09/24/07 Environmentalists are Logging ?

Oxymoron code green! Non profit environmental groups are profiting from logging! The Conservation Fund among others is selectively cutting redwoods from thousands of acres that they now own in Mendocino County California. The Fund acquired the holdings through smart real estate transactions involving private investors and timber companies. To obtain the financial clout to purchase these massive tracts the Conservation Fund took advantage of creative financing and is repaying portions of their loans through timber harvests. The Redwood Forest Foundation obtained a $65,000 million dollar loan the conventional way, convincing the Bank of America they were a sound investment. Environmental logging while appearing hypocritical allows groups to selectively sell young trees that then provide funding for stream, habitat and in the case of the Conservation Fund, salmon restoration. The Fund also expects to sell carbon credits to energy suppliers meaning not only have these savvy environmental groups figured out how to profit from the trees they cut but those they don't.