Well, they did it. The government and the federal agency guys swooped in on their white horses and "saved Headwaters." In his inimitable, Darth Vader style, Hurwitz held the forests and the people of Humboldt County hostage right down to the wire. The deal makers upped the ante on the ransom, the press dutifully applauded, and the Trojan horse that is the Headwaters Forest Agreement was wheeled on in. Thanks so much, y'all.
The deal gives Maxxam almost $400 million in cash and around 7,500 acres of forestland. In return, only 3,000 acres of uncut old-growth forest (Headwaters Grove and Elkhead Springs Grove) are now in permanent public ownership. Scattered other areas totaling 7,728 acres will be "set aside" for 50 years as habitat for the endangered seabird, the marbled murrelet. These areas include other cathedral groves within the 60,000 acre Headwaters Forest, including Owl Creek Grove.
On the surface, this seems like a pretty good deal, and this shallow interpretation hasn't been lost on the corporate press. On closer scrutiny, however, the tragedy unfolds.
* Last-minute compromises have dramatically increased logging allowed under the HCP/SYP, from 136 million to 180 million board feet per year. The HCP was "reinterpreted" in the closing hours of the deal without public comment or even disclosure, taking back the gains that were supposedly made when the deal was first struck on March 1.
* More than 9,000 acres of old growth and residual Douglas fir forest on very steep and unstable slopes could be sacrificed, as well as 8,000 or so acres of residual and ancient redwoods that won't even be surveyed for endangered species before being liquidated.
* Pacific Lumber inherited a disastrous logging plan from Elk River Timber Co. as part of the deal. Called "the hole in the Headwaters", this timber harvest plan (#520) allows PL to clearcut 705 acres of mature second growth redwood on steep hillsides above the south fork of Elk River.This area is completely surrounded by the new Headwaters preserve. The few wild coho still surviving in this river are not going to make it through this assault.
* Past victories and holding actions, such as the restraining orders granted for the Mattole (4,000 acres of pristine ancient Doug fir) and Freshwater areas are in great jeopardy as parts of the new HCP. Other lawsuits pending in these areas may be dismissed.
* The Native American Coalition for Headwaters is worried that fishing rights and sacred sites will be ignored or compromised by the deal.
* The HCP may prove to be a "recipe for disaster" all over our bioregion. "Killing endangered species to save them makes little sense," said Kevin Bundy of EPIC. The deal will allow the "incidental" killing of endangered species under the auspices of a "conservation" plan. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) states that between 251 and 340 marbled murrelets will die. This is not surprising since a full 2/3 of their habitat on Maxxam's property will be logged.
We may already be too late to save the coho.
Another important aspect of all this is the media blackout that grass roots groups like Earth First! and EPIC have experienced. Banner headlines about this so-called victory for the natural world and photos of politicos slogging through a wet and "wow inspiring" Headwaters grove have done much to mislead the public.
The environmental community is not asleep, however. The effective media work we've done for more than a decade on this issue has not suddenly stopped, it's just being ignored. The only environmentalists sought for comment are those who have been historically weak on condemning the deal. Carl Pope (Sierra Club) is quoted applauding the "new sheriff" in town (Gov. Gray Davis). Ted Nordhaus (Sanctuary Project) thinks the new sheriff "passed the environmental test with flying colors."
And Maxxam/PL's president, John Campbell, went on KMUD and said the incredible, "It's been ten years that we have been trying to save Headwaters." Really John? So that's what the "death road" into Headwaters Grove was for!
The mainstream press focuses on "happy ending" stories, trying to hoodwink the public into believing that the "timber wars" are finally over. The reality is that we've entered a new era. As veteran Headwaters activist Darryl Cherney puts it, "We don't even have a truce in the Timber Wars, let alone peace."
There are several ways you can help with damage control in the wake of the Headwaters "deal":
* Contact state officials and demand that no pending or future Pacific Lumber logging plans be permitted which involve cutting of old-growth trees, destroying habitat of endangered species, clearcutting, degrading waterways, or application of herbicides.
Governor Gray Davis: 1st Floor State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 445-2841, Fax 445-4633.
Mary Nichols, State Resources Secretary:
1416 9th St #1311, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 653-5656, Fax 653-8102.
Andrea Tuttle, Director, Department of Forestry, 1416 9th St #1505, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 653-5121, Fax 653-4171
¥Phone North Coast Earth First! and ask about joining direct actions. (707) 825-6598
* Donate money to:
North Coast Earth First!, P.O. Box 28, Arcata CA 95518; Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), P.O. Box 397, Garberville, CA 95542;
Mendocino Environmental Center; 106 W. Standley St, Ukiah, CA 95482
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1999
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited