John Campbell Scapegoating

Here we go again, John Campbell, former PL president, current Fortuna Mayor, and henchman to the Maxxam corporation is trying to blame environmentalists for Pacific Lumbers mismanagement. He's saying that somehow enviro's are to blame for the 120 layoffs at PL and that it's not due to a lack of trees. Well, since PL has not disclosed their current inventory of standing timber there's nothing to substanitiate that claim. But take a look at PL's own reorganization plan map.



They have logged the majority of the green on that map aside from the "Headwaters Forest Reserve" and the relatively narrow buffer strips next to the watercourses. They even partially logged the so-called "Ancient Redwood Groves" before setting them aside. The logging plans that they filed since 1984 cover just about all of PL property. The least-logged areas are Tanoak forests, Second growth and Oldgrowth Douglas Fir in the Mattole River and Bear River. Since I don't have a fancy GIS program like PL I can't produce a map to depict that but I'm hoping the numbers will come out in the bankruptcy proceedings soon.

The amount of timber left standing due to forest conservation sales pales in comparison to what has been logged already. If you consider that Hurwitz directed his lackeys like John Campbell to log most of PL land in the last 23 years and then look at what was left, it looks like they could have breezed through the remainder of valuable trees in another year or two tops. Then they still would have busted and had to layoff most workers for who knows how long until the next generation of trees were big enough to log.

I think that if there were no environmental regulations at all on their lands they still would have stripped the forest and now be unable to sustain the flow of logs neccessary to employ all those people.

TPZ Take 3

update 6:25 pm: (I swear I didn't read this ER article until after I wrote the below post but apparently the forestry review committee came to a similiar conclusion. I guess I'm behind the times.)

The California State timberland code says that timberlands should be preserved for timber production and compatible uses.* So it's a clearly stated policy to keep timberland available for compatible uses.

One of the compatible uses is provided in the code is "A residence or other structure necessary for the management of land zoned as timberland production."**

I think this clouds the issue in two ways. For one thing "A residence" can be literally taken to mean one residence. But does it mean one residence per parcel, one per ownership or what? It doesn't say. The other way that the code is clouding the issue is that it seems to be distracting some people from exploring other situations where a residence or residences are compatible. To paraphrase the code, the definition of compatible use is not limited to uses 1-6.

I think that if people could figure out when a residence or residences are not compatible with timber production then by process of elimination it would be more clear when they are compatible and should be permitted according to the state code.

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supporting evidence

*51102. Policy of state.
(a), (1) Maintain the optimum amount of the limited supply of timberland to ensure its current and continued availability for the growing and harvesting of timber and compatible uses. (underline added)

**51104. Definitions
(h) ‘‘Compatible use’’ is any use which does not significantly detract from the use of the property for, or inhibit, growing and harvesting timber, and shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following, unless in a specific instance such a use would be contrary to the preceding definition of compatible use:

(1) Management for watershed.

(2) Management for fish and wildlife habitat or hunting and fishing.

(3) A use integrally related to the growing, harvesting and processing of forest products, including but not limited to roads, log landings, and log storage areas.

(4) The erection, construction, alteration, or maintenance of gas, electric, water, or communication transmission facilities.

(5) Grazing.

**(6) A residence or other structure necessary for the management of land zoned as timberland production.