And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 16:02:53 +0300 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.03 [de] (Win95; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: wildnet <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: FORESTS:Despite deal, protests may continue References: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="------------8712263E60906B7B9480479C" > > Despite deal, Headwaters logging protests may continue > http://www.seattletimes.com/news/nation-world/html98/head_19990315.html > > by Mary Curtius > Los Angeles Times > > EUREKA, Calif. - Bureau of Land Management workers bustled about the > trail head that leads to the Headwaters Forest Reserve last week, > slapping rust-colored paint over the word "Private" scrawled on a > metal gate to which demonstrators used to chain themselves, and > pulling down a "No Trespassing" sign nailed to a redwood. > > Today, for the first time, the public was invited into the > forest, home to ancient redwoods and a longtime battleground for > environmentalists and Pacific Lumber. > > As a gentle rain fell last Friday, workers hauled garbage and > erected a "Headwaters Forest Reserve" sign, installed a portable > toilet and anchored a narrow wooden kiosk that will display a trail > map and warnings about the fragility of the landscape. > > Limits for a few months > > For the next three months, however, only a hardy few will be > able to enjoy the reserve, which lies about 250 miles north of San > Francisco. Hikers will be able to enter only on its north end, via > Elk River Road, off Highway 101, just south of Eureka. > > From the trail head, they will hike a steep, muddy five-mile > corridor purchased by the government to a cliff overlooking Head- > waters grove, where 2,738 acres of old-growth redwoods stand at the > headwaters of the south fork of Elk River. There is no trail from the > northern access point that leads into the old-growth core of the > government's purchase, said BLM's Arcata Field Manager, Lynda Roush. > > But the corridor itself is scenic. It winds along the south fork > of the Elk River, where salmon still run, and through second- and > third-growth redwood and Douglas fir trees. The bureau, which will > manage the reserve, hopes to have interpretive signs up soon that > will tell visitors about the salmon, the black bears and deer common > to the area and about the endangered species, such as the marbled > murrelets, who also make their home here. > > Already, Roush said, her Arcata office has been getting phone > calls from people asking whether they can hold weddings in > Headwaters grove (yes, if the wedding party is small and willing to > hike in and hike out the same day), ride all-terrain vehicles (no), > hunt (no), or ride horses (no). > > No overnight camping > > For the next several months at least, no overnight camping will > be allowed, and hikers will be asked to pack out anything they pack > in. Even tossed orange peels, Roush said, could attract ravens that > prey on murrelets. The agency hopes to open the southern access to > the park by mid-June. From that approach, near the logging town of > Fortuna, visitors will be able to drive to within 1 1/2 miles of the > Headwaters grove before they must park and hike, Roush said. For the > time being, there will be no day-use fees for hikers. > > A yearlong planning process that will shape permanent guidelines > for managing the reserve will begin sometime this fall, Roush said. > > Few in Humboldt County believe the purchase of the reserve will > end the conflict that has wracked this rugged North Coast land over > the fate of old-growth redwood trees, the endangered species that > live in them and the rivers that run through them. > > "I woke up that morning, heard there was a deal, and said to > myself: OK, what's next?" said Humboldt County Sheriff Dennis Lewis. > > Over the years, Lewis' department has arrested thousands of > protesters who turned out for rallies, blocked logging roads, > chained themselves to trees or buildings. Some activists are > currently suing his department for swabbing pepper-spray under > their eyes to break-up a demonstration. > > Both Lewis' deputies and activists have been injured in clashes. > > "Is it over?" asked Lewis, who was born in Eureka. "No. Are these > the only trees we're arguing about? No. I've got people living in > trees miles from Headwaters." > > Earth First activists have for years scaled redwoods marked for > cutting and lived in them, sometimes for months, to protect them > from being felled. > > At least three are living in trees at the moment, and none has > decided to come down as a result of the Headwaters deal. > > "The tensions that exist in Humboldt County are the result of > an unsustainable, liquidation-oriented timber company," said Kevin > Bundy, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Information > Center in Garberville. "That industry has not changed as a result > of this deal, and I think that the tensions will remain." > > Over the years, EPIC has filed suits against Pacific Lumber and > various state and federal agencies, challenging the timber companies > logging practices. Bundy said the nonprofit organization also is > considering filing suit over the Headwaters agreement. > > The state and federal government paid $480 million for the 7,400 > acres recently, after more than two years of bitter negotiations > with Maxxam, Pacific Lumber's parent company. > > The deal both transferred land to government ownership and > imposed a habitat conservation plan on the more than 200,000 acres > of Humboldt forest lands Pacific Lumber still owns. The conservation > plan establishes 100-foot no-cut buffer zones around salmon streams > on Pacific Lumber property, a 50-year logging ban on 12 "lesser > cathedral" ancient redwood groves and other restrictions on cutting. > > Some logging still allowed > > But it allows the company to fell about 180 million board feet of > timber, including some old-growth Douglas fir, outside the reserve, > and to harm or kill endangered species such as the marbeled murrelet > or spotted owl in those areas. Secretary of the Interior Bruce > Babbitt ordered the Bureau of Land Management, which will manage > the reserve, to open it as quickly as possible to the public. > > "It's real important, after so many years of fighting and so much > money," said Roush. "It starts building ownership." > > On Friday, even before the reserve was officially opened, > Humboldt residents were showing up at the site, or saying they > planned to hike in over the weekend. > > Pacific Lumber President John Campbell said he hopes what he > calls "the most comprehensive environmental package ever placed > on private timberland in the United States" will bring peace to > Humboldt County. > > In Garberville, Bundy acknowledged that it may be harder, at > first, to rally mass support now that the "charismatic mega-flora," > the 2,000-year-old, 300-foot-tall redwoods, are saved. > > But vigilance now, he said, is essential. > > Posted at 09:29 a.m. PST; Monday, March 15, 1999 > > E-mail Comments to Editor : [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Seattle Times: Table of Content > http://www.seattletimes.com/news/ > > The Seattle Times: Search Archive > http://www.seattletimes.com/extra/search.html > > The Seattle Times: Browse by date > http://www.seattletimes.com/todaysnews/browse.html > > Seattle Times: Special Reports > http://www.seattletimes.com/news/special/ > > Permission requests and information > http://www/seatimes.com/general/info.html > > Copyright (c) 1999 The Seattle Times Company > http://www.seattletimes.com/news/general/copyright.html > > ___________________________________________________________________NOTA BENE: This e-mail may contain confidential and priviledged material for the sole use of the intended recipient. 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