Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters

Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters
April 24, 2007


After focusing a bit more locally the past couple months, other plans that we've been laying foundation for at Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (BACH) are presently coming to fruition. We are embarking on an exciting collaboration with Global Exchange in San Francisco to launch "Reality Tours" of the North Coast, similar in political nature to Global Exchange's international
Reality Tours.

Part of the grove of heritage oaks in Berkeley that tree-sitters have occupied since Dec. 2, 2006. Photo: Mike Kelley

The cutting-edge forest and stream restoration projects, as well as the devastating results of aggressive liquidation logging on corporate land, are concepts that become so much more tangible and real when people are on the ground to observe them. Offering first-hand experiences leads to a larger and better-informed public sector prepared to wrestle with questions of societal change. What is needed to chart future courses based on ecological wisdom? Whether that means responding to economic shifts and building knowledge of sustainable forestry systems, or understanding connections between old-growth forests and global warming, people need experience and information to intelligently analyze their choices. The Headwaters Forest Reserve, long a focus of BACH, is an ideal stage for developing an understanding of how forests can heal and regenerate after rapacious logging, and for discussing habitat-sensitive recreation.

Involving school groups and the Bay Area public, Forest Reality Tours will bring people face to face with both the devastation and the opportunities for change. Tour participants will be immersed in the panoply of events, people, and actions that have brought us to the present political and physical landscape, enabling a deeper connection with the forest and an empowerment rooted in involvement with the grassroots. Grassroots organizations will be brought onto the itinerary, and we would love to hear ideas from people and organizations during our planning process (right now!). It is hoped that these tours will bring broader support to the rural grassroots groups as well.

BACH continues with our media outreach on a variety of issues, sharing the resources we have built with those in the grassroots who need them. We've done some media work on Pacific Lumber's bankruptcy, referring reporters to interview subjects, for example; and we plan to seek out more opportunities for amplifying voices that should be heard in the ensuing discussion. We are working on a People's Guide to the complicated situation, to help inject an understanding of what it means for the forests and the human landscape.

We have also brought our media resources and organizing capabilities to the campaign to save a grove of heritage oaks in Berkeley that the University of California (UCB) plans to level to make way for a high-tech gym. There is tremendous support for the oak grove, which is a key biological link in the urban-wildlands interface in the East Bay--and substantial opposition to the cutting of the trees from the City of Berkeley, from neighbors, UCB faculty, students, and alumni. There has been a tree-sit in the grove since December 2, and four lawsuits filed. It is illegal to cut these oaks under the City of Berkeley's Coast Live Oak Ordinance. Once again, the activists enforce the law.

For more information:
510/548-3113 or
www.headwaterspreserve.org



This article can be found online at www.treesfoundation.org/publications/article-269

Forest & River News is produced by Trees Foundation. For more information contact:
Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters
Karen Pickett
c/o Ecology Center
2530 San Pablo Ave
Berkeley, CA 94702
Email: bach@headwaterspreserve.org
Phone: (510) 835-6303 Fax: (510) 548-2240