Restore the Mendo

Check us out on YouTube!

by Rachel Gurney

We’ve just added the TV spot rancher Bill Burrows did for us to The Wilderness Society’s YouTube channel and encourage you to check it out.  Better yet, comment on the video and subscribe to TWS's video channel for free so that you get the news about other short videos you might like. It’s a fun way to stay involved and informed.

Click here to see our YouTube video and tell people what you think. While you're in the neighborhood, don't forget to Digg the video, place it on your Facebook or MySpace pages if you have one, and share the 30-second clip with friends who care about protecting communities and making forests healthier.

 

TV commercial kicks off campaign to restore Mendocino National Forest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 21, 2008

Contact: Chris Lancette, TWS communications director

TV commercial kicks off campaign to restore Mendocino National Forest
Local rancher Bill Burrows stars in TV ad about value of controlled burns

Mendocino County, CA -- A new television commercial that begins airing today marked the launch of an educational campaign aimed at increasing support for the Forest Service to conduct more controlled burns in California’s Mendocino National Forest. The “Restore the Mendo” campaign seeks to boost awareness of the role such burns play in restoring forest ecosystems, protecting people and property, and saving taxpayer dollars.

“People from many different backgrounds are working together to get away from the timber-war mentality and start managing our forests better,” says Rich Fairbanks, a fire specialist with the California-Nevada region of The Wilderness Society. “The science is pretty unanimous and so is the common sense about the value of using controlled burns on our forests: A series of small disturbances now can prevent a very large disturbance later.”

The campaign includes the TV ad featuring local rancher Bill Burrows (pictured above) airing in cities such as Arcata, Eureka and Redding, media outreach, speaking engagements, and a blog that explores the subject of controlled burns in detail.

“Here I am a redneck rancher sitting down with environmentalists and working together because I agree that we need more controlled burning on the Mendocino,” says Burrows, owner of a multifaceted Tehama County ranch that’s home to enterprises including 150 cattle, hunting trips, and a reservoir providing fresh fish to local restaurants. “Low-intensity burns refurbish vegetation for wildlife and livestock and they’re a must for environmental enhancement.”

The growing coalition of campaign supporters already involves:

• Ranchers like Burrows
• Homeowners
• Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
• California Wilderness Coalition
• Environmental Protection Information Center
• Forest Guild
• The Wilderness Society
• Tehama County Resource Conservation District
• Tehama County Fish and Game Commission

Controlled burns are fires ignited by teams of fire scientists and firefighters in a designated area so that they can accomplish a number of important goals. Among other benefits, controlled burns:

• reduce threats to people (homeowners and firefighters) and communities by removing the debris that can lead to larger fires later
• restore forest ecosystems
• allow for greater control of smoke irritation than uncontrolled, large-scale fires
• save taxpayer dollars by burning in conditions favorable to firefighters rather than fighting fires during hot, dry summers

“Controlled burning, planned and implemented by professional fire managers, works,” says Jesse Jones – a registered professional forester who supports the Restore the Mendo campaign. “It protects natural resources, human lives and property in a cost efficient manner. It’s time to support our natural resource managers so they can get to work  protecting forests and communities from wildfire.”

--End--

 

What we're trying to do -- restore forests, protect community

A group of volunteers has come together to support public policy that will help restore the Mendocino National Forest. We're calling our educational effort the "Restore the Mendo" educational campaign. Our primary goal is pretty straight forward: We would like to see the U.S. Forest Service increase the use of controlled burns in the forest.

If you're not familiar with the practice, controlled burns are fires ignited by teams of fire scientists and firefighters in a designated area so that they can accomplish a number of important goals. Among other benefits, controlled burns:

• reduce threats to people (homeowners and firefighters) and communities by removing the debris that can lead to larger fires later
• restore forest ecosystems
• allow for greater control of smoke irritation than uncontrolled, large-scale fires
• save taxpayer dollars by preventing the need for people to cull forests with saws and other mechanical devices

In short, increasing the use of controlled burns is one of many vital tools we can use to our communities safer and our Mendocino National Forest healthy.

Who we are

The volunteers conducting the "Restore the Mendo" educational campaign come from a wide variety of backgrounds. All share one common goal -- restoring our forest and protecting our communities. They include:

• Ranchers like local Bill Burrows of the Sunflower Coordinated Resource Management Project
• Homeowners
• Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
• California Wilderness Coalition
• Environmental Protection Information Center
• Forest Guild 
• The Wilderness Society
• Willits Environmental Center
• Tehama County Resource Conservation District
• Tehama County Fish and Game Commission 

Resolutions and Letters of Support

Our effort to increase the use of controlled burns on the Mendocino National Forest has already received support from local communities. Click below to see municipal resolutions and support letters from:

• Tehema County Board of Supervisors: Download tehema_county_bd_of_supervisors_res_2.pdf
• Tehema County Fish & Game Commission: Download tehema_county_fish_game_commission.GIF
• Mendocino County Resource Advisory Commission: Download mendocino_county_resource_advisory_committee.pdf
• Lake County Board of Supervisors: Download lake_county_resolution.GIF (page 1) and Download lake_county_resolution_page_2.GIF (page 2)