R10 Discussion and Possible Action Including Review, Adoption, Amendment, Consideration or Ratification of Legislation Pursuant to the Adopted Legislative Platform
(Sponsor: Executive Office)
In hopes that this comment reaches you in time for the discussion of Item R10, I ask that you vote yes on the changes in the section on Climate Resilience and Renewable Energy Leg. Platform for 2026. Climate Change is here and is real. It will take concerted effort and long-term focus by all levels of government--local, state, and federal--to address the causes and consequences of this human-caused phenomenon. Thank you for your consideration of my comment.
The Mendocino Trail Stewards strongly support the adoption of agenda item R-10 as part of Mendocino County’s 2026 legislative platform.
As an organization dedicated to environmental awareness in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest, we wish to specifically address the action item listed in R-10:
"Support legislation to capture and store carbon utilizing net zero emissions healthy forest management initiatives."
Contrary to the claims of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the management of Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) as commercial timberlands is raising, not lowering, carbon emissions. JDSF is the largest redwood forest owned and managed by the state for demonstration purposes. Redwoods are the best trees in the world at sequestering carbon, but the best of the best (the oldest and largest) are mostly gone: only 7% of old-growth redwoods remain standing, and only 2% of second-growth trees remain. Between 8,000 and 12,000 acres of second-growth redwoods are still standing in Mendocino County, and almost entirely within JDSF ownership. The second-growth trees in JDSF are not protected from logging.
It is imperative that the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors not only support, but push for, state and/or federal legislation that would protect this forest from industrial logging. The outdated legislative logging mandate for state forests (PRC 4631), which states that all state forests must be managed to achieve “maximum sustained production of high quality forest products”, must be replaced to reflect the climate emergency.
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors listened to what the many supporters of a carefully worded Climate Resilience and Renewable Energy section of the 2026 Legislative Platform had to say. All of us are concerned about addressing what the County needs the State and Federal Legislators to support.
Actions such as energy reliability, streamlined permitting requirements and more energy affordability are broad, acknowledged concerns. The specific items such as planning for sea level rise, roof water catchment, electric buses, carbon capture, especially in JDSF, workforce development and conservation are concrete issues that State and Federal Legislators should be advocating.
Supervisors Mulheren and Williams took on the task of editing the items in the Climate Resilience and Renewable Energy section and did an excellent job. The only point that should be changed is the 12th bullet on Page 15, which should read "Support incentives...", not "Support incentivizes..."
Climate Action Mendocino urges all of the Supervisors to vote for the changes to this section. The items are critical points and will communicate the needs of our County to State and Federal Legislators.
Meadow Farm Community Land Trust (MFCLT) thanks Supervisors Williams and Mulheren along with other BOS members for seeking input from community organizations in preparing the 2026 Legislative Platform. We urge unanimous consent of item R-10.
Two members of our Board participate in GRI’s Climate Crisis Workgroup. MFCLT is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. We are located in Supervisor Norvell’s 4th District just northeast of Fort Bragg. We offer community education in food security, disaster preparedness and recovery, organic gardening, carbon sequestration, forest restoration, and sustainable living. We stand with all of you for a safe, affordable, and resilient Mendocino County!!!
MFCLT relies nearly 100% on renewable energy to run its farming and charitable operations. We find a shortage of qualified workers in the renewable energy installation and maintenance industry. We applaud language in the platform to support increased investment in local job training opportunities to increase skilled laborers qualified to consult, design, and install affordable renewable forms of energy production.
We also recognize the County’s willingness to a) seek state funding and federal funding for local disaster preparedness, hazard mitigation, and
recovery programs; b) advocate for a study on safe, sustainable, waterless sanitation practices to address urgent post disaster sanitation needs and support long-term solutions to the housing crisis; and c) to streamline state and county regulatory requirements for housing, infrastructure, and mitigation projects, especially post-disaster and/or for those cases involving the elderly and economically disadvantaged, by expanding exemptions, fast-tracking permits, and reducing red tape.
In regard to item R10 on the BoS agenda. The voters of Mendocino County support aggressive government action to reduce the degradation of our environment that contribute to negative climate change impacts on our communities and the natural environment.
The climate legislative platform that Supervisors Williams and Mulheren were tasked to bring back to the Board should be unanimously supported. It represents the product of significant review and input from a broad cross section of county residents in all five supervisor districts.
Both the GrassRoots Institute’s Climate Crisis Workgroup and Climate Action Mendocino have consistently support the proposals included in the proposed platform.
Average global temperatures now exceed the 1.5 degree warming tipping point that climatologists have warned will cause sea level rise destruction in coastal communities, more sever winter flooding, and destructive and frequent wild fires. Mendocino has already felt the sting of climate change driven disasters. While some continue to deny what is self evident all around us, Mendocino’s residents understand that we have no time to waste and we must press forward with effective, efficient and sustainable action to address the challenges of climate change.
We applaud the Board of Supervisors' interest in focusing on ways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the County (Agenda item 10 in this meeting). An underappreciated opportunity is carbon management in forests generally, and in Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) in particular.
