Mary Walsh
Mendocino Group Secretary

On March 15th a coalition of local conservation groups - Sierra Club, California Native Plant Society, and a local watershed group - filed a lawsuit in Mendocino Superior Court that challenges the Board of Supervisors' decision to approve a subdivision proposed by developers (Mid-Stream Partners LLC) in Albion. Plaintiffs contend the County erred in issuing a "negative declaration" for the project, and believe that a full environmental impact report is required by law.

The 66-acre subdivision is part of property purchased from the Campbell-Hawthorne timber company. Plaintiffs believe this project represents an accelerating trend to subdivide and fragment large industrial timberlands that have now become economically valuable for conversion to other uses, such as residential development and vineyards.

At risk are rare and unique Mendocino Pygmy Cypress Forest, bishop pine forest and wetlands. The pygmy forest is rapidly being lost to piecemeal development and ministerial county permits. This gnarled, picturesque plant community is of scientific importance for its rare plant species and its underlying geology and soil chemistry.

In voting as they did, the supervisors ignored letters from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expressing concerns about impacts to wetlands and from California Department of Fish and Game, citing potential degradation to sensitive vegetation types.

The conservation groups hope to see new housing concentrated in already-urbanized portions of the coast, greater emphasis on protecting wildlands, and more public input on projects that impact resources and the character of local communities.

Mendocino Group is interested in having a presence in the 4th of July parade in Mendocino. Please call Lorraine Buranzon 937-3977 if anyone is interested in helping this project happen.

Lorrie Legasse completed an Environmental Education Project with an award approved by the Mendocino Group to Frank Zeek School Booster Club in Ukiah for a class trip to Jughandle Interpretive Center in Caspar.

The California Coastal Commission met and approved the amended staff report with the several conditions and granted a Coastal Development Permit to Georgia-Pacific Corp for the removal of foundations, additional assessment and interim remedial measures on its former mill site property in Fort Bragg. All parties said they were happy with the effort and the result. Mendocino Group is very pleased. We have nothing but praise and gratitude for the Coastal Commission Staff, especially Jim Baskins and the North Coast Office. Bob Merrill, jefe at the North Coast Office referred to this nine month effort as a small first step in the decommissioning, assessment, remediation and redevelopment process. Sierra Club is very glad to have facilitated a relationship between the City of Fort Bragg and the Coastal Commission. We hope we are all on the same page now and that it is the intention of all parties to further the project with every regard for the laws of California and the participation of all resource trustees for the best possible protection of human and environmental health.