The City of Oakland is currently planning to clearcut our eucalyptus forests at the behest of a small group of homeowners who are paranoid about naturally occurring wildfires. The risk of wildfires is a native risk of the area. The problem in terms of cost to human life is entirely caused by the presence of homes in a longstanding wildfire zone. Even if you get rid of every eucalyptus tree in the hills, the fuel load and risks inherit in residential housing units will always present the greatest risk of catastrophic fires.

So before cutting down a single tree, let's see a revision of city codes to mandate that ALL dwellings in fire areas be retrofitted with the most modern and effective fireproof materials. Furthermore, because dwellings have more combustible material per sq ft than an undeveloped lot, any lot that has more than 50% coverage (aggregate, meaning the livable sq ft compared to lot size) by a dwelling should be given a year to reduce its lot footprint before the city clearcuts the excess fireload represented by the dwelling, at the sole cost of the homeowner.

And the City should put a moratorium on all new development until such time as the entire cost to the environment of the development, from fire risk to water use to carbon footprint, is subject to city regulation and taxation.

If we're serious about protecting the environment and minimizing risks from wildfires, this is the only solution.

My brother and his family live in Oakland. The forests are a precious resource, even the "non native" ones such as Eucalyptus, which have lived in California for 150 years. Cutting them down will increase fire risk, not reduce it. It will also obviously destroy the ecosystem that the trees support.

To clearcut hundreds of thousands of mature, shade-producing, carbon-sequestering, fog-drip rain-making trees, one must ignore:

1) the science of climate change and carbon sequestration; 2) how forests works and the disastrous effect of massive deforestation; 3) basic fire science and established fire mitigation practices which demonstrate all living trees of ALL species DECREASE fire danger by blocking winds, storing water, and moistening ground fuels beneath their canopies.

• It is the largest clear cut in the Bay Area in 100 years: over 400,000 trees in the forests of the San Francisco East Bay will be chopped down.

• The public is overwhelmingly opposed to this plan (90% of the 13,000 comments received by FEMA expressed opposition).

• Although fire abatement is the claimed rationale for this clear cutting plan, it will actually increase the risk of fire. Healthy trees are to be reduced to highly-combustible mulch piles, and by converting forests to grassland and brush, it will replicate throughout the hills the precise environment in which previous fires have ignited.

• Our forests are home to multitudes of animals – including several protected species - who will be injured, displaced and poisoned by this plan. It is cruel and inhumane.

• FEMA admits the clear cut and poisoning will result in “unavoidable adverse impacts… to vegetation, wildlife and habitats, protected species, soils, water quality, aesthetics, community character, human health and safety, recreation, and noise.”

• Toxic herbicides made by Monsanto and Dow Chemical are to be applied twice a year, every year, for a minimum of 10 years and possibly longer: chemicals which have been found to cause DNA and chromosomal damage in human cells and increase the risk of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, to cause severe birth defects when tested on poor animals including rats born with their brains outside their skulls, to harm birds and aquatic species and to damage the kidneys, liver and the blood of dogs, the latter being an issue of particular concern to the legions of dog walkers which regularly visit our public parks.

• It is irresponsible to spend over $880,000 of taxpayer money to destroy our cherished forests and poison residents, especially given the pressing needs facing Oakland.

• Elected officials should consider the considerable public anger and backlash which will result when the plan commences, and hills residents and visitors witness firsthand the transformation of their beautiful, beloved forests to a sea of desiccated tree stumps, mulch and haphazardly scattered logs.

Thank you, Mark Graham

Message from Dan Grassetti of Hills Conservation Network: Friday, May 29, 2015

There's been a lot of activity recently on the FEMA vegetation management front. For those who don't know, despite 12,000+ comments opposing the plan to clearcut the Berkeley/Oakland hills FEMA released a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that called for the destruction of up to 400,000 healthy trees and the application of unprecedented amounts of toxic herbicides over a 10 year period. As a result of this unfortunate decision HCN filed suit agains FEMA in Federal court in March, also naming the City of Oakland, East Bay Regional Park District, and UC Berkeley.

Right now the lawsuit is making its way through the courts and we are confident that the facts are on our side and that we will ultimately prevail if we can continue. The lawyers must be paid. Your tax-deductible donations will help move the case forward in court. August is only months away and legal action is essential. Please donate what you can to help save the trees and all the animals who rely on them.

On Saturday we did an interview with KPFA Evening News discussing the lawsuit to prevent the Hills clear-cut slated for August 2015. Go to 12:02 to listen to it at https://kpfa.org/episode/the-kpfa-evening-news-weekend-may-23-2015/

Last Tuesday we had a press conference at City Hall. That night the Oakland City Council Public Safety Committee recommended the Oakland City Council accept $4 million of FEMA money and commit the City to spend an additional $1.5 million in taxpayer matching funds and a CEQA EIR. All this to implement a plan that will actually increase the risk of fire in the hills. Imagine, a City that's broke spending $1.5 million to cut down hundreds of thousands of trees for no good reason.

Together we have a lot of work to do to raise awareness to stop the clear-cut and poisoning of the hills.

Here's what you can do:

1. Tell the city of Oakland that you don't want them to take the FEMA money to kill trees for 2 generations and douse the hills with TOXIC herbicides for at least a decade.

Tuesday June 2nd at 6 pm, the Oakland City Council is going to vote on whether to accept $4,000,000 in federal FEMA funds to deforest and poison the Oakland hills and to increase local taxpayer contribution to the effort to more than $880,000.

The City of Oakland appears intent on clearcutting 100+ acres of forests and spreading thousands of gallons of toxic herbicides in wildlife corridors, recreation areas, dog parks, and residential neighborhoods. Please contact council members and urge them to vote No.

If at all possible, please plan on attending Tuesday’s meeting and speaking. This is your last opportunity to influence the City of Oakland!

Oakland City Council Members:

Dan Kalb: (510) 238-7001 dkalb@oaklandnet.com twitter.com/dankalb www.facebook.com/dankalbcitycouncil

Abel Guillen: (510) 238-7002 aguillen@oaklandnet.com twitter.com/Abel_Guillen https://www.facebook.com/AbelGuillen

Lynette Gibson McElhaney: (510) 238-7003 cfarmer@oaklandnet.com twitter.com/lynettegm www.facebook.com/Lynette2012

Annie Campbell-Washington: (510) 238-7004 acampbell-washington@oaklandnet.com twitter.com/annieforoakland www.facebook.com/anniewashington?fref=ts,

Noel Gallo: (510) 238-7005 ngallo@oaklandnet.com www.facebook.com/noelgallodistrict5

Desley Brooks: (510) 238-7006 dbrooks@oaklandnet.com twitter.com/desleyb www.facebook.com/pages/Desley-Brooks/135189713236208

Larry Reid: (510) 238-7007 lreid@oaklandnet.com www.facebook.com/LarryReid4District7

Rebecca Kaplan: (510) 238-7008 atlarge@oaklandnet.com twitter.com/kaplan4oakland www.facebook.com/rebecca.kaplan.336?fref=ts

For maps of where this deforestation is planned to take place

http://www.saveeastbayhills.org/map-and-photos-of-forests.html

Here are the forests within and around the following East Bay Regional Parks slated for eradication:

http://www.saveeastbayhills.org/the-clear-cutting-plan.html

http://treespiritproject.com/sfbayclearcut/#

http://www.hillsconservationnetwork.org/HillsConservation3/Blog/Blog.html