We recently published a detailed report documenting widespread greenwashing conducted by Cal Fire in JDSF, chief among which is misleading carbon accounting and highly suboptimal forest management practices. You can download the document here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e3a-4L1VeWKb1GI35Nxp7aiIbTZ2dUla/view?usp=share_link
Cal Fire states that JDSF today contains 19 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide. This corresponds to that held in 75,000 coal train cars, with annual additions through growth equal to the emissions of 50,000 passenger cars on an ongoing basis (remarkably, this is on par with the number of cars in the County). But this is far less than the forest would hold were it managed with carbon as a high priority. In contrast -- and implausibly -- Jackson suggests that a cessation of logging would _reduce_ the amount of carbon stored in the forest; this contradicts JDSF’s own data as well as analyses in the peer-reviewed scientific literature stretching back at least 35 years.
Even more importantly, through its "demonstrations" in Jackson Cal Fire actively sets the tone for forest practices throughout the county and state and directly reviews and approves all timber harvest plans for private lands. Thus, its influence on forest carbon extends far beyond the boundaries of JDSF.
That said, JSDF is the largest publicly-owned redwood forest in the state, which makes it a unique boon to Mendocino county’s natural appeal, climate, and economy. The forest’s current mandate, originating from archaic 1947 legislation, for the demonstration of commercial timber production is antiquated and does not reflect the imperatives of our time, including proactive responses to the specter of climate change. Situated within a 4-hour drive of over 10 million people, a JDSF managed as a demonstration forest for the 21st century prioritizing carbon sequestration, recreation, and climate resilience would serve as a statewide beacon of climate action and a magnet for outdoor recreators. As you are all aware, tourism is the largest and fastest growing economic sector in Mendocino county, and JDSF as it is presently managed represents a significant untapped source of economic benefit to the county that would span multiple economic sectors instead of being almost exclusively concentrated in a single one – logging and forest products – which has been in decline for decades due to exogenous market forces. Despite overwhelming support in the county for a change in management practices, including the discontinued use of herbicides (Measure V), JDSF continues to greenwash the realities of current management practices.
Common to these related issues is a lack -- perhaps willful -- of rigorous scientific and economic analysis on the part of Cal Fire, and by extension the State Board of Forestry. Several years ago the BoS unanimously passed a resolution to have the state publish a scientific review of JDSF science and climate claims (https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1sc4gqmDb91tbOnARglcZD9Uxvp5vXM41). If this essential task is still pending, we encourage the BoS to redouble its efforts.
In hopes that this comment reaches you in time for the discussion of Item R10, I ask that you vote yes on the changes in the section on Climate Resilience and Renewable Energy Leg. Platform for 2026. Climate Change is here and is real. It will take concerted effort and long-term focus by all levels of government--local, state, and federal--to address the causes and consequences of this human-caused phenomenon. Thank you for your consideration of my comment.
The Mendocino Trail Stewards strongly support the adoption of agenda item R-10 as part of Mendocino County’s 2026 legislative platform.
As an organization dedicated to environmental awareness in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest, we wish to specifically address the action item listed in R-10:
"Support legislation to capture and store carbon utilizing net zero emissions healthy forest management initiatives."
Contrary to the claims of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the management of Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) as commercial timberlands is raising, not lowering, carbon emissions. JDSF is the largest redwood forest owned and managed by the state for demonstration purposes. Redwoods are the best trees in the world at sequestering carbon, but the best of the best (the oldest and largest) are mostly gone: only 7% of old-growth redwoods remain standing, and only 2% of second-growth trees remain. Between 8,000 and 12,000 acres of second-growth redwoods are still standing in Mendocino County, and almost entirely within JDSF ownership. The second-growth trees in JDSF are not protected from logging.
It is imperative that the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors not only support, but push for, state and/or federal legislation that would protect this forest from industrial logging. The outdated legislative logging mandate for state forests (PRC 4631), which states that all state forests must be managed to achieve “maximum sustained production of high quality forest products”, must be replaced to reflect the climate emergency.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Lynne Paschal for the Mendocino Trail Stewards
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors listened to what the many supporters of a carefully worded Climate Resilience and Renewable Energy section of the 2026 Legislative Platform had to say. All of us are concerned about addressing what the County needs the State and Federal Legislators to support.
Actions such as energy reliability, streamlined permitting requirements and more energy affordability are broad, acknowledged concerns. The specific items such as planning for sea level rise, roof water catchment, electric buses, carbon capture, especially in JDSF, workforce development and conservation are concrete issues that State and Federal Legislators should be advocating.
Supervisors Mulheren and Williams took on the task of editing the items in the Climate Resilience and Renewable Energy section and did an excellent job. The only point that should be changed is the 12th bullet on Page 15, which should read "Support incentives...", not "Support incentivizes..."
Climate Action Mendocino urges all of the Supervisors to vote for the changes to this section. The items are critical points and will communicate the needs of our County to State and Federal Legislators.
