Feds need to move more rapidly to sustainable forests, Trinity Journal Editorial, April 11, 2012,

Inside today’s Trinity Journal you’ll find our annual “Be Prepared for Wildfire” guide. In it you’ll find plenty of tips on preparing your property, your home and your family for the inevitability of wildfire in Trinity County. It will encourage you to follow three simple steps — Ready, Set, Go!  But as we individually prepare for the prospect of wildfire, it is time to waken the slumbering masses within upper levels of state and federal government who have allowed our forest fuel loads to reach dangerous levels. .....

Regulators Don’t Feel the Budget Squeeze, By Loren Kaye, President of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education, Fox & Hounds, April 10th, 2012

Even as Gov Brown does an admirable job of restraining the overall growth in state employment, the regulatory bureaucracy balloons.  Boosted by strong constituencies in the Legislature, and insulated by their reliance largely on industry fees, fines and penalties, regulatory agencies have seen their staffs grow by fourteen percent over the past four years – in the teeth of the worst recession in modern times....

Trees planted in Angeles forest after Station fire not taking hold, Los Angeles Times, April 9, 2012,

A year ago,  U.S. Forest Service crews planted nearly a million pine and fir trees in the San Gabriel Mountains to try to reclaim land scorched clean by the devastating Station fire. Most of them shriveled up and died within months, as skeptics had predicted......

California to get millions for public lands, Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee,  APR. 09, 2012

California will get more than $8 million in federal funds to protect and manage public lands and sensitive habitats.  The money comes from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, created in 1964 to funnel federal royalties from oil and mineral leasing programs into environmental projects and land protection. The program has been a political football for decades. The Bush administration sought to defund the program, and the Obama administration vowed to revive it......

California deer population declines as habitat disappears, By Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee, APR. 08, 2012

An estimated 445,000 deer live in California, or about equal to the city of Sacramento's human population. Which sounds like a lot, until you realize the deer are spread over the entire state: 99 million acres. If there were only 445,000 people in California, how long would it take you to find somebody you really wanted to hang out with?......

Yuba County forest funds in jeopardy, By Ben van der Meer/ADbvandermeer, Appeal-Democrat, 2012-04-07

The latest hit to budgets in Yuba County this year could be a matter of the federal government not seeing the forest for the fees.  If a 12-year-old program to shift a portion of timber fees to county government and school districts isn't somehow continued, the amount both receive in Yuba County is likely to shrink, providing another headache during austere fiscal times.  In 2000, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, which stipulated a stable amount of money go each year to counties where there's timber harvesting, to make up for losses from tax-exempt national forest lands......

Rural property owners to get first fire bills, KERANA TODOROV, Napa Valley Register, April 7, 2012

An estimated 7,000 property owners in high-risk fire areas in unincorporated Napa County will soon pay more for fire protection. The first bills — $115 for most assessed property owners in Napa County  — are expected to be sent in late July or early August, CalFire representatives said last week.  The new fee, which covers the 2011-2012 fiscal year, funds fire prevention services statewide......

2012 Sudden Oak Death Blitz is May 12, BILL PRAMUK, Napa Valley Register  April 6, 2012

 “2011 was a bad year for our oaks,” said Matteo Garbelotto, Director of the UC Berkeley Forest Pathology and Mycology Lab, in reference to prolonged spring rains that resulted in a significant spread of the Sudden Oak Death (SOD) pathogen in California.  Increased outbreaks were evident in areas that were previously affected, like Marin and Sonoma and new areas like the East Bay and Carmel Valley, Garbelotto wrote in a recent announcement.....

Forest plan will require give & take, Porterville Recorder, 2012-04-06

Sometime this year or early next year the Sequoia National Forest is going to begin work coming up with a plan that will guide how the forest is managed for the next 20 or 30 years.  It is a huge task ahead for the forest that has been a major battlefield for environmentalists the past three decades. This will be the first update of its plan since the late 1980s......

A look at forest lands bought with drilling fees, By The Associated Press News Fuze, San Jose Mercury News, April 6, 2012

Here is a state-by-state list of land purchases for the national forest system with $41.6 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund announced Friday. In California:

— Hurdygurdy Creek, Six Rivers National Forest: The land covers portions of three streams on the Smith River National Recreation Area and will help restore and protect salmon habitat and improve public access to backcountry recreation areas. $1 million

.....

Sonoma County timber-to-vineyard conversion headed for approval, By BRETT WILKISON, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT,  April 6, 2012

State officials signaled this week they intend to approve a controversial timber-to-vineyard conversion project in rural northwest Sonoma County, overruling the latest wave of objections, this time from some neighbors, local tribes and several elected officials. Napa-based Artesa Vineyards, owned by the Spanish wine giant Grupo Codorniu, plans to create 116 acres of premium chardonnay and pinot noir vineyards, 20 acres of roads and a nine-acre reservoir on 324 acres of second-growth forestland, former orchards and grazed meadows just east of Annapolis......

Endangered species listing not warranted for chinook in upper Klamath and Trinity rivers, By The Associated Press, The Oregonian, April 06, 2012

The chinook salmon on the Trinity River won't be listed on the endangered species list. Federal biologists have decided Endangered Species Act protection is not warranted for chinook salmon from the upper Klamath and Trinity rivers in Northern California and Oregon.  The decision from NOAA Fisheries Service was published Monday in the Federal Register.....

California Declares War on Suburbia, Planners want to herd millions into densely packed urban corridors. It won't save the planet but will make traffic even worse.By WENDELL COX, The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2012

It's no secret that California's regulatory and tax climate is driving business investment to other states. California's high cost of living also is driving people away. Since 2000 more than 1.6 million people have fled, and my own research as well as that of others points to high housing prices as the principal factor.....

CA Energy Schemes: 'We are getting fleeced', Katy Grimes, CalWatchDog, April 5, 2012

The California Air Resources Board has created a stealthy new corporation in Delaware. The Western Climate Initiative Inc., which will manage cap-and-trade programs, even has its own form of currency.  WCI Inc. says it exists “to perform administrative and technical services to support the carbon trading market, including market monitoring of allowance auctions, and market trading of compliance instruments.”......

