The Valley Fire of September 2015 represented a significant trauma to our land and people. With four human lives and so many animals lost, thousands of structures destroyed, and countless families uprooted, the communities of Cobb, Middletown and Hidden Valley Lake have experienced our share of LOSS. Apparently, though, the trauma is not over. In the weeks since the fire, an untold number of trees have been removed from our living landscape and taken away to unknown places -- potentially being sold to the highest bidder, removed from the ecosystems and communities where they belong. We, the people, have organized this petition to take a stand for our families and our land -- and to speak for the voiceless trees -- to prevent this environmental genocide before it gets worse. After such a devastating fire, it is clear that some amount of tree-removal is necessary and appropriate -- especially where dead and vulnerable limbs threaten power lines, roads, structures and people. But according to the reports of local community members, tree removal teams have entered private property (as well as our public land, our common land) and clear-cut entire groves of still-living trees. This is unacceptable. This fire has been devastating enough to our communities. Please prevent the further destruction and desecration of our homeland in the form of unnecessary deforestation. The ecosystems we inhabit are complex and alive, and they have the ability to heal -- if we work with nature instead of against it. Trees give us oxygen and food. They house communities of animals. They make this land beautiful, and we need them. Even where trees have already been killed and cut down, there now exist resources which belong to the earth and our people: lumber and cordwood for building, firewood to warm us. We demand: -An immediate moratorium on the removal of living trees that present no immediate threat to life or property. -An end to thoughtless clear-cutting of trees on private and public lands without the express permission of property owners and citizens. -Complete transparency about how much lumber has already been removed, who is taking it, where it is going, and why it has been stolen from us -- including full disclosure of all contracts and agreements that have been made regarding tree removal. -Greater input from the people into the decision-making process about our trees, our future. Please help us save these majestic trees so they can once again THRIVE!