Treesit Village Defends Mattole Wilderness

A treesit village has been constructed in defense of old-growth forest in the Mattole River Watershed. This announcement comes hot on the heels of yesterday’s two roadblocks of logging roads leading to active Timber Harvest Plans where old-growth forest continues to be razed by Maxxam’s Pacific Lumber.

"We can't afford to wait for legislation which takes effect after the forests are gone,” one treesitter yelled down from her perch in an old-growth Douglas Fir, referring to Senate Bill 754 – The Heritage Tree Preservation Act - which, if passed, will protect some species of old-growth on non-federal lands. “We support the Heritage Tree Bill, but need to protect the old-growth that is being cut today.”

Logging crews discovered a roadblock at 4:30am yesterday morning, about fourteen miles into the Mattole wilderness. The roadblock - a white bus wedged into a bottleneck at the last of the admittance gates - contained two women locked down in steel devices that had been drilled through the floor and cemented into the ground below, blocking the only road to active timber cuts. The women - Kelly Sanders and another giving her name as Gemima - were taken to the Humboldt County jail for booking late yesterday afternoon.

A second roadblock at Fox Camp Gate is being dismantled by Humboldt County Sheriffs this afternoon. One activist is in custody, making this the second day of arrests in the Mattole.

The Mattole is a rugged, wild area activists occupied for almost eight months through the winter of 2001, in attempts to stop the logging of pristine Douglas Fir forest. Activists have been back in the Mattole since March of this year. The area is now riddled with clearcuts, where logging on extreme slopes demands helicopter use to carry out the logging.