Conservation Easements Protect 8,544 Acres in California’s North Coast, Gridley Herald, April 5, 2012

MISSOULA, Mont.—In cooperation with conservation-minded landowners and California’s Wildlife Conservation Board, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has acquired a conservation easement on 8,544 acres of diverse wildlife habitat along the Eel River on California’s North Coast.  The purchase of easements on the Preston and Lawrence ranches in the Eel River watershed, just east of Highway 101 near Willits, will afford permanent protection against subdivision and will conserve this biologically rich landscape. .....

Occupy activists protest clearcutting at Forestry Board meeting, by Dan Bacher, IndyBay, April 4, 2012

During the battle to save the pristine salmon and steelhead habitat of Headwaters Forest in 1998, I received a phone call one morning from an environmental activist who told me that country legend Merle Haggard and actor Woody Harrelson would be appearing at the State Capitol for a noon time rally. .....

Here's the weekly news digest collected by Greg Giusti.

Agency won't protect Upper Klamath chinook salmon, by The Associated Press, Contra Costa Times,  04/05/2012

Federal biologists have decided Endangered Species Act protection is not warranted for chinook salmon from the upper Klamath and Trinity rivers in Northern California and Oregon. The decision from NOAA Fisheries Service was published Monday in the Federal Register......

Founder, longtime director of Coastal Commission dies, Debra Kahn, E&E News, Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Peter Douglas, who helped create the California Coastal Commission, died Sunday of cancer. He was 69 years old. Douglas served as the commission's executive director from 1985 to 2011 and guided the agency through a maze of issues affecting coastal building practices, offshore oil and gas leasing, power-plant construction and habitat protection......

Myth-busting scientist pushes greens past reliance on 'horror stories', Paul Voosen, Greenwire, April 3, 2012

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Peter Kareiva had come to answer for his truths. Settling at the head of a long table ringed by young researchers new to the policy world, Kareiva, chief scientist of the Nature Conservancy, the world's largest environmental organization, cracked open a beer. After a long day mentoring at the group's headquarters, an eight-story box nestled in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, he was ready for some sparring......

Headwaters awards $750,000 for lumber marketing project; Forest Product Initiative seeks to promote redwood for decks, Jessica Cejnar, THE TIMES-STANDARD, Redwood Times, 04/03/2012

The Headwaters Fund board approved a grant for a project aimed at convincing California residents to choose redwood over wood-plastic composite lumber when building decks.  Six members of the fund board awarded a three-year $750,000 grant - $250,000 a year - to the Humboldt Economic Development Division, which is working with the California Redwood Company and the Humboldt Redwood Company on the Forest Products Initiative marketing project. Board member Jackie Deuschle-Miller, a former Green Diamond Resource Company employee, recused herself......

Taking back the woods (IN HONOR OF JERE MELO), Fort Bragg mobilizes in effort to protect private lands from pot growers, By GLENDA ANDERSON
Santa Rosa Press Democrat, April 3, 2012

With outdoor marijuana-growing season about to begin, private and public officials are invoking the memory of slain Fort Bragg City Councilman Jere Melo to bolster their rallying cry of "take back our forests" from illicit growers they say despoil the woods and endanger the lives of honest citizens.  "We must band together" to fight illegal trespass gardens, Campbell Timberland Management manager Stephen Horner told more than 300 people attending a recent forum in Fort Bragg hosted by the Jere Melo Foundation. The foundation was created to carry on Melo's work to keep the forests safe and clean.....

Excessive Government Regulations Are Strangling California Businesses, By George Plescia, President of Apex Consulting, Inc. Fox & Hounds, Monday, April 2nd, 2012

Picture this: an entrepreneur wants to open a yogurt shop.  She has a business plan, has secured the operating capital and has a location picked out for the new small business.  However, before she can hire employees and open her doors for business to sell her product and contribute to the local economy, a state bureaucrat has to certify that the people who will come to get yogurt are not adding to vehicle congestion in that neighborhood. .....

Gov. Brown looks to global warming fees to pay for high-speed rail, By Mike Rosenberg and Paul Rogers,  San Jose Mercury News, San Jose Mercury News, April 2, 2012

With a lower price tag and speedier plan to start zipping bullet trains up and down California, Gov. Jerry Brown's ambitious new high-speed rail proposal is still wobbly on one vital ingredient: billions and billions of dollars. The state still has no guarantee on where it will come up with about 80 percent of the funding needed for a project that high-speed rail leaders announced Monday will cost at least $68 billion. But bullet train backers are now touting a new wild card that could provide a major contribution courtesy of the state's big polluters.....

California gas prices soar as consumption falls, Mark Glover, Sacramento Bee, MAR. 31, 2012,

Gasoline prices soared by an average of 23 percent statewide last year, and in-state consumption of gas declined nearly 2 percent, according to 2011 statistics released Friday by the California Board of Equalization. The BOE said 2011 ended with an average statewide gas price of $3.86 a gallon......

Greens Want Energy Bubble Loans from CPUC, By WAYNE LUSVARDI, Cal Watchdog, MARCH 30, 2012

California is getting strapped for cash to continue to pay for subsidies for economically infeasible solar power and energy efficiency projects for homeowners and small businesses. So the Environmental Defense Fund has concocted a proposal to the California Public Utilities Commission called “On-Bill Repayment.” This program would have electricity users pay for such energy upgrades in their monthly electricity bills.  The upfront money for energy upgrades would come from loans through commercial banks instead of government subsidies.......

EPA out to raise your electricity bill, Orange County Register Editorial, 2012-03-30

The Environmental Protection Agency is stepping up its war on coal-fired power plants, imposing first-ever limits on carbon emissions for new electric utility facilities. Ostensibly, this administrative over-reach is to fight pollution and reduce global warming. Those claims are disingenuous. Carbon dioxide is a trace gas necessary for life, not a pollutant. Its emissions have scant, if any, relationship to global temperatures, which have been flat for a dozen years even as CO2 levels dramatically increased......

Sierra Nevada forest plan ruled defective, By Jim Porter, Special to the Sun, Sierra Sun, March 30, 2012

TRUCKEE, Calif. — “The national forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (‘the Sierras') are home to a rich array of fauna, including at least 61 species of fish and 35 species of amphibians.” With that statement, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals begins its Opinion striking down part of a President Bush-era plan to allow additional logging, grazing and road building in a 400-mile stretch of the Sierra Nevada forests, interestingly called “Sierras” in the case. I thought “Sierra” was proper.....

Feinstein slams NPS for 'deceptive and potentially fraudulent' report on oyster far, Emily Yehle, E&E NewsPM, March 29, 2012

Sen. Dianne Feinstein accused the National Park Service today of falsifying data and misrepresenting science to oust a controversial California oyster farm from a wilderness area. The California Democrat wrote a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today, after revelations that the Park Service used 17-year-old data -- from 3,000 miles away -- to represent the noise coming from Drakes Bay Oyster Co. ......

Climate change to inflict major crises, panel says, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, March 29, 2012

Washington --  Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts and heat waves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly weather disasters, an international panel of climate scientists says in a report issued Wednesday. The greatest danger from extreme weather is in highly populated, poor regions of the world, the report warns, but no corner of the globe - from Mumbai to Miami - is immune. The document by a Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate scientists forecasts stronger tropical cyclones and more frequent heat waves, deluges and droughts......

Fire tax repeal bill passes out of committee, By Sally Morris, The Trinity Journal | March 28, 2012

A bill to repeal California’s new fire prevention fee on rural homeowners within the State Responsibility Areas passed in the State Assembly Natural Resources Committee with bipartisan support on Monday. AB 1506, coauthored by Assemblymember Jim Nielsen, would eliminate the SRA fee of up to $150 per habitable structure adopted last year by the California Board of Forestry to raise an estimated $84 million to help fund Cal Fire. It will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.....

Moody’s maintains negative outlook on paper and forest industry, David Pett, Financial Post, March 27, 2012

The global paper and forest products industry remains a risk for investors as falling demand threatens  profits at several companies in Canada and abroad, says a new report from Moody’s Investors Service.  “Our negative outlook is based on our expectation that the industry’s overall operating income will decrease over the next 12 to 18 months as demand and pricing weaken for most grades of paper and forest products,” said Ed Sustar, a vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s in Toronto.....

Here is a weekly digest of on-line news pertinent to forestry in California provided by University of California Cooperative Extension Natural Resources Advisor Greg Giusti (gagiusti@ucdavis.edu):

The Life and Times of Judi Bari, By Bob Doran, North Coast Journal, March 8, 2012,  

(MARCH 8, 2012)  As the film opens, the camera pans through a bucolic redwood forest, tilting up into the branches. Bird sounds and new age music on the soundtrack are interrupted by a Bay Area TV news report announcing, “A car bomb explosion sends two members of the activist group Earth First! to the hospital. And the question tonight is, will the injured environmentalists face criminal charges?” The answer comes quickly in another news flash, an “unconfirmed report” saying, “Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney will be charged with possession and transportation of explosives.”......

Forest Products Industry Workers Applaud Senator Hatfield for Protecting Rural Jobs & Renewable Energy, Sacramento Bee,  MAR. 08, 2012  

OLYMPIA, Wash., March 8, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Gregoire signed SB 5575, sponsored by Senator Hatfield, which helps preserve the good wage-paying jobs offered by the forest products industry.  Organic by-products of the pulping process now qualify as renewable energy.  In addition, the legislation changes the law to provide adequate recognition for biomass energy facilities as renewable, regardless of the date they were first constructed. This puts common sense back into the system by allowing facilities that can produce renewable energy and organic material to count......

Fire fee endangers California's fire-protection system, Commentary By James E. Little, Ag Alert, March 7, 2012 

At the end of the 2011 budget session, the California Legislature adopted legislation which, among other items, directed the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to adopt emergency regulations implementing a Fire Prevention Fee on structures within State Responsibility Areas. This bill was adopted in the final days of the budget session, without benefit of legislative hearings or public comment......

Free the American West, Get the federal government off public lands that are of no national importance. By Robert H. Nelson, Los Angeles Times Op-Ed, March 07, 2012|

Like much else in government, U.S. public land policy is a vestige of the past, established in 1910 when America's population was just 92.2 million and a Western state such as Nevada had only 81,000 residents. Today our needs are much different and much greater. The United States can no longer afford to keep tens of millions of acres of "public" land locked up and out of service. Some of these lands have great commercial value; others are environmental treasures. We need policies capable of distinguishing between the two.....

Environmental group targets SPI logging plans, By Amy Gittelsohn, The Trinity Journal | Posted: March 7, 2012  

An environmental organization has delivered a "notice of intent to sue" letter to Sierra Pacific Industries if the company continues with a list of timber harvest plans sited primarily in Trinity County. The Humboldt-based Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) says the plans will harm northern spotted owls which are listed as threatened, in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The 24 timber harvest plans named by EPIC cover 5,594 acres, mostly in the area east of Trinity Lake. It also names plans in Humboldt, Shasta and Lassen counties......

  "There are opportunities to do some selection within that area," Orahoske said, "but what Sierra Pacific is doing is clear cutting within a half mile. That's very damaging."

Dry winter threatens to increase fire danger, PETER JENSEN, Napa Valley Register |  March 6, 2012 

Last month’s 200-acre blaze in Soda Canyon was a rarity — and possible record — for Napa County, but wildfire forecasters differ in predicting what that may mean for wildfires this year. CalFire said the blaze, which started Feb. 23 and burned for three days, was the largest in the state thus far this year. The agency also said it’s had reports of more fires this year burning a greater number of acres, compared to the same time last year......

Aerial firefighting fleet insufficient, chief says, BY BEN GOAD WASHINGTON BUREAU Press Enterprise, 06 March 2012 

WASHINGTON — With another potentially devastating wildfire season on the horizon, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell told Congress on Tuesday that his agency’s diminished and aging fleet of firefighting air tankers is insufficient to combat the nation’s increasingly severe blazes. Air tankers are a central component of the Forest Service’s firefighting operations, particularly in Inland Southern California, where communities like Lake Arrowhead, Idyllwild and Big Bear are surrounded by rugged terrain and are accessible by only a few roads. But the number of air tankers at the agency’s disposal has fallen from 43 to11 in the last 12 years as airworthiness issues grounded many of the decades-old aircraft......

LEED's Artificial Barriers Continue to Fail Responsible Forestry, Sacramento Bee, MAR. 06, 2012 

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) continues to put up artificial barriers in its latest draft of its LEED rating tool, shutting out 75 percent of North America's certified forests from the LEED credits that deal with "responsible extraction of raw materials." The third draft of LEED 2012, released on March 1, includes credits for certified wood that is "FSC or better." "This new language raises more issues than it resolves: Who will decide what is 'better than FSC' and on what basis?" said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Inc. (SFI®). "SFI clearly has requirements that are not matched by FSC varying standards around the world.  This fact continues to go unrecognized by the USGBC, despite the fact that governors, congressmen, and 6,000 individuals have urged the USGBC not to turn its back on North American forests and recognize all forest certification standards.".....

