Court ruling halts all woodcutting in forest | Silver City Daily Press
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Communities adjacent to the Gila are bracing for the worst after all woodcutting in the Gila National Forest was suspended last week. The suspension came as defendants in a lawsuit — the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — respond to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Raner C. Collins that says the agencies have not fulfilled their responsibility to protect and improve habitats for the federally listed Mexican spotted owl.
The ruling means fuelwood cutting and associated permits, logging and timber sales, tree thinning and prescribed burns are all halted indefinitely — in all national forests across New Mexico, not just in the Gila."
Read the entire article at the posted link.
This is a big issue around here that has many people concerned and has caused firewood prices to rise dramatically in the past week.
It could be good for some folks, llike me, who hold private land with trees that can be cut. I am not going in to the firewood business though.
Prices in Gallup yesterday were observed to be 250 to 275 a cord for juniper firewood. Last year prices were 175 to 200 a cord.
I already caught and kicked out 2 pairs of guys trying to sneak onto private land I own or manage to cut firewood. My security systems won't be discussed here, except to say that it isn't safe to intrude on my side of the fence.
Locally, this is a very serious issue, there isn't any viable options to heating with wood for most of us.
"
Communities adjacent to the Gila are bracing for the worst after all woodcutting in the Gila National Forest was suspended last week. The suspension came as defendants in a lawsuit — the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — respond to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Raner C. Collins that says the agencies have not fulfilled their responsibility to protect and improve habitats for the federally listed Mexican spotted owl.
The ruling means fuelwood cutting and associated permits, logging and timber sales, tree thinning and prescribed burns are all halted indefinitely — in all national forests across New Mexico, not just in the Gila."
Read the entire article at the posted link.
This is a big issue around here that has many people concerned and has caused firewood prices to rise dramatically in the past week.
It could be good for some folks, llike me, who hold private land with trees that can be cut. I am not going in to the firewood business though.
Prices in Gallup yesterday were observed to be 250 to 275 a cord for juniper firewood. Last year prices were 175 to 200 a cord.
I already caught and kicked out 2 pairs of guys trying to sneak onto private land I own or manage to cut firewood. My security systems won't be discussed here, except to say that it isn't safe to intrude on my side of the fence.
Locally, this is a very serious issue, there isn't any viable options to heating with wood for most of us.