The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has released its Top Ten Most Endangered Places list. Included on that list are Georgia's rapidly-vanishing cypress forests. We strongly urge all citizens and government officials to forgo the use of cypress mulch and to use, instead, any of the many effective, environmentally-friendly and cost-efficient products on the market today.
"WHAT'S AT STAKE?
Georgia’s iconic wetland landscape includes trees over 1,000 years old; habitat for endangered species; ecosystem that naturally helps to prevent flooding
THE THREAT
Fueled by an increase in demand for cypress mulch, timber companies are chopping down Georgia’s iconic wetland forests faster than they can recover.
Cypress forests are icons of the southern wetland landscape and perform essential ecological functions, from capturing and storing floodwaters to providing habitat for endangered species. SELC has found that they are also suffering a decline, brought on in large part by an explosion in demand for cypress mulch. In an EPA-supported study of cypress forests in Georgia, we determined that harvested cypress stands often fail to regrow; once they are cut, the trees and the habitat they provide are lost forever.
SELC will soon release a report on the status of Georgia’s cypress forests and how they can be protected. High on our priority list is to educate consumers, retailers, and government officials on the need to ensure that cypress products are harvested in responsible and sustainable ways. Otherwise, we may lose one of the South’s most valuable ecological gems. " http://www.southernenvironment.org/about/top_10_2011/georgias_cypress_forests/
As many organizations work to save the nation's cypress, consumer demand drives the destruction onward. Please, before you purchase mulch, take a moment to learn more about the terrible costs to our environment. http://healthygulf.org/our-work/save-our-cypress/save-our-cypress-home
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