For Immediate Release -
Contact: Karen Pickett, Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters 510-548-3113
The roar of chain saws was back in the woods early Tuesday morning, as Pacific Lumber (PL) continued to ignore a court order halting logging on its 211,000-acre holdings. Activists were in the trees, on the ground in the forest, and headed for Pacific Lumber corporate offices to conduct a citizens' arrest after complaints got no response from the Calif. Dept. of Forestry and the Humboldt County Sheriffs Dept.
Late on Thursday August 29, Calif. Superior Court judge John Golden ordered a halt to all logging operations by PL after three years of delays by permitting agencies in a case brought by environmental groups challenging the PL Habitat Conservation Plan/Sustained Yield Plan (HCP/SYP) that was part of the Headwaters deal in 1999. Because irreversible damage would be done to wildlife, the environment and public trust resources before the merits of the case could be heard, Judge Golden found that harm to the public was potentially at hand and ordered all parties to the legal proceedings to halt all activity carried out under several permits, including Incidental Take Permits (ITP), 1603 permits (stream crossing) and PL's Sustained Yield Plan (SYP). Golden ruled "The stay is issued for the protection of the public interests."
Though the order clearly suspends all logging operations being carried out under these permits, stating that "no party to this proceeding shall take any action whose validity depends upon the validity of" these permits until "further order of the court," PL maintains they have a different interpretation and continued logging operations on Friday after the stay was issued.
Remedy, who sits high in a redwood tree in the Freshwater watershed south of Arcata, reported early this morning that the forests were full of activity, and the Humboldt county Sheriff's Dept. had not yet responded to reports of violation of the court order. She put in calls to CDF officials in Sacramento but could not get movement from them or the Sheriffs Dept. PL crews are also active in the Mattole, where protesters are in the forest ready to meet loggers. Mattole activists are headed for PL offices in Scotia this afternoon to effect a citizens arrest of Jared Carter, executive vice-president and legal counsel for PL after he told them on the phone he had no plans to comply with the court order.
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