People of all political persuasions breathed a sigh of relief when Bush’s top political advisor and neo-con lightning rod Karl Rove recently announced his resignation from the White House.

For lovers of forests, that celebration may have come too soon!

Rove’s replacement, DC-insider Ed Gillespie, has made millions of dollars as a logging industry lobbyist for the past seven years.  In fact, one of the first well-heeled clients of Quinn Gillespie (his lobbying firm) was a logging industry group from British Columbia, Canada!

I’m guessing Mr. Gillespie isn’t a big fan of efforts to protect the Great Bear Rainforest.  And, he’s probably not super supportive of protecting the Boreal Forest either!

Now, only a fool would expect the Bush administration to suddenly embrace science-based, forward-thinking forest policies after Rove's departure.  After all, putting ideology before the public interest has become this administration’s trademark.  In some ways, Gillespie’s pick is just more business as usual from Bush and company.

Still, the revolving door between anti-conservation lobbyists and the Bush administration is spinning so fast, it's starting to make me dizzy.  I’m feeling queezy...is it 2008 yet?

-Rolf

News Flash!
The Bush administration misrepresented science to promote an ideological agenda favoring special interests that puts our environment at risk!

Yeah, I know this isn't exactly a surprise, but it just happened again.

Bush’s Fish and Wildlife Service is in the process of “revising” (read: ripping apart) the recovery plan for the Northern Spotted Owl – an endangered creature that depends on old-growth forests to survive.  Everyone knows that to help endangered wildlife, you need to protect habitat.  Nothing can survive without a place to live.

So, with the owl plummeting towards extinction, the obvious thing to do is boost protections for old-growth forests, right?  With breath-taking disregard for science and common sense, the Bush administration proposed logging more old-growth forests as part of its owl recovery plan.  In fact, they propose buzz-sawing about 25% of the owl’s remaining critical habitat.

And that’s supposed to help?

Now, I’m not sure why they thought they could get away with this.  In fact, when they commissioned an independent science panel to comment on their plan, the scientists said the Bush administration “failed to make use of the best available science and, in fact, appears to have selectively cited from the available science to justify a reduction in habitat protection.”

That’s polite, scientist-talk for: “Are you kidding?  You guys cheated to make excuses for more clear-cutting!”

Another review had this back-to-the-drawing-board feedback for the Bush administration: “Our main recommendation to (Fish and Wildlife) is to scrap the draft recovery plan, convene a panel of independent scientists and ecologists to redo the recovery plan and place on hold related forest policy decisions…”

Ouch!  That's a serious scientific slap-down.

The scientists have had their say; now it’s your chance.  Click here to send your comments on Bush's old-growth logging, uh, I mean “owl recovery” plan by this Friday, August 24th.

To read the official plan, click here.

And don’t worry – you don’t need to be an owl expert to comment on these plans.  In fact, if you passed 5th grade science, it seems you’re way out ahead of the Bush administration!

-Rolf 

The NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) held its summer convention in Austin last week.  Hundreds of companies showcasing everything from clarinets to karaoke machines set up shop in Austin’s cavernous convention center.  In the long rows of exhibitor booths were truckloads of instruments – like pianos and guitars – made from high-quality tone woods.

While most people never think about where the wood for musical instruments comes from, instrument manufacturers certainly do.  Many companies report that music quality wood is becoming tougher to get as forests worldwide are clearcut for toilet paper and two by fours.  This is where the Music Wood campaign comes in.

The Music Wood campaign is as common sense as it is creative.  It brings together musical instrument manufacturers to encourage their suppliers to produce sustainable Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood.  This conserves forests, secures premium prices for timber companies, and guarantees a long-term supply of quality wood.  In short, everyone wins.

Showing true environmental leadership, guitar companies Gibson, Taylor, Martin and Fender are leading the charge.  The fronts of their acoustic guitars, called “soundboards,” are usually made of Sitka spruce – a relatively rare tree that grows in a thin strip of rainforest along the Pacific coast.  Most of the fine-grained, knot-free Sitka spruce wood needed for soundboards was logged long ago.

The lion’s share of remaining music-quality Sitka spruce supply in the US is coming from one company in southeast Alaska.  Rather than liquidating their remaining old-growth forests, Gibson, Martin, Taylor and Fender are giving the company incentives and support to shift to FSC certified operations.

While the Music Wood campaign is still young, it’s attracting a lot of attention.  The buzz and momentum created from our work in Alaska could lead to success with other music wood tree species like rosewood, mahogany and ebony.

Whether you’re a lover of music, forests or both, you should check out the Music Wood website.  Through its interactive features, you can learn more about the woods used in musical instruments, FSC certification and forests across the world: www.musicwood.org