From Diane Hichwa, Conservation Committee Chair

Madrone Audubon continues to support the Option 3 of the County General Plan.

Peter Ashcroft of the Sierra Club has outlined his heartfelt opinion plus provided recommendations for all of us to contact Supervisors and urge their support.

We recommend you do just that…

> Contact your County Supervisor
> Write to the Press Democrat
> Attend the hearing on August 23


From a letter to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Forest conversion
EDITOR: Many people care about the environment, but only few are in a position to single handedly initiate meaningful protections. On Aug. 23, our Board of Supervisors will be in that position. At the end of a public hearing, our supervisors will decide whether the county general plan will begin to protect Sonoma County forests.

Many of Sonoma County's forests have been battered by years of abusive and non-sustainable logging practices. Now they face an even greater threat: permanent destruction through "conversion" to vineyards. Hundreds of acres of western Sonoma County forests have been converted already, with applications submitted for hundreds more.

Work has already started in the 19,000-acre Preservation Ranch project, one aspect of which will convert 1,900 acres of forests to vineyards.

At its core, Preservation Ranch is a speculative land development scheme, bad for the environment and an affront to the many Sonoma County farmers who practice responsible stewardship.

The public has overwhelmingly called for strong forest protections through three years of public hearings. Scientific opinion, including that of the Regional Water Quality Control Board, has concurred. It remains to be seen whether the supervisors are listening.

Please ask your supervisor to support the strong forest protections of Option 3. Alternatives are inadequate, or cloak destruction in the guise of protection.

PETER ASHCROFT

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Friends,
The Sierra Club is committed to protecting Sonoma County's forests,
and we will use every tool to do that. The fact is though that the
County General Plan is one of the best tools we have. Right now, the
outlook for Option 3 is shaky.

Supervisor Reilly is willing to "go along" with Option 3, but not willing to
push it. At least one Supervisor doesn't see what all the fuss is about -
doesn't see any reason not to simply continue the way we have. There is
a very real danger that the Supervisors will fail to put any meaningful
forest protections into the General Plan. All of this is happening at the
same time that the monstrous Preservation Ranch project is gearing up.

We have to make our Supervisors understand forest conversions are a real ecological problem, and that forest conversions are an important issue to the people who vote. That's why I'm asking you to call your Supervisor and tell him or her personally that you demand strong forest protections. Don't settle for a letter or an email that might be filed in obscurity, make them hear your voice.

Here is the phone number: (707) 565-2241. Get your Supervisor on the phone, and make him or her tell you where they stand on forest protections. Make it clear that this issue matters to you so much that you will hold them accountable at the next election. If you want to write a letter or email after calling, so much the better.

For Supervisor Reilly: It's not enough that he be willing to "go along" with Option 3. He needs to lead. His district contains almost all the lands that will be affected either by Option 3 or by forest conversions. The other Supervisors will look to Supervisor Reilly for guidance. If Supervisor Reilly does not lead on forest protections, none of the other Supervisors will do it.

For the other Supervisors: Option 3 provides the most comprehensive protections against forest conversions. Other options are inadequate. In particular, the misnamed "no net loss" concept in Option 5 will actually facilitate forest destruction by allowing large landholders like Preservation Ranch to convert some forests in exchange for a commitment to restore another portion. The County does not have the scientific and biological foundation to evaluate the long-term ecological impact of such sacrifices. Nor does the County have the infrastructure to monitor and enforce such promises in perpetuity. The "no net loss" concept is a Pandora's Box that must be rejected.

For more information, see the Sonoma Group web page of the Sierra Club:

http://www.redwood.sierraclub.org/sonoma/ForestProtection/

Next, we need to awaken the community beyond. Please write even a brief letter to the Press Democrat expressing your support for strong forest protections. You don't need to get hung up on minutia of specific ordinances, the General Plan, or the Forest Practices Act. Speak simply and from your heart. The community needs to hear your voice.

Diane Hichwa

Telephone:

Santa Rosa: 707-579-1182

The Sea Ranch: 707-7851922

Email: dhichwa@earthlink.net

PRIOR POST ON GENERAL PLAN UPDATE:

General Plan 2020 is in the Home Stretch
The Conservation Committee asks you to be a part of this critical process. Take the time to review the General Plan for Sonoma County and watch for mid-April meetings, as various elements are reviewed first by the Planning Commission and then the Board of Supervisors. The plan is the broader blueprint of policies under which a whole series of ordinances will be written for the next fifteen years. The Sonoma County Library has a copy of the proposed Plan and it is also accessible on the county's website at < www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/gp2020/index.html> (/index will give you complete details, /calendar will give the meetings schedule, and /issuelist will give the update scope.)

The environmental community is particularly watchful of these elements: open space and resource conservation, agricultural resources, and the new, very important water resources element. Near and dear to our hearts and to the quality of life we appreciate here, wildlife and habitat fall under the biotic and riparian area where movement corridors and riparian setbacks are essential to maintain. Proposed ordinances must be reviewed and understood very carefully to be sure that, as written, they interpret correctly the intent of the citizens, the Citizens' Advisory Committees, and the Board of Supervisors.

We must tell the Supervisors that: (1) we need to know what the process to complete the Plan will be (2) Citizens' Advisory Committees and Environmental Review Committees should be part of the public reviews and public hearings, and (3) we want to have public hearings to prioritize issues still of concern and to fund needed studies to make the Plan successful.

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