Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap
Boycott the Gap: ACTION! ACTION! ACTION!
Posted by Mary Bull (chalicenew@earthlink.net)
Sunday, June 27, 1999
Forest Defenders Across the Land!
In this update and CALL TO ACTION...
--Protest Fisher Logging of Old Growth on July 1st!!!
--Protest Fisher Logging in Slide Areas!!!
--Protest Fisher Logging of Spotted Owl Habitat!!!
--Protest the Conversion of Redwood Forest to Vineyards!!!
PROTEST FISHER LOGGING OF OLD GROWTH JULY 1st !!!
**********************************************************************
Thursday, July 1st, hundreds of people will be gathering at the logging gate
in Mendocino County to protest Fisher family old-growth logging. The demo
will include a musical performance by a very popular North Coast band
Frida's Circus, and simultaneous demos will be happening in San Francisco,
NYC, and elsewhere.
I've just returned from an intense week of organizing, protesting, and
listening for chainsaws in Mendocino! THP 1-95-315 MEN Amendment 10, the
Fisher plan that intends to log exceedingly rare redwood trees between 3 and
5 feet in diameter and approximately 200--600 years of age (as indicated by
local core samples), is rapidly becoming a POSTER CHILD THP--a logging plan
that may get the Mendocino redwood crisis to a much broader public. ...WHY?
...OLD GROWTH!
According to their own Sustained Yield Plan (SYP), less than 3% of the
Fisher holdings are in average stands of trees 24-inches or greater in
diameter. Depletion logging has left most of their acreage in average
stands of 11-16 inches--very small trees. Of the few "big" trees, even
fewer are 3-5 feet in diameter, and this plan targets many of these rare
giants. ***To take any of these trees, when so few remain, is an outrage, a
tragedy, and a crime!*** Big trees are integral to the redwood ecosystem--
indeed, many species of insects, plants, and birds completely depend on
them.
The marbled murrelet, a rare and endangered seabird that nests in the
redwood forest canopy, requires big trees for nesting and a thick canopy
for protection. We have asked MRC, the California Department of Forestry,
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "If you take this potential marbled
murrelet habitat, WHERE ELSE in this watershed can these rare birds nest?"
We got no answer to this critical question from any of them. They treat
the LACK of murrelets as a fait accompli, and just go on logging - with no
thought to preserving potential habitat or improving habitat.
Further, MRC states in this THP that they intend to go back at some
unspecified time in the near future and clearcut additional strips in this
plan area. So, we can expect that the few big trees scattered outside the
current clearcut strips will be taken the next time around--next year or
whenever they like.
...MEDIA!
SF Chronicle environmental reporter Glen Martin recently walked the
Greenwood Creek old growth logging plan area and saw the rare giant trees
flagged for logging, on a site visit with MRC representatives and forest
activists, and is preparing an article on MRC/Fisher family logging. The San
Fransico Bay Guardian and the L.A. Times are also on the story.
Forest Defenders, PLEASE SEND letters to the editors of your local
newspapers, and tell them that the Fishers of Gap Inc are about to log some
of the last old growth in the Greenwood Creek watershed, tell them how you
feel about this and that you want to see it covered! Give them Mary
Pjerrou's number: 707-877-3405 or my number: 415-731-7924 for more info.
Most papers have email addresses, for example:
SF Chronicle: chronletters@sfgate.com
SF Examiner: letters@examiner.com
Bay Guardian: timredmond@sfbg.com
...YOU AND ME--AND THE GIG AT THE GATE!
Since Gray Davis, Bill Clinton, and all their useless bureaucrats don't have
the backbone to enforce environmental law and protect public trust
resources--and since the Fishers/MRC obviously intend to take the last
merchantable timber from these forests--it's up to us to protect the last
big trees.
Last Friday--the date that MRC said logging operations would start--over 25
members of the community showed up between 5 and 8 AM at a hastily
organized Breakfast First! protest, which turned into a weekend-long
tailgate party as we kept watch over the trees. (During and since then, our
Emergency Response Network has expanded to over 100 people and continues to
grow! Contact me to be included in this network.) On Monday, we got a
10-day stay of logging from a visiting judge in Ukiah. The 11th Day is July
1. The judge is expected to rule on our request for a Temporary Restraining
Order (TRO) tomorrow, Monday, June 28th.
