As we go to press, September 16th is the day the axe will fall. If it does, it will cut off a ten-year effort to save the largest pristine grove of unprotected coastal redwoods left on earth. This 3,000-acre grove, called the Headwaters Grove, along with five smaller groves of old growth redwoods and the forestland around them comprise the Headwaters Forest. Whether cutting begins on September 16th or not, efforts to save Headwaters Forest will continue. You can help!
If you are able, come to the mass rally in Carlotta, CA on September 15th. If cutting begins, join with those doing direct action on September 16th. In any event, contact: the President (White House, Washington, DC 20500, (202) 456-1111, fax (202) 456-2461), CA Governor Pete Wilson (State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 445-2841, fax (916) 445-4633) and the CA Board of Forestry (1416 - 9th St., Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 653-8007, fax (916) 653-0989). Tell them it is unthinkable to allow a priceless national treasure like Headwaters Forest to be destroyed by commercial interests.
Also, you can contact other elected representatives, as well as the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service. You can encourage your local TV, radio and newspapers to cover the Headwaters story. You can involve your local environmental groups, churches, schools, businesses, service clubs, etc. in the campaign to save Headwaters Forest. You can contact the MEC and arrange for someone to make a presentation about Headwaters Forest to your favorite organization. What's important is that you do something.
This newsletter attempts to supply you with essential Headwaters Forest information. In this endeavor, we are gratefully indebted to Redwood Nation Earth First! for allowing us to insert copies of their Headwaters newsletter into ours. Likewise, we are grateful to the good folks at the Environmental Protection and Information Center (EPIC) and especially to Kathy Glass of the TREES Foundation for allowing us to reprint some of their updated Headwaters information. You can contact the MEC or any of these other organizations for further details.
Now it's up to you. Please take this information and put it to some good use. To care is not enough. It's time to show you care!
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1996
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited