May 3rd 2001

Letter to the Editor
Mendocino Beacon
May 3, 2001

Editor:

One hundred and ten people attended the scoping session held on April 17 at the Albion School and community center concerning Mendocino Redwood Company's plans to log around Enchanted Meadow on the Albion River estuary.

Chief Forester Mike Jani and other employees of Mendocino Redwood were present to listen to citizens concerns. The intensity of logging by MRC on the lower Albion and its effect on the survival of the salmon and Spotted Owls were themes of many of the concerns voiced.

A second pre-harvest inspection by the regulatory agencies has been scheduled for Timber Harvest Plan MEN 1-033-01, the plan which includes unlogged portions of the disputed 1989 Enchanted Meadow Plan. This inspection is the result in part of local citizen input pointing out issues that the first inspection missed. The period for public comment is extended to May 29.

There will be a picnic on the Enchanted Meadow on Sunday, May 6 from noon to 5 p.m. Tides are right for canoeing up the Albion. Bring your craft and meet at the Albion Flat Campground at II a.m.. It costs $2.50 to park and launch your canoe. We will be able to see where MRC is planning to log and where it has recently completed logging in the area surrounding Enchanted Meadow.

For further information please call 937-0903.

Bill Heil
Albion