Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap
January 1 Newsletter
Posted by Mary Bull (chalicenew@earthlink.net)
Friday, January 1, 1999
All Hail and Salutations to Bay Area and Beyond-the-Bay Forest Defenders!!!
First and Foremost (mighty drum roll!)....
HATS OFF to an INCREDIBLE NETWORK of FOREST ACTIVISTS!!!
You have been utterly miraculous: Rallying on a moment's notice out of thin air to the aid of Mendocino's redwoods! In five short weeks we became a network of 50 cities in 28 states defending the redwood forest! And the action did not stop after Gap Picket Day! No! We've kept picketing (distributing easily over 50,000 leaflets!!!), the petitions keep rolling in (nearly 10,000 signatures!!!), new forest defenders are joining the network almost every day (there are hundreds of us and counting)! HIP! HIP! HURRAY!!!!!
****In this newsletter: Year-end message: Saving the Redwoods--a Pivotal Front in the Effort to Save the Planet, THP 445 May Set Precedent, Recent Victories, 1999: What We Can Do!****
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AN IDEOLOGICAL CIVIL WAR
One of the biggest battles we face--one the biggest paper tigers we MUST topple--is the private property argument that individuals and corporations invoke when polluting and plundering the Earth.
Large-scale destruction of natural resources for private profit is an outmoded idea--one that will one day be as universally despised as slavery--another form of private property that was once an institution in this country! And we'll have to fight another civil war--an ideological one--to get there! The few who benefit from the exploitation of the Earth will not give it up easily, as we have learned from the long, difficult battle to save Headwaters. We--environmental activists--are the leaders in this effort to save the planet!
The fight to save California's redwood forests is a pivotal one in changing this nation's policies toward public trust resources! As you know, we're engaged in this effort on many fronts...
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THE LEGAL BATTLE OVER THP 1-97-445
One front that could set a precedent for ALL California's timber harvest plans (THPs) is the legal battle over THP 1-97-445 MEN (one of four devastating and illegal THPs named in the lawsuit: Redwood Coast Watersheds Alliance (RCWA) Vs. the Fishers' Mendocino Redwood Company and the California Dept. of Forestry).
This THP calls for over 400 acres of clearcutting. Together with THP 1-98-266 MEN, it constitutes an unparalleled attack on Elk Creek: 1000 acres of clearcutting immediately above and below the only known Coho population (10 or fewer fish sighted in 1995) in a 150 square mile area!
Even the National Marine Fisheries Service lumbered out of hibernation on these two THPs!!! They wrote CDF a letter regarding 266 and TWO letters regarding 445, citing unsatisfactory cumulative effects analysis with regard to Coho. Re 445, they went on to say, that EVEN WITH MITIGATIONS this THP would pose a threat to Coho.
CDF approved 445 in March of 1998. RCWA filed suit to stop the plan in April 1998. In July of 1998, the Fishers (Mendocino Redwood Company) asked CDF to recirculate the plan for an unprecedented 2nd round of public comment, making a complete mockery of due process (unfortunately, a few weeks ago, a local judge ruled--probably unconstitutionally--that this was OK!). CDF closed the second round of public comment yesterday, December 31. The close of public comment is always a HELLISH time for forest activists, because you have to get in your response to any mitigations (often deviously submitted at the 11th hour) before the official close--if you are to use them in subsequent litigation. CDF typically approves the THP within a couple of days of closing (the old Pete Wilson rubber stamp machine). We then have 30 days in which to file suit--which is, at that point, our ONLY recourse. And it is a COSTLY recourse, in terms of money, time, and the physical and emotional health of forest activists. This is how our Mendocino counterparts tirelessly spent their holidays!
THREE CHEERS FOR MARY PJERROU, ANNA MARIE STENBERG, NORMAN DEVALL, AND LINDA PERKINS!!!
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THE GRAY DAVIS ADMINISTRATION
In addition, our hard-working Mendocino activists have begun a deft strategy for presenting the plight of the Mendocino redwoods to the Davis administration, using THP 445 as the focal point. We plan to bind the petitions and present them in a dramatic fashion to Gray Davis and Mary Nichols (the new Secretary for Resources) in February. More on this in a subsequent communiqué.
We're crossing our fingers with the new administration who are supposed to be environmentally conscious (but then again so is the Clinton administration--and they've issued more HCPs--licenses to kill endangered species (a co-opting of the Endangered Species Act)--than any other administration).
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SIDEBAR: SOME RECENT VICTORIES AND INSPIRATIONS:
--A favorable appellate court ruling is expected in a Redwood Coast Watersheds Alliance (RCWA) Vs the CA Board of Forestry lawsuit. RCWA won a suit (circa 1996) against the CA BofF, in which the court ruled that the BofF had to define sustained yield RULES in support of its sustained yield mandate. Dan Lungren and Co. immediately filed an appeal. However, Justice Klein made it clear on December 17 that he found the appeal unmeritorious--and we expect him to rule in favor of RCWA!!! What a breath of fresh air a little justice is!!! THREE CHEERS FOR JUSTICE KLEIN!!!
