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Links to articles IN THIS ISSUE
A New Vision For Forests? You Decide
TSC VS the Wildlands & Woodlands Vision
TSC Recommendations VS Wildlands & Woodlands
Vision
TSC and FSC - Questions You Should Ask
MA
Forestry in the News
True Forestry Forums or Information Control?
Forest Futures Visioning Process
(FFVP) Comments
AGS Reserve Working Group Recommendations
MA Forestry in the News
Tree Cutting in Quabbin May Have Gone
Too Far WFCR Local News - Bob Paquette (2010-02-12)
Massachusetts Forestry Practices Questioned WAMZ Public Radio New England News - Charlie Deitz (2010-02-11)
Westborough DCR Public Forum Sparks Controversy Westborough News -
Cassandra Zampini (Feb 09, 2010)
State rescinds controversial forestry email The Green Blog By Beth Daley
GLOBE STAFF (Feb. 3, 2010)
TSC
and FSC - Questions You Should Ask
1. TSC supports FSC
Certification, but the
Friends Network disagrees. Why? View DCR's
presentation, Quabbin’s
“Green” Certification: Justification, Impacts, and
Challenges in a
Changing Rural Economy and compare it to what
we've seen at Quabbin in
the past few months, STOP THE QUABBIN FOREST
MASSACRE. Did FSC provide good
stewardship for the Quabbin?
2. MA lost Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
Certification in April, 2009 because state agencies did not complete required planning and monitoring responsibilities. Additionally, there were a number of violations of best forestry practices and FSC principles observed and reported by vigilant forest advocates that must be addressed before the state is re-certified. But do public lands, set aside for conservation and recreation, really need commercial logging certification? Why would we want the expense of 3rd party certification? Can't the Bureau of Forestry provide good forestry without FSC?
3. The State does not require timber cut from public lands to stay in MA. FSC allows
state agencies to sell our trees to the highest bidder, which is why
trucks from Quebec are hauling away the trees from the Quabbin. With split firewood going for $300 a cord, shouldn't we keep MA timber and timber jobs in MA?
Rainforests of New York says. "FSC promises that their wood is procured in an “environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable way.” But, if you follow the paper trail, you’ll discover that FSC-certified wood is all too often riddled with controversy." Can we trust FSC?
Download pdf of the 2009 SCIENTIFIC CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS AUDIT.
True Forestry Forums or Information
Control?
The Friends Network asked DCR for forestry
forums in March 2008, because citizens observed a huge increase in
logging and poor logging practices in many of our parks and forests. We wanted
real forums with experts leading the discussions and full audience
participation.
Instead, DCR conducted the Forest Futures Visioning Process and then held public meetings to tell us what the Technical Steering Committee thinks is good forest management policy for public lands. The meetings were well attended, but the public never had a chance to ask questions of experts, or air alternate views in the true sense of a public forum.
Instead, a TSC representative presented a 10 minute overview of the FFVP draft vision recommendations. People were then shuttled into into discussion groups, where they were encouraged to talk about the TSC vision, but rarely was an expert or even a member of the TSC in attendance to answer questions.
Instead, pre-selected scribes wrote down comments, but never were people's comments written on a flip chart so that they could be reported back to the group at large—the only way to ensure that everyone hears what others have said, and assure that people have an opportunity to correct or add to the report.
We suggest that if you gave your comments to a scribe at one of the meetings, write them down again and send them to MODRDCRFFVP@umb.edu by February 22.
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