The toll free number for all of our elected officials in Washington, D.C. is (1866) 220-0044.
Our Dead & Dying Trees
Welcome to the Mendocino County, CA Dead & Dying Trees Section of the ADC Website
ALERT – FIRE HAZARDS: THE DEAD & DYING TREES IN MENDOCINO COUNTY
The fire hazards from the dead and dying trees throughout Mendocino County is increasing each year. This decline is increasing in scale. Nothing is being done about this problem by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors or the local city, county, or state agencies who should have taken action on this issue, when brought to their attention, in 2003. One lightning strike could start fires in some of these areas which could destroy homes and watershed areas.
Thus, we need to begin to address the problems associated with tree decline here in Mendocino County rather than waiting until we lose more of them...especially our Redwoods, Oaks (there is a huge decline here in Oak Trees not caused by Sudden Oak Death Syndrome), Manzanita, Douglas Fir and other types of trees and plants. The list is a long one involving many types of tree and plant species...along with backyard garden production and even rose bush declines in some areas.
Almost our entire county is seeing this type of decline...and it is being ignored by all of our elected officials who have refused to go on tree tours to see the decline and the dead trees standing or falling down. Tree Decline Photographs: http://www.agriculturedefensecoalition.org/?q=image/tid/9
See the ADC Section of this website for more tree and wildfire information:
http://www.agriculturedefensecoalition.org/?q=dead-and-dying-trees
There will be several upcoming events in 2012 (see this website and local newspapers for times and locations), to discuss this issue about actions we can all take to begin to address this issue in Mendocino County. (Note Lake and other counties in California are having some of the same similar problems.)
The Following Article was Written by Rosalind Peterson on September 15, 2003, and has been updated to represent the current status of trees in Mendocino County at this time. Most of the article was not changed and is in its original form because the information, other than more dead and dying trees being found at this time in Mendocino and other counties, is current and correct.
Ms. Peterson was a Keynote Speaker at the 60th Annual DPI/NGO Conference on Climate Change (New York on September 5-7, 2007.) She spoke about agriculture and the negative impacts of experimental weather modification programs on tree and plant health, along with other important issues. Since then she has presented her United Nations Power Point Presentation to colleges, universities and interested groups. She has also been interviewed on numerous radio and television programs
This article was first published in the Ukiah Daily on Journal on September 15, 2003 & then updated and Published by NewsWithViews.com on July 27, 2007.
OUR DEAD & DYING TREES
Many trees have died or are in the process of dying in large areas across the United States and in Alaska. What is triggering such a broad decline and die-off response to entire suites of plant and tree communities?
Whether in forest lands, in public parks, along rivers and streams, in watered areas, golf courses or on private property, our trees are showing signs of major health problems or dying in record numbers. In some areas the majority of trees have died and left entire watersheds in jeopardy.
Allan Buckman, Associate Wildlife Biologist, Central Coast Region, California Department of Fish & Game, has been seeing vegetation changes and climate shifts over wide areas of Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, and Lake Counties, in California, for several years, that are not normal to this area. As a wildlife biologist, recently retired from assignment in Sonoma and Lake Counties, Mr. Buckman completed field reviews of projects, land acquisition, and animal census over wide areas within these counties, and has had over 35 years of field experience here and in the North Bay areas of California. [7]
Mr. Buckman noted: “…In the past I have seen localized die-off of plant communities from a myriad of sources, and there tends to be a trend toward one to several problems at a time, and it varies year to year. But I have never seen the present condition of wide spread decline in almost all special, in all areas, from a wide assortment of insects, fungus, molds, mildews, bacteria and virus. I have seen areas where every tree and shrub in a drainage area has some form of health problem…”
Mr. Buckman took vegetation samples from one such area in Lake County, from chamise, ceanothus (buck brush), red bud, laurel, yellow willow, black willow, elderberry, leather oak, black oak, blue oak, interior live oak, walnut, Yerba Santa, Manzanita, and toyon. Mr. Buckman, “…found similar sites in Sonoma County that included live oak, valley oaks, ceanothus, chamise, pears, apples, plums, roses and a number of ornamentals. The “…larger question of just exactly why they are all infected, and what it is that could trigger such a broad response to an entire suite of plant communities…” remains unanswered.
