Friends of the South Fork Gualala River request comments on Bootleg THP

Dear amazing people,

It has been almost exactly one year since the Bootleg THP was approved. And what a year it has been!

Thanks to your public comments, we were able to file a CEQA lawsuit in May 2021 and have completely blocked Bootleg for now!! In January, Judge Wick ruled 100% in favor of a preliminary injunction against logging and no trees have fallen!

Our case revolves around CDF's failure to respond to all of our public comments. Those comments were critical to the success of this lawsuit, and it is thanks to all of you that Falk Forestry has been blocked from logging any of those 285 acres for the time being! 

The only trouble with blocking a $5.5 million logging plan is that they inevitably submit another. And, as predicted, Falk Forestry has submitted a new plan for "Bootleg Two". Bootleg Two borders the original (now stalled) Bootleg plan, however it is larger at 289 acres and sits closer to a marbled-murrelet protected area. It is also worth more $$$.

Friends - I am writing you in hopes you can please send another comment - this time regarding Bootleg Two. Your comments are truly invaluable! If you don't have the time to update your old comment, you can submit the previous one. The main thing we want to do is to cite "significant environmental concerns". CDF is required to respond to our significant concerns.

We have joined forces and have had support from many environmental groups such as Friends of Gualala River, Sierra Club, EPIC, Forests Unlimited, etc. but the fact is - it was the people receiving this email who wrote public comments about Bootleg - you are the ones who helped stop that timber harvest from happening.

And we really need your help again.

Here are some examples of significant environmental concerns: individual endangered or threatened species (chinook, steelhead, red-tailed frog, spotted owl, marbled-murrelet, plant species, etc.) and loss of habitat, cumulative effects, increase of fire danger as a result of removing the larger trees carbon, CO2, climate change, sedimentation and pollution in the river, archaeological destruction/loss.

We welcome anyone who wants to add "in support of Friends of the South Fork Gualala" in their comment.

As before:

- you must reference "THP #1-22-00041-SON Bootleg Two" in both your comment and the subject line of your email.

- send your comment to: SantaRosaPublicComment@fire.ca.gov

- it is important the reviewing agencies see your comment -- please try to send your comment as soon as you can

These are the last stands and they need all the help they can get!! Together we can keep them around.

Thanks again for your efforts,

-Ethan Artunian

Friends of the South Fork Gualala River