Sierra Club
Redwood Chapter Newsletter
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Mendocino Group Report Michele White | |
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The Mendocino Group Executive Committee hosted a general membership meeting on October 25 in Albion. We enjoyed lots of good food and got a chance to meet other local Sierra Club members for the first time. Our guest speaker was Mark Massara, Sierra Club's Director of Coastal Programs. Mark spoke with us about the Sierra Club's Great Coastal Places Program, which is in its second year. The August/September issue of Redwood Needles contained more information on the Campaign or you can visit www.sierraclub.org/ca/coasts/. On this website you can sign up for information on the Great Coastal Places campaign and also subscribe to Mark's monthly email newsletter, California CoastWatcher. Mark gave us a report on the current activities of the California Coastal Commission and talked about his hopes for the Commission under Governor-elect Schwarzenegger and how the Sierra Club plans to hold Arnold to some of the "promises" he made during the campaign. Our next governor said, "California's Coast is recognized worldwide as one of our most precious resources and it must be protected. The California Coastal Commission should |
not be subject to political interference in Commission decisions that has characterized the Davis administration". We need to be prepared to hold him to this promise. Mark also shared with us photographs of the California coastline taken by Ken Adelman as part of the California Coastal Records Project. Take a look at their website at californiacoastline.org. This dedicated photographer has taken and catalogued over 12,700 photographs of our coastline from the Oregon border to Mexico. They fly at about 500 feet in a helicopter to capture these incredible photos, many of which have been used to instigate enforcement actions by the Coastal Commission for developments that are in violation of their permits. If you weren't with us on October 25 you missed a great presentation. The Mendocino Group Executive Committee plans to hold at least two general membership meetings a year with the next sometime in the spring. We hope to see you there. |