With the end of marbled murrelet nesting season looming, the ancient redwoods of the Headwaters Forest could be vulnerable to cutting by Pacific Lumber/MAXXAM after September 15. This year we've watched the State and Federal Governments scramble to the negotiating table to arrange a sweeter and sweeter deal for Charles Hurwitz, finally agreeing to pay the Houston CEO $380 million in taxpayer dollars for just two of the six ancient groves on PL's property and a 1500 acre buffer zone of clearcut land. Included in the package for Hurwitz is a license to kill endangered species known as a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The HCP is yet another way for the company to skirt around existing endangered species protection to get at the very last of the ancient forest on their land by determining exactly how many trees they can cut without forcing the marbled murrelet into extinction. What it means on the ground is that some or all of the four groves not protected as part of the Headwaters Deal will likely be on the chopping block as soon as the deal goes through, and beginning September 15 they are open to salvage operations. If Hurwitz somehow rejects the Government's offer, all six ancient groves of the Headwaters Forest could be salvage logged beginning September 15!
We're looking at a dire situation again this year in the redwoods.
The last two years have seen an unprecedented outpouring of public support for the permanent protection of Headwaters. Last year's Rally to Save Headwaters Forest drew over 6,500 people to Humboldt County. 1,033 of them stepped across PL's property line in the largest act of civil disobedience ever in the history of the U.S. forest protection movement. This action helped create the political pressure that drove Hurwitz to the bargaining table. For the next two months, Earth First! staged an unprecedented nonviolent direct action campaign, getting in the way of Hurwitz's salvage operation in every way imaginable. Even so, Hurwitz is a master at manipulating the system for his own personal benefit, and he is still holding Headwaters hostage until the Government gives him everything he wants.
But this year we are closer than ever to prying the ancient redwoods away from him. The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are both currently pursuing claims against Hurwitz for his role in the Savings and Loan scandal. If they rule that he owes the taxpayers for bailing out a Texas SandL that went under as a result of the junk bond takeover of Pacific Lumber, it could pave the way for a debt-for-nature-swap for the forest and possible criminial charges against Hurwitz himself. The California State Teachers Retirement System, MAXXAM's 10th largest stockholder, just divested their shares of the corporation citing unscrupulous dealings in the redwoods. And third generation PL old-growth faller Stan Chandler recently filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against PL/MAXXAM alleging worker safety and environmental law violations. The tables are turning on MAXXAM and Charlie Hurwitz.
This could actually be the year we achieve permanent protection for all 60,000 acres of the Headwaters Forest. The means are in place, and now it's up to us to create the political will. The Coalition to Save Headwaters Forest is calling for a RALLY TO SAVE HEADWATERS FOREST again this year to be held Sunday, SEPTEMBER 14, 1997, in Humboldt County. We are hoping for the biggest showing of support EVER to push the Headwaters crisis to a resolution, and win permanent protection for all 60,000 acres of Headwaters Forest. Once again, those people who are moved to make their statement with civil disobedience will have a chance to cross Hurwitz's private property line, symbolically taking back the forest that he stole from the taxpayers.
Earth First! is also busy preparing for another season of resistance in the redwoods. Basecamp will open a few days before the big Rally. We're using the lessons from the last two years of actions to make this the most effective effort yet. Last year we did everything we could to halt logging as Hurwitz ruthlessly ripped into all four of the ancient groves not covered in the Headwaters deal. With his seemingly insatiable greed, we expect him to be back again. Our actions this year are neither futile or symbolic! And with the help of huge numbers of courageous, nonviolent activists, we'll be more prepared than ever to stop him this time.
This year's Rally to Save Headwaters Forest is dedicated to Judi Bari, who gave her life to protect the Ancient trees in Headwaters. When Judi was diagnosed with breast cancer in the midst of last year's direct action campaign, she told us, "The trees have let me go. They called and called to me, and now they have let me go, to be with my family and do the things I need to do now. But it is so inspiring for me to see that I can pull back from the struggle and you all will carry it on. It gives me hope that we will someday actually save it." Let this year's Rally be a tribute to the spirit and power of this heroic woman!
