Forest Protection Committee

Forest Protection Forum

Global Bioenergy Sector Targets California’s Forests With Massive Wood Export Pellet Scheme
December 11, 2023
4:00 pm
By Gary Hughes
**Register**

Gary Hughes

Golden State Natural Resources is a project of the Rural County Representatives of California that proposes to build two new wood pellet plants to manufacture and export 1 million tons of wood pellets a year to foreign energy markets. The presentation will explore the environmental and social justice implications of this aggressive pivot to bioenergy in the California forest product industry.

Gary Hughes is the Americas Program Coordinator for Biofuelwatch.

Having been active on forest and river protection campaigns throughout the western United States and Latin America since the late 1980s, Gary has worked for the past 5 years with the global climate justice organization Biofuelwatch on a portfolio of projects in California and internationally. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1988 and completed his masters in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana in 2002. He currently lives in the SF Bay Area with his wife and daughter.

Mitigating Climate Change Through Forest Carbon Sequestration

Often called the lungs of the earth, forests help clean our air and regulate the climate. Forests filter our water, provide raw materials, recreation and inspiration. However, poor logging practices and planning threaten the future of our forests and wild lands. 

Make the Right Choice

FSC Managed Forest      Industrial Clearcut Forest
FSC forestry practices maintain forest habitat         Standard industrial forestry practices destroy 
                                                                      forest habitat

The current logging method of choice by the forestry industry is clearcutting. To date, hundreds of thousands of acres have been clearcut in the Sierra Nevada and the North Coast. The Loma Prieta Chapter supports a ban of clearcutting in California, and the Forest Protection Committee is working to stop this devastation.

We are actively supporting the statewide Stop Clearcutting California campaign by passing resolutions in cities calling for a ban on clearcutting in California. We have passed resolutions in Daly City, Brisbane, San Mateo, Menlo Park, Cupertino, Monte Sereno, and the Midpeninsula Open Space District. The campaign has passed resolutions in San Francisco, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, and Davis.  You can find a sample resolution here. Santa Clara County and Sunnyvale have listed a ban of clearcutting on their list of desired legislation, and Saratoga wrote a letter to the governor.

You can usually be assured that you are buying wood that doesn’t come from clearcuts when you buy would that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Check out our FSC flyer and list of local FSC suppliers.

Please join and support our efforts.

First page of FPC Flyer                   FSC Wood Suppliers List Page
Print FSC Flyer          Print FSC Wood Suppliers List

Recent News