As co-chair of the Forest and Public Lands committee for the state chapter
of the Sierra Club I would welcome anyone who would like to help us in our
effort to reduce and eventually eliminate logging on all state forests in
Ohio.  Seeing that less than 2% of timber harvested in Ohio comes from
public lands there is essentially no reason for this to occur other.
Sierra Club is an all volunteer organization and there are only a few of us
currently working to protect Ohio's 22 state forests and one national
forest from logging, fracking and other extractive activities.  We most
recently finished up a species inventory of a critical area in Shawnee
State Forest, Rock Run, that was proposed for logging over a year ago.  We
will be presenting our findings to the Chief of the Division of Forestry
next month with the hope that Rock Run will receive High Conservation Value
Area status.  We would like to follow up this effort with similar efforts
in other areas of the state under attack.  This is a chance for citizen
science to show it's value to the conservation effort.  If you'd like to
get involved we would welcome your support.  Please feel free to email me
at [log in to unmask]

Regards,
Dave Ackerman

On Sun, Aug 20, 2017 at 10:30 AM, Cheryl Harner <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dear Fellow Bird Enthusiasts,
>
> Speaking as Conservation Chair for the Ohio Ornithological Society, we
> take the conservation of birds pretty seriously.  Sometimes that even
> requires our speaking up for trees.  Unfortunately, OOS members have
> experienced first-hand some questionable work in the past by Ohio Division
> of Forestry. Remember our members’ dismay over cuts in Shawnee Forest (at
> Picnic Point), at Hocking Hills (a clear-cut at the trail leading into a
> State Nature Preserve) and the cutting of pine for the pulp wood industry
> at the Historic Gorge Overlook in Mohican.  Forestry often cites “forest
> health” as their reason for cuts, but their past actions speak louder than
> their words.
>
> As a birding society, Ohio Ornithological Society has spoken out before:
> we are not against the timber industry or the timbering of private lands.
> However, some of our public lands have suffered from poor judgment in the
> selection of timber cuts by the Ohio Division of Forestry.  We believe in
> this century, public forests should be considered as ecosystems and weight
> be placed on biodiversity over timber utility alone.  There is no shortage
> of timber, pallets, or pulpwood in Ohio.  If we never cut another stick of
> lumber off our Ohio Public Lands, the private timber industry in Ohio
> –currently producing 97% of Ohio’s timber products- is providing all the we
> need.
>
> Division of Forestry is currently holding Open Houses for their State
> Forests.  For more information about those, cut and paste this address into
> your web browser:
> http://www.outdoornews.com/2017/08/17/act-now-help-manage-state-forests/
>
> Meanwhile, please note naturalists and the local community have great
> concerns over the sweeping changes in the plans for Mohican Forest.  While
> much of the restoration of Mohican was done by planting non-native pines
> nearly a century ago, those novel ecosystems now offer habitat for nesting
> warblers and winter finches- as frequently noted on this list serve.
> Perhaps, it is time to change our Mohican management plan towards more
> recreation, like birding, and less toward industrial forestry.
>
> If you enjoy bird watching in Mohican, perhaps you will be moved to speak
> up for habitat preservation, too.
>
> Mohican-Memorial State Forest Open House
> Monday, August 21, 2017 from 4:30-6:30 pm
> Mohican Lodge and Conference Center
> 1098 Ashland County Road 3006
> Perrysville, OH 44864
>
>
> Thank you,
> Cheryl Harner
> OOS Conservation Chair
>
> ---
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> ______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________

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