Stop Clearcutting CA

So True! Boo! Yes, clearcuts are about the spookiest thing we can think of too! Stay safe all!

Clear cuts are about the spookiest thing we can think of...
Enjoy your Halloween and stay safe out there!

For 30 years in the Western US, shrub and grass fires have burned more acres and caused more property destruction than forest fires, particularly in the state of Oregon, according to a new study (Popovich, 2023). This season “more than 2,000 wildfires in Oregon…burned a record of about 2 million acres” with around 75% of these acres being grass and shrubland rather than forests, per the article.

Despite this, Oregon’s two Republican representatives, along with other Republican and some Democratic representatives throughout the U.S., aim to pass the “Fix Our Forests Act” with a stated goal of combating wildfires in the West by “hazardous fuels management activities” such as logging trees on federal forest lands.

The “Fix Our Forests Act” passed in the U.S. House with Oregon’s four Democratic representatives opposing the legislation. Now, the bill’s outcome is in the hands of the U.S. Senate. The Senate vote is scheduled to occur after the November general election, but there is still an ongoing debate about the pros and cons of the bill’s contents.

The proponents state that the bill will restore forest “health” and increase community resilience by speeding up “environmental analyses while reducing frivolous lawsuits and step[ping] up restoration projects.” The opponents argue that the bill will allow logging of federal lands without community input and scientific review and erode basic protections for nearby communities and wildlife.

A few new bills have been proposed by Oregon’s Democratic representatives in order to counteract the “Fix Our Forests Act.” One such legislation comes from Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon who states that the passing of the “Fix Our Forests Act” “would allow poorly designed, large commercial projects that threaten community drinking water, wildlife and recreation opportunities to proceed with inadequate environmental review.”

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/climate/forest-fires-grasslands.html https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/10/11/sharp-divide-in-oregon-over-bill-to-step-up-logging-to-prevent-wildfires/
Photos Credit: Canva

ACTION ALERT:
Last week, Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR) released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for its large California industrial wood pellet project proposal. The proposed project includes two industrial-scale wood pellet plants, one in the central Sierras and another in Northern California, as well as a storage and export terminal in Stockton, CA. Wood pellets would be created from trees logged in California, processed in California wood pellet plants, and then exported overseas to be burned for energy.

“This project would pollute at every step,” said Shaye Wolf, PhD.

Reviewers were given only 60 days to review the extensive 1,312 page DEIR, and public meetings were scheduled for this week and next, a busy time especially given that we’re in election season.

YOUR ACTION REQUESTED:
We invite you to speak up about this highly polluting project (and the quick turnaround time for public input) at an upcoming meeting or write in via email this week.

SPEAK UP AT MEETINGS:
--TOMORROW 10/30 @ 6:30 PM – Stockton or virtual
------Kipp Elementary School, 742 Dallas Ave, Stockton
------https://rcrcnet.zoom.us/j/88007664912. You don't need to register.
11/4 @ 6 PM – Tuolumne area
------Chicken Ranch Casino, Event Hall, 16929 Chicken Ranch Rd., Jamestown

SEND EMAIL:
--Email your comments to [email protected] and [email protected]
--Include “GSNR DEIR Comment” in the subject line.

TALKING POINTS:
--Request the DEIR public comment period be extended to 90 days
--Request additional public meetings
--State that you oppose GSNR, with your reasons. [Note, you can submit additional comments later to respond to the DEIR in more detail.]

Additional information:
--Sample Talking Points: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xkf51ycz4vKol83x8J6YIVgi1g8FAeks6tLZ-W-pIIM/edit?tab=t.0
--NRDC Press Release: https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/impact-groups-address-insufficient-draft-environmental-impact-report-dangerous-wood
--GSNR Meeting Information:
https://goldenstatenaturalresources.com/meetings/

ACTION ALERT:
Last week, Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR) released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on its large industrial-scale wood pellet project proposal. Wood pellets would be created from trees logged in California, processed in two large California wood pellet plants, and then exported overseas via Stockton to be burned for energy.

You have several near-term opportunities to speak up about this highly polluting project. Near-term priorities are to request additional time for public review and ask for more public meetings. You can also say "I oppose GSNR" and give your reasons briefly. (You’ll be able to offer more detailed comments on the DEIR later.)

