Bill to redefine purpose of Jackson State Forest on governor's desk!

On Aug. 27 Sen. Wesley Chesbro’s State Forest System Reform bill, Senate Bill 1648, passed the Assembly on a vote of 43 to 34. The bill is now awaiting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature.

The State Forest System Reform Act, SB 1648, would change the official purpose of California’s eight taxpayer-owned forests– chief among them 50,000-acre Jackson State Forest in Mendocino County– from timber production to restoration logging, education, recreation, and research. The bill also would save precious old growth trees.

The bill would permit restoration logging to begin at Jackson, with the harvesting overseen by a broad-based advisory committee. The revenues from the logging would only be used to fund operations for the forest.

Located between the towns of Ft. Bragg and Mendocino, Jackson Forest provides one of the only unprotected large sanctuaries in Mendocino County for salmon and other endangered redwood-related species.

Forests Forever campaigned for the state forest / Jackson reform legislation throughout most of 2002 and 2003. If you are one of the thousands of our supporters who wrote or called your legislators, you deserve a hearty thank-you for the role you played! Your efforts have brought us this close to victory. Forests Forever could not have achieved this progress without the vital participation of all its contributors and supporters.

Now the ball is in the governor’s court. Contact Gov. Schwarzenegger and ask him to sign SB 1648, Chesbro’s bill to change the purpose of California’s eight state forests. See the sample letter to the governor below.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Write to Gov. Schwarzenegger and urge him to sign SB 1648. Mail your letter to:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 445-2841 (phone)
(916) 445-4633 (fax)

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Gov. Schwarzenegger:

I strongly urge you to sign SB 1648, the State Forest System Reform Act.

The State Forest System Reform bill, sponsored by Sen. Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata), would change the official purpose of California’s eight taxpayer-owned forests– chief among them 50,000-acre Jackson State Forest in Mendocino County– to include restoration logging, education, recreation, and research as well as timber production. The bill also contains protections for old growth trees, a vanishing and ecologically precious resource.

SB 1648 will bring management of our state forests into the twenty-first century. It will update legislation created in 1947 when there were vast virgin forests and many fewer people in California.

This bill provides for a sensible balance among multiple uses of our public forests. It will also end the public dissension and legal stalemate that has halted all forest operations in Jackson Forest for four years. SB 1648 will put our public forest back to work, while protecting the environment and other public values.

By signing this bill into law, you will be helping to preserve the state forests of California for future generations.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Address
City, State, Zip

Resources

Campaign to Restore Jackson State Forest

Senator Wesley Chesbro’s website

For background on the Jackson State Forest campaign and Forests Forever's role in it, please go to:

www.forestsforever.org/jacksonpage.html