Mendocino County trees and shrubs are also showing the same declines as both Lake and Sonoma counties in California. These symptoms have been documented since 2002, (by California Skywatch), both in pictures and videotape showing the massive changes that have taken place in Northern California. Redding, California tree areas are showing declining Douglas Fir and Oak (without Sudden Oak Death Syndrome), tree health. These impacts are accelerating faster and can be noted in the number of trees showing symptoms, dead trees and the number of trees that have fallen down under unusual circumstances. (Unusual clumping and blow down of branches and trees are becoming more common.) http://www.agriculturedefensecoalition.org/?q=image/tid/9
Many California Redwood Trees across wide areas are dying or showing signs of severe stress. Greg Guisti, the University of California forest advisor for Mendocino County noted in a Ukiah Daily Journal Article dated May 8, 2002: “…There are also many redwood trees in town that are showing signs of widespread disease…” The questions remain unanswered: Why?
Trees are being cut down in record numbers across the United States without anyone doing the studies to determine why these trees are dying and what is causing this problem.
Fires are burning hotter and are more devastating since the late 1980s, and the dying of the trees is certainly aggravating this situation.
Mr. Buckman noted: “I think we are in for big changes, and I think we should be on this ‘like a duck on a June bug’. I think this is as serious as it gets, and we need to act quickly to document the facts and take corrective actions…”
Sudden Oak Death, now blamed for many tree problems, is found rarely or not at all in some counties, and SOD diagnosis does not explain the widespread decline in Oak tree health in trees and counties not infected with SOD, nor does it explain the broad decline and die-off response in trees across the United States. In addition, many varieties of trees that are dying here and across the United States are not infected with SOD.
In an article in the Ukiah Daily Journal written by Mark Hedges, titled “Fir Trees Under Attack”, some of the tree symptoms are listed. In his interview with Jack Marshall, a forest pathologist for the California Department of Forestry, he noted “…a few common things going on with the Douglas Fir relative to dry portions of this county, maybe Lake County and southern Humboldt…” However, it should be noted that the impacts are also found throughout these counties not just in the “dry” areas. Marshall, according to the Ukiah Daily Journal article also stated: “…tree-killing insects do not usually attack a healthy stand of trees unless individual trees are somehow stressed or some other pathogen is degrading the health of the tree…”
What is the common dominator for deteriorating tree health in so many areas of the United States? Air pollution, white haze, climate change, increasing UV radiation, higher humidity and reduced photosynthesis caused by persistent jet contrails producing increasing man-made clouds, jet fuel emissions from increasing military jet traffic over Mendocino County [6], lack of direct sunlight reaching the Earth from man-made clouds (NASA), or climate change produced by persistent jet contrails? [5]
There are over 50+ weather modification programs ongoing, according to NOAA records, in the United States. What impact does this chemical manipulation of our weather have on the regional microclimates that are needed for tree, plant, and agricultural crop health, and more consistent yearly rainfall and fog along our coastlines?
http://www.agriculturedefensecoalition.org/?q=weather-modifications
Artificial weather modification through the use of chemicals can affect all of us by reducing water supplies, changing agricultural crop production cycles, reducing crop production, and water availability. Since most experimental weather modification programs use chemicals released into the atmosphere the public could be subjected increasingly toxic or unknown substances that could adversely impact agricultural crops and trees.
Global dimming and the persistent contrails, that produce man-made clouds, may have serious impacts on crop production. A recent corn crop study in Illinois shows that cloud cover reduces corn crop production while direct sunlight increases production.
The dead and dying trees, dead branches, dying or shrubs and bushes in poor health, is turning some of our forests into torches when touched by fire. Why are our public officials ignoring this problem…not taking tree ring and soil samples to find out why are trees are stressed and dying?
What has caused this ecological imbalance and what steps are being taken to determine what is stressing our trees? So far the typical response is “drought and bugs” or "climate change". And the typical response is has not led to finding a solution, investigating the real causes of tree deaths and decline other than a broad statement that no research is going to take place to discover the cause.
Elected officials have refused to take tree tours in Mendocino and Lake Counties for years. If they took a tour it would trigger an investigation. (No Tour - No Investigation!) What happens when an enormous fire hits some of the these areas in the future with a possible loss of lives? They will say that they didn't know about this problem? Yes, that will be their answer.
Many areas where trees are in decline have had normal hundred year rainfall totals. Healthy trees resist pathogens and bugs. Many state and federal government “officials” will talk about the decline “off the record” but are afraid to speak out because they fear the loss of their jobs or demotion. Why?