Richardson Grove tree measurements go smoothly, no protesters on site, Donna Tam, Eureka Times-Standard, The Willits News, 03/06/2012 

After about two hours of tree measuring at Richardson Grove State Park, it's still unclear which side the facts will benefit. U.S. Magistrate Judge Nandor Vadas oversaw the measuring of six trees Monday morning as a part of an ongoing lawsuit filed against Caltrans over the Richardson Grove roadway realignment project. The measuring party, which caused Caltrans to restrict traffic temporarily on U.S. Highway 101 for the length of the grove, was expected to determine whether Caltrans omitted old-growth redwood trees from its maps and analysis......

Cap-and-trade is not a budget solution, By Shelly Sullivan, Capitol Weekly | 03/05/12 

 “Good news! We found billions of dollars to help the state budget and fund more government programs.” If this sounds too good to be true, you’re right. The Governor’s plan to spend billions extracted from California employers under AB 32’s cap-and-trade program is actually bad news that will hurt the environment and kill jobs. .....

North state fires bigger, but not more severe, study says, By Damon Arthur, Redding Record Searchlight, March 5, 2012

Wildfires in the north state have been getting bigger during the past several decades, but they have not been getting more severe, according to a recent U.S. Forest Service study. Scientists studied fires in four national forests in Northern California from 1910 to 2008 and concluded that since 1987 when satellite imagery became available that most of the area burned was low to moderate in severity. "We were kind of surprised as to what the results turned out to be," said Carl Skinner, one of the study's authors......

Tahoe/Truckee biomass meeting next week to discuss potential health impacts, Sierra Sun, MARCH, 5 2012 

TRUCKEE, Calif. — A grant awarded to Placer County will be used to help residents learn about the health impact of the proposed biomass energy facility off Highway 89 on Cabin Creek Road, officials announced Monday. The proposed Tahoe/Truckee biomass facility is one of 14 national projects awarded the grant, used to conduct a “Health Impact Assessment,” according to a Monday morning press release from the Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee. “The comprehensive HIA is giving communities a glimpse into the potential future if such facilities are introduced into their environments,” said Richard Burton, Placer County health officer and director of health and human services, in a statement. “As the first community in the western US to benefit from such a process, we will take the national stage by setting the precedent for this process.”......

AB 1506 would repeal controversial state fire fee, Natasha Lindstrom, Victorville Daily Press, 2012-03-05

SACRAMENTO • Two Assemblymen have introduced a bill that would repeal the new state fire fee on rural residents slammed by critics as an "illegal tax." Republican lawmakers and local government officials have been blasting AB x1 29, a bill signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in July that will charge a $150 parcel fee to owners of inhabitable structures on wildlands in State Responsibility Areas. It’s set to affect an estimated 800,000 property owners statewide and 66,000 in San Bernardino County, including residents in Phelan, Pinon Hills, Wrightwood, Oak Hills, Lucerne Valley and parts of Apple Valley. It may charge 2,200 property owners in the Apple Valley area alone, according to local fire officials......

Self-inflicted wound for chief of wildlife board, Sacramento Bee Editorial, MAR. 03, 2012 

Good judgment should be a prerequisite for any president of California's Fish and Game Commission. Californians are so passionate about issues involving hunting, fishing, wildlife and conservation that this commission needs a steady hand at the helm. Sadly, Daniel Richards continues to flunk that test, day after day. First he sent a photo of himself with a mountain lion he had killed in Idaho to Western Outdoor News, a major publication for sportsmen. As the San Jose Mercury News has reported, Richards' hunting guide in Idaho said Richards was aware that publicity about his bagged lion could cause a stir in California......

Porcupines an increasingly rare sight in California forests, scientists say, Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee, MAR. 03, 2012 

The porcupine is not among the cuddly critters most forest visitors hope to stumble upon. The large rodent seems aloof as it waddles through California woods. Long quills twitching like the headdress on a drum major, it forages leisurely for herbs, seeds and tree bark. When threatened, the prickly species mostly just turns its back and hopes you'll get the point. While nobody was looking, however, it seems the humble porcupine has been quietly fading away......

California is on Cutting Edge for Green Building Regulations, Green Building Elements, MARCH 2, 2012

Compliance with the newest California Building Standards Code, also known as the California Green Code, or simply as CALGreen, became mandatory on Jan. 1, 2011. The need for green construction methods has grown so substantially in past years that it sparked the creation performance bonds, even though there is still a legislation battle holding up their passage. This just further indicates how progressive California is in its green building requirements. A dream of Governor Schwarzenegger’s since 2004, seven years later his vision has become a reality. To date, California is the first state in the country to enact such a comprehensive plan for a more environmentally responsible building code.....

Carbon market a doomed government fantasy, By MARK LANDSBAUM, Orange County Register, 2012-03-02,

California's political class yearns to be European. Here's some advice for Gov. Jerry Brown and associates: Beware of what you desire. You just may get it. Their latest self-destructive fascination is the lunacy of a carbon trading market. It's part of the still-loonier cap-and-trade scheme to save California from the looniest concept of all, make-believe devastation from manmade global warming. It doesn't get more European than that. After so many boondoggles, bankruptcies and frauds experienced trying to "save the Earth from global warming," you'd think invoking that claim would trigger a modicum of skepticism. Not in Sacramento, where carbon trading is enthusiastically embraced. Brown and his ilk hope to glean billions by taxing the new game. That probably tells us all we need about the scheme's true intent and ultimate value. Californians, grab your wallets. Sacramento and a horde of accomplices are about to make life much more expensive and far riskier......

Key lawmakers confident of renewed timber payments, By KEVIN FREKING and JEFF BARNARD Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News, March 2, 2012,  

WASHINGTON—Key federal lawmakers say they're confident that Congress will renew a program this year that has become a lifeline for rural communities suffering from a decline in timber harvests on federal lands, but they can't say when or how. The uncertainty over the Secure Rural Schools program is making some local officials nervous. They would have a hard time making up the financial loss and many would have to resort to layoffs. The program compensates counties for a decline in federal timber payments resulting from environmental protections for the spotted owl, salmon and other species......

