August 23, 2000
Greg Giusti
University of Califomia
UCCE Mendocino County
County Ag Center
Ukiah, CA 95482
gagiusti@ucdavis.edu
Dear Mr. Giusti,
It has been brought to our attention that some very serious allegations have been raised about the forest management objectives and practices of the Mendocino Redwoods Company (MRC) in an advertisement published in the August 15th western edition of the New York Times. Due to the public profile and serious nature of these allegations, and given our knowledge of MRC's efforts to promote responsible stewardship, WWF encourages the Mendocino County Forest Council to determine to what extent these allegations are actually grounded in any facts.
WWF is aware that MRC is currently undergoing a rigorous process of independent certification according to the strict standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) by not one, but two, certification bodies accredited by the FSC: SmartWood and Scientific Certification Systems. WWF is a steadfast supporter of the Forest Stewardship Council, whose standards we deem to be of the highest quality in sustainable forest management. While the MRC certification evaluation process is still ongoing and the final outcome yet to be determined, it is our opinion, from both first-hand visits and secondary sources, that MRC has taken great strides to correct past management abuses by previous owners and to make continuous improvements highlighted by the certification process to date.
These allegations raised in the NYT advertisement, if false, will only serve to hinder, rather than promote, the responsible stewardship of all forests in Mendocino County. As such, we encourage you to do whatever possible to dispel any misinformation surrounding MRC, and to render your own independent assessment of what is, or is not, taking place on the ground.
Sincerely,
Nick Brown, Ph.D.
Manager for U.S. Forest Conservation
World Wildlife Fund
1250 Twenty-Fourth St., NW Washington, DC 20037-1132 USA
Tel: 202.293.4800 Fax: 202.861.8378
www.worldwildlife.org
Affiliated with World Wide Fund for Nature
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