Forests Forever

Restore • Reinhabit • Re-enchant

Write to the editor of your local newspaper today!

Time is running out to save Rainbow Ridge!

Defend the wild Mattole forests! HRC, stay out of unlogged areas!

At a time in American history when our original forests have been almost entirely eradicated outside of scattered parks and preserves, we have learned much about the cost of eliminating them.

Logging leaves behind exposed and depleted soils, resulting in smaller, less-healthy trees; stripped of shading vegetation streams get warmer and siltier, in turn hurting salmon and aquatic life; carbon is released from soils and decomposing logging slash; the hotter, drier environment sets the stage for more frequent and intense wildfires; and more.

Rainbow Ridge is home to some of the last unprotected primary coastal Douglas-fir forests left anywhere.

We have an opportunity right now to put a halt to the destruction of Rainbow Ridge’s forests but we must act quickly.

Write a letter TODAY to the editor of your local newspaper or to your regional paper. Our web platform will direct your letter to the appropriate media outlet.

Express your outrage over HRC’s logging plans on Rainbow Ridge-- and demand that FSC not continue to certify HRC’s Rainbow Ridge plans as “sustainable” or FSC will risk losing credibility with the lumber-buying public.

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Instructions

After you press the "Get Papers" button choose one of the newspapers. Then click on up to three paragraphs of your choice from the selection (more will make your letter too long for most editors).

Your chosen paragraphs will then appear in the letter window.

Very important! Now tweak your selected paragraphs using your own vocabulary. Be sure to fill in your name, address and phone number in the form provided. (Your phone number will not be published. It is provided only so the editor can verify your identity.)

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

 

Look for papers within miles of zip code

Step 2 - Write your message





Click on a point to add it to the letter.
  • At a time when our original forests have almost entirely disappeared outside of a sprinkling of parks and preserves, it is shocking to learn of Humboldt Redwood Co.’s (HRC’s) plans to destroy some of the last unprotected virgin Douglas-fir ecosystems left anywhere.

  • Rainbow Ridge, located about 30 miles south of Eureka, is home to over 1000 acres of unprotected and never-logged Douglas-fir forest and associated woods, grasslands and rare, pristine wildlife habitat. Despite decades of concern expressed by local citizens HRC remains undeterred and recently announced its intention to log the area.

  • HRC has consistently defended its controversial plans on the basis that it is certified as a “sustainable” timber company by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). But FSC’s sustainability principles clearly frown on logging of primary, original forests, as well as practices highly unpopular with area residents, such as large-scale application of herbicides to kill unwanted trees-- even in old-growth stands.

  • FSC should immediately rdeclare HRC’s Rainbow Ridge plans as Non-conforming to FSC standard. Consumers who buy HRC lumber with the “green” FSC label assume they are not supporting the practices in which HRC is actually engaged.

  • Humboldt County citizens and concerned organizations have filed a formal grievance with FSC but this step has only bought some time. An investigation of the planned logging at Rainbow Ridge is being undertaken by FSC auditors but logging can go ahead at any time.

  • Cutting down original, primary forests wipes out irreplaceable habitat for endangered plants and animals, releases carbon from exposed soils, and heats and dries the immediate area, setting the stage for more numerous and intense wildfires.

  • HRC should switch to a willing-seller posture to allow Rainbow Ridge to be preserved at fair market value. And until that happens FSC should pull its “sustainable” certification, which only glorifies HRC’s destructive and unnecessary practices.

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

    NOW AVAILABLE
    from Forests Forever Foundation
    and the Center for American Places