CARB ‘Rogue Agency’ Snubs Legislators, By KATY GRIMES, Cal Watchdog, MAR. 1, 2012 

A Wednesday hearing in the Legislature to discuss pending state cap-and-trade auction revenues produced very few answers. But it did prove that no one in the state has a handle on the implementation of AB 32, the Global Warming Solution Act of 2006, or the potential repercussions from the vast law. Even the Legislative Anaylyst’s Office, always well versed on the detail of state policy, had more questions for the California Air Resources Board. But all that came back from CARB was bureaucratic doublespeak, and few answers......

Endangered Species Act: Like ‘Hotel California’, Obama makes sure listed species are never delisted, By William Perry Pendley, The Washington Times, Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Eagles' memorable hit "Hotel California" ends hauntingly: "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave." Don Henley, who with Don Felder and Glenn Frey, share the writing credits, says "it's basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America." But, given a new draft Obama administration regulation, it could be about plants and animals listed pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Once they're included, they never leave.....

Green Party misses the forest for the trees, Stuart Smith, Napa Valley Register | February 29, 2012

Wisdom, even the Green Party’s self-styled “ecological wisdom,” can only be achieved through experience and knowledge. Representing the Napa County Green Party, Lars Christianson’s Feb. 22 letter “Napa needs all the forest it has left” makes it quite clear that their knowledge of forestry and ecology is both naive and wrong. Sorry, Green Party, don’t blame our supervisors for allowing timber conversions in Napa County, because it is the California Department of Forestry that issues those permits......

Increased timber sales sought to fund rural counties, schools, Joanna Lin - California Watch, North County Times, February 29, 2012 12:05 am

Proposed federal legislation would require increased timber sales in national forests to generate revenue for rural counties and schools - a plan that's at odds with other Congressional efforts to extend a decade-old program that compensates forest communities that have cut back logging. Supporters of the bill - namely Republicans in the House Natural Resources Committee and groups representing counties and the timber industry - have applauded the proposal as a roadmap for better forest management and sustainable local revenue. The Federal Forests County Revenue, Schools and Jobs Act of 2012 passed the House Natural Resources Committee 26-17 earlier this month; it has not yet been scheduled for a full House vote......

Interior unveils new spotted owl habitat plan, announces reforms to ESA  , Land Letter, February 28, 2012 

The Obama administration today announced it will consider designating up to 10 million acres of critical habitat for the federally threatened spotted owl, which could nearly double the George W. Bush-era plan. In addition, President Obama instructed the Interior Department to streamline its approach to designating critical habitats for all species by taking an earlier look at economic impacts. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the spotted owl plan comes as the bird faces serious threats from past old-growth logging and increased competition from the barred owl. The proposal would allow federal managers to kill or remove barred owls from certain areas. Interior will continue encouraging ecologically sustainable logging that will gird forests against pests and severe wildfires, which also threaten owls, it said. "The choice of clearcut versus no cut is a false choice," Salazar said. .....

Environmental groups want California wolves protected, By Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee,  Feb. 28, 2012 

Four environmental groups on Monday petitioned the California Fish and Game Commission to protect the gray wolf under the state Endangered Species Act. Led by the Center for Biological Diversity, the groups say the migration of a wolf from Oregon on Dec. 28 means the species will eventually establish itself in California. Any wolves that migrate into California are automatically protected by the federal Endangered Species Act. But the groups want California to take charge of a recovery plan because the state endangered species law is stronger and federal officials remain focused on wolf recovery elsewhere......

Spotted owl recovery plan calls for killing barred owls and designating habitat, but allowing logging, By Eric Mortenson, The Oregonian, February 28, 2012

Wildlife officials propose killing barred owls, which are taking territory from spotted owls. Northern spotted owls earned a place on the endangered species list due to habitat loss from logging and fire, but their biggest nemesis now is an East Coast cousin. Larger, more aggressive, more adaptable barred owls moved West in the 1960s, found food and shelter to their liking and have since displaced spotted owls throughout much of British Columbia to Northern California. Spotted owls declined 40 percent over the past 25 years, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says they may go extinct in some parts of their range if something isn't done about barred owls.....

Here is a weekly digest of on-line news pertinent to forestry in California provided by University of California Cooperative Extension Natural Resources Advisor Greg Giusti (gagiusti@ucdavis.edu):

Here is a weekly digest of on-line news pertinent to forestry in California provided by University of California Cooperative Extension Natural Resources Advisor Greg Giusti (gagiusti@ucdavis.edu):

National forest fees work: The U.S. Forest Service should work to change the law regarding fees in national forests to reflect the realities of modern recreational use, Los Angeles Times Editorial, March 1, 2012

Does a hiker go to the bathroom in the woods? It might matter, under a recent federal court ruling.  The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled correctly last month that parking fees were being wrongly levied in many areas of America's national forests. A 2004 law is quite specific that it is impermissible to charge fees for parking or for "general use" of the forests. But while the court's ruling was perfectly in line with the law, the real problem is with the law itself. Under its provisions, if you use the bathroom while hiking in the forest, you can be charged, but not if you use nature itself as the bathroom....

Trees have needs, By MIKE MATZ, Sacramento Bee, MAR. 01, 2012

Seventy-five years ago, Theodor Geisel wrote the first of his 44 popular books for children under the pen name Dr. Seuss. Included among such fanciful classics as "The Cat in the Hat" and "Green Eggs and Ham" is one of my family's all-time favorites, "The Lorax." My wife and I can hardly wait to take our children to see the new film adaptation - not only for fun but because it explains so well what I do......

Increased timber sales sought to fund rural counties, schools, Joanna Lin, California Watch, ABC, Wednesday, February 29, 2012

SISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif. (KABC) -- Proposed federal legislation would require increased timber sales in national forests to generate revenue for rural counties and schools - a plan that's at odds with other Congressional efforts to extend a decade-old program that compensates forest communities that have cut back logging.  Supporters of the bill - namely Republicans in the House Natural Resources Committee and groups representing counties and the timber industry - have applauded the proposal as a roadmap for better forest management and sustainable local revenue......

Sierra Pacific holding steady in economy, Lincoln sawmill’s production same historically, By Stephanie Dumm, February 29, 2012

When the housing bubble burst late last decade, Sierra Pacific Industries did not experience any layoffs at its Lincoln plant. That’s according to Sierra Pacific spokesman Mark Luster, who said the Lincoln sawmill “didn’t get affected as much” by the burst.  The News Messenger toured Lincoln’s Sierra Pacific sawmill with Luster on Feb. 24. Luster said three Sierra Pacific sawmills closed in 2008 and 2009.  “Lincoln has been a very efficient sawmill and the location helps,” Luster said. “There are a number of factors that allowed the mill to continue to operate.”.....

