Petition to Save the Mendocino Coast Redwood Forest

      To the members of the Fisher family, owners of the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Gap Kids clothing stores, and to investors in the Pisces Group and Sansome Forest Partners, and their creation, the Mendocino Redwood Company:
      Recently, you purchased 235,000 acres of cutover Redwood forest in Mendocino and Sonoma Counties from Louisiana Pacific. After years of "liquidation logging," there is almost no old growth left in these L-P forest lands, the Redwood tree itself, which only grows in northern California, has become rare, the coho salmon is on the verge of extinction, and all other forest-dependent creatures are endangered. Your company, Mendocino Redwood, is currently logging the last of the old growth trees, and has adopted all of L-P's destructive policies such as clearcutting and the use of herbicides. We believe that the Coast Redwood forest will not recover from this assault, and that at least one endangered species, the coho salmon, will be extinct within a year.
      We ask you to stop this disastrous endeavor and to preserve these damaged Redwood forests in a conservation land trust. We also ask you to contribute to a restoration effort to save the coho salmon--and to help the fisher folk and loggers who have lost their livelihoods due to the loss of the fisheries and the lack of trees.
      You are blessed with a great fortune, reported to be worth 11 billion dollars, much of it paid to you by American consumers in exchange for Gap clothing. You are in a unique position to save a forest that was once a wonder of the world. May the noble spirit of the ancient Redwoods, which once grew to 2,000 years of age, fill your souls and open your eyes. May the beautiful spirit of the coho salmon, which traveled so far, always coming home to give its life for its children, grant you generosity.

Petition to Stop Timber Harvest Plans 1-97-445, THP 1-98-266, THP 1-89-350, THP 1-98-357, and THP 1-98-256 MEN

To the California Department of Forestry, THP Review Team Agencies, and the National Marine Fisheries Service:

      You are charged with protecting the health of the Coast Redwood forest and its dependent creatures such as the endangered Coho salmon. Mendocino Redwood Company, Georgia Pacific and others are now engaged in the final liquidation of these forests, a man-made disaster that is placing numerous endangered species at imminent rish of extinction, and is permanently damaging the ecology and economy of northern California. It is time for the "liquidation logging" of the Coast Redwood forest to be stopped. It is your job to do so. You can begin with the following actions: 1) Disapprove THPs 1-97-445 and 1-98-266 MEN which together propose over a thousand acres of logging, including 500 acres of clearcutting, all around the only known Coho salmon population in Elk Creek. 2) Stop all "winter operations" on the Albion River and disapprove THP 1-98-350 MEN, THP 1-98-357 MEN and THP 1-98-256 MEN, which, together with THPs 1-97-380, 1-97-421, 1-97-047, 1-98-059, 1-98-199, 1-98-202, 1-98-282 and 1-97-050 (MEN) will devastate Albion River wildlife and fish habitat this winter. 3) Disapprove all MRC and corporate logging plans that do not satisfy the National Marine Fisheries Service information requirements or that contain clearcutting (or similar methods), logging of trees 150 years of age or older, road construction in steep and unstable areas, logging in any stream zones, and/or winter operations.
      The above and all other MRC and corporate plans utterly fail to provide sufficient cumulative effects information, assessment, and alternatives and future plans discussion; fail to evaluate Spotted Owl surveys and provide all Spotted Own information; fail to provide sufficient information on the endangered Coho Salmon; fail to protect numerous threatened and endangered species; fail to include mitigation monitoring; and fail to provide sustainable logging of high quality timber products-all in violation of numerous rules and laws. We protest this unparalleled assault on the depleted Coast Redwood forest and its dying fisheries. We insist that all of the above-described plans be denied.

Date	Printed Name	Signed Name	Address	E-mail

ALL PEOPLE MAY SIGN THIS PETITION, INCLUDING CHILDREN AND NON-CITIZENS

Please mail the signed petition to Guardians of Elk Creek Old Growth (GECOG), c/o Mary Bull, 252 Frederick, San Francisco, CA 94117

You can also send letters to the press, elected officials, and to: 1) Calif. Dept. of Forestry, Attn: Forest Practice, P.O. Box 670, Santa Rosa, CA 95402 (FAX: 707-576-2608); 2) The Fisher Family, Gap, Inc, 900 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066; 3) Dr. William Hogarth, National Marine Fisheries Service, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.

Info: (707) 877-3405, www.elksoft.com/gwa, online petition: www.elksoft.com/petition, Donations to GECOG are tax deductible and urgently needed!