Rick Coates, Executive Director of Forest Unlimited
Rick Coates, Co-founder and Executive Director of Forest Unlimited, was our speaker for Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary’s March 3, 2022, hybrid meeting. Rick has a degree in chemistry from the University of California. He has been a teacher at both secondary and college levels and is a former Executive Director of Northern California River Watch. He also serves on the Board of Directors for SMART. He has served as the ED for Forest Unlimited since 1995. Forest Unlimited’ s mission includes planting trees and protecting forests. Rick asked us which is the more important in in protecting the environment; planting trees or protecting forests. He emphasized that Forest Unlimited has a major role in planting trees in our area, including its annual planting event which results in planting about 1,600 redwood seedlings annually. Planting trees is important for many reasons, including CO2 absorption, shade, clean air, saving water, reducing erosion, beautifying landscapes, adding property value, and creating habitat. Trees also serve as a conveyor belt for rain and moisture, sending moisture from coastal areas inland.
Despite the importance of planting trees, Rick believes that protecting forests is even more important, at least in the short term. Young trees do not “fix” or sequester as much carbon as older trees and take years to grow to peak carbon storage. Forests can also retard the advance of wildfires since mature trees are more resistant to wildfire than residential areas. One example is the Paradise Fire; the town was leveled but the trees are generally still standing. Forests also preserve water for firefighting. One Forest Unlimited project includes advocating for community-owned forests. We have two in Sonoma County, one in Graton and another near the Santa Rosa Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Graton forest is particularly important because it uses Redwood trees, which sequester more carbon than other trees. Rick gave us some suggestions for protecting our homes from wildfires, including installing metal roofs and fire-resistant siding, using metal instead of plastic gutters, and maintaining defensible space in our landscaping.
Rick also chastised PG&E for its failure to do enough to protect against fires. He mentioned that PG&E has a long history of failing to consider the environment and has even been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with wildfire deaths. One of the problems with PG&E’s power grid is the practice of running power lines overhead rather than underground. This practice leads directly to wildfires because it is nearly impossible to remove or trim trees far enough away from overhead power lines to avoid fires. Another key area of emphasis for Forest Unlimited is California’s Board of Forestry, which is generally controlled by corporate lumber interests. The Board’s composition and rules do not protect the forest’s ecosystems. Rick also believes that the Board favors large corporate interests over small businesses and that small businesses often do a much better job protecting the environment.
Rick asks Rotarians to consider joining or volunteering Forest Unlimited. Public action is the best way to further the goal of environmental protection. Thank you, Rick, for the great presentation. And thank you for advocating on behalf of our forests!
View the recording of Rick's talk HERE. It will be available to the next week or so.