1) Speak up at meetings:
10/30 @ 6:30 PM – Stockton or virtual
---Kipp Elementary School, 742 Dallas Ave, Stockton, CA 95206
---Virtual at https://rcrcnet.zoom.us/j/88007664912 (Webinar ID: 880 0766 4912) or call (833)548-0282. You don't need to register.
11/4 @ 6 PM – Tuolumne area
---Chicken Ranch Casino, Event Hall, 16929 Chicken Ranch Rd., Jamestown, CA 95327

2) Send email to: [email protected] and [email protected]. Comments provided via email should include “GSNR DEIR Comment” in the subject line.

Sample Talking Points:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xkf51ycz4vKol83x8J6YIVgi1g8FAeks6tLZ-W-pIIM/edit?tab=t.0

NRDC Press Release: https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/impact-groups-address-insufficient-draft-environmental-impact-report-dangerous-wood

GSNR Meeting Information:
https://goldenstatenaturalresources.com/meetings/

A decade ago, enterprises, financial institutions, and governments pledged to achieve net-zero deforestation by 2020. Unfortunately, this was not met. Instead, data from 2020 revealed that the world lost an area of tree cover larger than the United Kingdom.

Almost a quarter of the companies and financial institutions reviewed by Reuters over the previous decade have yet to declare a single deforestation pledge or policy. Well-known brands, such as Europe's largest shoe manufacturer, Deichmann Group, the second largest Chinese food and beverage company, Bright Food, and one of the world's largest investment firms, Vanguard, have no standards in place.

Governments at COP28 have agreed upon another deadline: to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. This is a deadline that no one can afford to fail. However, if we continue relying on voluntary efforts from businesses and financial institutions, halting deforestation will not be possible. Government regulation is key as it levels the playing field. Mandatory requirements not only force companies to act, but also prevent them from making commitments without following through on them.

In 2022, EU adopted the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), fostering sustainable trade and ensuring products related to forest degradation are not available in the market. Read more at the link below:

Source: "Comment: Without government regulation, reversing deforestation is nothing but a pipe dream", Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/comment-without-government-regulation-reversing-deforestation-is-nothing-pipe-2024-02-27/

Comment: Without government regulation, reversing deforestation is nothing but a pipe dream A decade ago, amid much fanfare, companies, financial institutions and governments made a pledge to achieve net-zero deforestation by 2020. This wasn’t met. Instead in that year, figures from the University of Maryland found that the world lost an area of tree cover larger than the UK. Now there.....

Forests are a key part of nature-based solutions to address the climate crisis. “Older trees cleanse the air we breathe, purify our drinking water … and older forests harbor by far the most wildlife, including hundreds of imperiled species, while playing a vital role in fighting climate change by absorbing and storing vast amounts of our carbon pollution,” said Dominick DellaSala, chief scientist at Wild Heritage in his opinion piece, “White House must redirect the Forest Service to preserve old forests.”

Nearly 95% of older forests were lost during our westward expansion and the post-WWII housing boom, the majority of what is left is on federal lands. To protect what is left of our older forests, there has to be an “end [to] commercial logging of mature and old-growth forests on federal lands,” said DellaSala.

Biden’s administration began the protection process with the Earth Day 2022 executive order, calling for an inventory of older federal forests and policy protections from the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture. A December 2023 statement emphasized greater protections. However, according to DellaSala, “the [US Forest Service’s] old-growth forest amendment is an ill-informed plan to increase logging on all national forests with older forests.”

Article and Sources: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/white-house-must-redirect-the-forest-service-to-preserve-old-forests/
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/04/27/2022-09138/strengthening-the-nations-forests-communities-and-local-economies
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/12/19/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-advances-commitment-to-protect-old-growth-forests-on-national-forest-system-lands/
Photo: canva

Check out this article published in Waging Nonviolence by Nick Engelfried:
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2024/10/west-coast-climate-activists-battle-false-solution-forest-biomass/

Forest biomass is not a sustainable energy solution—it damages the environment under the misleading label of "renewable energy."

