Hi Friends,

Thanks to all of you for your actions in support of Sonoma County's forests. Thank you for contacting your supervisor and/or attending the Tuesday night Board of Supervisors' hearing on the Timberland Conversion Ordinance.

Thanks to you, protecting forests from conversions received more public comment than any other issues before the Board in Supervisor memory.

Thanks to you, the hearing room was packed with Option 3 supporters. There was a standing room only crowd and 90% or more were wearing green ribbons showing their support for Option 3 and keeping our remaining forests as forests. 90% or more of the public comments were in support of our forests and Option 3. The media was in attendance, finally giving this issue some attention.

And thanks to you, the Supervisors couldn't help but see that protecting our forests from conversion to vineyards is an issue people in Sonoma County truly care about. Supervisor Reilly promoted Option 3 which would prohibit land uses that require timberland conversion. Unfortunately, although most all of the forest lands at risk are in Supervisor Reilly's 5th District, the other Supervisors were not ready to go along with strong and straightforward protection of Sonoma County's timberlands offered by Option 3.

However, there was a general consensus among the other Board members (minus Supervisor Kelley) that the County should continue to investigate alternative options the County could take to address the issue of timberland conversions. Rather than recommending "no action", The Board directed staff to explore performance standards and alternatives and bring back an update to the Board in October.

If you have a chance, please send an email to Supervisor Reilly thanking him for his leadership on this issue: mreilly@sonoma-county.org

Thank Chairman Smith for expressing strong concern about the importance of preserving forests: tsmith@sonoma-county.org

Thanks again to YOU for making the Supervisors understand that the public cares about protecting our forests from conversion.

We'll continue to work hard on this issue and keep you informed. If you'd like to get more involved with protecting our forests, please contact us.

Sincerely,

Jay Halcomb
Redwood Chapter and Sonoma Group
Forest Protection Committee Chair
707-869-3302
rrraul@sonic.net