Save Our Cypress

Sept. 13th 2007 - Baton Rouge, The Advocate: Wal-Mart is to be commended for its courageous decision to stop buying and selling cypress mulch made in Louisiana (“Store drops state’s mulch,” Sept. 6).

But readers will be understandably confused by the predictions of economic disaster made by Mr. Buck Vandersteen, executive director of the Louisiana Forestry Association.

In the past, he and other mulch promoters have insisted that cypress mulch is a small, unimportant part of the total production cycle, a mere byproduct, and that its production is too insignificant to be of any concern. Now he claims that Wal-Mart’s decision will cause an entire mill to close.

New Orleans, LA- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has informed its suppliers that, effective January 1, 2008, the
company will no longer buy and sell cypress mulch that is harvested, bagged, or manufactured in the state
of Louisiana. The Save Our Cypress Coalition, a group of environmental organizations, has been publicly
pressuring the major retailers Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s to stop selling cypress mulch since
November 2006.

Letter to Home Depot

September 4, 2007

Frank Blake, CEO The Home Depot, Inc. 2455 Paces Ferry Rd. NW Atlanta, GA 30339

Dear Mr. Blake:

We, the undersigned, are greatly concerned about Home Depot contributing to the destruction of cypress forests in the Gulf Coast and throughout the country. Cypress deforestation for mulch is compromising the sustainability of our coast and its communities into the future. We formally request that Home Depot immediately cease all sales of cypress mulch.

Cypress forests are the Gulf Coast’s best natural storm and flooding defenses ^{1 , 2} , and they provide habitat for important wildlife. Comparing the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the importance of wetlands as a natural buffer to storm surge, hurricane force, and flooding was remarkably clear, and cypress forests stand out as the best natural storm protection.