In our last MEC Newsletter, we wrote about changes in ownership of the large industrial timber companies in our county--how their names have changed, but their forestry practices basically haven't.
Logging is now proceeding full-bore, with most of the last sizable trees being targeted, and our forests being converted into "even age" tree farms. The California Department of Forestry (CDF) has approved Option A alternatives for what were supposed to have been state mandated Sustained Yield Plans (Option A's essentially let the corporations do whatever they want and call it sustainable forestry). CDF even approved an Option A for publicly owned Jackson State Demonstration Forest, which CDF itself administers!
Some qualified good news is that a few of the oversight agencies like the National Marine Fisheries Service and the North Coast Regional Water Control Board seem to be taking their mandates more seriously, and CDF has become somewhat more sensitive to public opinion, delaying approval of timber harvest plans like the Skunk Train THP 1-99-412 that have evoked strong protests. We can credit ourselves with these changes, and we need keep up the pressure.
One of the most effective ways to help defend our forests is to join or support a local watershed association. Printed below is an updated directory of watershed organizations in Mendocino and northern Sonoma Counties. Many of these groups will be represented at the Watershed Festival in Mendocino on Saturday, June 10--plan on attending! (See the box on this page for details).
Another important effort is to keep putting pressure on the Fisher family of the Gap clothing empire to transform their Mendocino Redwood Company into a model of sustainable forestry. These multi-billionaires can afford to focus on restoration of the cutover forestlands they bought as an investment hedge. Contact the Fishers and tell them you aren't shopping at their stores (Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Gap Kids) until they do: The Fisher Family, c/o Bob Fisher, Gap, Inc; 900 Cherry Ave., San Bruno, CA 94066; 1-800-333-7899. Contact Stop the Gap Campaign at 415-731-7924 for boycott information. Also check out www.elksoft.com/gwa.
CDF is now considering several possible long-term management plans for Jackson State Forest, but whichever it ends up adapting will no doubt be business as usual, as wedded as this agency is to the timber industry. A group of local citizens has formed the Jackson Forest Restoration Campaign, with a mission to change the emphasis from logging to restoration, education and recreation. The organization has a storefront at 244 N. Franklin, Fort Bragg, open from 10:00-2:00 Monday through Thursday. Stop by and see how you can become involved, or contact them at 707-964-5800; P.O. Box 1789, Fort Bragg, CA 95437; www.jacksonforest.com.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2000
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited