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http://www7.mercurycenter.com:80/premium/local/docs/logging30.htm Published Thursday, December 30, 1999, in the San Jose Mercury News Logger granted license Pacific Lumber Co. must allow state inspections SACRAMENTO (AP) -- The state approved a new two-year logging license Wednesday for Pacific Lumber Co. that lets authorities inspect cutting areas without warning and attend private company planning sessions. The license, which takes effect Jan. 1, came with an unusual agreement between the Humboldt County-based timber company and the state Department of Forestry that lists a series of conditions concerning the company's operations on more than 200,000 acres of forests. The accord was signed by Pacific Lumber President John Campbell and CDF Director Andrea Tuttle, who was picked by Gov. Gray Davis to head the department. The agreement does not affect the terms of the Headwaters Forest pact, in which the state and federal governments purchased some 10,000 acres of land last spring and turned it into a public preserve about 250 miles north of San Francisco. The property includes several thousand acres of ancient redwoods. But the agreement stems in part from environmentalists' complaints and regulators' concerns about the company's logging practices, despite state and federal courts and boards that have upheld company actions over the years. The CDF said Wednesday that Pacific Lumber's track record has improved dramatically since 1997, justifying the issuance of a two-year license. Tuttle said ``the company's performance has improved significantly this year with violations dropping tenfold since 1997.'' According to both the company and the state, Pacific Lumber received 12 violations from CDF thus far this year, 49 violations last year and 126 violations in 1997. A violation may mean the company didn't comply with harvesting rules, such as cutting too close to streams or disturbing wildlife habitats. However, of those issued this year, ``none of the violations resulted in significant impacts to environmental resources,'' according to the company. The license conditions include: -- Giving the state the keys to Pacific Lumber's gates, thus allowing state CDF inspectors to enter the property at any time. -- Allowing CDF representatives to attend the meetings, hitherto private, at which the loggers decide their final harvesting strategy for specific stands. -- Making the company liable for triple penalties for cutting timber in the no-cut zone. -- Requiring the company to provide data it acquires on threatened wildlife.
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