38 Degrees members meet the forests panel

No comments – I’m not surprised as they will not answer my question about the ranking system that they choose to ignore.

Interesting to find out how 38 Degrees members are keeping up the campaign to save our forests.  Hope to see more of the same!

Why are the only photos that we can see only those taken at one Forest Gathering. I sent some photos and I’m sure that many other groups from around the country – but where are they? 

That will be Tunbridge Wells or Tonbridge?

Brilliant! I am not certain if I ma missing something, but what proposals have been put forward on how the preservation of the forests are going to be financed in future.

The Forestry commission, is already proceeding to remove indigenous broad leaf and hardwood trees and replace them with Pine for the sole purpose of raising funds. The effect will have a an incredible negative impact on natural wildlife. They did something similar in the New Forest with devastating results and are now trying to replace many of the pines with typical British trees, broadleaved and hard wood.

In my opinion, a ring fenced fund should be established by the government purely for the purpose of the Forest management and development.The contributions would be conduction via the tax system, but every penny collected must never be used for any other purpose other than woodland management and preservation. At the moment all taxes are collected into one pot and then the Government decides the distribution to the various authorities and cutting others. That is why we still have potholes or the NHS and Care homes have insufficient funds, as the funds have been used to fund the Bankers bonuses

Firefox, you obviously don’t know what you are talking about.  Where are the Forestry Commission currently felling native broadleaved trees and replacing them with conifer?  They may be replanting conifer with conifer, but never broadleaves with conifer – it is against the Forestry Standard and given that all FC woods are UKWAS certified, they have to comply with that standard, otherwise they would lose the UKWAS certification (which they haven’t).

They did do this in the past as their original remit was to provide a timber resource for the nation and growing conifer was seen as the way to do it.  Government has now changed their remit and bidiversity enhancement is high on the list.

These days, Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) restoration to native species is a key aim of the FC and is what they are doing in the New Forest.

Ali Stirling answer this please “We are the government department responsible for the protection and expansion of Britain’s Forests and Woodland” is the statement and byline of all forestry commission headed paper etc etc …..SO WHY have the number of forest SHRUNK? Odd that neither the chairman of the Forestry Commission nor the head of the Rank Grp PLC could answer this at a meeting with about the sale of one of the last big tracks of forest in Kent. The woodland  wasn’t even losing money it was a grade “A” forest. Nearly every protest i have been involved with has been an ANOB or SSSI, yet it seems this means nothing when it is the government or big business that wants to build shops / car parks or anything they fancy.

The FACTS ARE SIMPLE if the forestry commission were doing a GOOD JOB we’d have more forests than say 10 years ago WE DON’T ! no if or buts WE HAVE LESS.

You make me laugh just like the Ranger who said “we wouldn’t have forests if they weren’t managed” i nearly wet myself….really didn’t the areas in Hurtwood control not cleared and managed after the 80′s hurricane regenerate fast than those managed. Oh and what did nature do before man evolved.

Sorry Ali your a mug (aka gullible fool) or more likely some corporate fannel merchant 

Ali Stirling answer this please “We are the government department responsible for the protection and expansion of Britain’s Forests and Woodland” is the statement and byline of all forestry commission headed paper etc etc …..SO WHY have the number of forest SHRUNK? Odd that neither the chairman of the Forestry Commission nor the head of the Rank Grp PLC could answer this at a meeting with about the sale of one of the last big tracks of forest in Kent. The woodland  wasn’t even losing money it was a grade “A” forest. Nearly every protest i have been involved with has been an ANOB or SSSI, yet it seems this means nothing when it is the government or big business that wants to build shops / car parks or anything they fancy.

The FACTS ARE SIMPLE if the forestry commission were doing a GOOD JOB we’d have more forests than say 10 years ago WE DON’T ! no if or buts WE HAVE LESS.

You make me laugh just like the Ranger who said “we wouldn’t have forests if they weren’t managed” i nearly wet myself….really didn’t the areas in Hurtwood control not cleared and managed after the 80′s hurricane regenerate fast than those managed. Oh and what did nature do before man evolved.

Sorry Ali your a mug (aka gullible fool) or more likely some corporate fannel merchant 

Ali Stirling answer this please “We are the government department responsible for the protection and expansion of Britain’s Forests and Woodland” is the statement and byline of all forestry commission headed paper etc etc …..SO WHY have the number of forest SHRUNK? Odd that neither the chairman of the Forestry Commission nor the head of the Rank Grp PLC could answer this at a meeting with about the sale of one of the last big tracks of forest in Kent. The woodland  wasn’t even losing money it was a grade “A” forest. Nearly every protest i have been involved with has been an ANOB or SSSI, yet it seems this means nothing when it is the government or big business that wants to build shops / car parks or anything they fancy.The FACTS ARE SIMPLE if the forestry commission were doing a GOOD JOB we’d have more forests than say 10 years ago WE DON’T ! no if or buts WE HAVE LESS.You make me laugh just like the Ranger who said “we wouldn’t have forests if they weren’t managed” i nearly wet myself….really didn’t the areas in Hurtwood control not cleared and managed after the 80′s hurricane regenerate fast than those managed. Oh and what did nature do before man evolved.Sorry Ali your a mug (aka gullible fool) or more likely some corporate fannel merchant

Ali Stirling answer this please “We are the government department responsible for the protection and expansion of Britain’s Forests and Woodland” is the statement and byline of all forestry commission headed paper etc etc …..SO WHY have the number of forest SHRUNK? Odd that neither the chairman of the Forestry Commission nor the head of the Rank Grp PLC could answer this at a meeting with about the sale of one of the last big tracks of forest in Kent. The woodland  wasn’t even losing money it was a grade “A” forest. Nearly every protest i have been involved with has been an ANOB or SSSI, yet it seems this means nothing when it is the government or big business that wants to build shops / car parks or anything they fancy.The FACTS ARE SIMPLE if the forestry commission were doing a GOOD JOB we’d have more forests than say 10 years ago WE DON’T ! no if or buts WE HAVE LESS.You make me laugh just like the Ranger who said “we wouldn’t have forests if they weren’t managed” i nearly wet myself….really didn’t the areas in Hurtwood control not cleared and managed after the 80′s hurricane regenerate fast than those managed. Oh and what did nature do before man evolved.Sorry Ali your a mug (aka gullible fool) or more likely some corporate fannel merchant

Come on lads, less angst, lets be very fair here, successive Governments have constantly poked, prodded, reorganised, shrank, cut away at budgets and generally made all state workers in the Countryside and Forestry feel like they cant do a good job because all job satisfaction is constantly being eroded by those lovely words of ‘economies and improvements’!
All the branches of Forestry in the last 10-15 years have made enormous strides in Biodiversity, ecology, leisure and recreation, bearing in mind that timber production is the main focus, and really commendable improvements have been made, now all threatened by this Co-alition Government who, like the last, only ever sees short term gain, and sustainability of resource are dirty words.
I could go on forever over the values we have with our woods and forests and simply, once lost from the public realm, forget it, as ‘private’ companies will strip their assests and then nothing of any value will be left for future generations.

Jim Rea FLS 

I’m not surprised the council wants to sell off packages of quantock woodland, they are completely inacapable of managing their land, over half the trees are dead and dying and they just don’t care about keeping THE FIRST AONB IN THE COUNTRY healthy and alive!

Note in the Guardian today that there is a major get out from protection for woodland so that any developer and builder can destroy habitat. The cynicism is breathtaking:

Planning permission should be refused “unless the need for, and benefits of, the development in that location clearly outweigh the loss”.

So that’s no protection except for political fund of a certain party then.