December 12, 2025
Wow, has our political context changed!
I’m jogging my memory…what are the stages again?
Something like…first you scream; then you rage; then you march; then you block the doors; then you organize, organize, organize!
New cabinet nominations include a fracking company CEO, along with others clearly more interested in “energy dominance” than sustainability. They include a Microsoft exec as Interior Dept. head–as we mourn the departure of Deb Haaland, the first indigenous Interior Secretary. It’s almost like James Watt has returned from the dead (if you’re old enough to remember), and we survived that. And the earth survived that. But in today’s context, the earth’s biological fabric is torn; the climate, the forests, diversity of species—are on the precipice. But as we understand the dire circumstances, let’s not wallow in that crisis. Too much hangs in the balance.
Let’s stand up, wherever we are, raise our fists above our heads & fight to counter the catastrophic damage around us, to the earth and to the least of the species.
Doing what we can, where we can, adds up and it matters.
So I hope you’ll take a moment to do what you can to support our work at BACH to help keep our campaigns thriving, kicking and contributing to the whole.
In our part of the activist universe, we’re focused on Jackson Demonstration State Forest, a 50,000-acre swath of redwoods on the north coast managed by CalFire for recreation, but more importantly, with a mandate for commercial logging. We need to swipe that mandate off the table.
We are part of a geographically diverse coalition forging a new vision for this coastal redwood forest that would put a stop to commercial logging, include tribal co-governance and incorporate traditional ecological wisdom in ecosystem management, cultural burning to reduce intensity of fires and protect the value of the forest as a defense against climate catastrophe.
Forest defense is climate defense.
The managers of Jackson Demonstration State Forest—CalFire—having swallowed up the state’s Dept. of Forestry, are developing the process for a new management plan, to their credit. But they are going about it in an entirely backwards fashion, as usual, to limit meaningful input.
It is vital to ensure that tribal voices have an equal role in the planning process, and that there be a CEQA EIR process. CalFire gives lip service to these goals. They are our top priorities.
Can we count on you to support BACH with a donation so we can continue to participate in these and other issues that you and I care about?
Clearly, we need to mobilize loud and strong on this issue, among so many on a global and local level.
Even while this report delivers information and a call to action about issues that BACH is working on, from within the Coalition to Save Jackson Forest, I must mention a person whose presence has been large in our forest campaign, and in our lives. Priscilla Hunter, also known as “PC,” left us on November 16. A well-known tribal leader and activist on a great many issues, she served as Tribal Chair of the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, was instrumental in the Sinkyone Wilderness Council’s preservation of 5,000 acres on California’s Lost Coast, and was 
a leader in our Jackson Forest campaign. See her obituary on the JSF website here.
We feel huge gratitude toward Priscilla and honor her, knowing that her wisdom will continue to guide our work for the forest, and for ecological and indigenous justice.
for the wild,
Karen
Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters
(Photo: Priscilla H,, Karen T., Karen P., Polly G. at Climate Summit, S.F. blockade Photo credit Kelly Johnson)
–> Make checks out to Ecology Center/BACH ! Mail to P.O. Box 2072, Berkeley, CA 94702
All donations are fully tax-deductible. Let us know if you want a receipt.
–>You can donate securely online—just click on “Donate” on our website www.headwaterspreserve.org, or use the form enclosed with this letter.
–> You can also donate via Venmo at @karenpickett-bach
–> See the “Save Jackson Forest Coalition” social media links and website, and please share the Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters on Facebook. Sign up for our updates and action alerts at www.HeadwatersPreserve.org.
–> Please update your address and email with us when they change, so we can stay in touch to let you know what’s going on in our precious forests. You know we don’t clutter your inbox with frequent appeals, nor do we send wasteful mailings. Please help us keep our lists up to date.
For the forests and the earth, it takes a community. And YOU are part of that community. Please support our work for the forests and its inhabitants.