Group seeks forest restoration to cleanse planet

[DouginUtah]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110313/ap_on_re_us/us_cleansing_trees

The first third of the article...

COPEMISH, Mich. – Redwoods and sequoias towering majestically over California's northern coast. Oaks up to 1,000 years old nestled in a secluded corner of Ireland. The legendary cedars of Lebanon.

They are among the most iconic trees on Earth, remnants of once-vast populations decimated by logging, development, pollution and disease. A nonprofit organization called Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is rushing to collect their genetic material and replant clones in an audacious plan to restore the world's ancient forests and put them to work cleansing the environment and absorbing carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas largely responsible for global warming.

"In our infinite wisdom, we've destroyed 98 percent of the old growth forests that kept nature in balance for thousands of years," said David Milarch, the group's co-founder. "That's what we intend to put back."

Milarch, a tree nursery operator from the northern Michigan village of Copemish, and sons Jared and Jake have been producing genetic copies of ancient trees since the 1990s. They've now joined with Elk Rapids businesswoman Leslie Lee and a team of researchers to establish Archangel Archive, which has a staff of 17 and an indoor tree research and production complex.

Its mission: Clone the oldest and largest individuals within the world's most ecologically valuable tree species, and persuade people to buy and plant millions of copies — on factory grounds and college campuses; along riverbanks and city streets; in forests, farms, parks and back yards.

"The number of these ancient survivors that go in the ground will be the ultimate measure of our success," said Lee, who donated several million dollars to get the project off the ground and serves as board chairwoman. The group hopes donations and tree sales will raise enough money to keep it going.

[indiaxman1]

A noble effort...intelligent harvesting of our forests should go hand in hand with reforestation......many of the members of this forum practice this, and in each individual way, helps the overall nourishment of our planet

[CX3]

I wish them luck in re planting the big trees.  It is very important to respect what nature has to offer us, and to take care of it for future generations.  I just hope they arent the type that chains themselves to trees :D

[Gary_C]

"In our infinite wisdom, we've destroyed 98 percent of the old growth forests that kept nature in balance for thousands of years," said David Milarch, the group's co-founder. "That's what we intend to put back."

Nothing but fine sounding words with little to back up what he is proclaiming. Keeping nature in balance?

I sure will not be waiting for any of these cloned redwoods to grow in northern Minnesota. Perhaps they do not realize that trees are a product of their environment as well as heredity.

And todays environment in our forests by overwhelming choice by todays users includes four wheeler trails, not the worshiped "old growth trees.   :

[SwampDonkey]

What if I don't want redwoods, but red spruce, white cedar, yellow birch, sugar maple and hemlock? :D

[tyb525]

SD, those are obviously unnatural mutant species produced by our reckless destruction of "98% of our old growth forests"

[nas]

What great marketing.  Say what people want to hear, and you can sell a $2 tree for $20.

Nick

[ellmoe]

   Talk about a lack of genetic diversity. Either Nas is correct or they are well intentioned, but ignorant.
Mark

[Rocky_Ranger]

Reminds me of a meeting last year with some do-gooder's who were out to save the forests, I asked what are you saving them from?  It went down hill fast after that.... :D

[Bandmill Bandit]

Had and experience once in BC with a logger friend that was a about 20 years older than my self.

I rented a house on and acreage where he had his shop and kept his equipment for a couple of years. I did a fair bit of wrenching for him while I lived there.

He had a skidder  that was giving him grief and took me up to the landing to look at it. When we got about half way up the mountain at a spot that was tough to turn around there was a small group of Hippie/environmentalists that had blocked the road and had a couple of empty logging trucks on the way up stopped and a 3 loaded ones on the way down stopped as well. All 5 trucks were either Bobs or were working for him.

We got out of the pickup and walked up the the road block and asked what the trouble was. The Biotch that was the loud mouth told us we couldn't log there because it was burrowing owl habitat. Bob asked he if she had seen any owls and she said yes. Bob said just a minute I ll be right back and motion me to go back to the pick up with him. When we got back there and he flipped the seat forward and garbed a 12 gauge and told me to grab the other one and threw me an ammo belt. We loaded up and went back to the road block. You could tell the Tree Huggers were a bit nervous as we walked back up to the road block. Bob look at the loud mouth Biotch and literally growled "WHERE"! She said what do you mean where? "You said you saw owls! Show us where." He cocked the gun so I did the same.  They packed up in about 3 minutes and were out there. It was pretty funny actually. Burrowing owls that far north in BC? I doubt it!

Most of them do gooders are all the same. A little too much of  BC's "natural" high quality smouldering "grass" fogging up the space between their ears and nothing else to do.

