Peter Ashcroft
Redwood Chapter Conservation Chair

The Sonoma County General Plan Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) needs to hear that you care about conversions of timber to vineyards. So far, they have only received a few letters, some of which urge the CAC to do nothing. (One respondent is fronting for a multi-thousand acre conversion project in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties). The CAC needs to hear from more than just those who stand to profit financially by destroying forests.

Please take just a minute or two to send a letter to: Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department
2550 Ventura Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95403

The key points for you to make in your letter are the following:

• The environmental impacts of conversions of timber lands to vineyards currently receive only the most superficial oversight from the California Department of Forestry (CDF).
• Environmental effects of conversion include erosion, water pollution, water diversion, habitat destruction, and pesticide runoff.
• Most of the historic timber conversions in Sonoma County have been on lands that are NOT zoned "Timber Production" (TP). (In other words, merely protecting lands that are zoned TP is not adequate.)
• Applications have already been submitted for some large scale conversions of timber, and larger projects have been proposed for the future.
• You support as much protection for as much timber land as possible.
• Of the four options before the CAC, you support Option 3.

Conversion of timber land is an important environmental problem in Sonoma County, but it tends to be overlooked because it generally happens in areas that most people don't see. (For example, it might happen in the Gualala River watershed, and that's far from the County's population centers.)

The county is considering four options for how to prioritize the need to keep land in timber production relative to the need to allow conversion to agriculture (usually vineyards).

This whole debate pertains to conversion of timber lands rather than conversion of oak woodlands. While we will continue to try to find ways to protect oak woodlands, the current debate is unfortunately limited to TIMBER lands. I need to also emphasize that while the current debate applies to conversions from timber to agriculture, it does not apply to timber harvest practices in general. The outcome of this debate has bearing on whether or not a person could clearcut for the purpose of putting in a new vineyard, but would not prevent a person from clearcutting if they replanted trees afterwards.

The four options are:

1. Continue with the status quo because the fraction of timber lands that have been converted to vineyards is less than 1%.
2. Discourage the conversion of timberland by not allowing agricultural uses that would require conversion in the 69,000 acres that are zoned TP (Timber Production).
3. Same as Option #2, but apply to the 194,000 acres of timber in the RRD Land Use category (whether or not they are zoned TP).
4. Allow conversion of the 69,000 acres of TP on a case by case basis.

More background information is available by looking on the PRMD web site for staff reports supporting the July 18 meeting.

Please take a moment to write. When you do write, be sure to send a copy of your letter to your Supervisor. The address for the Supervisors is:

Board of Supervisors
575 Administration Drive, Room 100A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403-2887