Additional Federal Spotted Owl Critical Habitat Designation on Private Working Forests Works Against Owls and People, by WFPA, Sacramento Bee, FEB. 29, 2012

OLYMPIA, Wash., Feb. 29, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) released its proposed critical habitat designation for the Northern Spotted Owl, doubling the amount of land from 6.9 million acres to nearly 14 million acres across three states (Oregon, Washington and California), and for the first time includes nearly 2 million acres of state and private working forests.  Critical habitat designation is a regulatory mechanism to contribute to the conservation of threatened and endangered species.  This is the third time the Service has designated critical habitat since 1992. .....

California legislators show their hypocrisy over hunting issue, Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee,  FEB. 29, 2012

Dan Richards, who chairs the California Fish and Game Commission, is under fire in the Capitol because he killed a mountain lion in Idaho and posed with his trophy for a picture that was later published on a hunting publication website. Forty Democratic legislators signed a letter to Richards saying he should resign. "Your actions raise serious questions about whether you respect the laws of the people of California and whether you are fit to adequately enforce those laws," the lawmakers told Richards. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom later joined the chorus......

Game official: cougar killing no one's business, Marisa Lagos, San Francisco Chronicle, February 29, 2012

SACRAMENTO -- California Fish and Game Commission President Daniel Richards said Tuesday that there is "zero chance" he will resign over a photograph showing him grinning as he holds up the body of a mountain lion he shot, killed and ate in Idaho recently. In a letter addressed to Assemblyman Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, one of dozens of public officials who called for Richards' resignation in recent days, Richards blasted lawmakers and others for their criticism of his hunting expedition and mocked their condemnation of the kill......

U.S. attorney warns California farmers against pot grows, By DON THOMPSON, AP, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, February 29, 2012

SACRAMENTO — The top federal prosecutor in the Central Valley said Tuesday that he plans a tour this week to tell agricultural landowners they could lose their property or be prosecuted if they permit large marijuana plantations on their land.  U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner will visit the Fresno County Farm Bureau on Thursday and the Kern County Sherriff's Department on Friday to warn of the federal crackdown......

Executives Urge Congress to Extend Energy Efficient Tax Credit, Woodworking Network, 02/29/2012

Washington, DC - Today, nineteen executives of the nation's window, door and skylight companies sent a joint letter to Congress urging a robust extension of the residential energy efficient (25C) tax credit that expired at the end of 2011. The executives are urging lawmakers to extend the credit at the $1,000 level in order to preserve jobs and and promote energy efficiency......

Interior unveils new spotted owl habitat plan, announces reforms to ESA
E&E News, February 28, 2012

The Obama administration today announced it will consider designating up to 10 million acres of critical habitat for the federally threatened spotted owl, which could nearly double the George W. Bush-era plan. In addition, President Obama instructed the Interior Department to streamline its approach to designating critical habitats for all species by taking an earlier look at economic impacts....

3 accused of embezzling $900,000 from Yurok Tribe, AP - Press Democrat, February 28, 2012

EUREKA — Two contract biologists and the former director of forestry for the Yurok Tribe are accused of embezzling some $900,000 in money intended for spotted owl research over the past three years.

Court documents allege the men conspired to charge the tribe for phony spotted owl surveys on tribal forests, and that the former tribal forestry director improperly used a tribal credit card to buy iPads, car repairs, gasoline, and cleaning supplies.

The investigation began when tribal officials went to authorities with invoices that didn't match up, The Eureka Times-Standard (http://bit.ly/wgQUnC ) reported.

Burdensome EPA Challenged In Federal Court, Green Mountain Scribes, Posted on February 28, 2012

Washington, D.C. — The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and a coalition of business groups today argue their challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rulemaking to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Karen Harned, executive director of the Small Business Legal Center, issued the following statement.....

County Roads and Schools,  Marcia H. Armstrong Supervisor, District 5 Siskiyou County, February 28, 2012

Fiscal year 2011-12 is the last year that the Siskiyou County Road Dept. and our county schools will receive federal funding from the sun-setting Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS.) It is also the last year that emergency, fire, rescue and law enforcement will receive funds to their budget to somewhat offset the cost of County services for our federal lands and their visitors. It is the last year that the multi-interest Siskiyou County Resource Advisory Committee will award grant funds for projects such as habitat restoration, recreation and fuel reduction on National Forests and adjacent lands. It is the “last year” - unless Congress passes H.R. 3599.....

Roseburg Forest Products continues pioneering with renewable energy commitment, Forest Business Network, February 26, 2012

Roseburg Forest Products, a privately held forest products company with a long history of conservation and promoting sound and sustainable forestry practices, is extending its sustainability commitment to renewable energy. “Sustainably managing all aspects of our business is essential to the long-term viability of the company,” said Chuck Ulik, chief operating officer. “Access to clean, efficient energy is an ever-present need for Roseburg Forest Products. Fortunately, Pacific Power’s Blue Sky Renewable Energy Program is providing our company the opportunity to join with others in helping to fund the development of renewable energy. .....

Farmers and farm industries get review of British Columbia carbon tax, Climatewire, February 24, 2012

British Columbia plans to suspend increases to a controversial carbon tax next year, bowing to complaints from agricultural industries that the tax is hurting their ability to compete in world markets. The tax, which applies to diesel and all oil-based fuels, will increase from 5.56 cents per liter to 6.67 cents per liter July 1. All subsequent increases will be suspended while the British Columbian government reviews the tax's impact on the provincial economy....

Cogeneration firm converts coal plant to biofuel power
By Diarmaid Williams, Cogeneration & On Site Power, February 23, 2012

Macpherson Energy Company and DTE Energy Services (DTEES) have announced that Mt. Poso cogeneration power plant in California is completely converted to run 100 per cent biomass fuel instead of coal, and is successfully delivering its full capacity of 44 MW of clean, renewable energy to the California grid. The renewable energy power plant now operates solely on biomass fuel, primarily urban and agricultural wood waste. Before the 15-month conversion, it had run for 20-plus years on coal.....

