Measure V Victory in Crosshairs of Timber Industry! Letters to editor needed! Tree-poisoning timber company must obey law!

The fate of a ballot-box victory that would effectively end the practice of industrial-scale tree-poisoning in Mendocino County hangs in the balance.

Although Oct. 22 is the deadline for Mendocino Redwood Co. (MRC) to file for an injunction against Measure V, the "hack and squirt" ballot measure, one well-placed source has told Forests Forever that MRC is expected to file a legal action after that date, challenging the measure.

"Hack and squirt" is a forestry procedure in which a worker chops or saws an incision into the bark of a tree and applies herbicide to the open wound, killing the tree.

Take action today to help ensure that the law that would curtail this destructive practice is obeyed!

MRC has been poisoning millions of hardwoods—primarily tanoak—and leaving them standing in the forest. The reason: to make way for its next crop of more-lucrative redwood trees.

Forests Forever earlier this year joined citizen activists in Mendocino County and gathered the necessary signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot, then promoted the initiative and organized get-out-the-vote efforts on election day. On June 7 the voters approved Measure V on an overwhelming 63 percent yes vote!

Since then, however, MRC has dragged its feet. Despite the vote's strong expression of public opinion against the tree-poisoning practice, MRC recently made it known that it continues to use hack-and-squirt on its holdings, which total some 227,000 acres in Mendocino and Sonoma counties.

Take Action to protect California's forests now!

It's time to turn up the heat on MRC! Please write a letter to one or more North Coast newspapers today and tell them you expect to see MRC obey the will of the people and comply with Measure V!

Read more..

For the forests,

Paul Hughes
Executive Director
Forests Forever


RESOURCES:

  • A recent Will Parrish blog post providing an overview of the new flurry of North Coast timber controversies. Scroll down to "Hack 'n' Squirt in Mendocino County:"
    http://bit.ly/2evo36P
  • Recent coverage of the "Let Our Forests Heal" march: http://bit.ly/2e5X1r6
  • The Santa Rosa Press Democrat's update on Measure V:
    http://bit.ly/2eP5fT6
  • A video taken on a flyover of MRC lands organized by Forests Forever. In attendance were reporters, elected officials, activists, and Forests Forever board and staff members.
    http://bit.ly/1rc58T3
  • Lastly, here's the website for Citizens for Fire Safe Forests, a key Forests Forever ally and the lead sponsor of Measure V:
    http://www.citizensforfiresafeforests.com/
 

Forests Forever:
Their Ecology, Restoration, and Protection
by
John J. Berger

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