It should be noted that, according to Charles Little, in the 1995, book, Dying of the Trees, that: “Aside from oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, other strange elements (besides vanadium) showed up in the core samples of the spruce and maple-elements that do not occur in natural forest systems, such as arsenic and barium…cadmium, zinc, lead and copper-were found, too…” Aluminum, which is increasingly being found in required water samples taken by local water districts in Mendocino County, other California counties, and Arizona might be, “…the most toxic of all…” to our trees. And yet, few if any government agencies are taking soil, tree ring, or water samples to find out what is negatively impacting our trees and plants and if aluminum is one of the causes of their decline. [1]
Charles Little notes in his book: “As it happens, aluminum is a common constituent of forest soils almost everywhere, but it is ‘locked up’ in aluminum silicates, and in this compound form is not available to tree and other plants, and therefore is no danger to them. But after the acid rains came…the silicates were broken down, and the aluminum was freed to be taken up by trees and plants. The metal kills the roots first. This means that trees can no longer absorb and transport needed nutrients, such as phosphate, calcium, and magnesium-essential fertilizers that are themselves leached away from the soil should by acid deposition…. The trees are weakened and can be invaded by insects or pathogens or succumb to extremes of weather-or all of the above, in which case they die…”
We are not sure exactly what is stressing our trees here but taking tree ring samples and soil samples are a beginning. With increasing air pollution in our local counties the impacts may be greater than we suspect and all of our local, state and federal representatives need to be taking a closer look at this looming problem…not just recommending the cutting down of trees (Senator Dianne Feinstein Supported Cutting Down Dead & Dying Trees in Lake Tahoe-No Money for Tree Decline Studies), in our watershed areas without investigating the reason for the losses.
High levels of UV Radiation are also showing up in wide areas across the United States. This type of radiation can also be detrimental to tree health, growth rates, and stress tree in other ways. NOAA/National Weather Service puts current UV Index Forecasts on its websites. The UV exposure level in increasing throughout the United States. Could jet fuel emissions, which contain nitric acid that depletes beneficial ozone in our atmosphere, be one of the major culprits in this increase in UV radiation reaching the earth? Mr. Buckman noted: “…UV Index Forecasts (NOAA Climate Prediction Center)…the data is quite shocking. We live in an area that regularly has Solar Noon Hour UV levels of 10 to 11 that are listed as “VERY HIGH” …Changes in UV light could easily trigger such a response, and in fact could cause major vegetation community shifts. Why are UV levels elevated?…” [8]
Replanting will be one answer only if we can determine what is causing the problem. Newly planted trees will die as well, as noted in some areas, one of which is in Redding, California. Before it is too late we need to do those tests and work to mitigate these impacts before we lose more trees and increase the fire hazards in our respective counties. If we don’t find a solution this danger could increase as more trees decline in health and die.
We also have a loss of pollinators and bees in the United States which could also be detrimental to plants and trees, especially to agricultural fruit trees and crops. http://www.agriculturedefensecoalition.org/?q=honey-bees
Chemically based weather modification programs, atmospheric heating and testing programs, persistent jet contrails and the man-made clouds they produce [2], that raise humidity and change micro-climates, could be disrupting tree and plant health across the United States and causing a decline in pollination by reducing the number of pollinators, like bees. Persistent jet contrails also reduce the amount of direct sunlight reaching the earth thereby reducing the photosynthesis process that is need for all plants and trees to grow properly and produce agricultural crops.
Many of our state and federal government agencies know about these problems and are hiding them from the public or not doing the testing to find out why our trees and plants are stressed. Standard answers that don’t make sense are handed out to the public as a placebo in place of real investigations. Before you cut down or trim your dead and dying trees ask the hard questions…find out about what is happening to the trees in your national parks and other areas. Ask the hard questions and demand answers.
The public pays the salaries of our government officials. It is time that they acted in our best interest to protect our trees and plants. And we must let our elected representatives know that some of our government agencies are under pressure to change scientific reports and toe the political party line or they will lose their jobs.
We elected our representatives to protect the public interest and our commons, whether air, water, soil, trees, plants, agriculture or atmosphere, from being used for personal gain and questionable private, university, and military experiments. Our elected officials must protect our natural resources and the public health first. Right now our elected officials appear to be protecting political corporate interests, while accepting contributions from their paid lobbyists, over the rights of American citizens.
Pictures of dead and dying trees have been pouring in from many states including Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington, Alaska and Virginia. It is time to take action now. Internet research under “tree decline, type of tree, and tree death, by county and state, will reveal tremendous numbers of trees in decline or dead, not only in the United States but around the world.
IT IS TIME TO FIND OUT WHY OUR TREES ARE STRESSED AND UNABLE TO RESIST PESTS AND PATHOGENS! CONTACT YOUR LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES. ASK THEM TO AUTHORIZE AIR, TREE, WATER, AND SOIL TESTING. We need answers to the questions – not just be told to wait, watch our trees die and then be cut or burned down by forest fires.
