Peter Ashcroft
Chapter Conservation Chair

A draft Sonoma County General Plan revision would facilitate forest destruction rather than stopping it as originally proposed. The forest conversion provision, (known as "Option 3"), has been reworked by County staff in such a way that it condones forest destruction as long as there is "No Net Loss" of forestland. The resulting proposal creates a dangerous loophole, and will not afford necessary protection. Please contact your county Supervisor (phone: 565-2241) and let him or her know that the "No Net Loss" provision of Option 3 is unacceptable and must be removed.

Among recent issues before the public and environmental community in Sonoma County, few have raised more alarm and pulic response than the threat to forests and natural lands by vineyard conversions. Central to that response has been a two year effort to update the County's General Plan to protect 194,000 acres of forests in the Resource and Rural Development (RRD) land use category. Virtually every public comment on Option 3 called for a halt on conversions of forests to vineyards and other uses. The "No Net Loss" concept as proposed by County staff for Option 3 betrays that expressed public sentiment.

Language like "No Net Loss" will turn out to be unenforceable. The time frames of gain or loss are so large and the measurements of loss or gain so vague and subjective that protection and/or rehabilitation programs will not occur in any meaningful way. Instead, such language offers a convenient loophole (and even tax relief) for applicants to a conversion process.

Among many forest conversions threatening Sonoma County, William Hill's proposal to destroy 1,900 acres is the most ominous. The "No Net Loss" language proposed for Option 3 fits perfectly into Mr. Hill's plan.

than 3,500 board feet of standing merchantable timber per acre. This is almost nothing, since it is generally agreed that debilitated lands stand at about 10,000 board feet per acre, and historic natural forest in the area at over 100,000 board feet. These forests need protection rather than further exploitation.

Conversion of forests to intensive agriculture causes fundamental changes in ecological and physical processes that maintain the quality of water, land, and air. These include disruption of wildlife corridors and habitat fragmentation, groundwater depletion, and pollution to fresh water sources with by pesticides, fertilizer, and sedimentation.

The growth of the wine industry has elevated vineyard conversion pressures even by corporations from outside the United States. The Sonoma County General Plan update may be the best opportunity we have to establish protection against this threat. The Planning Commission hearing to address Option 3 is tentatively scheduled for April 21. Please consult the Sonoma Group web page or send inquiries to option3@sonic.net for updates on this rapidly evolving issue.

What You Can Do:

Please contact your county Supervisor (phone: 565-2241) and let him or her know that the "No Net Loss" provision of Option 3 is unacceptable and must be removed.