 

[SwampDonkey]

We only had one group several years ago that were a group of college kids and a small number of natives that for some reason turned a 5000 ha blowdown salvage into a clearcut of old growth. The guy out at the highway, that ran an inn and gas station took a bunch to see old growth, an area that had never burned for a long time and showed them white cedar, black spruce and white pine unscathed by fires. Up where the blow down was it was white birch and balsam fir about 10" and some scattered spruce and jack pine with it that had burned 80 years before. Fire was not uncommon up there because I've seen 6 fires in the years I fished for trout in that region. ;) The group kinda lost steam after awhile and everyone lived happily ever after. They had a web page I discovered, and they had misnamed some of the lakes and hills they were describing. I commented on this on their site that they had no clue where they were. The site soon disappeared as well and all was forgotten. ;D

[CX3]

I think you all jumped on a "anti logging tree hugger" bandwagon pretty quick here.  I think you should read the whole article on what this company is actually doing.  i didnt read anything about them being real wackos

[barbender]

Sound slike slick business people with good marketing to me ;)

[Gary_C]

I think you all jumped on a "anti logging tree hugger" bandwagon pretty quick here. 

Not me.

I just pointed out the foolishness in believing that genetics was the answer to renewing old growth forests.

And if you ask the public what they want in the forests, it's not old growth. It's trails for their snowmobiles and four wheelers. 

[beenthere]

It appears to be a money-making endeavor, and it might work.

I just fear that AATA is getting a Fed. grant to set them up in business.

More power to them, if they can

"persuade people to buy and plant millions of copies - on factory grounds and college campuses; along river banks and city streets; in forests, farms, parks and back yards"

Quote from our newspaper article this morning.  Will take people parting with their money to buy into their plan.

They have a staff of 17 and an indoor tree research and production complex, so I suspect the Feds have been pouring in some tax dollars, but don't know that as fact.

[mad murdock]

I say that if they really are genuine about what they are preaching, they would do it for free, or just ask for donations, not charge a premium for trees they are "engineering" and selling for profit.  They may sound good by have a well focus grouped sales pitch, but in the end, it sounds like snake oil and window dressing to me, akin to the old argument over wild vs hatchery raised salmon, same argument different object over which to argue.

[Jeff]

I see a tease on our local news about this for a story tonight. I'll try to catch it.

[SwampDonkey]

The language in the article speaks of greenies to me. Sure, we don't have the acreage of those giant trees, but we never wiped them out of existence either. I bet there are redwood and Sequoia outside those set aside parks. They may not be several thousand year old ones, but trees do produce seed and regenerate and carry on.  As has been pointed out, just someone with a new marketing angle during tough times. But, I wonder how many will buy into it if they didn't already decide they couldn't reforest a part of their woodlot, city, or park already with trees readily available from most nurseries? Maybe they will reach some customers further afield, then there is always someone willing to step in to make it their local market to, using someone else's marketing idea.  Who knows.  ;D

[Gary_C]

Aren't the redwoods and Sequoias strictly a product of the particular environment they live in on the California coast? I don't think they have ever been grown anywhere else, at least not to those sizes.

[Ianab]

Aren't the redwoods and Sequoias strictly a product of the particular environment they live in on the California coast? I don't think they have ever been grown anywhere else, at least not to those sizes.

Exactly. They were tried as a crop tree here in NZ, and in certain "micro-climate" areas they grow very well, along the same lines as in their native habitat. But on most sites they were only average growers. They survive but nothing like the original California ones.
NZ has a quite similar climate to Northern California, but even here they only grow well in micro-climates.

Ian

[terrifictimbersllc]

I'd like to get a Jetta diesel so I can drive 4 times as much as I do in my F-350 PSD.  I'll look green as fresh cut walnut. But will I be?

[Mooseherder]

These people have been living in some trees off I-95 for almost a month now.
I shouldn't bring attention to them but the forest they're talking about doesn't cover many acres.
If I had to guess it is probably around 30 acres.  They are protesting the expansion of the Scripps research facility which is a Biomedical science company.  Palm Beach county gave this company a couple hundred millions dollars in land and tax incentives to come here.  Other companies are said to come because of Scripps.  They basically are just getting started because the Buildings are just getting finished.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB-9myq4h-c&feature=related

[Taylortractornut]

Sounds like a   green emu to me.             They sent a friend of mine with a tree planting business  about 3 weeks ago.   Wanting to sell  him trees for  18.00 dollars each for  planet cleansing and   the like.  The 18.00 dollars each was at a 100  or more bulk deal to.     He also told them that they wouldnt do well here in NE MS either.     THe call ended abruptly.

[SwampDonkey]

Here are some locations of redwood planted throughout the British Isles.

http://www.redwoodworld.co.uk/locations.htm

[mad murdock]

The company I work for does application work and other contracted helicopter work for commercial timberland owners in Humbolt Co. CA and other counties/areas where the redwoods grow.  There are privately held tracts of old growth redwood, but they are not managed (logged) anymore as it is not PC to do so.  There are lots of areas in Oregon where people have planted Redwood, they do well in their native clime, and do "ok" in other areas, but not as well as they do there.  People even put them in their yards here, and they just turn into limby things, not much good for anything but some shade, and job security for the tree service co. and the lawn care people.  As Swamp and others have stated, there are plenty of trees that do very well when properly managed.  We work for customers who can manage a forest of doug fir for example, and get a yield of over 60mbf/acre in 50-60 years.  I have seen it first hand. None of this kind of truth makes for good news though, unfortunately.