Update: The following is from an email to the Earth First! Newswire
Resistance is growing as Humboldt Redwood Company prepares to log over 500 acres of rare forest habitat in the Mattole River watershed in Northern California. The area is home to Golden Eagles, Pacific Fishers, Spotted Owls and many more rare species. The forest is a mix of tree species including Douglas Fir, Tanoak, Madrone and Big Leaf Maple. Old-growth trees of all species intermingle throughout the forest. Though the company claims to not log in old-growth forests, their narrow definition excludes forests with less than 8 old-growth trees per acre. They also define old-growth trees as being alive in the year 1800. Though much of the forest has never been cut into, the company has gone to lengths to define the whole area as previously logged, in order to appease their “sustainability” certifiers, the Forest Stewardship Council, who would otherwise consider the area to have a high conservation value.
Local forest defenders have hung a banner where logging and road building are planned directly bordering Humboldt Redwoods State Park. This area was a hotbed of community actions in the late 90′s and early 2000′s to resist the devestation of this forest by Maxxam/Pacific Lumber. This included a series of lawsuits, road blockades and groups of forest defenders occupying the threatened areas to disrupt the logging. Some of the same forest that was successfully defended is now threatened once again.