If we don't get the TRO (we'll keep you posted), we're planning a GIG AT THE
GATE, July 1st. The event will start at 5 AM and last all day at the MRC
gate at the 7.59 mile marker on the Philo-Greenwood Road. Contact
415-731-7924 or 707-877-3405 for more info. Music (Frida's Circus!), Food,
Solidarity--and the Clear Conscience that results from uniting behind a
righteous cause! There's nothing like it, Fishers--9 zeroes on a piece of
paper don't even come close. So, we invite you to drop your chainsaws and
join the dance!
If we do get the TRO, we will rally the 4th of July at 1 PM in Mendocino
Village at the parade and at the Frida's Circus performance at Friendship
Park (2--3PM).
...IF YOU CAN'T BE THERE, WRITE!
Please flood Bob Fisher and Gray Davis with the following message
(preferably in 200-point type, boldface!) using the contact info provided
below and include your name and address in the letter to Davis (don't
include your address in the letter to Bob Fisher unless you want a smarmy
4-page greenwash letter in return):
STOP LIQUIDATION LOGGING IN MENDOCINO!!!
STOP LOGGING OLD GROWTH REDWOODS!!!
STOP LOGGING IN SLIDE AREAS!!!
The Greenwood Creek old growth logging plan number is THP 1-95-315 MEN
Amendment no. 10. Remember, though, it's not just one logging plan. The
Fishers are liquidating these redwood forests across the landscape. They
have over 140 logging plans, and are filing many more every week - three new
clearcutting plans in Greenwood Creek, four new logging plans in Elk Creek
(on top of the 1,000 acres of logging already slated), two new plans in the
Albion River (on top of eight plans already), a huge new plan in the Navarro
River (572 acres of "seed tree removal" - read: take all the biggest
trees), two MORE Navarro plans (clearcuts in the Hwy 128 viewshed), and on
and on. Local activists describe it as a "war zone."
--Bob Fisher: 900 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066. voice: 415-427-2449 fax:
415-427-2632 email Maria_Moyer-Angus@gap.com
--Governor Gray Davis: State Capitol Building, Sacramento 95814. voice
916-445-2841 fax: 916-445-4633 (no email yet!)
ALBION TREE-SIT CONTINUES!
*************************************
For a moment it looked like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
might actually DO something about the improper surveys and lack of
protection for the northern spotted owl in Mendocino County. A pair of
northern spotted owls was discovered in the "J Road-East" logging plan (THP
1-98-199 MEN), near the tree-sit that started there on May 10th.
There had been an owl pair there, historically, but it had not shown up in
the survey records for recent years. Then, a few weeks ago, the tree sitters
heard owl hoots. This was reported to the company and to the USFWS. The
logging was briefly halted, while more information was obtained. The
presence of a pair of northern spotted owls was established, but no nest
could be found, and the owls did not appear to be feeding young (they ate
their food on the spot). Logging was allowed to continue.
Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) surveys in Mendocino County are routinely
sloppy, failing to do the appropriate calling for owls over the prescribed
number of months, and at correctly placed stations. MRC started logging
this plan in May. If this Spotted Owl pair hadn't been "lost" in previous
surveys, they would have had to refrain from logging through June for
additional owl surveys.
The upshot: MRC merely said that the owls were "a non-nesting pair" - and
continued to log. No one has asked WHY this pair is "non-nesting"!!!
You may recall another federal agency's equally useless behavior in Elk
Creek: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) wrote three strong
letters stating that Elk Creek logging plans THP 1-97-445 MEN (MRC) and
1-98-266 MEN (Roger Burch/Cloverdale mill) may cause serious harm to the
coho salmon in Elk Creek. This is the creek where only "10 or fewer" coho
salmon were found in surveys in 1994-96. NMFS - after meeting with MRC's
Sandy Dean - has now signed off on MRC's huge clearcutting plan (THP 445),
without any serious mitigation of the plan, and without even requiring fish
surveys. If the coho salmon go extinct in Elk Creek - a likely prospect -
no one will even know!
This cavalier treatment of the natural resources of Mendocino County is
found across the board, in all of our state and federal agencies. This is
why the tree sitters are tree sitting - because no one in government seems
to give a damn.
Albion activists need support. PLEASE CALL 707-937-5703.
Coastal Forest Lands Intends to Convert 10,000 Acres to Vineyards!
