Legal logging is Illegal Logging

Cut no logs. Remove no native trees or plants in Buckland State Forest

This notice is for State Foresters; not just public visitors.

Massachusetts state lands need to be completely returned to the natural landscape. All forms of logging harm the forest. Forestry oversight harms the forest. We do not know how to do oversight; we must get out. Massachusetts forestry schools will always be contributing to the degradation of state lands. They continue to teach old school forestry and resource extraction. They cannot self-regulate.

We do not need you on State lands. Forests benefits the community without being logged, hunted or open to vehicles.

From the Mohawk Trail (State Route 2) you can clearly see a totally protected set-aside species' forest in the center of these mountains above the Deerfield River. Directly on the far side of these mountains looking southwest is Buckland State Forest which is "controlled" by the State of Massachusetts employed foresters and thus it is in danger of legal logging. One can walk cross-country through the forest from one to the other.  Forest protection ends outside of the Species' Forest.

This 21st century the Commonwealth of Massachusetts could have total state land protection, but it does not. Among other things, over a century ago, State foresters created the problems with tree plantations and selective logging. And today State foresters continue this ignorance by the creation of the ugly commercial forest triage "futures" plan.

Led by entrenched commercial foresters they divided state lands into three arbitrary resource driven gerrymanders: "parks", "preserves" and "woodlots".  None of these are set-aside as species' forests and therefore none of these, including Buckland State Forest, is a returned or returning forest.

The century has just begun and the old guard is still here. If individual State Foresters do not protect the species' forests then these foresters have no business being State foresters. They should quit their day jobs let others do conservation.

"If I am a conservationist then what exactly do I conserve?"

The End of Commercial Logging and Pivate Hunting in Massachusetts State Forests Doable.

Organic Buckland State Forest

Fantastic natural landscape of Buckland State Forest, Buckland, Massachusetts (US). This species’ forest is filled with forest storm debris. Most of the rotten logs are pieces of hemlock trees broken off several meters up rather than uprooted. This organic debris prevents human and AUHM (animals under Human management) traffic and thus the local species get all the benefits of forest decay. Buckland State Forest has not been logged in its interior for perhaps a century. We detected no tree stumps. Friends of Buckland State Forest demand that this forest remain a returned species' forest in perpetuity and that logging, hunting and trails not be built or those existing trails on the perimeter and the gravel road to the cell tower not be maintained. Other than removal, invasives, and non-native trees, we tell the state to just let this RSF (returning species' forest) be.

not for people improvements

No stumps

a RSF (returning species' forest)

tree standing free

Tree Farms of Evergreen Bad. Foresters are Wrong Again.

Buckland State Forest species' forest must be cured of tree farm past. New England forests must be returned as they were thousands of years ago. It is easy to do this. Europe leads the way for returning native forests. Massachusetts must catch up. State forestry is an embarrassment and all logging on state lands must end. 

Typical broadleaved spcies' forest ideal for Buckland State Forest.

'Wrong type of trees' in Europe increased global warming By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, from Science  05 Feb 2016:
Vol. 351, Issue 6273, pp. 597-600 DOI: 10.1126/science.aad7270

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35496350

April 2015 Species' Forest Circuit Tour in Cooperation with Friends of Buckland State Forest

SPECIES' FOREST CIRCUIT TOUR

Welcome forest mountain guardians, ethical vegans, ethical vegetarians, ethical conservationists, writers, all progressives and vegan atheists. Free and open to the public!

April 25, 10:00 AM, rendezvous at Deerfield River overlook, visitors center, 75 Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls, MA (US) Free, Public invited.
(802) 258 7845

Towns of Buckland, Conway, Ashfield, Conway Street, Summer Street, South Street, Conway Road, Shelburne Falls Road, Wilder Hill Road, Baptist Corner Road, March Road, Bray Road, Ashfield Street, and the mountains within.

See http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/oliver.php .

Same weekend as: Sunday, 4/26, New England Vegfest, Worcester, MA (US)

Illegal logging in Buckland State Forest

Logging without a logging plan.

There will be a public tour by car and on foot at a selected group of mountains in Massachusetts (US). The circuit will be the shortest public road circumnavigation of the selected mountains. On this day it will be ten miles by car stopping at a variety of locations. We will visit several “conserved” forests and learn that conservation means something different to those in control. From the outside forests may simply look the same, but these forest are not protected over time. In some cases you may return in a decade or so only to find the forest logged or gone. How can that be if they are “conservation” land? What is being conserved? You will learn that only a species’ forest set-aside is returned to nature complete. Only the species’ forest is conserved, restored and preserved for the Rights of Nature. There is always some Human purpose which always harms other forests. This tour is in cooperation with Friends of Buckland State Forest.

A species’ forest is of, by and for all the other native plants, animals, fungi and soil microbes which occupy or have occupied their forest. Why does species have an apostrophe?

Species Forest, Inc. is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization organized in Massachusetts, US. Please call Richard Stafursky at (802) 258 7845 for information or email rhstafursky@yahoo.com. New Web site is http://speciesforest.blogspot.com/, 

old Web site is http://wslfconwaymausa.blogspot.com/ [World Species List]

Important words for the Friends of Massachusetts State Parks

OCCUPY

RIGHTS OF NATURE

CLIMATE

DIVEST CARBON

Geneva Forum UN Right of Nature 2014

Conference in United Nations, December 2014 : A Universal Declaration of Rights of Nature ?

