Will there be another timber homicide?

Will there be another timber homicide for lack of neutral observers while the Humboldt County Supervisors cogitate?

Four years ago David "Gypsy" Chain was felled by a PL logger who cut down one of the very same trees whose life Chain thought he was protecting. This brought timber harvesting to a sudden temporary halt. Mediators tried to find compromises between non-violent environmental activists intent on preventing clear cutting, the extinction of old growth and sedimentation of streams, and PL (owned by Maxxam) intent on making a quick buck to pay off their huge debts acquired when they purchased PL in a hostile take-over; as well as lumber workers who faced loss of livelihood in a dying industry.

Most everyone agreed that trained neutral observers would go a long way in preventing the violent run-ins the activists had with timber company employees and law enforcement.

After Chain's death, PL President John Campbell promised Chain's mother he would allow certified neutral/legal citizen observers on PL land. After Campbell left that office, the new CEO, Robert Manne, as an assigned member of the Forest Peace Alliance (the coalition of timber company representatives, law enforcement and activists, formed by PL's legal settlement with the Chain family), concurred with that decision to permit trained neutral observers on Company property when workers, demonstrators and law enforcement were all likely to be present. To date, neither the Forest Peace Alliance nor the public has received from Manne a statement of confirmation of this policy and its conditions.

The Redwood Chapter of the ACLU has operated a small but effective observer program. Their experience has shown that acceptance over time of the presence of certified observers has definitely been beneficial, as the tensions of pending conflict are eased by recognition of trained observers operating under prearranged permission and conditions and with bias toward none. The local ACLU, and the Observer teams from the County Human Rights Commission and the Civil Liberties Monitoring Project however, over the years, have never been able to finalize arrangements to place neutral observers on site on PL land, the most essential requirement of a guarantee of a productive Citizen Observer Program. The ACLU and CLMP have therefore been able to use their observers only at public demonstrations and at the gates of entry to forest work sites, where demonstrations and blockades are common. Meanwhile, conditions changed. Winter set in. PL, under fire from some agencies, legally challenged by environment watchdogs and with low lumber prices, reduced its production.

The County has never permitted its Human Rights Commission observers official status, citing liability constraints. So with Sen. Chesbro’s help, the state passed a law SB 381 limiting the county’s liability. Still the county refused permission.

However, on July 25, the HRC met with CAO Loretta Nickolaus and reached a tentative agreement where the county might pay for training neutral observers & allow the Forest Peace Alliance to appoint them.

Hopefully, the understanding hasn’t come too late. The Supervisors might not agree. PL might not allow the observers on their land. The activists under new or inexperienced leadership might get more impatient.

It almost came to a head last week when Earth First! Activists stopped a fully loaded lumber truck on Highway 36 near PL’s Carlotta Mill. A man & a woman locked themselves under the front axle and a woman under a rear axle. The truck driver said he wouldn’t move on, but he kept his motor running, The CHP, the only law enforcement with jurisdiction, stood by for 6 hours. The situation became tense until a bystander negotiated an agreement, in which the CHP dropped felony charges, cited & released all 3, (who had by now unlocked themselves) with a misdemeanor & the truck drove off the highway. Next time it might result in a blood bath. Three young people risked their lives to bring attention to the destruction of old growth, and no news source even carried the story.

The Supervisors have it in their power to take the first step. A starting point might be to heed the opinions of the dedicated members of the Human Rights Commission.