Forests are often called the lungs of the earth. They breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. In doing so, they sequester carbon keeping it safely out of the atmosphere, help regulate worldwide climate and enable the existence of other life forms, including ourselves. Forests also filter water, create precipitation, support soil health and stability, provide habitat and promote biodiversity. They provide raw materials for wood products, and abundant recreation opportunities. They inspire with their beauty and grandeur and have immense cultural significance to many Native American tribes.
Egregious forest management and logging practices are devastating intact forestlands worldwide. These practices are contributing to climate change, degraded water supplies and soil, a decrease in biodiversity, and an increase in frequency and severity of wildfires. Let's do something about it!
Contact the Forest Protection Committee
Oppose the Fix Our Forests Act!
In 2025, shortly after the reins of power shifted to Donald Trump and the Republican Party, the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) passed the U.S. House of Representatives and was later advanced by the Senate Agriculture Committee. The bill will likely be up for a Senate floor vote this year. The Sierra Club, along with countless other environmental groups oppose the bill.
If passed, FOFA could open millions of acres of federal public forestland to virtually unchecked logging. This will degrade watersheds, deplete biodiversity, destroy habitat, exacerbate climate instability, and in many instances, increase wildfire risks.
To learn more, click here!
Call Senator Adam Schiff at (202) 224-3121 and ask him to continue his stated opposition to the bill, or click here to tell the Senate to vote NO on this misdirected bill. Senator Padilla is a co-sponsor of the bill.
Who We Are
The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter Forest Protection Committee (LPFPC) believes that our forests need protection more than ever. Our team monitors forest management projects and timber harvest plans within the range of the Chapter and provides comments and recommendations to help ensure these projects are performed in an environmentally responsible manner. We attend local FireSafe meetings, meet with our local, state and federal legislators, and educate the public about important forest and wildfire safety issues through letters to the editor, opinion pieces and promotion of StopClearcuttingCA’s Forest Protection Forum.
Our deep love for forests and an appreciation of their importance to the well-being of the planet motivates us to take action to protect them. We strive to educate ourselves, other chapter members, the public, and local politicians about the environmental value of forests and the issues that threaten them. Relying on the best available science to inform our views, we promote healthier forest management practices.
If you love forests and are an activist or want to be, join us! The Loma Prieta Forest Protection Committee hosts educational events and takes action to help protect forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains and throughout California. The committee also promotes home hardening and community planning to help communities be safer from fire. To learn more, click here!
Our virtual Zoom meetings take place
on the 4th Thursday of the month from 4pm to 6pm
Loma Prieta Calendar
To contact the Forest Protection committee, fill out the form at the bottom of this page!
Our Mission
To preserve and protect the forests of California in order to mitigate climate change, protect ecosystems, promote biodiversity, and safeguard existing recreational opportunities. Forests sequester and store carbon, and they support biodiverse native habitats and species, clean water resources, as well as soil health and stability.
Our tools include education, advocacy, and political action.
| 2026 Strategies
Learn more about the 2026 committee strategies! |
| What We've Done, What We DoFor many years, we've engaged with public officials, prepared summaries of talking points about important forest protection issues. Learn more about the Forest Committee work!
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Forest Protection Forum
Richard Hutto
Beautifully burned forests: Learning to celebrate severe forest fires
April 20, 2026, 4:00 pm (PST)
Register here to join!
Dr. Hutto will challenge the common belief that today’s Western forest fires are unprecedented in their severity. Drawing on ecological evidence—especially from a fire‑dependent bird species—he will argue that severe fires have long been a natural and essential part of mixed‑conifer forest ecosystems. He’ll examine how plant and animal biology contradict the idea that modern fires are ecologically abnormal, and he’ll raise critical questions about whether current forest management practices, including thinning and prescribed burning, truly support the species and processes that depend on high‑severity fire. Ultimately, he invites the audience to review the evidence and decide whether our land‑management strategies align with the ecological realities of these forests.
| Dr. Richard Hutto is Professor Emeritus in Biological Sciences and Wildlife Biology at the University of Montana (www.rlhutto.com). Hutto joined the faculty in 1977 and taught courses in ecology, fire ecology, and ornithology across a nearly 40-year career. He conducted research on migratory landbirds throughout the West—in Mexico in winter, the Southwest during spring and fall, and the Northern Rockies in summer. In 1990, he developed the USFS Northern Region Landbird Monitoring Program to generate data on bird distribution patterns so that we might better understand the ecological effects of various land-use practices. To promote informed decision-making using bird data, Hutto also established the Avian Science Center on the University of Montana campus in 2004. Following the Yellowstone fires of 1988, his research focus shifted toward the ecology of birds in burned forests—an interest he maintains to this day. Dr. Hutto also hosted a nationally televised PBS series called “Birdwatch,” which ran from 1998 to 2001. |
Recordings of past Forest Protection Forums on the Forest Protection Forums YouTube channel.
Allies and Partners
Here are some of our allies and partners: |
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