--A group of anonymous Bay Area forest defenders hung a banner (~15X50 feet) over a billboard overlooking Union Square, the main shopping center in SF. It read, *Boycott the Gap-Save Our Redwoods* and hung there an entire day (Dec 20th/21st)!!! This capped off a GREAT weekend of high-spirited Bay Area action, which included picketing Gap stores in SF, the South Bay, and the East Bay, and joining forces with the anti-bombing rally and march in SF on the 19th! (Note that corporate timber interests (like the Fishers') make war on the forest--clearcuts are like bomb sites, and the resources they destroy are needed for all life.) IN SOLIDARITY WE WILL CREATE A BETTER WORLD!!!
--Our nearly 10,000 Petition signatures have been faxed to the CA Dept. of Forestry (I faxed them the latest 37 that came in yesterday in time for the close of public comment on THP 445: 5 PM New Year's Eve)--and this has created an absolute TIZZY at CDF!!! They're not used to this kind of public participation--we're ALL on record for opposing the THPs named in the petition!!! THREE CHEERS FOR EVERYONE PARTICIPATING IN THE PETITION CAMPAIGN!!!
--Mary Rose Kaczorowski, who is touring the East Coast with her *Plight of the Redwoods* presentation is speaking to full-houses and has had to extend her tour by a week to accommodate the demand for her presentation! (Her report will follow in a separate email.) THREE CHEERS FOR MARY ROSE!!!
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OUR GOALS IN 1999/CALL FOR IDEAS!!!
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign has three immediate goals:
1.) Escalate the Petition Campaign. We want to parley the nearly 10,000 signatures we've gathered into 100,000!!! We plan to ask everyone who signed the petition, to get 10 other people to sign the petition. (This is a big task, starting with entering the signatories into a database; then contacting each one!)
You can help by continuing to gather signatures at events and posting the petition at health food stores, cafes, and other public places! We will be posting a new petition (naming new THPs) at our web site shortly; in the meantime, please continue using the old one. Many thanks!
2.) Garner National Media Coverage. We still need to get the message out in a bigger way. People hear about the movement in *thru the grapevine* fashion and are constantly puzzled as to why we have not received national media coverage (such as via NPR). We want to change all this in 1999. Launching a national media campaign is in the works. Getting endorsements from major environmental organizations will help--and we're working on this, too!!!
3.) Raise Money for Lawsuits. The RCWA lawsuit over the worst of the L-P/Fisher logging plans is both critical and costly. In addition, RCWA has begun the preliminaries for a Federal suit on the Coho issue--which could set an incredible precedent in favor of the forest! We desperately need money for these lawsuits and here's our strategy for getting it:
$ In addition to our small-scale fundraisers that have been limited to dances in Mendocino, we are planning similar fundraisers in SF and the East Bay (two clubs/cafes have expressed an interest in hosting these events)!
$$ We're asking EVERYONE who signed the petition to send a tax-deductible $5 donation to GECOG, Box 90, Elk, CA 95432. (You can of course send more, but if everyone who signed the petition sends 5 dollars, we will have sufficient funds for our legal plans.)
PLEASE WRITE THAT CHECK BEFORE THE END OF JANUARY!
$$$ We are stepping up our grant proposal-writing campaign (we put this on hold temporarily for Gap Picket Day and the Boycott Campaign). We have two very strong prospects as a result of our first round of proposals sent in August/September. Now that we have a GREAT press-clippings packet--thanks to all our GPD/Boycott efforts!!!--we hope to get more grant money coming in!
$$$$ Finally, we are planning a large-scale benefit event--the milestones of which I will communicate as we achieve them! (This event will be national in character and, if successful, will go a long way toward attaining our media goals, as well!)
We're asking you--as Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Organizers--to rally your personal networks of forest defenders to support these goals and offer more ideas for achieving them!!!
In addition to working toward these goals, we plan to keep VERY, VERY ACTIVE. Here in SF there are two upcoming grand openings of major Gap, Inc. stores. We will be protesting in force at these and other events, such as public appearances by members of the Fisher family!!! We will also be out picketing in force when the Spring shopping season commences!
NEW CAMPAIGN. During these next two relatively quiet retail months, we're also launching a new Gap campaign: a Gap label cutting/mailing campaign, in which we cut out the labels from previously purchased Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy clothing and send them to Bob Fisher at Gap, Inc. headquarters with a note saying that we do not intend to shop Gap until the Fishers stop their damaging forest practices. Gap, Inc., 900 Cherry Ave. San Bruno, CA 94066.
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SIGN-OFF!
Let's keep the momentum building!
Let's make 1999 the year we effect a dramatic change in this nation's policies toward our public trust resources!!
Let's make 1999 a year for the Earth! And especially, let's make it a YEAR FOR THE REDWOODS!!!
This is my New Year's resolution!
Cheers and many thanks to you, forest defenders!
Mary Bull
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign, SF
For questions and comments please e-mail us!
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