Today local residents of the Cutten area spotted Green Diamond employees and sheriffs congregating at a local supermarket in town. Within hours they were seen in the forest at the location of the tree-sits.

It’s time to take a stand to protect these trees. Green Diamond has made their move, now make yours! This forest is too precious to be lost. (as of yet, no logging has been observed).

Send gear, your presence in the forest, and funds to the McKay Tract Coalition and/or EF! Humboldt immediately.

This image was recently taken in the McKay Tract in the vicinity of occupied trees, under the protection of brave and passionate tree-sitters. The owls don’t want to see this forest clear-cut and we don’t as well. Please support the tree-sitters and continue to organize within your community to preserve this ancient forest.

Last week the Mckay Tract Coalition held a meeting at HSU to discuss community involvement in saving the McKay Tract. With over 20 people attending, two of which were Green Diamond employees, the meeting was successful in laying the foundation of moving forward with plans to stop this mistake from happening.

Here’s a recap of the meeting:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Mckay Tract Coalition [MTC] and supporters hosted another community hike in the McKay Tract on Saturday. With over 15 people attending, the movement to protect the McKay from the destructive hand of Green Diamond grows stronger and stronger by the day.

The community doesn’t want clear-cutting, nor to see more development; this isn’t some petty, inconsequential infill development, it’s serious urban sprawl at its worst! As the rezoning of the McKay Tract’s 7000 acres continues, Green Diamond, due to the increased taxes imposed by the county’s rezoning from timber to residential zone, it becomes more and more apparent that the county is equally to blame for the destruction of ancient trees, wildlife habitat, and rare land like no other.

You see, the county is acting as the mob boss, effectively squeezing Green Diamond off the land by rezoning it: this causes Green Diamond to liquidate the land (re: destroy as fast as possible), then sell it off for development. So they get the trees and the payday from the sale of the land — they win. And the county gets their malls, shopping center, 7000 homes, and more of your hard earned money in the form of taxes — they win too.

And guess who loses? The animals. The trees. The birds. The bears. The Coho Salmon. The Northern Spotted Owls. The Mountain Lions. The salamanders. The air quality. The streams. The views. And you! No longer is there an ad hoc community forest (let’s make it official!) to hike or a place to camp. No longer do you get to relax with the ferns and watch the bears scurry by, or go mushroom hunting. No longer do you ride your bike or go for a nice jog in pristine and rare forest (what’s left of it, that is…).

Will there be a forest left for our children to enjoy? How will we be affected by the increased global warming as companies continue to plunder forests? What are we doing, now, to help protect our most valuable resource, the forest? These are the questions that each one of us must deal with now, not later.

This company, “Green” Diamond, what a farce of a name! They already have taken most of the McKay Tract and now they’re coming for the last remaining stands. What’s “Green” about that? Shame.

Please stand in solidarity against this evilness. That’s the only word that now comes to mind: evil. This is an evil act to destroy such a place. It’s just not right.

PS. Thank you — those of you who are giving your hearts, time, and energy — for your support. You know who you are. True heroes!

Just got word from sitters perched up in a redwood on North Ridge Rd on Green Diamond land. An arborist just climbed the opposing tree of the sitters and dangerously axed two branches close to a connected traverse line attached to a sitters platform. We need your support - please come to North Ridge Rd off of Walnut Drive. Detailed directions on efhumboldt.org.

Logging in McKay Tract — THP 1-08-102 HUM — is approaching rapidly. With February 15, 2009 being the date that Green Diamond can begin clear cutting, time is definitely of the essence.

Over the past 2 weeks, Mind Petals has been organizing community hikes throughout the McKay Tract in a effort to galvanize people of Humboldt County — and the world ! — to prevent this deathblow on Nature. Our hikes will continue (sign up for our newsletter to be notified) and organizing around this issue will carry on indefinitely.

Greed Diamond’s unfettered disregard for life and insatiable desire to increase their bottom-line at the expense of animal habitat, old growth forests, and a place for the community to hike recreationally is absolutely sickening. Who in their right mind can inflict such damage on the land and live with themselves? Such is the modality of Green Diamond — a company not even close to being “Green.”

Here are a few shots from our Nov 11th and 22nd community hikes

Please join us in our movement to preserve life and put an end to the destruction.
Our hikes are not only fun, but educational. We hope to see you soon.

A few days ago I spoke on KMUD radio to spread awareness and muster support in the defense of the McKay Tract currently threatened by Green Diamond and others. Tomorrow, Nov. 11, community members and activists will be gathering to go on a hike — to see what’s at stake. We’ll be meeting at 1PM. Call 631 445 2185 for meeting location.

Download and listen to KMUD Radio Interview

Mr. Kramer plans to turn the fecund, beautiful, and diversity-rich North McKay Tract into this:

• 64 “workforce” apartments
• 32 “affordable” single family parcels
• 46 “townhouse” units
• 64 “condominium” units
• 114 single family units
• 1.8 acre of neighborhood commercial space with “affordable” apartments
• 30 acres of open space

If this plan goes through, Cutten and Eureka would be a mess at the expense of one of the most diverse tracks of land remaining in Humboldt County. The McKay Tract deserves to be a fully protected Neighborhood Park, such as Arcata’s. With sustainable selective logging, the town of Eureka could financially benefit indefinitely. If rezoning is allowed, no one will benefit except Green Diamond Resource Company.

Endangered Northern Spotted Owls, bears, deer, salamanders, fox, mountain lions, etc.. are all at risk of losing their home. Please take a stand and help us stop this plan. Development is not an option!

Download full plan for further details:
North McKay Tract Rezone Plan