Making his move quickly, Hal Arbit (major donor to Prop 130) hired Gail Lucas to negotiate a deal with Big Timber and orchestrate the acquiescence of the major national environmental organizations. The purported goals of these negotiations were to "save the old growth redwoods" and to preclude the need for another initiative.
Excluded from this process was anyone not approved by Arbit. Although vigorous objections were raised immediately by Forests Forever, Arbit-Lucas succeeded in obtaining the reluctant backing of the major national environmental groups.
In early December, grassroots activists from the North Coast formed a coalition of over 30 organizations called the Forests and Watershed Council. They united in opposition to this top-down, money-calls-the-shots process of exclusion and the inevitably inadequate compromise that would result.
In early January, 1991, Ms. Lucas declined the invitation to meet with the coalition to address these concerns, and instead began meeting with representatives of the timber industry. Originally, these included Sierra Pacific Industries as well as Simpson Redwood Lumber Co. and the Timber Association of California. However, by early February only Sierra Pacific was willing to continue negotiations.
Ms. Lucas issued a memo to "Environmental Leaders" on Mar. 12, 1991 proposing ratification of the compromise by the "environmental community and the Timber Association of California."
Response from both the major timber corporations and grassroots forest protections organizations were parallel - that they had not participated in the negotiations and therefore would not be bound by them. Furthermore, "Timber" found them "too extreme" and the grassroots found them not protective enough. The ten year transition period for "sustained yield" was felt to be too long, and the "2.2% annual harvest" not truly sustainable. Allowing 20 acre clearcuts and the cutting of 50% of the trees in an ancient forest every 25 year were among other concerns felt by many grassroots environmentalists.
Ms. Lucas succeeded in selling the negotiated agreement to the mainstream groups using such techniques as assuring them that this was the last, best agreement possible, and the only hope to save the forests, because Hal Arbit absolutely would not fund another initiative. However, at about the same time, she began sending out a second draft of an initiative to be submitted April 24, 1991.
All of these concerns became moot when the Timber Association came back with proposals that even the Lucas contingent couldn't accept. She then began the Legislative phase, in which State Senators Barry Keene and McCorquodale, and Assemblymen Dan Hauser and Byron Sher sponsored various sections of the negotiated agreement as separate bills. These are currently moving through the legislature.
Crucial to this strategy is the development of an initiative to be used as a prod for the legislators not to dilute the bills further.
Calling themselves "Initiatives R Us" in a letter of April 23, 1991, Ms Lucas, Connie Best and Kathy Bailey announced that "the ball had been passed to Kathy ... and ... Connie... to jointly coordinate the process of preparing the final draft [of the initiative] for filing on June 1st. Julie MacDonald [SCLDF] will be providing ... legal work". After calling for input, they suggest "If you have serious disagreements with this initiative process, and you feel that your forestry concerns are not being addressed, we urge you strongly to articulate your own proposals and likewise circulate and lobby for them."
This is just what Forests Forever has been doing. Meeting in Davis in April, local coordinators from the Prop 130 statewide signature gathering campaign consensed on the necessity of writing an initiative that would take an intent approach rather than a reform of the Forest Practices Act approach. Forests Forever's strategy is to articulate whole ecosystems/wildlife habitat protection in language that would include oaklands as well as redwoods. Local input is being taken around the state, with an organizing meeting scheduled in the Sierras in July. Final draft will be submitted in October to take advantage of the full signature gathering period for qualification on the November 1992 ballot.
While all this was going on, the Redwood Coast Watersheds Alliance was pressuring CDF over the issue of too frequent harvesting, the decline of "forests products in perpetuity", and "depletion of the resource" (PRC4513). They succeeded in getting CDF to ask the Board of Forestry to invoke PRC 4555 and request an emergency rule which would clearly disallow continued cutting on such short rotations. The Board, however, found that no emergency existed, and referred the problem to the purgatory of the Forests Practice Committee.
Most recently the Redwood Coast Watershed Alliance submitted a petition to Secretary of Resources, Doug Wheeler, at the same time they filed a writ of mandate in Superior Court challenging former Resource Secretary, Claire Dedrick's, finding and certification that the THP process is the functional equivalent of an EIR in fulfilling the requirements of CEQA.
Throughout these various efforts to protect forests and watersheds, groups and individuals seem to have divided into two philosophical camps: those who consider a process of inclusion as being valuable in and of itself; and those who do not. There are good reasons for both approaches, but as an observer and sometime participant, I see tremendous damage that is done to the overall movement when individuals and groups are excluded from a particular effort. Mistrust and resentment are only some of the more obvious results.
It is the goal of the Mendocino Environmental Center to facilitate respectful and harmonious interaction toward a solution to these problems that will lead to actual, perpetual protection of our forests, watersheds, wildlife and their habitat. Being more compassionate to ourselves and each other will enhance our chances of success.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2004
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited