Tracy Katelman of ForEverGreen Forestry
establishes a Facebook group -
Friends of the Usal Redwood Forest
- in support of the easement sale

"Thanks RFFI for leading the way in developing new models for North Coast forestry to sustain our human and natural communities. What a pity that California politics-as-usual have once again put a monkeywrench in the works of moving sustainable forest management forward in the golden state. (It reminds me of the early days at the Institute for Sustainable Forestry when our CDF partner told us we were just too far ahead of current thinking for them to help us, even though they liked what we wanted to do. But I digress...)

As many RFFI supporters know, a critical element to making this project work is the funding of conservation easements by the State's Wildlife Conservation Board. Now our old pal Mendocino Redwood Company, through their friends at the Gov's office, is flexing it's political muscle, arguing that conservation easements shouldn't go to conservation groups, they should be saved for true mitigation cases. Hmm, another case of truth being stranger than fiction.

So once again it's time for California residents to speak up for our North Coast forests. We need to let the WCB know why this easement is important for the North Coast, not only in terms of protecting our luxuriant redwood forest ecosystem, but also in terms of a vibrant regional economy.

We've created a new Facebook group called Friends of the Usal Redwood Forest. Please visit us on Facebook and "like" us to stay tuned with the latest developments, and what you can do to help."

Tracy Katelman
ForEverGreen Forestry
RPF #2483"