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!
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
Committee chairperson: Karen Maki (Forests@lomaprieta.SierraClub.org)
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.
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2024 Strategies
Learn more about the 2024 committee strategies! |
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Past Work
Learn more about at some of the work we've done! |
Forest Protection Forum
How to Respond to GSNR's Wood Pellet DEIR
December 16, 4:00 pm (PST)
Panel discussion with
- Jane Jacoby
- Rita Vaughan Frost
- Shane Wolf, Ph.D.
Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR) is proposing to build two industrial-scale wood pellet plants in Tuolumne and Lassen counties, exporting one million tons of wood pellets a year out of Stockton to overseas energy markets.
Although the plants are being billed as a wildfire mitigation strategy, community members and advocates are concerned about incentivizing the destruction of our forests, the loss of critical carbon sinks, perpetuation of severe wildfire conditions, and negative health impacts to people who live near the plants or the Port of Stockton, through which the wood pellets would be shipped to Europe and Asia. For more information, see this National Press Foundation symposium.
A panel of three professional environmental advocates will unpack the project’s 1300-page Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and provide concise suggestions to use in your response to stop this destructive proposal.
To read the panel participant's bios, learn more, and register click here.
Allies and Partners
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Here are some of our allies and partners: |
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