>
>
>Published Tuesday, July 14, 1998, in the San Jose Mercury News
>
>Pacific releases logging outline
>Some activists say Headwaters plan inadequate
>
>Associated Press
>
>SACRAMENTO -- Pacific Lumber Co. on Monday spelled out its plan to log
>200,000 acres of forest, clearing the way for the $380 million purchase of
>the world's largest privately held stand of ancient redwoods.
>
>Environmentalists immediately denounced the plan, saying it does not go far
>enough to protect wildlife in the Headwaters Forest. Pacific Lumber and
>federal and state officials, including U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, praised
>it as a major step forward.
>
>The long-awaited Habitat Conservation Plan, written by Pacific Lumber in
>consultation with government scientists, is a key step in the Headwaters
>purchase pact.
>
>The agreement, brokered by Feinstein in February, calls for the purchase of
>7,500 acres of Pacific Lumber timber, including 3,000 acres of old-growth
>redwoods. In exchange, the company, which is owned by Texas financier
>Charles Hurwitz's Maxxam Corp., agreed to draft a plan that would manage
>logging and help restore the endangered coho salmon.
>
>``Pacific Lumber, which has been in business for 129 years, is a very
>significant contributor to the economic well-being of the North Coast and
>needs to be able to maintain viable, profitable operations,'' company
>President John Campbell said in a news release.
>
>Congress has approved its $250 million share of the deal, but state
>lawmakers have held up California's $130 million share, saying the deal
>leaves the coho salmon at risk.
>
>The draft of the agreement would permit limited logging within 30 feet of
>streams where the endangered coho salmon live. Critics, including state
>Sen. Byron Sher, D-Palo Alto, want a buffer zone five times as wide.
>
>The logging plan is based on ``sound science'' and would protect the coho
>salmon, Assistant Commerce Secretary Terry Garcia said.
>
>The plan, which is more than 1,000 pages long, will be released today for
>90 days of public comment. A permit probably will be issued to Pacific
>Lumber in 1999, Garcia said. The entire Headwaters agreement faces a March
>1 deadline.
>
>Environmentalists have mounted a vigorous campaign against the deal, led by
>Julia ``Butterfly'' Hill, who has lived for six months in a Humboldt County
>redwood tree.
>
>``This plan is designed to allow immediate destruction of some incredibly
>important habitat,'' said Kevin Bundy, a spokesman for the Environmental
>Protection Information Center.
>
>IF YOU'RE INTERESTED
>The full text of the report can be viewed at
>http://www.r1.fws.gov/text/species.html .
>
>
>©1997 - 1998 Mercury Center.
>
>
>
>
>
David M. Walsh
P.O. Box 903
Redway, CA 95560
Office and Fax(707) 923-3015
Home (707) 986-1644


Return to Home