Stop promoting redwood harvesting. Cancel Redwood Kings.
- av: Randy Johnson
- mottagare: Animal Planet
In the Redwood forests of California, an illegal practice is taking place called burl poaching, where the burl at the base of the tree is sawed away with a giant chainsaw in minutes and hauled off on ATVs in the middle of the night. It is a big problem for the Redwood National and State Parks right now as they are under-staffed with park rangers. In the wake of the recent cases of burl poaching, the parks have closed the roads going through the park at night to deter poachers but they are still worried of further cuts. Burl wood is popular for coffee tables and other decorative pieces for homes. The significance here is that only 5% of the original old-growth forest remains due to 150 years of logging. (Jeff Barnard, AP; San Francico Chronicle; http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Redwood-park-closes-road-to-deter-burl-poachers-5288751.php).
On November 29, 2013, Animal Planet showed a pilot of a new reality show called Redwood Kings. This show is based on two brothers, Ron and John Daniels, who harvest deadwood from fallen redwood trees in California. They harvest 90% of their wood from fallen redwoods in the forest and landfills. Collecting deadwood in forests is good for preventing forest fires, but once you run out of deadwood, what is left to harvest? This doesn't imply Redwood Kings are doing any live cutting. The culprits suspected are drug addicts and/or people struggling in the economy. The main concern is whether the show has an influence on the spike in burl cutting.
Does this reality show influence any of the viewers in any way? A common phrase in the show is, "That will make some good wood." There is big money in coffee tables and other decorative pieces and it is hard to believe that this show would not spark an interest by some who are desperate for money to harvest some burl "nuggets". Redwood Kings does not address one word of burl poaching in their reality show and until they do, they are part of the problem. Animal Planet also needs to realize that their reality shows contradict their purpose to not only discover our world, but to preserve and to protect it.
In the Redwood forests of California, an illegal practice is taking place called burl poaching, where the burl at the base of the tree is sawed away with a giant chainsaw in minutes and hauled off on ATVs in the middle of the night. It is a big problem for the Redwood National and State Parks right now as they are under-staffed with park rangers. In the wake of the recent cases of burl poaching, the parks have closed the roads going through the park at night to deter poachers but they are still worried of further cuts. Burl wood is popular for coffee tables and other decorative pieces for homes. (Jeff Barnard, AP; San Francico Chronicle; http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Redwood-park-closes-road-to-deter-burl-poachers-5288751.php).
On November 29, 2013, Animal Planet showed a pilot of a new reality show called Redwood Kings. This show is based on two brothers, Ron and John Daniels, who harvest deadwood from fallen redwood trees in California. They harvest 90% of their wood from fallen redwoods in the forest and landfills. Collecting deadwood in forests is good for preventing forest fires, but once you run out of deadwood, what is left to harvest? This doesn't imply that Redwood Kings are doing the poaching. (The culprits suspected are drug addicts and/or people struggling in the economy.) The main concern is whether the show has an influence on the spike in burl cutting.
Does this reality show influence any of the viewers in any way? A common phrase in the show is, "That will make some good wood." There is big money in coffee tables and decorative pieces made from this now rare wood and it is hard to believe that this show would not spark an interest by some desperate for money to harvest some burl "nuggets". Redwood Kings does not address one word of burl poaching in their reality show and until they do, they are part of the problem. Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel also need to realize that their reality shows contradict their purpose to not only discover our world, but to preserve and to protect it.
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