Counties for "numerous environmental violations".

"Both the number and type of violations are very significant, and Seneca has acted with disregard to erosion controls, stream and wetland impacts, and our Special Protection Waters program," DEP Regional Director Robert Yowell said.

This is a troubling revelation considering this company does a lot of logging in the Allegheny National Forest and surrounding forest lands, yet, as the DEP points out, failed to apply for known necessary permits:

"This company has done business for many years in Pennsylvania and knew that DEP permits were required for the timber harvesting work," Yowell said. "They ignored their environmental responsibilities."

It's unclear yet whether Seneca Resources will be fined or not but obviously they should be. It is simple procedural operation to apply for these permits and Seneca did not and now there are serious erosion and sedimentation problems. It will be nice to see if the system works in favor of the environment.

Posted by Ryan at 07:46 PM | Comments (2)

October 09, 2003

DEP approves Coker in Warren

Chalk up another one for the DEP (insert appropriate acronym here). The DEP has once again proved they care more about catering to industry friends than protecting the health and well-being of the environment and people of Pennsylvania.

Ryan

Posted by Ryan at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)

September 26, 2003

Coker Installation Pending

The DEP is still considering a permit application from United Refining of Warren, PA, for the installation of a petroleum coker next to the Allegheny River.

Chuck Hayes, reporter for the Times Observer hit the nail on the head with this:

DEP gave preliminary approval to the coker unit, then solicited public input. Wortman said the public comment period is now over.

(David) Wortman is United's manager of supply and trading. Wortman is quick to point out that the public comment period is now over, essentially saying that now the process is back to normal. Why is David Wortman telling the paper the DEP's time table? Could it be that the DEP and the corporations they regulate are so intertwined they speak for eachother?

This would certainly explain why the DEP pre-approved the permit, then asked the public what they thought.

Posted by Ryan at 05:01 PM | Comments (0)

September 21, 2003

Seneca Resources (National Fuel Gas)

One of my sources has revealed that Seneca Resources (National Fuel Gas) has sold approximately half of its forest land in PA and used the money to purchase a gas pipeline that runs from Canada to U.S.

The buyer of the forest land was not revealed by Seneca Resources.

However, this news certainly appears to tie into the recent Globe Staff, 9/19/2003 story "Mass. pension fund bets aggressively on timber But moves coming amid volatile times in lumber industry"

The Massachusetts state pension fund is making a huge bet on stately stands of Douglas fir in the West, piney woods in the South, and hardwood forests in the Northeast.

State pension officials have purchased almost half a million acres of timber in the past two years and are planning to pour hundreds of millions of dollars more, making Massachusetts one of the most aggressive buyers in a hot sector that is drawing lots of new investors.

In August alone, the Massachusetts pension agency bought 101,660 acres in New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas, with a value of $219 million.

Posted by at 10:37 PM | Comments (6)