Monarch saviors

[Paul Cherubini]

Jim Mason wrote:

> People down there need firewood for heat and cooking, lumber for 
> construction of dwellings and fences and they also need to earn a 
> living.  One option to meet all those needs could be the harvest 
> and/or sale of timber products from land OUTSIDE the reserves 
> - if that option was available.  

Another option is to simply let the indigenous people living in the Monarch 
Sanctuary area continue to practice selective logging in the reserves
as they have for centuries.  

Rationale: A 1973- 2000 Vegetation Change Analysis study of one of 
the butterfly areas (Valle de Bravo) indicates little change has occurred 
over the past 30+ years: (copy and paste this URL into your web browser)
http://www.conabio.gob.mx/conocimiento/cambios_veg/doctos_ing/resultados_valle.html

Examples:

In 1973   52.2% of the land was covered by a pine or pine oak forest
In 2000   48.0% of the land was covered by a pine or pine oak forest

In 1973    7.7% of the land was covered boreal forest (oyamel fir)
In 2000    7.4% of the land was covered boreal forest (oyamel fir)

In 1973    27.0% of the land was used for agriculture
In 2000    29.3% of the land was used for agriculture

In 1973    0.1% of the land was classified as an urban area
In 2000    0.2% of the land was classified as an urban area

Not exactly a deforestation crisis. 

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

 
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