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| Protests Grow Over Cutting of Nanning Creek Ancient Grove For Immediate Release - Contact: Susan Moloney Campaign for Old Growth 707-932-0232 Protests Grow Over Cutting of Nanning Creek Ancient Grove Scotia, CA -- Dozens of protestors gathered this morning before sunrise in front of the gates leading into the Nanning Creek ancient redwood grove, the site of a controversial logging plan called ,,Bonanza °/°° by Pacific Lumber Company. This appeared to be the largest public gathering to date for this contentious logging plan and an overall increase in the number of people who are willing to stand up for what they believe in. The gates were locked shut by protestors using chains, bicycle U-locks, and heavily duct-taped padlocks. An increasing number of concerned citizens, including a mother and child, stood vigil with candles, signs and a banner saying ,,Stop Maxxmum Greed, Save Nanning Grove °/°°. Nanning Creek Grove contains crucial habitat for the endangered marbled murrelet and spotted owl. The grove contained approximately 192 acres of old-growth redwoods before Pacific Lumber began logging there on Nov. 11. It is estimated that over half the logging plan has already been cut. High winds kept the loggers out on Thursday, but loggers returned to the gates this morning. Three out of four activists who were arrested this past Monday for locking down to the same gates returned to bear witness, on their second day out of jail. There were no arrests today as the Humboldt County Sheriffs arrived and cut off the locks and other assorted devices. At one point activists stood in front of a logging gate after it had been opened. A logger in a pickup truck who at first appeared to be driving away, quickly turned and tried to sneak in behind the line of activists. One woman ran into the middle of the gate opening to stop the truck and was lifted up onto the hood of the truck and pushed back over the property line. Local filmmaker and forest activist James Ficklin who was videotaping the protests said, ,,These direct action protests come from a determination on the part of many who have worked for years to try to protect old-growth forests. It is unconscionable that these trees are still falling in this day and age. All legal remedies have been exhausted and there's a feeling of outrage and despair, but as the saying goes, ,,action is the antidote to despair. °/°° Susan Moloney, founder of Campaign for Old Growth said, "As long as Pacific Lumber is cutting ancient trees, people will be protesting this barbaric practice. A clear majority of people, from all walks of life, want to save what remains of our increasingly rare old-growth forests. It is indeed unfortunate the company is uninterested in working with the community to come up with a solution to protect this area." Campaign for Old Growth and others recently appealed to Pacific Lumber to suspend logging in this area while funds are raised to purchase it. (www.ancienttrees.org) Pacific Lumber never responded to the request. Pacific Lumber is facing bankruptcy due in part to a $700 million debt that Charles Hurwitz placed on the company when he bought it in 1986, and thereafter doubled the rate of logging. After nearly 20 years of over-cutting, and nearly $200 million in profits going to Texas-based Maxxam annually, Pacific Lumber still has not paid off its debt and is actively liquidating it's few remaining old-growth forests  << Back to Press Release Archive | Latest Press Release | Newsroom | | 
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