Meadow Farm Community Land Trust (MFCLT) thanks Supervisors Williams and Mulheren along with other BOS members for seeking input from community organizations in preparing the 2026 Legislative Platform. We urge unanimous consent of item R-10.
Two members of our Board participate in GRI’s Climate Crisis Workgroup. MFCLT is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. We are located in Supervisor Norvell’s 4th District just northeast of Fort Bragg. We offer community education in food security, disaster preparedness and recovery, organic gardening, carbon sequestration, forest restoration, and sustainable living. We stand with all of you for a safe, affordable, and resilient Mendocino County!!!
MFCLT relies nearly 100% on renewable energy to run its farming and charitable operations. We find a shortage of qualified workers in the renewable energy installation and maintenance industry. We applaud language in the platform to support increased investment in local job training opportunities to increase skilled laborers qualified to consult, design, and install affordable renewable forms of energy production.
We also recognize the County’s willingness to a) seek state funding and federal funding for local disaster preparedness, hazard mitigation, and
recovery programs; b) advocate for a study on safe, sustainable, waterless sanitation practices to address urgent post disaster sanitation needs and support long-term solutions to the housing crisis; and c) to streamline state and county regulatory requirements for housing, infrastructure, and mitigation projects, especially post-disaster and/or for those cases involving the elderly and economically disadvantaged, by expanding exemptions, fast-tracking permits, and reducing red tape.
In regard to item R10 on the BoS agenda. The voters of Mendocino County support aggressive government action to reduce the degradation of our environment that contribute to negative climate change impacts on our communities and the natural environment.
The climate legislative platform that Supervisors Williams and Mulheren were tasked to bring back to the Board should be unanimously supported. It represents the product of significant review and input from a broad cross section of county residents in all five supervisor districts.
Both the GrassRoots Institute’s Climate Crisis Workgroup and Climate Action Mendocino have consistently support the proposals included in the proposed platform.
Average global temperatures now exceed the 1.5 degree warming tipping point that climatologists have warned will cause sea level rise destruction in coastal communities, more sever winter flooding, and destructive and frequent wild fires. Mendocino has already felt the sting of climate change driven disasters. While some continue to deny what is self evident all around us, Mendocino’s residents understand that we have no time to waste and we must press forward with effective, efficient and sustainable action to address the challenges of climate change.
We applaud the Board of Supervisors' interest in focusing on ways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the County (Agenda item 10 in this meeting). An underappreciated opportunity is carbon management in forests generally, and in Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) in particular.
We recently published a detailed report documenting widespread greenwashing conducted by Cal Fire in JDSF, chief among which is misleading carbon accounting and highly suboptimal forest management practices. You can download the document here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e3a-4L1VeWKb1GI35Nxp7aiIbTZ2dUla/view?usp=share_link
Cal Fire states that JDSF today contains 19 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide. This corresponds to that held in 75,000 coal train cars, with annual additions through growth equal to the emissions of 50,000 passenger cars on an ongoing basis (remarkably, this is on par with the number of cars in the County). But this is far less than the forest would hold were it managed with carbon as a high priority. In contrast -- and implausibly -- Jackson suggests that a cessation of logging would _reduce_ the amount of carbon stored in the forest; this contradicts JDSF’s own data as well as analyses in the peer-reviewed scientific literature stretching back at least 35 years.
Even more importantly, through its "demonstrations" in Jackson Cal Fire actively sets the tone for forest practices throughout the county and state and directly reviews and approves all timber harvest plans for private lands. Thus, its influence on forest carbon extends far beyond the boundaries of JDSF.
That said, JSDF is the largest publicly-owned redwood forest in the state, which makes it a unique boon to Mendocino county’s natural appeal, climate, and economy. The forest’s current mandate, originating from archaic 1947 legislation, for the demonstration of commercial timber production is antiquated and does not reflect the imperatives of our time, including proactive responses to the specter of climate change. Situated within a 4-hour drive of over 10 million people, a JDSF managed as a demonstration forest for the 21st century prioritizing carbon sequestration, recreation, and climate resilience would serve as a statewide beacon of climate action and a magnet for outdoor recreators. As you are all aware, tourism is the largest and fastest growing economic sector in Mendocino county, and JDSF as it is presently managed represents a significant untapped source of economic benefit to the county that would span multiple economic sectors instead of being almost exclusively concentrated in a single one – logging and forest products – which has been in decline for decades due to exogenous market forces. Despite overwhelming support in the county for a change in management practices, including the discontinued use of herbicides (Measure V), JDSF continues to greenwash the realities of current management practices.
Common to these related issues is a lack -- perhaps willful -- of rigorous scientific and economic analysis on the part of Cal Fire, and by extension the State Board of Forestry. Several years ago the BoS unanimously passed a resolution to have the state publish a scientific review of JDSF science and climate claims (https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1sc4gqmDb91tbOnARglcZD9Uxvp5vXM41). If this essential task is still pending, we encourage the BoS to redouble its efforts.
Sincerely,
Evan Mills PhD and John P. O'Brien PhD