1) Book: THE DYING OF THE TREES, by Charles E. Little, Penguin Books – 1995
2) NASA October 2005 Newsletter, Page 8 states: “…Clouds are the largest variable controlling Earth’s atmospheric temperature and climate. Any change in global cloud cover may contribute to long-term changes in Earth’s climate. Contrails, especially persistent contrails, represent a human-caused increase in the Earth’s cloudiness, and are likely to be affecting climate and ultimately our natural resources…” NASA October 2005
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NASA Studies: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=4435
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http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/apr/HQ_04140_clouds_climate.html
3) Popular Science Magazine, November 2005, “Can We Stop Storms?”
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/c955700641f87010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html (Note Experimental Programs)
4) Persistent jet contrails change our weather. We see it every time we are “blitzed” by jets leaving persistent jet contrails that soon cover Mendocino County skies with white haze and man-made clouds. This covering lowers daytime temperatures, raises night temperatures, and also increases humidity in Mendocino County as noted in historical research of weather, rainfall and humidity data in our area from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office at Lake Mendocino.
The unusual lack of freezing temperatures at night in the winter of 2005 – 2006 resulted in a fruit tree crop production loss. It is believed that the lack of direct sunlight reaching the earth from persistent jet contrails (we have had only three days free of persistent jet contrails between January 1st and March 25, 2007), may have resulted in a reduction in photosynthesis which has retarded native grasses from growing normally as they would if direct sunlight were hitting the earth and providing the energy that grass (from crops to rangeland grasses), needs to grow.
5) January 18, 2006 – Farm Bureau-Lack of Winter Chill Hours:
http://www.cfbf.com/agalert/AgAlertStory.cfm?ID=512&ck=10A7CDD970FE135CF4F7BB55C0E3B59F
6) SUBSONIC JET EMISSIONS REPORT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY PA420-R-99-013 - Final Report "Evaluation of Air Pollutant Emissions from Subsonic Commercial Jet Aircraft", U.S. Environmental Protection Agency April 1999. Agriculture, Public Health & Aircraft Emissions:
http://www.epa.gov/oms/regs/nonroad/aviation/r99013.pdf
SUBSONIC JET EMISSIONS REPORT
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY PA420-R-99-013 - Final Report "Evaluation of Air Pollutant
Emissions from Subsonic Commercial Jet Aircraft", U.S. Environmental Protection Agency April 1999.
Excerpts from this report are reprinted below:
"Public Health and Aircraft Emissions":
"Ultimately, EPA's principal concern in evaluating and controlling (jet fuel) emissions is the preservation of human health and, secondarily, the protection of public welfare (including protection against damage to crops, vegetation, animals, and buildings)...In particular, they have significant concerns regarding the effect of NOx on local and regional environments. Tropospheric NOx has multiple environmental quality impacts…contributing to ground-level O3 and PM, but also air toxic concentrations, excess nitrogen loads to sensitive water bodies, and acidification of sensitive ecosystems (EPA 1997a)." (PM = Particulate Matter)..."
“Table 1.2 Representative Environmental Effects:
“…Ozone- Crop damage, damage to trees and decreased resistance to disease for both crops and other plants. (Ground-level ozone interferes with the ability of plants to produce and store food so that growth, reproduction and overall plant health are compromised. By weakening trees and other plants, ozone can make plants more susceptible to disease, insect attacks, and harsh weather ...Ground level ozone can also kill or damage leaves so that they fall off the plants too soon or become spotted and brown...")
Nitrogen Oxides- Acid rain, visibility degradation, particle formation, contribution towards ozone formation. NO2 is an important precursor to both ozone and acidic precipitation, which harms both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems...NOx also plays a role in the formation of acid rain. Acid rain causes surface water acidification and damages trees...NOx contributes to the formation of particles in the atmosphere, with the resulting health and visibility effects...)”
7) “Dying Trees & Plants, Man-made Clouds, and the Bio-Restoration Alternative.”
Written and Presented by ALLAN BUCKMANN, President, Microbe Tech, Inc.
Presented on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 during the UNDPI-NGO Conference at the United Nations, NYC.
Workshop: The Wild Cards in Climate Change: Weather Warfare; Geoengineering and ENMOD
"CLIMATE CHANGE: HOW IT IMPACTS US ALL"
60th Annual DPI/NGO Conference - United Nations, New York - Keynote Workshop Event
http://www.lightmillennium.org/21st_22nd/abuckmann_cchange.html
Written and Presented by ALLAN BUCKMANN
To Contact Allan Buckmann: E-Mail: AB <7dog@sbcglobal.net>
8) EPA UV Radiation Websites: http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/uvradiation.html
http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/uvindex.html