No on V

Letter to the editor by: John Andersen Published in the Ukiah Daily Journal 5/13/16 To the editor: An article titled, "Campaign statements: MRC spent nearly $197,000 to oppose dead trees ballot measure," by Adam Randall, was published in the Ukiah Daily Journal on May 7, 2016. MRC found a number of comments that would benefit from additional correction, clarification, and commentary. Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC) was created in 1998 from lands purchased in Mendocino and Sonoma county with the publicly declared mission to be good stewards of the forest and at the same time run a successful business. We have made significant progress in that regard:

1. Adopting policies to make MRC's lands FSC certified (since November 2000);
2. Adding more than 1 billion board feet of redwood and Douglas fir trees by lowering the rate of harvest;
3. Defining old growth down to the level of an individual tree, along with implementation of a policy to protect all individual old growth trees across our property;
4. Elimination of traditional clearcutting from our property;
5. Long term investments to  improve habitat for fish across the property by controlling or holding back more than 1 million cubic yards of sediment (more than 100,000 dump trucks of dirt) from the coastal streams flowing through our forest;
6. Removal of more than 36 long time fish barriers, increasing fish bearing streams by more than 20 miles;
7. Operating as an open and transparent business; including an open invitation to take interested individuals anywhere in the forest.
8. Completing a substantial rebuild of our Ukiah sawmill, assuring that Mendocino county will have infrastructure in the processing of wood products for many years  to come; and
9. Employing about 300 skilled employees in Mendocino County earning family-level wages and benefits.

Out of an abundance of caution, MRC has reported what we have spent on a campaign against Measure V and what we expect to spend to comply with very complicated campaign laws. The amount spent on the campaign is a reflection of how important MRC feels it is to talk with people about our Forest Stewardship Council certified-forest management, long term commitment to forest restoration, and providing more than 300 family wage jobs to local residents. Campaigns of this type have strict public reporting requirements. To date we have spent more than $50,000 to publish, send mail, provide information to the public, and hire experts. To inform voters and interested parties about Measure V, we expect to spend and properly report more than $150,000 between now and June 7th. A complaint was filed against MRC earlier this year with the State Fair Practices Political Commission. After a thorough review, the Commission determined we had properly followed the law. You can find the state's ruling here: www.hrcllc.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/04/Fair_political_practices_lette…. MRC was created in 1998 from lands purchased in Mendocino and Sonoma counties with publicly declared mission to be good stewards of the forest and at the same time run a successful business. This set a different, sustainable, and better path from the legacy of previous owners. This legacy includes tens of thousands of acres of redwood and Douglas fir forest that are now dominated by tanoak. MRC is committed to restoring these forestlands to the natural balance of conifer and hardwood. Treating tanoak encourages the development of a healthier forest by restoring the health of redwood and Douglas-fir trees. Since the inception of MRC, approximately 69,000 acres have been  restored to a natural conifer balance by controlling tanoak and planting 10.1 million redwood and Douglas-fir seedlings. The treatment of tanoak to restore the natural balance of conifer to hardwood is a tool used for the last 25 years. Small private landowners, industrial landowners, and state landowners all use this tool to achieve this goal in a careful and controlled manner according to state regulations. MRC has reviewed its internal policies to encourage fire safety. These include procedures and processes we have used for more than a decade, such as: a. Partnering with communities to place dedicate fire water tanks, improve egress for remote neighbors and coordination of activities with local fire districts. b. Working in Sacramento to encourage investment in Mendocino county through the return of taxes paid locally and deployment of Calfire resources. c. Donations of time, equipment and money to Volunteer Fire Departments. MRC strengthened its practices to improve coordinating with local fire districts, fire experts, climate experts, and Calfire on pilot projects for fuels hazard reduction and additional access in the remote parts of the county. The restoration of the forest can occur while providing safety to firefighters and adjacent landowners. There are many examples of wildland fires where firefighters successfully and safely controlled fires in and adjacent to areas where tanoak has been treated. A few examples include the 2008 Mendocino Lightning Complex Fires, the Comptche Fire, and the Lodge Fire. In some instances, the fires were controlled in tanoak treatment areas. Tanoak treatment and selective management of MRC forestlands is a more expensive style of forest management when compared to even-aged management or clearcutting. Even-age management would remove all the standing tanoak and conifer but MRC policies since its inception in 1998 eliminated clearcutting. The use of herbicides is regulated by the Mendocino County Agricultural Commission and the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Additionally, MRC voluntarily subjects itself to third party verification of forest practices under the guidelines of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and has done so since 2000. The U.S. Forest Service has conducted research on the presence of herbicides in smoke when treated areas of the forest burn. The research includes five different herbicides including Imazapyr. The research concluded no herbicide residues are found in smoke when treated areas of the forest burn. For more details on this research see the actual document on MRC's website at: http://www.hrcllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/imazapyrandfire.pdf. MRC is regulated by seven (7) state and federal agencies, including CalFire. Additionally, MRC voluntarily subjects itself to third party verification under the guidelines of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and has done so since 2000. We publish our inventory and many other details of our forest management on our website. It is straightforward to find information on the management of our forest. From our inception we have encouraged transparency and we have a publicly stated policy of taking anyone to anywhere on the property at any time to see our practices first hand. Please contact John Andersen at: 707-272-1177 to arrange for a tour. Additionally, we post our inventory and other forest facts on our website. You can find more information at www.mrc.com. - John Andersen, Director Forest Policy, Mendocino Redwood Company, LLC and Humboldt Redwood Company, LLC