A grassroots movement against forest biomass projects is rising on the West Coast, echoing past successful efforts to block fossil fuel exports by uniting communities concerned about pollution and environmental impacts.

Despite being marketed as "clean energy," forest biomass energy projects impose heavy environmental burdens on local communities, including increased air pollution, deforestation, and significant carbon emissions that undermine efforts to combat climate change.

Real sustainability lies in protecting our old growth, legacy and mature forests and investing in truly clean energy solutions.



Photo: Green Forest, by Leung Cho Pan

🌲 It's Fall!

🌲 Autumn is a beautiful time of year to spend outside because of the cooler temperatures, fewer crowds, lack of bugs, and alluring fall foliage.

🌲 In this season, what will you do to appreciate our forests?

Photo Credit:
Canva and Pexelz
1. Canva, 2. Johan Van Geijl, 3. Mike Krejci, 4. Vladimir Kudinov, 5. Canva

Burning forests for fuel is neither clean nor green. Yet it looks like the climate movement is somehow being used as justification for logging forests...to burn as a substitute for coal. We invite you to help get the word out about this practice. Logging and burning forests in place of coal doesn't help the climate...and it hurts the biodiverse ecosystems of the forests.

Per Mongabay.com, "Indonesia is trying to kick its coal habit, which currently powers nearly half of the country. As part of this energy transition, the Southeast Asian nation is turning to biomass energy, generated mainly from wood chips produced by fast-growing tree plantations. These wood chips are burned alongside coal as a renewable alternative. While the government and biomass companies have downplayed suggestions rainforests will be cleared for new plantations, a tip from North Kalimantan led Mongabay to investigate these claims.

We traveled to one of the most remote corners of Indonesia, where three villages have signed over at least 5,000 hectares of their land to a biomass company. Much of this area, residents say, is covered in rainforest that would presumably be cleared for the project. Villagers expressed concerns over inadequate compensation and land grabbing, fearing that the deforestation would strip them of a vital resource for both their daily survival and their cultural and spiritual connection."

Will a forest in Borneo be gutted for ‘green’ energy? NORTH KALIMANTAN, Indonesia —Indonesia is trying to kick its coal habit, which currently powers nearly half of the country. As part of this energy transition, the Southeast Asian nation is turning to biomass energy, generated mainly from wood chips produced by fast-growing tree plantations. These ...

Register for our Forest Protection Alerts google group to receive information about calls to action pertaining to our forests. 📩

You can type the short url in your search bar and ask to join the group. For those on mobile you will have to log in to google first before you can ask to join!

If you are already subscribed you can always check your preferences or unsubscribe.

While we tend to focus a bit more locally here at Stop Clearcutting CA, it is important to note that clearcutting is a global phenomenon. Countries around the world participate in unsustainable logging practices that harm both local ecosystems and global carbon initiatives.

In 2021, a majority of countries backed the 2030 zero-deforestation pledge; however, a study completed this year indicated that deforestation was almost 50% higher in 2023 than required to meet this pledge by 2030.

While some countries are making progress towards their pledge of reducing deforestation, many countries are failing.

Due to these immense failures, the EU proposed to limit the sale of products linked to deforestation in October of 2024, but this proposal was delayed a year by the European Commission.

As we continue to learn about the interconnectivity of our planet's ecosystems, we must be aware that deforestation in any country further harms our climate and planet as a whole.

Article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/08/deforestation-destruction-demolition-beef-soy-palm-oil-nickel
Photo: Pexelz by Justus Menke

Article published in The Intercept by Camille Corcoran and Bertie Harrison-Broninski:
https://theintercept.com/2024/09/30/drax-wood-pellet-energy-air-pollution/
If the requirements for signing up or subscribing to The Intercept are a barrier, the story is published in two parts on the Land and Climate Review platform:
https://www.landclimate.org/gloster/
https://www.landclimate.org/drax-west-coast/

🌲 Drax, the pellet-producing and wood-burning energy company, is planning to grow by opening up multiple wood pellet factories on the western coast of North America.

🌲 Not only will this allow Drax to log forests in both the U.S. and Canada, it will lead to numerous environmental justice issues and countless legal infractions.

