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| Marbled Murrelets "Fly In" to Sen. Feinstein's Office For Immediate Release - Contact: Karen Pickett, Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters 510-548-3113/on-site cell: 510-520-9108 Sam Johnston, Environmental Protection Information Center 510-665-3920 Marbled Murrelets "Fly In" to Sen. Feinstein's Office in Protest of Logging of Ancient Redwoods Nanning Creek Grove Logging Threatens Endangered Bird San Francisco, Calif.--A "flock" of marbled murrelets will "fly in" to Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office at One Post St. (at Market), joined by giant redwood tree puppets, to dramatize what is occurring under Headwaters Deal provisions on California's north coast since Maxxam/Pacific Lumber entered Nanning Creek Grove on Veteran's Day with their logging equipment. Nanning is a grove of ancient redwoods containing trees up to 15 feet in diameter and comprising the largest chunk of in-tact unprotected habitat for the federally listed Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in California. The murrelet is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and as endangered under the California ESA. Protection of this rare and endangered bird under the ESA was eclipsed by provisions of the 1999 Headwaters Deal, negotiated by Senator Feinstein and other government officials with corporate raider Charles Hurwitz, CEO of Maxxam Corp. Nanning Creek Grove is east of the company town of Scotia and has seen arrests, lock-down protests, and tree-sits in recent weeks. Cecelia Lanman, former Program Director for EPIC, primary spokesperson and organization on the Headwaters Deal said, "We opposed the Headwaters Deal because of this exact scenario. The destruction of the ancient redwoods in Nanning Creek is a nightmare for endangered wildlife and underscores our belief that the Deal was based on politics--not the law or science. The Deal makers - Dianne Feinstein and government agencies - left critical habitat for endangered species unprotected. Despite the fact that the marbled murrelet faces an 80% probability of extinction and legal victories have invalidated permits to kill endangered species granted under the Headwaters Deal, once again the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the courts have failed to protect the ancient trees and the marbled murrelet that depends on them for survival." Despite the high level of cut of its most valuable asset--the old growth redwoods--the timber company has been losing an average of $20 million a year, and has been threatening bankruptcy for over a year. But to clarify, "It was not that the money wasn't coming in--the problem is, it was going out--to Houston," said Karen Pickett of Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters. "Hurwitz has been bleeding California's north coast, at a tremendous cost to public trust resources that the people who live there depend on--like clean air and clean water, as well as the magnificent forests and endangered species. Nor are the profits from Nanning Creek likely to stay in Humboldt county. Feinstein has to be held accountable for brokering a deal that resulted in this ecological and economic disaster." Added Lanman, "For the last twenty years Pacific Lumber has been logging at an unsustainable rate. Our community, economy and environment suffers the consequences while Hurwitz carries out the final part of his original plan to cut down all the redwoods and run."  << Back to Press Release Archive | Latest Press Release | Newsroom | | 
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Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (BACH) is a project of the Ecology Center. Website design facilitated by Trees Foundation. © BACH |
