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Aussie council to pay homeowners $200 every year to save trees

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 Homeowners could be paid hundreds, or even thousands of dollars a year for keeping large, native trees on their property
 under a new plan approved by an Aussie council
 .


 The City of Canning, in Perth’s southeast, voted in favour of the proposal on Tuesday in a bid to preserve the area’s shrinking tree canopy. Under the scheme, landowners would be paid $200 for each registered tree every year.


 “We’re incentivising people to preserve significant trees on their own private property,” Mayor Patrick Hall told
 6PR Breakfast
 on Thursday. When given the example of a property owner who has six large trees on their land, Hall said as long as they meet the criteria, the owner would receive $1,200 per annum from the city “forever”.


 The LGA has one of the
 lowest levels of tree canopy cover in Perth
 — less than eight per cent. As well as trying to preserve existing trees, the city has set a goal to plant more than 60,000 new trees over the next 20 years.

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 Mayor voted against tree preservation plan
 
</h2>

 The move was not unanimous, with Hall revealing it was he who voted against the plan — but not because he “hates trees”.


 “I was the one person that voted against it, but not because I don’t like trees. It’s really about the governance of it. There were just too many questions for me that were unanswered, about the potential cost of it, the legality of it,” he said.


 One of the mayor’s biggest concerns is that the scheme will favour wealthy residents on already established, leafy blocks, while unfairly overlooking those in smaller, newer developments.

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 “I’ve been watching
 social media
 , people are saying it doesn’t apply equally across the city,” he said. “Some people live on small blocks and are battling to pay their mortgages… whereas people in multi-million dollar properties in other parts of the city are the fortunate people that will benefit from this the most.


 “As the mayor, the decision has been made, I now support the decision of the
 council
 , I have to, that’s the convention.”

<ul>
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 Fate of 80-year-old tree to be decided after neighbourhood uproar
 
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 Council 'threatens' man with $8k fine amid camping crackdown
 
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</ul>
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 Only 'significant' trees eligible for payment
</h2>

 Under the plan, a registered tree cannot be removed without council approval, however it remains unclear what would happen if the property is sold.


 “If an owner wanted to develop that property down the line and was hell bent on removing those trees from the register, we have no idea whether or not it would be successfully defended by the city at court,” Hall told 6PR Breakfast.


 A nominated tree must be assessed before it can be added to the register, with strict criteria around what trees are eligible for a payment.


 “They have to be a significant tree, they have to be a native tree, there’s a raft of different criteria there. Very large, old trees, they’re the ones that council is looking to preserve on private property.”


 Currently, the 165 trees on the register are all on council land in streets or parks — none are privately owned. In a previous meeting, Councillor Ben Kunze argued private property owners are hesitant to register trees “due to a perception that the value of their property will be negatively impacted”.


 
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This article originally appeared on Yahoo News Australia at
https://au.news.yahoo.com/aussie-council-to-pay-homeowners-200-every-year-to-save-trees-225602459.html

Aussie council to pay homeowners $200 every year to save trees

Unknown conservation, government regulations, home and property, local news, trees

Homeowners could be paid hundreds, or even thousands of dollars a year for keeping large, native trees on their property under a new plan approved by an Aussie council . The City of Canning, in P…

Scientists Revive Woolly Mammoth Genes, Unveil Adorable Woolly Mice

<img data-document-id="cms/api/amp/video/AA1AqrDF" data-reference="video"/>

 Extinction might be permanent, but salvation could be close at hand. The biotechnology firm Colossal Biosciences is working on using genetic engineering to create creatures that look like long-gone species such as the woolly mammoth.


 Mammoths with their shaggy coats, which vanished around 4,000 years ago, used to wander across the frosty terrains of Europe, Asia, and North America. In 2021, Colossal unveiled an ambitious initiative aimed at bringing back both the woolly mammoth and the dodo bird from extinction. Following this announcement, the organization shifted focus towards pinpointing crucial characteristics of these extinct species through examination of old genetic material. According to Ben Lamm, who leads the firm as CEO, they aim to integrate those identified features via genetic modification into contemporary organisms.


 This method has received varied feedback from scientists, with some doubting its possible advantages for conservation initiatives.


 "You're not truly reviving anything; you're not restoring the ancient past," stated Christopher Preston, an environmental and wildlife specialist from the University of Montana, who was uninvolved with the study.


 On Tuesday, Colossal revealed that their researchers successfully edited seven genes at once.
 mice
 Embryos were used to develop mice possessing long, dense, woolly fur. These enhanced rodents were playfully referred to as the "Colossal woolly mouse."

<img data-document-id="cms/api/amp/image/AA1AeBPf" data-reference="image" src="https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1AeBPf.jpg"/>

 The findings were uploaded online; however, they haven't been published in a scholarly journal nor reviewed by fellow researchers independently.


 "The achievement 'is really quite impressive from a technological standpoint,'” noted Vincent Lynch, a biologist at the University of Buffalo, who did not participate in this study.


 Scientists
 have been modifying mice at a genetic level since the 1970s, however, recent technologies such as
 CRISPR
 “render it much more efficient and simpler,” stated Lynch.


 The team at Colossal examined DNA databases containing information about mouse genes with the aim of pinpointing those associated with hair texture and fat metabolism. According to Beth Shapiro, who leads scientific efforts for Colossal, "These genetic variants already occur naturally within certain populations of living mice." However, she added, "We combine all these elements into one mouse."


 They selected the two traits since these mutations probably relate to cold tolerance — an attribute that woolly mammoths needed for survival in their prehistoric environment.
 Arctic
 steppe.


 Colossal mentioned that they concentrated on mice initially to verify if the procedure is effective before possibly progressing to modify the embryos of other species.
 Asian
 Elephants, which are the nearest modern cousins to woolly mammoths.

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 However, due to Asian elephants being an endangered species, numerous procedures and bureaucratic hurdles must be navigated before any plans can proceed, noted Lamm from Colossus, whose firm has secured more than $400 million in financing.


 Independent specialists doubt the concept of "de-extinction."


 "You could potentially modify the fur of an Asian elephant or adjust it for colder climates, but this wouldn’t recreate a woolly mammoth; instead, you'd just be transforming an Asian elephant," stated Preston from the University of Montana.


 Nevertheless, the enhancement of precise gene editing in animals might serve other purposes for conservation efforts or agricultural practices involving livestock, according to Bhanu Telugu, an expert in animal biotechnology from the University of Missouri who did not participate in this recent study.


 Telugu expressed his admiration for Colossal's technological advancements that allowed scientists to identify precisely which genes to target.


 This method could potentially be used to combat illnesses in humans someday, according to Lamm. Up until now, the firm has launched two healthcare enterprises.


 “This is one way we generate revenue for our company,” explained Lamm.


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Scientists Revive Woolly Mammoth Genes, Unveil Adorable Woolly Mice

Unknown animals, biotechnology, conservation, nature conservation, wild animals

Extinction might be permanent, but salvation could be close at hand. The biotechnology firm Colossal Biosciences is working on using genetic engineering to create creatures that look like long-gone …