🌲 As shown in the article above, Drax has already contaminated multiple areas in the south with its wood pellet plants. They continuously lie about the consequences wood pellet production and show no signs of remorse nor attempt to remedy the hazards they have produced.

🌲 Even though the health of these communities continues to decline due to poor air quality caused by wood pellet plants, Drax plans to expand and create even more toxic environments.

🌲 The egregious environmental justice issues are only part of the story. Psuedo-carbon accounting, for-profit logging in California, Oregon, and Washington, and illegal factories in Washington, all play a role.

🌲 Please read this incredible article to learn more about the situation.

Photo credit: Canva

Please join us for the next Forest Protection Forum from 4pm to 5:30pm PST on Monday October 21!

Dr. Chad Hanson, forest and fire ecologist with the John Muir Project and a national Board member of the Sierra Club, will discuss his recently released book, "Mixed-Intensity Forests: Nature's Phoenix" by Dr. Dominick DellaSala and Dr. Chad Hanson.

“While much of the current forest management in fire-adapted ecosystems, especially forests, is focused on fire prevention and suppression, recent fire ecology science shows that mixed- and high-severity fires produce unique biological pulses that are on par with the richness of much heralded old growth forests and are threatened by pre- and post-fire suppression. Little has been presented in previous books on the importance of mixed- and high-severity fire with regard to the maintenance of native biodiversity and fire-dependent ecosystems and species, and this text fills that void.”
-Quote from book cover.

You can sign up at the link in our bio or at:
https://sierraclub.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItce6qqj8rE9aKHP6D-UupRIEOQLuC7ju9 #/registration

Photo by Silas H.

All Hands on Deck Tuesday 10/1. Help Sierra Club CA stop funding for the Delta tunnel. See the post for more. Yes this is about water, money and environmental impact rather than forests per se, but it’s a key issue and you can help.

🌲 As Golden State Natural Resources and Drax plan to build two expansive wood pellet plants in California, we need to understand why.

🌲 Drax plans to sell its wood pellets to countries in Asia and Europe to supplement them with fuel for their supposed “carbon neutral” woody biomass energy plants.

🌲 In order to easily reach their Paris Agreement obligations, these countries ruled that burning forest biomass for energy would be considered carbon neutral.

🌲 While these treaties might argue that woody biomass is carbon neutral, studies have shown that they release more carbon per unit of electricity than coal!
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/no-burning-wood-fuels-not-climate-friendly

🌲 Not only are we allowing Drax and GSNR to chop down our carbon-absorbing trees, but we are helping other countries cheat the Paris Agreement by using non-carbon neutral methods.

🌲 While we may not have much say in what other countries decide to do, we can block our trees from going to such a wasteful cause.

Please write to your representatives and stop these wood pellet plants.
https://action.nrdc.org/letter/2953-se-congress-biomass-040524
See link in bio to take action.

Photo Credit: Pok Rie, Pexels

This op-ed presents a hopeful example of a community that effectively protected itself from fire via home hardening, defensible space, and evacuation plans. These proven measures are not (yet) significantly publicly funded, and they are not promoted by HR 8790, which focuses instead on limiting environmental protections and public/judicial input, to streamline the path to logging.

Regarding HR 8790, the op-ed says: "If passed it would roll back bedrock environmental laws and allow for clear-cutting — taking out most or all trees in an area — and logging of mature and old-growth trees on federal public lands. The bill is wrong on the science."

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-09-23/bridge-fire-wrightwood-wildfire-protection-home-hardening

Opinion: How a California community helped prevent the Bridge fire from destroying their town Wrightwood's local Fire Safe Council promoted 'home hardening' measures such as pruning grasses and branches around homes.

We all know that forests sequester billions of tons of carbon dioxide each. New research found that they could also be absorbing another key greenhouse gas: methane.

Methane is the second-most abundant greenhouse gas produced by human activities, following carbon dioxide. Its heat trapping ability is 28 times greater than carbon dioxide, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Agriculture, mining, and the breakdown of garbage in landfills are some of the ways methane gets into the atmosphere.

Researchers led by Vincent Gauci, an environmental scientist at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, assessed methane uptake and emissions in trees worldwide. According to the team's estimates, the newly discovered methane sink suggests that reforestation efforts could provide an additional 10% benefit to the climate, on top of preserving our existing forests.