STOP THE PRESS: AIR BOARD ADMITS AB 32′S DOWNSIDE, MAKES CASE (INDIRECTLY) FOR PROP. 23, Chris Reed, Flashreport, February 22, 2012
  
In 2006, when the California Legislature was considering AB 32, Arnold was so worried that the bill forcing a shift to cleaner but costlier energy would harm the economy that he demanded it include a provision that would allow the governor to suspend the law during times of economic distress. Within three years, however, the lunatic idea began to spread from the green cultists to the regular media that AB 32 was actually a jobs program, not a dramatic government interference in the free market that would make energy much more expensive than in rival states and nations. The warning of U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was ignored in favor of happy talk. Now, thankfully, someone is admitting that what was obvious to Arnold in 2006 and to Chu in 2009 is still true in 2012......

Berkeley-based scientist causes ethics storm over climate change documents, By Dana Hull and Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News, 02/22/2012

For the past two decades, Peter Gleick has earned a reputation as a nationally known expert on water and climate issues, winning a MacArthur "genius award," penning a long list of scientific articles and testifying before Congress.  But over the past two days, the 55-year-old Berkeley resident has found himself at the center of a national maelstrom of his own making: using a false name to obtain confidential documents from a pro-industry think tank known for minimizing the risks of global warming.......

Delta left out of fight over Hetch Hetchy, Michael Fitzgerald, STOCKTON RECORD, February 22, 2012

There's a Stockton angle to the very interesting movement to drain and restore Hetch Hetchy, San Francisco's reservoir in a corner of Yosemite Valley. If you just tuned in, in 1913 San Francisco got a historically wrongheaded Congress to approve damming and flooding an 8-mile-long scenic wonder John Muir called "a wonderfully exact counterpart of the great Yosemite."  That's a big source of San Francisco's water today.  If I understand history correctly, the city was still traumatized by running out of water during the fire that destroyed the city following the '06 quake.  Still, Hetch Hetchy is San Francisco's most glaring contradiction: the loftily green headquarters of the Sierra Club sustains itself from a barbaric environmental travesty......

Greenhouse gas battle could reap billions in auctions, By John Howard, Capitol Weekly | 02/21/12 

As California’s attempt to curb climate-changing greenhouse gases ramps up, critical pieces of the landmark law remain uncertain, including the impact of the all-important auctions of hundreds of millions of so-called “emission allowances” that will serve as the spur for utilities, refiners and others to comply.  Over the next eight years, the quarterly auctions by some estimates are projected to raise between $8 billion and $41 billion, with the money going to everything from helping balancing the state budget to promoting the virtues of clean energy to giving breaks to millions of residential and commercial electricity customers......

West Coast log and lumber exports jumped in 2011, with China as the major destination for both, Eric Mortenson, The Oregonian, February 21, 2012

West Coast log and lumber exports increased 42 percent in 2011 over the previous year, continuing a trend that has seen China become the biggest customer for the raw material and finished products coming from the forests and mills of Oregon, Washington, Northern California and Alaska......

In dry season, San Joaquin River restoration a sore point among farmers, By Mark Grossi, The Fresno Bee, Monday, Feb. 20, 2012

This is the year east Valley farmers have dreaded. It's one of the driest seasons in the past 100 years, and they must share precious water with the federal government to restore the San Joaquin River.  It's a tender subject among the 15,000 farmers who irrigate with the San Joaquin. For 18 years, they fought a losing legal battle against restoring the dried river and finally agreed to cooperate in 2006.  Every year of the legal fight and every year since the agreement, they have worried about this kind of dry year during the restoration. The snowpack is a third of what it should be, and their livelihood is at stake.  "Yes, it will be hard this summer," said Cathie Walker, who farms 600 acres of citrus in Tulare County with her brother, Kevin Riddle. "These trees can't go without water.".....

Going green will cost California more green, Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee,  FEB. 19, 2012

The state of California has made a full-blown commitment to reducing reliance on fossil-fuel energy and other limited resources.  Utilities are required to use solar, wind and geothermal sources for a third of their electricity supply by 2020, while owners of homes and businesses are being urged to install solar panels.  The state is mandating that automakers dramatically ramp up sales of battery-powered and other low-emission cars. It is imposing new cap-and-trade emission controls on business with hefty fees.  Essentially, the state is trying to force California into an entirely new economic structure, claiming, in Gov. Jerry Brown's words, that "California is positioned perfectly to reap the economic benefits that will inevitably flow."....

Housing Starts in U.S. Rise Above Forecasts, By Shobhana Chandra, Bloomberg; Feb. 16, 2012

Housing starts rose 1.5 percent to a 699,000 annual rate from December’s 689,000 pace that was stronger than previously reported. Betty Liu reports on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." Builders broke ground on more homes than forecast in January, helped by warmer weather and adding to signs the U.S. residential real estate market is stabilizing....

Committee Passes Secure Rural Schools, PILT Legislation to Create Jobs, Stimulate Rural Economies & Restore Forest Health, Natural Resources Committee, February 16, 2012

The House Natural Resources Committee today passed H.R. 4019, the Federal Forest County Revenue, Schools and Jobs Act of 2012, by a vote of 26 to 17. The bill aims to restore economic stability in forested counties that lost valuable revenue used to support schools, infrastructure and emergency services when the timber industry sharply declined in the 1990s due to federal regulations and lawsuits. The bill will create jobs, foster forest health and provide a steady revenue stream to rural communities through restoration of active, healthy forest management. The bill also authorizes a five year extension of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program and modifies the cabin fee formula to make if more predictable and affordable for families who own cabins in our National Forests.....

Here is a weekly digest of on-line news pertinent to forestry in California provided by University of California Cooperative Extension Natural Resources Advisor Greg Giusti (gagiusti@ucdavis.edu):

Feds withdraw appeal in Sierra creek case, The Associated Press, Contra Costa Times, 01/26/2012

RENO, Nev.—Federal agencies have withdrawn their appeal of a ruling that blocked efforts to poison a Sierra Nevada creek near Lake Tahoe to reintroduce threatened Paiute cutthroat trout.  The Reno Gazette-Journal ( http://on.rgj.com/AEM1k5) reports conservationists are calling the move a victory.  But officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service characterize it as a procedural step and say they still intend to pursue the Silver King Creek project......