***************************************************************************
Nothing better illustrates the failure of the Forest Practice Rules and our
agencies that are supposed to enforce them than this travesty. Coastal
Forest Lands--another corporate player in the depletion logging
game--recently announced that they want to convert 10,000 acres of
forestland to vineyards. They have overcut their lands to the extent that
they are no longer profitable. So much for the Forest Practice Act mandate
of sustained high-quality yield of forest products. This will be a major
test of the Davis administration. If they allow this to happen, it's time to
storm the Capitol steps. It's already time.
(Contact me for more info, including newspaper article.)
Internat'l Protest Against Economic Globalization: Report
***************************************************************
Last Friday people took over the streets of the financial districts of
cities across the globe--to denounce corporate control of resources and
reclaim power for the people! Forest activist Dian Griffith reports on the
event in San Francisco:
"Richard and I carried the Save The Redwoods banner for Boycott the Gap all
the way as we all took the "Slum Bags Tour" of the Financial District
stopping at places like The Gap Flagship Store, Victoria's Secret, Chevron
& Shell, Pacific Stock Exchange, Wells Fargo and lastly BofA where several
hundred of us gathered at the top of the steps and witnessed a circular
rainbow over all of us. It was quite a day and we kept the cops hopping all
the way. Pirate Radio was broadcasting from his bicycle, and of course Bay
Area Coalition for Headwaters and Art & Revolution and Global Exchange
were there with their striking interpretations of Charles Hurwitz and
Donald Fisher. At the peak I would guess there was close to 500 of us,
give or take a hundred or so, literally taking over the streets of Downtown
SF for several hours! At the end we all (us and them) had our little
practice of pushing the protest envelope, but I don't believe there were
any arrests or injuries, and we all finally disbursed without incident.
During the "confrontation" I stuck by the US Steel Workers. That felt like
a safe place to be, Yeah! ...Love, Peace, Solidarity!"
Mark adds that forest defenders distributed approximately 1000 Save the
Redwoods/Boycott the Gap leaflets! Unfortunately, our designated speaker was
caught in traffic--so no announcement was made of the Fishers' imminent
old-growth logging.
For other spirited reports on this event, including mainstream media
coverage, contact Whispered Media: whisper@energy-net.org
Other Important Actions and Events
****************************************
--GAP LOCKDOWN. The Gap lockdown in NYC June 13 made Women's Wear Daily.
Redwood Mary and JK Canepa locked their necks to Gap doors to protest Fisher
logging and Gap sweatshops.
--ESA CALL-TO-ACTION. They're at it again! Sec. of Interior Bruce Babbitt is
negotiating a bill to weaken critical habitat, to be considered by the U.S.
Senate in mid-July. S.1100 was introduced by Senators Domenici (R-NM), Crapo
(R-ID) and Chafee (R-RI) to make critical habitat obsolete by adding many
new loopholes. For more info, call your local Sierra Club (in SF: Elyssa
Rosen 415-977-5726) and check out www.stopextinction.org Please tell Sec.
Babbitt and your senators that you oppose this bill:
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
Division of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW, Mailstop ARLSQ-420, Washington, D.C. 20240
phone: 202-224-3121
CA Senators:
The Honorable Sen. Dianne Feinstein
The Honorable Sen. Barbara Boxer
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510
phone for Feinstein: 202-224-2854; phone for Boxer: 202-224-3553
--WTO DEMO. Nov 27--Dec 3, 1999. Seattle. An email list has been set up to
organize against the Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade
Organization. To subscribe, send a message to:
PGA_Seattle99-subscribe@listbot.com. For more information, please write
to: PGA_Seattle99-owner@listbot.com or go to:
http://members.aol.com/mwmorrill/pga.html . SF organizers, please contact
Sam Johnston: batfish@earthlink.net . Other WTO-related web sites:
http://www.citizen.org/pctrade/gattwto/gatthome.html
http://www.tradewatch.org
http://www.ifg.org
http://www.seattlewto.com
http://stad.dsl.nl/~caravan
http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/lobby/8771/nowto.html
http://www.americanlands.org
http://www.fao.org/forestry/sofo/sofo99/default.htm
http://www.wto.org (industry site)
http://www.us-trade.org (industry site)
________________________
KEEP THE PRESSURE ON!!!
Mary Bull
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign, SF
_________________________________________
Other Contacts/Information Sources:
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 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/1999/01/20
/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!
Return to the GWA main page
All pages designed and coded by ElkSoft Web Design
Copyright 1999 Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap.
