Effects of the Proposed Clear-cutting
on Lakeville Rd

  • Eliminating these trees will alter the beauty of the scenic vista.

  • Without the trees, habitats of various song and raptor birds will be destroyed. In addition, a food source for hummingbirds and bees will be lost.

  • The trees were planted over 100 years ago, by A.W. Foster, regent of University of California , making them historically significant.

  • One of the primary reasons the trees were planted was to provide a windbreak for properties along Lakeville Road . Destroying the trees would mean destroying a valuable windbreak for these properties.

  • The trees are needed for removal of the excess CO2 that the traffic causes on this road. Without them, there will be a decrease in air quality. One tree removes tons of CO2 from the air each year.

  • With the trees gone, the pastoral view from Lakeville Rd., which had rightfully been designated a “Scenic Corridor” in the County’s General Plan, will be eliminated.

  • Removal would allow the county to increase restrictions on land, homes, and buildings that are now blocked from view of the Lakeville Rd. Scenic Corridor.

  • Loss of the visual effect will negatively impact tourists’ entrance to the Petaluma Gap of wineries. For marketing purposes, Gap Wineries currently use an image of Lakeville Rd. with the majestic Eucalyptus trees to signify the beauty of our area.

  • Removal of the trees will alter the nature of Lakeville from a scenic county road to an open commute corridor. This will likely cause an increase in speed, passing, and as a result, will likely increase accidents and deaths on the road (one of the primary reasons the county cites for the removal of the trees).

  • Since 1985, there have been approximately 1,150 traffic accidents to which the Lakeville Volunteer Fire Department has responded. Of those, only 2 involved limbs or trees falling on the roadway.

  • Tourists enjoy visiting areas such as Rancho Santa Fe, Seventeen Mile Drive in Pebble Beach , Carmel , and Santa Cruz , all of which have these majestic trees. None of these areas are trying to clear-cut their Eucalyptus trees.

 

You Can Help

Please send a letter or one of your own to one or all our Sonoma County Board of supervisors listed below.

We've written one for you. You're welcome to use it or write one of your own. Below are three ways to send the letter.

E-mail the attached letter
Save this letter on your computer. Include your name and city of residence at the top, save, and attach the letter to your e-mail to one or all of the supervisors listed below.

Copy and paste e-mail
Open this letter, and you may copy the information in the letter (select edit then copy), paste it into your e-mail to the Supervisors (select edit then paste).

Mail
You may also print and sign this letter, and mail it to the Sonoma County Board of supervisors. Their address is listed below.

First District Supervisor - Valerie Brown
vbrown@sonoma-county.org

Second District Supervisor - Mike Kerns
mkerns@sonoma-county.org

Third District Supervisor - Tim Smith
tsmith@sonoma-county.org

Fourth District Supervisor - Paul L. Kelley
pkelley@sonoma-county.org

Fifth District Supervisor - Mike Reilly
mreilly@sonoma-county.org

Via regular mail:

Board of Supervisors
575 Administration Drive, Room 100A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403-2887

Or, drop it off at Ernie's Tin Bar at the corner of Highway 116 and Lakeville Road. In addition, write letters to the editors of local papers opposing the removal of the trees. Let us know if you have any ideas of professional contacts which may help this cause.

If you would like to attend future public county meetings regarding the Lakeville trees, contact Steve Dee (Senior Environmental Specialist, county of Sonoma) and ask to be placed on the notification list. 707-565-8350

We also appreciate any further thoughts or suggestions. Contact Keli Hendricks at kelihendricks@rocknhranch.com

Reports and Articles

Petaluma Argus Courier June 20th 2007

CBS San Francisco: Jeffrey Schaub reports why Sonoma County wants to cut trees down