Pacific Lumber May Lose Timber Operator License
12/13/97
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Headline: Pacific Lumber May Lose Timber Operator License
Source: The San Francisco Examiner
Date: 12/13/97
Author: Eric Brazil, of the Examiner Staff
Copyright 1997: San Francisco Examiner
Redwood logger may lose license
Pacific Lumber put on notice by agency
Pacific Lumber Co., target of a decade of protest by
North Coast environmentalists and owner of the largest
stands of redwoods in private hands, may lose its
timber operator license because of persistently poor
logging practices.
The California Department of Forestry has notified
Pacific Lumber President John A. Campbell that it was
poised to deny or revoke the company's license based on
the company's activity in Humboldt County forests this
past year.
Pacific Lumber, which owns some 200,000 acres of
redwoods and other old growth timber - including
Headwaters forest, for which the federal government
recently agreed to pay $250 million - is currently on
probation for several counts of violating the state's
Forest Practices Act.
"Their violation of probation is a matter of public
record," said Gerald A. Ahlstrom, deputy chief of CDF's
forest practice enforcement and litigation branch.
"Thirty-five or 40 violations have been noted by our
inspectors."
CDF grants about 2,000 timber operator licenses a year,
and just 11 companies received letters warning them of
possible license revocation, Ahlstrom said.
Neither Campbell nor Pacific Lumber spokeswoman Mary
Bullwinkel returned calls seeking comment on the CDF
letter.
"Now, we're going to collect more information from the
field on (Pacific Lumber's) compliance with the rules
and look at that record, and if it's significant
enough, we will go ahead and put into play our
authority to deny their license," Ahlstrom said.
In the past, "no big timber company has had its license
revoked," he said. "This is the first time we've ever
even notified a large company."
Pacific Lumber is a subsidiary of Houston-based Maxxam
Inc., a conglomerate owned by Charles Hurwitz, who
acquired the company in 1986 in a complex deal aided by
fiscal felons Michael Millken and Ivan Boesky.
By accelerating the rate at which old growth redwoods
were being cut in order to increase Pacific Lumber's
cash flow, Hurwitz called North Coast environmentalists
to their battle stations, and he hasn't had a moment's
peace since.
The most recent prominent demonstrations against Maxxam
turned the national spotlight on Humboldt County, when
sheriff's deputies swabbed pepper spray on the eyelids
of anti-logging protesters from the Headwaters
Coalition.
Landslides blamed on logging
On Dec. 2, Maxxam was sued twice by Humboldt County
residents who accused Pacific Lumber of ruining the
town of Stafford, which was badly damaged by a
landslide that may have been caused by timber
overcutting; and of damaging the Elk River, which no
longer runs clear because it is thick with logging
debris.
Maxxam's critics contend that its takeover of Pacific
Lumber, which had been controlled by the same Humboldt
County family for more than a century, has altered the
entire tenor of life in the county, causing conflict
from afar by its logging tactics.
Pacific Lumber has been transformed "from a white hat
to black," said Eureka attorney Bill Bertain, who
represents plaintiffs in several suits against Maxxam.
"They're the rogue of the timber industry, thanks to
Hurwitz and his executives."
Paul Mason, spokesman for the Environmental Protection
Information Center in Redway, Humboldt County, said the
state's move was "a step in the right direction, but
it's a little wishy-washy. My past experience with CDF
doesn't inspire a great deal of confidence that they're
going to stand up to a known bad actor who consistently
violates the rules."
Violations while on probation
The Forest Practices Act violations for which Pacific
Lumber is on probation are failure to maintain a
watercourse crossing used in timber operations to
prevent stream overflow down a road; failure to remove
inadequate drainage structures and failure to install
water breaks on logging skid-trails.
The 31 additional violations since the company was
placed on probation include overharvesting, failure to
reduce hazards, clear-cutting instead of thinning,
failure to dispose of trash and numerous instances of
inadequate road maintenance.
Ahlstrom said no decision would be made on Pacific
Lumber's license until after Jan. 1. If the decision is
for revocation, there will be a hearing before an
administrative law judge. If the judge's decision goes
against the company, it can appeal to the Superior
Court.
Until the case is fully adjudicated, the company will
keep its license and can keep on logging.
Even if the one-year license is revoked, logging could
still continue on Pacific Lumber land, if the company
expands its use of contract loggers who hold valid
licenses, Ahlstrom said.