Mendocino Environmental Center

06/02/2026

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/02/lawsuit-trump-administration-windfarm-leases

State attorneys general argue $1bn deal to terminate major offshore wind lease off the coast of New York is unlawful

05/31/2026

05/29/2026

Congratulations everyone!!!

AB 2494, the State Demonstration Forest Bill, passed the Assembly floor vote on Tuesday!
Thank you for your continued letter writing and showing up for this forest!
Attached is a copy of the great frontpage LA Times article about our campaign that came out earlier this month.

Your letters and comments are making a huge difference! Public support and input are vital in getting this Bill through committees and onto the Governor’s desk. Please keep up the pressure on Sacramento by continuing to send emails asap. We will share due dates and new pressure points as they unfold.

Next, the Bill goes to the State Senate: first the Natural Resources committee on June 23rd, then the Appropriations Committee, then the Senate Floor Vote.

Here are some key actions you can take:

Thank you email to Assemblymember Rogers! [email protected]

State Senator McGuire is the North Coast Senator and he is sponsoring the bill in the Senate. [email protected]

See sample letter below- Ask him to stay strong in the face of timber lobbyists and keep the bill strong! Whatever personal notes you sent already to the Assembly- send them again to the Senate.

Senator Becker is the Chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee and
Senator Laird is the Senator from the district in which the Soquel Demonstration State
Forest is located in the ancestral territory of Ohlone Tribes, and we want their strong support, you can send them the same email you send McGuire:
[email protected]
[email protected]

Reach out to friends in other parts of the state and ask them to write to their State Senator and the Senators listed above.

Reach out to Environmental and Native Rights organizations that you know of and ask them to write a letter of support and submit to the attorneys at EPIC: [email protected]

Someone from the Coalition will be happy to join any zoom calls to explain the bill to organizations around the State. We have been having successful calls! Please connect us to groups you know: [email protected]

What the bill does:

Redefines and updates the priorities of Demonstration State Forest system management, by removing a requirement for commercial logging, (put in place in the 1940s), shifting priorities to those outlined above.
Ensures protection of ecological integrity, wildlife, old growth and mature second growth redwoods within Demonstration State Forest lands by prioritizing these lands for restoration, recreation and research.
Sequesters and stores carbon to buffer the effects of climate change
Introduces Tribal co-management and Traditional Ecological Knowledge into California’s State Demonstration Forests to make systemic changes in land management.
Encourages research around wildfire resiliency, watershed restoration and old growth redwoods.
Supports rural economies by transitioning away from dwindling extractive economies, instead enhancing ecotourism and restoration jobs.
Permits the sale of timber only when the harvest occurs for ecological restoration, fire management or research purposes, as defined.
Allows funds from the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund to be used to maintain Demonstration State Forests.
See the Legislative text: AB 2494 State Forests: Forest Management
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2494

Sample letter from EPIC:
Dear Senator McGuire,
I strongly encourage you to pass AB 2494 through the Senate, the State Demonstration Forest Bill.
I support a management approach for our state demonstration forests that centers tribal co-management, biodiversity, climate mitigation and resiliency, and outdoor access as opposed to profit-driven logging in state forests. This bill provides a clear pathway to providing a much needed update to the framework of management for all Demonstration State Forests. AB 2494 would also provide a stable source of funding for CAL FIRE’s Demonstration Forest operations through the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund and allow lands to count towards California’s 30x30 conservation goals. Finally, the bill would stimulate rural economic development by increasing tourism through enhanced recreation opportunities and increased restoration projects. Importantly, the bill will not prohibit timber harvesting or timber harvest research on these forests - but rather prioritize timber harvest and research that furthers biodiversity conservation and wildfire resilience. In ensuring that timber harvesting continues to be demonstrated on these forests, we are retaining logging jobs while adding jobs in restoration.
Thank you for your consideration in supporting the better conservation of our state forests, please keep the bill strong and lead it through the State Senate!
Sincerely,
(your name)
~~~

Thank you all again for staying on this issue. We are doing well and are almost to the finish line! - Coalition to Save Jackson Forest

05/28/2026

We are deeply concerned by reports that Redwood National Park flagged Native books and materials for possible removal or review.

These actions raise serious questions about whose histories are being protected, whose voices are being silenced, and how public institutions fulfill their responsibility to educate honestly and inclusively.

These books are not political threats. They are essential records of Indigenous knowledge, culture, history, and lived experience.

Removing or targeting these works undermines decades of progress toward truth-telling, representation, and respect for Tribal Nations whose homelands include the very landscapes national parks were created to preserve.

Efforts to restrict access to Native perspectives erase context, diminish understanding, and perpetuate harmful narratives that have historically excluded Indigenous peoples from telling their own stories.

ATALM is calling for transparency and accountability in this process. Public lands and public institutions must remain places where diverse histories are acknowledged and where Indigenous knowledge is respected, not censored.

We encourage our members and partners to continue supporting Native literature, amplifying Indigenous voices, and defending intellectual freedom in all spaces where cultural memory is preserved and shared.

Here is a list of the books on the chopping block:

1. We Are the Land: A History of Native California by Damon B. Akins and William J. Bauer Jr.

2. California Through Native Eyes: Reclaiming History by William J. Bauer Jr.

3. We Are Dancing for You: Native Feminisms and the Revitalization of Women's Coming-of-Age Ceremonies by Cutcha Risling Baldy

4. California Indians and Their Environment by Kent Lightfoot

5. Adopted by Indians by Thomas Jefferson Mayfield :

6. Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbur

7. Women's Prose and Poetry About Nature by Lorraine Anderson Grave

8. Matters: Excavating the Dreams of the Dead in Nineteenth-Century 9. Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers with Spirit by Adrienne Keene

05/28/2026

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/5/27/800046217/community/ca-oil-permits-skyrocket-in-2026s-first-quarter-majority-are-for-chevron-wells/

Los Angeles, CA – For those folks who still think California is the “green” and “progressive” leader of the nation, I’ve got some disturbing news for you. The approval of new oil drilling permits by…

05/26/2026

In another win for love and inclusivity, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has once again proclaimed June 2026 as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month and voted unanimously to fly the Pride flag under the USA and California flags at the County Admin Center for the month of June. The flag will be raised at 8 am on Mon. June 1, at the County Admin Center on Low Gap Road with Supervisor John Haschak, who sponsored the resolution. Please attend if you can. It's not a long ceremony, but it is a small measure, perhaps, of a change in the county, and a strong message when we see so many efforts to destroy acknowledgement of diversity in other parts of this country and world. Raising the Pride flag is especially meaningful because it brings visibility and gives hope to young people who are facing pushback. And, the declaration and flag flying will now become a regular feature of Mendocino County yearly Pride celebration. Very excited!

05/25/2026

Wake Up to Climate Crisis tour is under way.
Protests & teach-ins at military air shows in the USA against:

*jets’ toxic air pollution & carbon emissions
*jets’ noise pollution that can trigger PTSD in veterans
*waste of taxpayer dollars

Tours to college campuses with teach-ins emphasizing:

*severity of the climate crisis
*U.S. military’s devastating climate impacts

More info on our work and events happening soon here
https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/climatecrisis/wake-climate-crisis-tour

These photos taken at Mt. Thrashmore Park in Virginia Beach for Nakba event with VFP 757. And outside of Norfolk Naval Shipyard on May 19. Photos by Jim Rine of VFP-Climate Crisis & Militarism Project.