SAVE THE DATE AND REGISTER: “The Future of Forests and Trees in Clark County in Light of Climate Change” Forum
Forum Date and Time:
Thursday, January 30th from 5 – 6:30 pm Pacific Time
Location:
Remote Only via Zoom. Register via Eventbrite here.
Description:
Join Friends of Clark County for a panel discussion on the importance of preserving and growing our forests, as well as implementing a plan to plant and maintain our tree canopy. At one time, Clark County had abundant forest lands, but they have slowly been decimated by haphazard development, urban sprawl, and climate-related drought, disease, and fire, as well as tree removal on private property.
Today, over 3,000 acres of prime, carbon-sequestering forest land in Clark County is being threatened by multiple industry attempts to build more environmentally devastating mines, the Department of Natural Resources is auctioning off structurally complex legacy forests that have carbon sequestration superpowers, and developers think more of clearing land for homes and apartments than about the immense value of forests in our County. We also don’t yet have a plan for ensuring that urban tree planting includes healthy irrigation practices. Clark County, by law, has a duty to provide its residents a respite from the climate emergency and in doing so, must halt deforestation and INCREASE our urban tree canopy by stopping harmful practices and implementing thoughtful, proactive policy.
During this 90-minute remote session, we will hear from a group of esteemed panelists:
-Joshua Wright, Forest Campaigner from the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition
-Adela Miller, Neighborhood Trees Specialist for Vancouver Regions at Friends of Trees
-Hunter Decker, Clark County Forester
Facilitated by Mary Goody, FOCC Board Member and local forest advocate, the panel will discuss strategies and policies that protect our forests as well as our neighborhood trees, and how we need to shift how we think about tree planting in an era of more extreme weather. The panel will also discuss the Department of Natural Resources’ current practice of clearcutting legacy forest all over the state to fund Junior Taxing Districts, the threat of surface mining proposals to thousands of forested acres in Clark County, and debunk the idea that plantations of newly planted trees can sequester as much carbon as legacy forests.
Be sure to register via Eventbrite!