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CENTER for BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY Because life is good
ABOUT ACTION PROGRAMS SPECIES NEWSROOM PUBLICATIONS SUPPORT

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ACTION TIMELINE

December 18, 2008 – The Center submitted comments on the Swamped Timber Harvest Plan up for state approval, highlighting the plan’s failure to address the greenhouse gases that would result from planned clearcutting.

August 13, 2009 – The Center filed suit over the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s approval of the Cascade Timber Harvest Plan, a project of Sierra Pacific Industries. In approving the plan, the agency failed to consider its greenhouse gas effects, in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act and Forest Practice Act.

August 20, 2009 – The Center filed suit against the Department of Forestry over two more approvals of Sierra Pacific clearcutting plans without the consideration of the emissions to result from the logging.

August 25, 2009 – It was announced that Sierra Pacific Industries formally withdrew its plans for all three logging projects over which the Center filed suit.

September 21, 2009 – The Center and a coalition of allies submitted a letter of opposition to a rule proposed for adoption by the California Air Resources Board, urging the agency to remove a provision that could actually encourage forest clearcutting as part of California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

September 30, 2009 – Sierra Pacific Industries announced a deal that would pay them for carbon credits based on their forest lands.

November 10, 2009 – The Center filed a formal letter with the California Air Resources Board demanding that it revoke its illegally adopted "Forest Project Protocol," which gives carbon credits to projects involving clearcutting and other destructive practices.

January 27, 2010 – The Center filed lawsuits against the California Department of Forestry for illegally approving 15 clearcutting projects, all proposed by Sierra Pacific Industries, without properly analyzing the climate consequences.

February 12, 2010 – In response to our letter of opposition, the California Air Resources Board proposed to withdraw its carbon-credits-for-clearcutting “forest offset protocol.”

February 25, 2010 – The Air Resources Board voted to withdraw its forest offset protocol. In addition, it committed to a review of environmental impacts to forests and the climate.

December 17, 2010 – The California Air Resources Board approved the forest offset protocol after outsourcing its development to the Climate Action Reserve, a nongovernmental organization that registers carbon offset projects.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Vmenkov under the GNU free documentation license