Mary Walsh
Mendocino Group Secretary

The Mendocino Group has been saddened by the deaths of two important coastal activists. Flo Ann Hedley who was so important in the efforts against offshore oil drilling and in behalf of strong ocean protection died suddenly in the latter part of May, from ovarian cancer. Joan Curry, staunch defender of the historical values of the village of Mendocino and advocate for California native plants died in June, suddenly from heart failure. They will be missed terribly and those who knew them will continue to value their efforts in behalf of the coast and to carry within us their inspirational models of graciousness, good humor, and diplomacy; courage, erudition and tenacity. Each was a completely unique character with striking dedication to her particular interest, and we will not see her like again.

In May, Mark Massara brought the Great Coastal Places Campaign to an overflow audience at the Fort Bragg Town Hall. Mark has called the former Georgia Pacific Mill Site the most important issue on the California coast. The former mill site, now referred to as Noyo Headlands, occupies fully one third the area of the city of Fort Bragg and has been the repository of a wide variety of toxic materials over the past one hundred years. A great deal of public attention has been focussed on this site largely because of the outreach efforts of North Coast Action, an entity that believes that the public has a great stake in the development of this site, and in fact that the site and its potential development has tremendous ramifications for the entire north coast. NCA holds that first among the developmental duties must be a thorough evaluation of the toxic contamination of the entire site.

The Mendocino Group continues to support the development of a Grading Ordinance.

We have contributed to the Pacific Environmental Education Center for their summer youth education program.

We support the Trout Unlimited/Audubon petition to the State Water Quality Board and have contributed funds to help cover costs incurred in the research and development of this petition. "The petition requests that there be stakeholder workshops in order to reach agreement on the procedures to coordinate oversight and enforcement of existing laws and regulations for dams and diversions, and that flows downstream meet minimum flow recommendations adopted jointly by National Marine Fisheries and the California Department of Fish and Game."

We have contracted with Britt Bailey of Environmental Commons to conduct research on the primary significant pesticides used in Mendocino County and to develop and produce a brochure in English and Spanish which will be widely distributed. It is proposed that Environmental Commons in partnership with Sierra Club Mendocino Group present findings and materials at one or more community meetings.

We were one of the several groups sponsoring the first Friday July showing in Fort Bragg of the David Brower film Monumental. This film is very highly recommended not only as a portrait of a visionary activist, but also as a history of conservation in the US, a very inspiring chronicle with moving footage from Brower's various wilderness wanderings and campaigns.