Read more at this link!
Source: eos.org
https://eos.org/articles/microbes-in-tree-bark-absorb-millions-of-tons-of-methane-each-year

Microbes in Tree Bark Absorb Millions of Tons of Methane Each Year - Eos New findings suggest that reforestation efforts could have a bigger—and more positive—climate impact than previously estimated.

Please email or call your federal house rep by Monday and ask them to vote NO on HR 8790, the so-called "fix our forests act." The bill is expected to be introduced for a vote this week.

You can find your federal House representative here: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative #

This bill restricts opportunities for public comment and judicial review related to managing and logging forests. People may disagree about forest management methods - but even if they disagree, public comment and judicial review are important aspects of our democratic process. We make better decisions when they are reviewed, and when additional scientific perspective is included. As Katie Porter mentioned in the Natural Resources Committee discussion of this bill, the public review process for forest actions does not take very long, and does not hamper the ability for the government to move forward in an actual emergency. Relatively few environmental projects actually go to the courts. This bill proposes bypassing public comment and severely limiting judicial review even in the large number of situations that are truly not emergencies.

The bill also institutionalizes the bypass of current environmental legislations. Additional logging could move forward, damaging forests, biodiversity and habitat.

Informational Links:
Letter from 80+ environmental organizations opposing the bill:https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/final-markup-letter-on-fix-our-forests-act-6-26-2024.pdf

Writeup from Environment America:
https://environmentamerica.org/articles/the-fix-our-forests-act-wont-actually-fix-our-forests/

Form Letter Options:
Personal calls and brief original emails can be more impactful, but if you wish to save time, consider using one of these links to send a quick-click letter directly to your federal rep:

https://johnmuirproject.org/take-action/ #/14

https://earthjustice.org/action/this-bill-will-undermine-protections-for-our-forests-and-endangered-species

Photo Credit: Canva (Paul Hartley / Getty Images Pro)

A picture is worth 1000 words.

Please call or email your federal house representative by Monday and ask them to vote NO on HR 8790, the so-called "Fix Our Forests Act." It's expected to go to house vote next week.

This bill significantly decreases environmental protections, and removes much of the public's right to comment when logging is proposed. It also significantly reduces the public's ability to ask for judicial review.

You can find your federal house rep here: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative #

See this writeup from Environment America for more information.

The “Fix Our Forests Act” won’t actually fix our forests The bill could have devastating consequences for the environment and endangered species, especially amid rapid extinction rates and a climate crisis that necessitates healthy, sound forests.

Did you know that clearcutting and deforestation can actually affect how clouds drop water?

Earth.com’s article discusses how the montane forests of Africa are losing their tree cover due to clearcutting. For example, Mt. Kilimanjaro has lost 50% of its tree cover since 1880.

As fewer and fewer trees contact rain clouds above, rain is less likely to fall. Thus, deforestation leads to a decrease in water available to plants, animals, and humans.

Such losses in available water hamper water storage in soil and trees. This not only disrupts plant and animal interactions, but can destroy entire ecosystems as droughts become more frequent.

Similarly, indigenous rural communities need this water for crops and medicine. Without it, they are unable to provide for and sustain their communities.

Article: https://www.earth.com/news/cloud-level-rise-the-hidden-threat-of-deforestation/
Photo Credit: Canva

Yes, old growth logging is still happening. Despite myths to the contrary.

Old growth logging must STOP before it’s too late. Shocking before and after photos from TJ Watt. These old growth forests were clear cut on Vancouver Island, BC. Ancientforestalliance.com for more details and info.

Here is an overview of Conservation Northwest’s view on the proposed old growth amendment. It is nuanced and worth a read, and it includes a petition to sign that will be sent to the USFS.

For instance it is arguing that we need to do passive management (e.g. no thinning/logging for treatment purposes) for certain old growth forests (e.g. west of the Cascades) and potentially more active management in others (e.g. some future old growth).

Conservation Northwest

Urgent Support Needed on National Policy to Conserve Old-Growth Forests! A historic federal policy proposal is a great step forward in protecting old-growth forests, but it must be improved! The proposal, put forth by the U.S.