Judi walks with all of us! Headwaters Forest will stand!!
Headwaters Action Update
by Tofu
This summer, many Headwaters activists have been busy defending Mother Earth with awesome resistance in Northern California and Oregon watersheds, including Dillon Creek, McCoy Creek, China Left, Sphinx, Growl and Howl, and Jackson State Forest. Since you last heard from us there have been few point of production actions at Headwaters, but activists have been busy elsewhere putting pressure on MAXXAM, the California Department of Forestry (CDF), Congressman Frank Riggs, Senator Barbara Boxer, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, and local law enforcement.
On May 1-4, Earth First! held a Headwaters Action Training Camp in Humboldt County. More that 175 activists climbed trees, participated in nonviolence trainings, heard the latest legal updates, and watched historical EF! videos from solar charged batteries. We sang and reminisced; networked and planned. A few weeks later, a busload of activists went to Houston and gave Charlie Hurwitz a piece of our collective mind at the MAXXAM shareholders meeting. Meanwhile, all winter and spring, activists have been monitoring PALCO activities in the woods, as well as tabling, doing mailings and holding bake sales to raise consciousness and money.
At the end of July, activists again came together, this time in Willits, to strategize and focus energies on EF!'s role in the September 14th Rally to Save Headwaters, and the direct action campaign afterwards. After the Summit, a delegation of EF!ers went to the CDF offices in Fortuna. They demanded a moratorium on all cutting within the 60,000 acres, a complete halt to pesticide use, clearcutting (and its various disguises), and the continued cutting of old growth. The EF!ers also demanded that CDF get the latest cumulative impact analyses, including recent aerial photos, of the North Coast's forests.
The North Coast was visited by Congressman "Rank Piggs" and Senator Boxer this summer. We politely listened to Piggs as he spoke to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. We also listened to a Board Member refer to our rally as a riot, as he asked Piggs for federal money to meet law enforcement needs. In August, we staged a Boxer rebellion, donning mud and raising banners in the Eureka Inn. We called on Senator Boxer to use her power on the Senate Banking Committee to launch an investigation into Charles Hurwitz's failed Texas Savings and Loan.
Law enforcement did not go unnoticed this summer either. Earth First! held a nonviolence training, and invited all the local law enforcement, including the Humboldt County Sheriffs to attend and learn about our nonviolence code. Officers from the Arcata and Humboldt State University police departments showed their community support by participating in role plays and discussion. Other invited agencies, however, failed to attend.
This summer's actions have built momentum towards what we hope will be the final chapter in the fight for Headwaters. As this edition goes to press, activists are busy preparing for a long season of actions that will become this fall's headlines and inspiration. And with other forests nearby in need of defense, there are endless opportunities for everyone to get involved and stay involved. See you at basecamp!!
Headwaters Actions Begin!!
An Earth First! blockade at Fisher Gate on August 22 kicked off another season of nonviolent direct action in defense of Headwaters Forest. The action was a commemoration of the Stafford landslide, where seven homes were inundated with mud as a result of a Pacific Lumber clearcut. Three Earth First!ers locked down amidst a mud splattered collection of furniture and appliances, including the kitchen sink. Cardboard depictions of dead Coho salmon, the victims of siltation from irresponsible logging, completed the scene. All three were consequently removed and hauled off to the Humboldt County Jail.
Carl Anderson, Pacific Lumber Chief of Security, shoved several people out of the road and dragged two women to the ground by their hair. Five of the people assaulted filed police reports which will be forwarded to the District Attorney. He will decide whether or not to file charges. The police refused to honor efforts by the demonstrators to make a citizen's arrest.
The action was intended as fair warning that Earth First! is committed to stopping the destruction of the last unprotected ancient redwoods. We are not leaving until MAXXAM/Pacific Lumber is out of all 60,000 acres of the Headwaters Forest Complex!
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1997
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited