Maxxam Sued over Irresponsible Logging in Redwood Area
12/2/97
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Headline: Maxxam Sued over Irresponsible Logging in Redwood Area
Source: Reuters
Date: 12/2/97
Copyright 1997 Reuters
This material may not be published, broadcast,rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright 1997 ABCNews and StarwaveCorporation This
material may not be published, broadcast,rewritten, or redistributed in
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S A N F R A N C I S C O, Dec. 2 - A group
of California property owners has sued Maxxam
Inc. and its chairman Charles Hurwitz for
"recklessly irresponsible logging" in an
environmentally-sensitive area of ancient
redwoods.
In separate criminal and civil suits filed
in Humboldt County Superior Court, the
plaintiffs alleged that Maxxam's Pacific
Lumber Co. caused mudslides, floods and
destruction of the local watershed through its
logging practices.
"Maxxam's logged timberlands lie like open
bleeding sores on the landscape," the suit
said.
The case marks a new tack against Maxxam
by opponents of logging, who have long relied
primarily on protests by environmentalists
committed to preserving California's
old-growth redwood forests.
The suits name some 33 residents of
Stafford, 250 miles north of San Francisco, as
plaintiffs and says Pacific Lumber was
directly responsible for property damage they
sustained in landslides caused by
deforestation.
"This is a case in which a whole
community, Stafford, has been virtually wiped
off the map due to the callous disregard
exhibited by Maxxam corporate entities in
their rush to turn trees into cash," the suit
alleges.
Maxxam spokesman Bob Irelan said the
destructive December 1996 landslides in
Stafford were "very unfortunate, but it has
not been determined if harvesting by us or
another landowner caused it."
A Long Battle
"Based on our understanding, the suits are
without merit and we will certainly defend
against them," Irelan said.
Maxxam and Pacific Lumber have faced a
long campaign against their logging activities
in northern California, with celebrities such
as movie star Woody Harrelson and singer
Bonnie Raitt joining protests.
Environmental activists are particularly
concerned about logging in and around the
Headwaters forest, which contains towering
redwoods dating back as far as 1,000 years.
The U.S. and California governments
reached a tentative agreement last year with
Hurwitz to buy 7,500 acres of the forest,
including a 3,000-acre ancient redwood grove
and a smaller stand of trees for $380 million.
Environmentalists say instead that 60,000
acres of forest should be taken into public
ownership.
Irelan said Maxxam was committed to acting
responsibly in the area, had bought several
properties effected by the landslides and was
working on a safety program to ensure that
future disasters are averted.
"We are doing all of this as good
neighbors, so this seems to be a shame,"
Irelan said of the suit.
The plaintiffs, who are demanding a jury
trial, seek a temporary injunction on logging
in Stafford, restitution from the company and
punitive damages.