| On Sunday, April 12, 2026, we had very special visitors come to Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF). The American Indian Movement (AIM) Spirit Runners came to the Mendocino coast for the weekend to do a prayer run through a portion of Jackson Forest, and share time and food with the community working to protect the forest. The AIM group, for decades, has had a 500-mile Spiritual Marathon where teams of runners participate in a running prayer by carrying a sacred staff. Runners will often pray for those who are sick or in prison and also for the preservation of sacred Native American sites and Mother Earth. It was formed in 1978 by late AIM leader Dennis Banks, and its principal message is “All Life is Sacred,” according to John Malloy, organizer of the Spirit Run, who was on site on Sunday. Community members were invited to join the runners, who ran to “Camp 8”, an area targeted for cutting by CalFire, JDSF’s managers. It is a commercial cut, not a fire safety thin, in an area of large mature trees, steep slopes and the oldest areas in the entire forest. After the run, many people spoke to those gathered, including Indigenous leaders, scientists and activists while everyone shared food. |
AB 2494 AB 2494, introduced on Feb. 20 by Northcoast assemblyman Chris Rogers, represents a new paradigm in public lands stewardship. The redefinition of management for state forests is a long time coming and sorely needed, as the current language dates back to 1947. Then, logging old-growth forests and destructive logging techniques were still being demonstrated, and the importance of the forest’s role in mitigation for climate chaos was not part of the equation. It was also prior to the active conversation and movement to bring Tribes into co-governance agreements with the state on Indigenous ancestral territory, which is a growing movement today. That a shift in focus is long overdue cannot be overstated. State Demonstration Forests, currently managed by the State Board of Forestry and CalFire, needs to catch up its management policies with California’s stated conservation priorities and climate goals. Prioritizing the climate and wildlife within State Forests is critical at a time when the federal government is abandoning any efforts to address the climate crisis and is instead ramping up timber production on federal public lands across the country. This bill would shift the focus of demonstration forest management from timber production to restoration and conservation, resulting in thriving forests that sequester and store significant amounts of carbon and serve as quality wildlife habitat. Campers, mountain bikers, hiking, mushroom foragers, and horse trekkers all flock to Jackson Forest–supporting the local tourism economy. As well, the area constitutes a tribal cultural landscape for Coast Yuki and Northern Pomo peoples, as determined by experts. AB 2494 enables the state to seek opportunities for Tribal co-management and to integrate local Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge into forest stewardship, strengthening Tribal sovereignty and cultural stewardship of ancestral lands. Sign the petition to tell California lawmakers to pass the 2026 State Demonstration Forest Legislation – Assembly Bill 2494! We arrived at this place in the campaign to protect Jackson because of the active grassroots campaign, strong tribal involvement, and support over recent years. Please help us get to the finish line! You can read the full text of the bill here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2494 |