Oregon ghost forest by sea may harbor climate clues

NESKOWIN, Ore. — As the beach near Neskowin washed away last winter, a ghost forest emerged that could give Oregon State University students a look at our past climate and, maybe, our future.

The forest has been preserved in the beach sands for thousands of years and consists of twisted chunks of wood emerging from the beach.

But now the program is on hold while the state reconsiders how it issues permits for such research.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department allowed students to take core samples from 30 trees and to cut wedges with a chain saw from up to six.

The research stopped when they were confronted by Toni Stevens, who has a vacation home there. Diane Bennett, a retired federal wildlife inspector, also objected, saying area residents are fond of the stumps.

“We call them stump people,” she said. “They are the sentinels of Neskowin.”

Researchers say they appreciate the concern but that the stumps are a valuable research source that is deteriorating.

The old stumps north of Lincoln City have drawn the interest of scientists and tourists alike.

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The painting is by Laura Tasheiko

The Billion-Tree Campaign

THE Billion-Tree Campaign has now set its target at 7 billion trees after being able to carry out the planting of two billion trees, double its original target, in just the first 18 months of the program. The campaign is the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) call to the nearly 7 billion people sharing our planet today to take simple, positive steps to protect our climate. Led by the UNEP and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the campaign was launched in 2006 in response to the threat of global warming, as well as to the wider sustainability challenges from water supplies to biodiversity.

The Plant for the Planet: Billion-Tree Campaign encourages the planting of trees in four key areas: Degraded natural forests and wilderness areas; farms and rural landscapes; sustainably managed plantations; and urban environments. It is a worldwide tree planting initiative, which is under the patronage of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Kenyan Green Belt Movement founder Professor Wangari Maathai and His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II, of Monaco. They have broken every initial target that was set and carried out tree planting in close to 155 countries.

Tree planting remains one of the most cost-effective ways to address climate change. It plays a vital role in regulating climate by absorbing carbon dioxide in the air. Trees also play a crucial role in providing a range of products and services to rural and urban populations, including food, timber, fiber, medicines, and energy as well as soil fertility, water, and biodiversity conservation. The Billion-Tree Campaign has become the private and public sectors’ concrete expression of concern for the phenomenon of global warming.

Realizing that a billion-tree target is not that ambitious after all, we echo the call for individuals, communities, business and industry, civil society organizations and governments to raise the billion tree initiative onto a higher level and restore the critical landscape of this planet, a landscape that will not only have aesthetic value, but more importantly, have the ability to preserve biodiversity and sustain the life of current and future generations

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The painting is by Laura Tasheiko