Big Neighbor, Bad Habit
Tuesday, July 17th, 2012
Interesting letter (“Sudden Oak Death Company“) in last week’s paper [Anderson Valley Advertiser] about the increased (and toxic) fire danger from MRC’s ever-metastasizing dead-tree zones.
To help illuminate the scale of what’s going on here, imagine a football field, including both endzones. Now cover that field with tanoak. That’s 1.3 acres.
Over the past 13 years (1999-2011) Mendocino Redwood Company has poisoned 70,659 acres. That’s an average of 5,435 acres (or 4,110 football fields) per year. And to accomplish this horrific waste, they release an average of 3,873 pounds (nearly two tons) of the highly toxic herbicide imazapyr into our local environment every year.
And where does all this toxic devastation take place? The majority of MRC’s holdings lie between the towns of Willits, Boonville, Point Arena, and Mendocino; and within that rough diamond, MRC appears to own more than half the land.
Folks, we’ve got a big neighbor with a real bad habit. It’s a shame we’ve let them get away with this much. Help put an end to the madness by contacting the perpetrators at mrc.com or 707-463-5110. They won’t stop until we insist.