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A year-end look at the news of 1998. See an index of all of today's Bee stories. Get your news to go with sacbee Bulletin. Get your news updates automatically. BY KEYWORD: Advanced search. Pacific Lumber fined after pleading no contest to violating Forest Practice Act EUREKA, Calif (AP) -- Pacific Lumber Co. and a subsidiary have been fined after pleading no contest in Humboldt Superior Court to three criminal violations of the state Forest Practice Act. In return, eight criminal misdemeanor counts were dropped, deputy District Attorney Ariana Seldon said. Judge Timothy Cissna imposed $8,100 in fines and $21,600 in restitution on Pacific Lumber and Scotia Pacific Holding Co. The restitution will be paid to the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District, which will use it for erosion control projects. The company also was arraigned Tuesday on three new criminal charges involving other alleged offenses. A hearing on these was set for Feb. 23. The charges settled Tuesday involved violations allegedly committed between July and October 1998 in the Elk River, Bear River and Freshwater Creek watersheds. In December the state Forestry Department revoked the company's conditional timber operator's license for those violations. The company is currently negotiating for a new license. Pacific Lumber was convicted Tuesday of leaving slash piles along the banks of the Elk River and violating the terms of its timber harvest plan on a site near Freshwater, resulting in the destruction of a spotted owl roost. Scotia Pacific was convicted of driving heavy equipment through the bed of the Bear River rather than building culverts. The three new charges involve burning vegetation in buffer zones along the Elk and Eel rivers. Company spokeswoman Mary Bullwinkel said the company is taking new steps to reduce violations and meet conditions for a new logging license.
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