Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap
Boycott-the-Gap Newsbrief & ACTION ALERT
Posted by Mary Bull (chalicenew@earthlink.net)
Sunday, May 30, 1999
ALBION RALLY: REPORT!
*********************
Albion, Mendocino County. On Wednesday, May 26, at 12 noon over 125 people
showed up for a spirited rally protesting Fisher logging near slide areas in
the Albion! ANNA MARIE reports...
"Great action today--I counted 126 people at the J Road gate in Albion--a
real Community gathering--from grey haired grandmas and grandpas all the way
down to little tykes (didn't count the dogs). We rallied at the
gate--speeches, songs--there was a great hoot from the crowd when I told
them that we are not alone and shared the action at the Fishers' Monday
evening's demo at Don Fisher's house in Presidio Heights, SF and the sister
demo today in SF see next section.
"Then, amazingly, 72 people decided that they needed to go check out the
slide for themselves and that they were willing to get arrested to do so. As
we approached the gate we were met by Doug Goss (MRC head security guy and a
few others). Doug said something about trespassing and being arrested. I
explained that we were the Citizens' Monitoring Team and that we had the
responsibility of insuring the safety of the tree sitters and checking out
the geologic problem areas of this THP. He ended up stepping aside.
"We walked about an hour down the road, stopping to give our thanks and
blessings to the tree sitters and serenaded them with songs; then on to the
slide area where a geologist explained to us the problem this slide area
creates for the fish in the Albion River. When we arrived back at the gate,
we congratulated each other and lamented that there were no arrests.
Upcoming actions and hot spots were discussed and other actions were
planned. The crowd cheered when Mary B. was announced as the guest speaker
at the rally on June 7th. It was wonderful!!"
--Anna Marie
THREE MIGHTY CHEERS FOR EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS INSPIRING
MENDOCINO ACTION!!!
SISTER DEMO IN SF: REPORT!
**************************
THE COHO BRIGADE (volunteers welcome!) had the first of what will be several
small, ongoing, high-impact actions in front of John Fisher's office
building at One Maritime Plaza, in solidarity with Albion residents who are
protesting Fisher logging near landslides (John Fisher is in charge of the
Fisher family logging investment in Mendocino). The object of the actions is
to catch John Fisher off-guard on his own turf and shame him in front of his
peers into not logging near slide areas in the Albion (which he insists on
doing, despite the obvious instability of the area, the pleas--and now
protests--of residents, and the warnings of a registered geologist).
At Wednesday's lunchtime action, we propped up an 8 x 4.5 foot banner--SHAME
ON YOU, JOHN FISHER! SLIDES KILL FISH--opposite the office building (a black
glass monolith decorated in black steel cross-bars--Darth Vader's home away
from home) so that everyone coming and going could read it (and they did!),
as well as all the people in the offices that face west. We then leafleted
and discussed the issues with everyone who came and went--these people were
for the most part AMAZINGLY RECEPTIVE.
SPECIAL THANKS TO...
--DRESS who came from the East Bay!
--SHANTI who joined us from Sonoma!
--MARK who made several wonderful color placards using blow-ups of the
fish-in-hands photo (small live steelhead in the hands of a young fisherman)
with the caption, *John Fisher, The Redwood Forest is in Your Hands*!
--MARY PJ who made up special leaflets highlighting Fisher logging in the
Albion!
--LON and DJENNI who helped leaflet!
--FOUR CHEERFUL COPS who greeted us shortly after setting up and confirmed
our First Amendment rights to be there (we were a little wary, since the
plaza is situated on top of a parking lot, and does not front the public
street--you actually have to climb stairs to get there)!
The action, which lasted nearly two hours (by 1:30--2:45--the lunch traffic
has dwindled and the plaza is pretty dead), was a success. Now that we know the
lay of the land, they will only get better. We plan to bring a table next
time!
FORESTRY REFORM BILLS PASSED APPROPRIATIONS!!!
********************************************************************
The Forestry Reform bills passed yet another tremendous hurtle: The
Appropriations Committee. THREE MIGHTY CHEERS FOR FORESTS FOREVER for working tirelessly for these bills!!!
WE NOW HAVE UNTIL JUNE 4 TO CONTACT OUR REPS--Assemblymember and Senator--and ask them to vote AYE when the bills hit the FLOOR!!! This is the biggest hurtle yet!
Following is EPIC's guidelines for contacting your reps--phone calls or
faxes are recommended, but you can email too--and what to say to them! PLEASE DO IT TODAY!!!!
1. Call or fax your Assembly member TODAY with the following message:
"Please vote AYE on AB 717 and 748 on the Assembly floor when they come to
a vote next week. These are moderate, well-documented bills that will help
keep our water clean, conserve our native fisheries, and restore
accountability to California's forestry laws. These bills are very high
priorities for the conservation community, and deserve your full support."
For information on how to contact your Assembly member, call the State
Government Information line at (916) 322-9900, or visit the Assembly home
page at
http://www.assembly.ca.gov
and click the "Find My District" or "Member Directory" link.
2. Call or fax your State Senator TODAY with the following message: **
"Please vote AYE on SB 620 and 621 when they come to a vote on the Senate
floor. In recent years, logging operations in geologically unstable areas
have caused harm to California's water quality and threatened salmon
fishery. It's time for the Board of Forestry to evaluate and address these
problems."
To contact your State Senator, call the State Government Information line
at (916) 322-9900, or visit the Senate home page at
http://www.sen.ca.gov
and click on the "Senators" link.
Thanks for doing your part on behalf of forestry reform in California!!
Cheers and thanks!
Mary Bull
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign, SF
_________________________________________
Other Contacts/Information Sources:
http://www.elksoft.com/gwa
----------------------------
Mary Pjerrou, Redwood Coast Watersheds Alliance
707-877-3405 pirohuck@mcn.org
----------------------------
Norman de Vall, Greenwood Watershed Association
707-877-3551 ndevall@mcn.org http://www.gapsucks.org
----------------------------
Redwood Mary (Mary Rose Kaczorowski),
Plight of the Redwoods Tour redwoodm@mcn.org
----------------------------
Mary Bull,
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign
415-731-7924 chalicenew@earthlink.net
Also of interest:
----------------------------
Gap Labor Exploitation URLs:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/14/MN19190.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/2/MN49132.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/22/MN49806.DTL
http://www.house.gov/resources/105cong/democrat/cnmifin.html#contractlabor
http://www.globalexchange.org
For questions and comments please e-mail us!
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