Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe's are driving destruction of the Gulf's best natural storm protection by selling cypress mulch all over the country.

Sierrans,

As leaders of the Save Our Cypress Coalition, you all know clear-cutting cypress trees solely to decorate gardens and flower beds is crazy. It becomes even worse when you realize that these trees are the Gulf Coast's best natural storm and flood defenses, and they just might be where some of the last ivory-billed woodpeckers are surviving. It all sounds like the plot of a cartoon, doesn't it?

The GRN is releasing Corporate Low Down Depot Mart Clearcuts the Gulf Coast, a short video clip that tells the ridiculous (and unfortunately true) story of the cypress forests. Cypress swamps are being clear-cut and entire trees are being used solely to produce cypress garden mulch. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe's are driving destruction of the Gulf's best natural storm protection by selling cypress mulch all over the country. It's time they stopped.

You can watch the video at www.healthygulf.org.

One of the most important actors in this tragic comedy is you. Once you've seen the cartoon, please help ensure a happy ending to the story by using our action system to send an email directly to the CEO's of all three companies. Then, if you show the clip to five friends, we'll send you a little token of thanks.

For our Forests and Our Future,

Aaron Viles

p.s. If the voice doing the intro sounds familiar, you're probably thinking of Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, and Smithers, among others. Harry Shearer, voice of many characters from The Simpsons, is a supporter of the GRN and lent his talents to this project. You can help us thank Harry by taking action today!

The Gulf Restoration Network is a diverse network of local, regional, and national groups and individuals dedicated to protecting and restoring the valuable resources of the Gulf of Mexico. The GRN has members in the five Gulf states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The GRN will not sell or share your information.

**Visit our new website at www.healthygulf.org.**