On April 3, KPFA’s Terra Verde radio program interviewed community activists from Mendocino County. Host Gary Hughes spoke with Polly Girvin and Maria Gilardin about the threats posed by a wood pellet processing facility in Calpella, which is located on the Russian River six miles north of Ukiah.

Polly and Maria are members of Social, Environmental and Indigenous Justice (SEIJ), an affinity group waging a campaign to protect rural and indigenous communities from pollution emitted by Mendocino Forest Products (MFP) and their wood pellet fuel plant. According to the MFP website, “CalPellets™ fuel pellet products are produced out of a fir-redwood blend.”

Polly described some of the many concerns community members have with the Calpella Distribution Center, "There were mountains of plastic bags filled with wood pellets. It was going night and day this smokestack, belching out huge clouds. One time I noticed it was very rancid and it stank, and it was going down the valley towards Ukiah."

Read More | Northern California Indian Tribes Oppose Calpella Wood Pellet Plant