Forest Defense Update, Humboldt County

At this time, while the Heritage Tree Preservation Act is slowly making its way through different congressional committees; the Gov. of California is pushing to eliminate all water, forestry, and wildlife boards and agencies to more easily subject our environment to careless liquidation logging; the national forests are gearing up for the largest timber sale EVER on public lands; corporate logging continues to clearcut, poison, and lay waste to our forests, water, and communities; illegal logging, including road-building and killing of endangered species- illegal as determined in the courts- continues as the corporate agenda is enabled by the embedded “justice” system; timber jobs are becoming less and less certain; and increased raw log export casts doubt and confusion about the ‘who’s, ‘what’s, and ‘where’s of the timber industry.

As the situation grows more despairing, forest activists throughout the Pacific Northwest are bringing to light the urgent need to protect our Earth and change our course from one of self-destruction to a path of healthy balance- for now and generations to come.

In Humboldt County, determined forest defenders committed to Non-Violent Direct Action in Defense of the Earth, have been creating ongoing actions to halt and bring attention to the wanton forest destruction in the area. Mattole Forest Defense has been particularly active as Maxxam/Pacific Lumber, using numerous subcontracters, and Sierra Pacific Industries decimate the Mattole and Bear River watersheds.
On July 27, a single pole with a forest activist perched on top blocked Fox Camp Gate for over 24 hours, with its support ropes spanning across the road. The gate leads into Humboldt Redwoods State Park and is used by Maxxam/PL to access and clearcut the old growth Doug Fir, Madrone, and Oak forest of the Mattole. The banner strewn across the blockade demanded an END to clearcutting, old growth logging, the use of herbicides, and cutting on steep and unstable slopes.
Simultaneously, further into the forest, activists rose up into 4 treesits, and remain today, in the Rattlesnake Creek area of the Mattole.
Another 10 miles deeper, 2 womyn locked to a schoolbus blocking a major intersection of roads leading to more of Maxxam’s unscrupulous logging plans.
Four activists were arrested.
A couple of days later in downtown Eureka, community members came out in large numbers with banners and signs facing highway 101, demanding an End to Corporate Logging. For that day, activists had invited the community to rally and participate in or witness an act of non-violent civil disobedience. While small handouts explaining the demo’s purpose were distributed to passing car and foot traffic, many protesters stopped a truck carrying large Doug Fir logs near the front of the courthouse. Several people, willing to risk arrest for the forest, put their bodies in front of the truck; 2 climbed up on top the large logs while a crowd filled the street, stopped another truck carrying redwood, videoed, and dialogued about the situation leading to this protest. Three people were arrested and released within an hour.
Also that day, the courtroom filled in support of a forest activist who was brutalized by Maxxam/PL-hired climbers in an ancient redwood in Freshwater last year. The climbers, who videoed themselves violently attacking the activist, have evaded court, refused subpoenas, refused to show one of the videos, and have alleged the activist ASSAULTED THEM. The courtroom attendees rejoiced after the judge essentially ordered the climbers to appear.
This past Monday, in the backwoods of the Mattole, again, activists blocked logging traffic in the morning. This time, the road blockade included a net that would be suspended at least 80 ft. up with a person in it—over a wide ravine and ropes would stretch across the road. Unfortunately, PL security(without knowing if a person’s life was at risk) cut one of the net’s ropes before it was fully erected. Activists, not prone to giving up easily, plan to continue backwoods blocking actions.
Wednesday morning, at Monument Gate, another main access way for Maxxam and Sierra Pacific to cut the Mattole and Bear watersheds, fallers were slowed and semi’s were halted for 2 hours. A small crew of forest activists put their bodies in front of trucks. First, in front of Lewis Logging- subcontracters for Maxxam- and then in front of trucks headed for SPI plans in the Bear. Characteristic of workers for Lewis Logging in this situation, they drove dangerously into 2 of the protesters and then pushed them out of the way. (There was, however, a moment of real, heartfelt dialogue.) Next, SPI haulers drove right up to protesters’ bodies, but then for over an hour and a half, conversations spanned many topics—shifts in consciousness, landslides, the history of the land, salmon spawning, responsibility to future generations, and even biodiesel. A positive, friendly atmosphere formed from the interactions and a seed was planted. The idea of a public forum- to discuss the ‘mutually desperate’ situation- was mentioned by protesters and received well by the truck drivers.
After Maxxam employee ‘Dick’ Bettis arrived and angrily shoved conversing protesters out of the way for trucks to go through, activists visited the office of California Department of Forestry (CDF) in Fortuna. In company with other forest defenders and a member of the Mattole Restoration Council, comments were made regarding a proposed Maxxam/PL ‘timber harvest plan’ of all old growth in the Mattole. One forest defender expressed to the CDF official, “I have seen the Mattole recently and the words ‘sustainable’ or ‘unsustainable’ mean nothing. The situation is CATASTROPHIC.”
CDF, the agency that forest advocates recognize as the rubber stamper for corporate logging plans was found guilty last year of approving Maxxam/PL’s broad-sweeping and non-existent Sustained Yield Plan, under which Maxxam illegally logged areas such as the Mattole for almost 5 years. Activists demand that CDF examine the cumulative impacts of those
years’ logging before approving any more plans.
CDF will approve the old growth THP discussed on Wednesday and Forest Defenders will continue to Act in Defense of the Earth.

Action Camp at Albee Creek Campground, 5 miles west from the Honeydew exit off Highway 101 will last until August 25. Forest Defense Hotline: 707-825-6598