Nature

Divest Massachusetts Rally at the State House, Boston 2015

"Woodlands" Is A Term Used By Commercial Foresters.

LinkedIn Question

What have you done for the environment?

Buckland State Forest has been defined as a "woodlands" by logging interests. This designation will make it very difficult for Friends to stop commercial logging here, but Friends will try. For years commercial loggers have looked upon Buckland State Forest with envious eyes and they have quietly made their plans.

If you are not a member of LinkedIn it is easy to do and it is free. The above link will ask you to join.

The above question was answered by hundreds of people both government workers and ordinary people. Ordinary people are great contributors to projects and ideas because their job is not at stake. Too often we go to meetings where professional foresters and professional ecologists answer questions by simply referencing code, law, government policy, "best practice" management practices written by commercial foresters and many other "official" resource guides.

South River State Forest, Conway, MA (US) is only a few miles from Buckland State Forest. It is a little lower in altitude and it is adjacent to the Deerfield River. Other than that the forest is just about the same.

South River State Forest is about to be logged by private contractors. The public cannot trust the reports and studies done by the state. That is because logging in Massachusetts' lands are motivated and legislated by stakeholders and not ethical conservationists. A stakeholder is a person or organization which as a money or property interest in some action. Only ethical conservationists have an interest in the well being of the forest and do not intervene except for true management of human caused problems (such as invasives, forest diseases and non-native species). The healthiest forest is a species' forest (aka a natural forest). Consultants who are hired by the state, by definition, never are independent experts. They are always looking for the next paying customer and that is usually the State.

So check out these global and nationwide thoughts written by stakeholders and non-stakeholder alike.

Massachusetts Commonwealth state species' forest that are approved for logging are renamed "woodland" at the suggestion of commercial logging companies.  This renaming was intentional as to make it appear that logging of these species' forest was the true order of things. No, forests do not have such an innate resource purpose.

Letters and Comments 2014

Letters and Comments

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On Oct 27, 2014, at 10:47 PM, richard stafursky <rhstafursky@yahoo.com> wrote:

Sharl,

Thanks for the note. We are at Friends of Buckland State Forest, MA (US).

Fungi at nearby Flagg Mountain ghost subdivision state land.

We probably will not come to the FN Conference Dec. 6, 2014. For the last year we have been visiting Buckland State Forest from several vantage points. Currently our purpose is to find out the extent of human impact from hunting, snowmobiles and future logging. We probably won't have a plan to get these things banned soon. These are entrenched practices that will be hard to kill, so to speak. That is unfortunate, because they do harm the species' forest of Buckland State Forest. Right next door are Flagg Mountain, the Species List Forest and lands of NEFF. All are open to the public and all can be accesses by walking.

The ghost subdivision of Flagg Mountain is rife with invasive plants. If the nightmare of logging (selective or clearcut) happens those invasives would spread via logging roads to the sun-lit logged areas. The Species List Forest to the east has just about eliminated most of the invasive plants caused by a State illegal logging plan some 21 years ago. That was eight years prior to the Species List Forest being donated. If Buckland State Forest was logged we fear it would also give invasives more than twenty years to invade the area.

Next year we plan to check out reports that there are non-native Norway pine and European larch in BSF. None of us are botanists so it may take a while to confirm this. If there are significant number of non-native trees we will have to devise a plan for their removal and a plan to prevent non-native saplings from growing again. We do not know the extent of the early 20th century tree plantation and we can't even begin to guess on how to eliminate it and return the full canopy of a species' forest in perpetuity. There are several options to choose.

At this time we have only two members of Friends of Buckland State Forest. We have informed the Buckland Town Administrator of our and concerns. She has provided us with some helpful information. We have posted at least one event, but only one person has gone with us. There is a lot of competition from other forests open to the public in the area. In order to get the community involved in defending Buckland State Forest it will take some planning. Our goal is to return the forest complete. A returned species' forest is the healthiest forest. It is best for the climate and the human community. The MSJC has made it perfectly clear that simply by being conservation land all such lands benefit the community. We believe that Buckland State Forest can and should be such a place and it should join with the existing Species' List Forest in northern Conway as a model species' forest. A species forest is of, by and for all the other native plants, animals, fungi and soil microbes that occupy or have occupied that place.

Two years ago Susan and I participated in a FN Conference in Worcester. There was no opportunity for local groups to speak. We had expected that all of the FN Conference would be for friends participation. Instead we were an audience only. In 2015 perhaps this will be different. If so, I would be glad for Susan or me to make a presentation.

Our web site is not well viewed. We are working on this, too.

Best wishes,


Friends of Buckland State Forest
Richard Stafursky
155 Belmont Avenue
Brattleboro, VT 05301
rhstafursky@yahoo.com
802 258 7845 cell


On Monday, October 27, 2014 7:06 PM, Sharl Heller <slheller@comcast.net> wrote:


Hello Richard,

How've you been? Do you have a website or facebook page that we can link to from the Friends Network newsletter and website? Hope to see you at the FN Conference Dec. 6!

Thanks,

Sharl Heller, Facilitator
The Massachusetts Forest and Park Friends Network
http://www.networkingfriends.net

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Richard,

Thank you for the update and the link. 

We listened to the suggestions of friends groups and give more time now for groups to share what they are doing with the other groups.

You have a big job on your hands with little support. Keep up the good work.

Best,

Sharl

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