Earth First! Direct Action Camp This September

from- the EF! Humboldt Website. Click on the flier to see the huge version.

Here's a report from last years Action Camp.

September 17th of this year will mark ten years since the death of David Gypsy Chain. Click here for last years Sept. 17th post.

(fixed the action camp link.)

Humboldt Redwood Company

The reorganization of the former Pacific Lumber Company and Scotia Pacific companies is commencing. Forest defenders are watching as events unfold to see if this is the truly the end of Old-Growth logging on these embattled lands.

(note: there are now three "Redwood Companies", Mendocino Redwood Company, Humboldt Redwood Company and California Redwood Company- formerly Simpson)

PL Subsidiary Resisting Reorganization- Continues to File Old-Growth Logging Plans

In-Fighting
After the Maxxam corporation executed a hostile takeover of Pacific Lumber in the early 1980's, Maxxam CEO Charles Hurwitz split the company into several smaller companies. Pacific Lumber (PL aka Palco) owns the town and sawmills. Scotia Pacific (Scopac) owns the land, writes logging plans and sells logs to PL. Now they're in bankruptcy court and the Judge in the case has ruled that the company will be taken over by Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC). MRC already has a highly creative name for the old PL- "Humboldt Redwood Company". PL says they are for the reorganization plan.

Now, on the eve of Mendocino Redwood Company taking control, Scopac is not cooperating. They say that MRC shouldn't be allowed to move forward with the reorganization while the Noteholders appeal on the Judges ruling is considered by an appeals court. (Sorry if this is hard to follow, can't give background on everything today.) The Noteholders, and Scopac apparently, are hoping that the appeals court will issue a stay in the case, halting the reorganization process.

More Terrible Logging Plans
Meanwhile, Scopac is continuing to file terrible logging plans. Notably two in Bear River where the company is proposing to clear-cut hundreds of acres of Douglas Fir and Tanoaks. These forests contain numerous remnant, or "residual", oldgrowth trees. These trees are up to 300 years old according to Scopac foresters.

Another logging plan in the heavily clearcut and now flood-prone Elk River was approved three days ago. It proposes clearcutting over 100 acres of second growth Redwood. Some of these trees are 90 years old according to Scopac. After seeing the forest first hand, this blogger estimates that some of the trees are 100 years old or more. One of the patches to be clear-cut is the site of a childrens archery range and contains numerous targets, a snack stand and picnic tables. It's a sign of the times when the company is so desperate that they are logging their own recreational areas. Or maybe, as the forester who wrote the plan said, it was just what a computer model told them to do. Either way, shame on you.

MRC says they will change clearcut logging plans and old-growth logging plans into something a little more acceptable. Will MRC take the reigns at PL before these plans are logged? And if they do will they actually halt the logging? Or will forest defenders have to take to the tree's to protect our forests from plunder? Stay tuned...

Technical info:
New Bear River Logging Plan #'s
1-08-105 "Holy Oak" and 1-08-114 "Brushy Monument"