Agency unveils sweeping new planning rule, Phil Taylor, E&E reporter, Greenwire, January 26, 2012,

The Obama administration today released a crucial new proposal that aims to protect wildlife while promoting recreation, logging, grazing and other uses on nearly 200 million acres of national forests.  The new planning rule will make land management on 175 national forests and grasslands cheaper, more efficient and less vulnerable to lawsuits, the administration said.  At the same time, the new guidelines will enhance collaboration between the Forest Service and the public and will require the use of the best available science to inform decisions, the agency said.......

Sacramento judge makes release of Moonlight fire documents risky, By Denny Walsh, Sacramento Bee, Jan. 26, 2012

A Sacramento federal judge has avoided making public a set of documents sought by The Bee that were offered to support a critical motion in a bitter legal battle over how a 2007 wildfire started and who should pay for damages it caused.  U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller said the party offering the documents, timber giant Sierra Pacific Industries, is free to file them publicly within three days of Tuesday, the day she signed a 10-page order filed Wednesday. Mueller noted a prior ruling that the documents are immaterial to the matter at issue in Sierra Pacific's lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  "In light of (the prior) ruling, SPI's attempt to file the documents at all appears to be improper," the judge stated. .....

U.S. Lumber Coalition Welcomes President Obama's Commitment to Continued Strong Trade Enforcement, Sacramento Bee, Jan. 26, 2012

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Lumber Coalition welcomes President Obama's statement during the State of the Union address in which he underlined the Administration's continued strong commitment to trade enforcement.  President Obama stated that he would "not stand by when our competitors don't play by the rules," further explaining that "[i]t's not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they're heavily subsidized." .....

California air board to vote on landmark electric-car rules, By Paul Rogers, Contra Costa Times, 01/25/2012

In a move that could reshape the American automobile industry, California regulators Thursday are expected to approve sweeping new rules requiring that 15 percent of new cars sold in California by 2025 run on electricity, hydrogen or other systems producing little or no smog......

Coho salmon face lofty recovery goals; Siskiyou County calls rates 'unfair, unrealistic', By Ryan Sabalow, Redding Record Searchlight, January 25, 2012

Federal fisheries biologists say threatened coho salmon need to return to the Scott River in Siskiyou County at rates more than four times higher than ever recorded.  The federal fisheries goals, released this month in a draft plan that calls for sweeping coho habitat restoration efforts in two states, have drawn condemnation from Siskiyou County officials and the leaders of the county's resources conservation groups.  They say the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's coho recovery models create "unfair and unrealistic" standards that could be used to place even more restrictions on farmers' irrigation use in a region already embroiled in a bitter dispute with regulators and environmental groups over the state- and federally protected fish......

Klamath dam removal costly, but would add jobs, federal report says, Michael Doyle, Sacramento Bee, Jan. 25, 2012

WASHINGTON – The ambitious proposal to remove four Klamath River dams would add jobs and aid fish, a new federal report asserts, but the idea still leaves California lawmakers badly divided. As they approach a make-or-break decision on whether to recommend the dam removal, U.S. Interior Department officials on Tuesday touted anticipated benefits that include improved salmon habitat and 1,400 construction jobs during the year it would take to remove the hydroelectric dams.  Long-term Klamath basin restoration efforts would add an estimated 4,600 jobs, the report says.  But the dam removals would also cost somewhere between $238 million and $493 million, potentially increase flooding risks and cut electricity production, the new Interior Department compilation shows. The new report pegs the most probable dam-removal cost at $291.6 million.......

State office approves new fire prevention fee; homeowners in some rural areas face levy of up to $150, By CATHY KELLY, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 01/25/2012

SANTA CRUZ - A new fire prevention fee affecting homeowners in some unincorporated areas of the state was approved this week by the state Office of Administrative Law.  The annual fee of up to $150 was approved by Gov. Jerry Brown and state legislators last summer, for homes in "state responsibility areas" served by Cal Fire, Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said. Those areas commonly abut wildlands and contain some type of valuable natural resource, such as timberland, Berlant said.  Most affected homeowners will be assessed $115, due to a $35 exemption for homes in both the state responsibility area and a local fire district, Berlant said......

Environmentalists challenge judge's decision on low carbon fuel standard, By John Howard, Capitol Weekly | 01/23/12

Environmentalists have gone to federal court to support California’s program requiring the use of low-carbon fuels as a means of cutting climate-changing greenhouse gases.  On Friday, the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a motion to block the court’s ruling last month that halted the California Air Resources Board’s decision to move ahead with the Low Carbon Fuel Standard program, or LCFS, which is intended to cut carbon emissions. The environmental group hopes to get a response within three weeks, said NRDC spokeswoman Serena Ingre......

Environmentalists see reason for alarm in GOP race, By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, January 23, 2012, 

(01-23) 00:37 PST West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP) --  Four years after the GOP's rallying cry became "drill, baby, drill," environmental issues have barely registered a blip in this Republican presidential primary. That's likely to change as the race turns to Florida. The candidates' positions on environmental regulation, global warming as well as clean air and water are all but certain to get attention ahead of the Jan. 31 primary in a state where the twin issues of offshore oil drilling and Everglades restoration are considered mandatory topics for discussion......

National climate change strategy proposed for wildlife, By Dean Kuipers, Los Angeles Times,  January 20, 2012

The United States has no national strategy for curtailing its contributions to climate change, but it does now have a partial strategy for responding to its effects. On Thursday, the Obama administration released a draft of the National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, a plan to coordinate responses to global warming across the country.  It’s been a long time coming. Congress ordered the President’s Council on Environmental Quality and the Department of the Interior to prepare the strategy back in 2010. This is just a draft put together by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, and the New York State Department of Economic Conservation (representing state agencies) and is up now and available for public comment through March 5, 2012......

Forest Service gets land transfer nod, by Chris Caskey, The Sonora Union Democrat, January 20, 2012

The U.S. Forest Service took a step closer toward owning and managing a stretch of land near Lyons Reservoir that currently belongs to utility giant PG&E. The Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council voted Thursday to transfer 628 acres of PG&E land to the Stanislaus National Forest. Located around Rushing Meadows, the land proposed for the transfer surrounds the South Fork of the Stanislaus River and is part of the old Sugar Pine Railroad grade northeast of the reservoir. The four parcels in the proposal are surrounded mostly by the Stanislaus National Forest. Vanessa Parker-Geisman with the Stewardship Council said after the meeting that the recommendation does not mean the land is immediately turned over to the Forest Service......