ACTION
ALERT
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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Nearly
900 Arrested in U.S. Anti-Redwood Logging Protest
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
9/17/96
OVERVIEW
& SOURCE by EE
Following
are two accounts of one of the largest anti-logging protests in
recent
U.S. history, and perhaps ever.
Headwaters, the largest privately
owned
ancient redwood forest remaining in the U.S., was the target of a
6,000
person protest followed by a peaceful civil disobedience action where
nearly
900 people were arrested over the weekend.
Negotiations continue
between
the Pacific Lumber Company and the U.S. government to find a way to
avert
logging of the 3000 acre redwood grove.
Attached are photocopies of
two
press accounts documenting the situation; as well as addresses, fax,
email
and WWW information for contacting President Clinton, Vice-President
Gore
and the U.S. Congress. Please contact
these decision makers and call
for an
end to logging in Headwaters Redwood Forest.
Civil
disobedience has an important role to play in saving the fragmented
remnants
of the world's biological heritage. How
much is conserved will
play an
important role in determining potential for eventual large scale
ecological
restoration across biologically diminished landscapes. Intact
ecological
remnants may serve as a model for restoration efforts, a source
of seed
materials and important patches in restoring ecological corridors.
All
ancient forest ecosystems must be put off limits to industrial logging,
particularly
in the much diminished developed countries.
Additionally,
efforts
must be made to carry out massive ecological restoration on
fragmented
and degraded anthropocentric landscapes, as well as development
of
sound eco-forestry management practices for the few remaining large
ancient
forest wildernesses. To not take action
now dooms our children to
a much
diminished biological legacy.
Glen
Barry
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RELAYED
TEXT STARTS HERE:
ITEM #1
About
900 arrested in U.S. anti-logging protest
Copyright
1996 by Reuters
9/16/96
SAN
FRANCISCO (Reuter) - Nearly 900 people were arrested during a peaceful
logging
protest in the nation's largest privately owned ancient redwood
forest,
officials said Monday.
Humboldt
County Sheriff's Department spokesman Rod Lester said 897 people
were
arrested, mostly for trespassing, after a huge rally near Carlotta in
northern
California Sunday by environmentalists calling for permanent
protection
of the 3,000-acre Headwaters forest.
Singer
Bonnie Raitt was among those picked up for trespassing on the
property
owned by Pacific Lumber Co. in an orchestrated civil disobedience
action.
Demonstrators
lined up to be arrested one-by-one as they crossed the
property
line, which took at least six hours, stretching until late in the
evening.
They were cited and released except for nine who refused to
identify
themselves, Lester said. He said most would probably face a small
fine
and some public service work.
The
environmentalists called demonstrations this week because Pacific
Lumber
has a permit to begin "salvage logging" in Headwaters forest Monday.
The
permit allows the company to remove dead, dying and diseased trees from
Headwaters,
although the company said it would only remove fallen trees.
The
giant redwoods are worth up to $50,000 each.
The
arrests came after a colorful rally in Carlotta, 250 miles north of San
Francisco,
calling for protection for the towering redwoods, some of which
are
2,000 years old.
Lester
estimated the crowd at about 2,500 people but Michael Shellenberger,
a
spokesman for the environmentalists, said some 6,000 people attended what
he
called the biggest forest demonstration ever held in the United States.
Shellenberger
said more protests would take place in the area Monday, with
activists
planning to lock themselves to six gates on logging roads.
The
Clinton administration and officials from Pacific Lumber's parent
company,
MAXXAM Inc., have been holding intensive negotiations in
Washington
to seek a solution to the dispute. They were discussing a
possible
exchange of the forest for surplus federal land or rights to
harvest
trees on other federal land, officials said.
No
agreement has been reached, but Pacific Lumber agreed last Friday not to
harvest
redwoods in the forest for the next two weeks to allow more time
for
negotiations.
Environmentalists
say the Headwaters forest and several other redwood
stands
in the area provide vital habitat for endangered species such as the
marbled
murrelet. Environmental groups have fought for years to prevent any
logging
in the forest, saying only a small area remains of the ancient
redwoods
that once covered northern California.
ITEM #2
Pacific
Lumber won't cut redwoods for two weeks
Copyright
1996 by Reuters
9/13/96
WASHINGTON
(Reuter) - Pacific Lumber Co. on Friday agreed not to chop down
ancient
redwoods in northern California for the next two weeks, giving the
federal
government a reprieve in its fight to protect the last redwood
forest
in private hands.
"Promising
negotiations toward an agreement in which the federal government
and the
state of California will acquire the Headwaters Forest are
underway,"
said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California who has
helped
facilitate the talks.
"Pacific
Lumber Company will not enter Headwaters Forest for two weeks
while
negotiations continue," she said in a two-sentence statement.
Administration
and company officials declined to give any further details
on
progress made in the negotiations.
The two
sides decided to take a break to observe the Jewish New Year
holiday,
and would resume talks Monday, one administration source said.
"They've
made enough progress to be able to continue," the source said.
Pacific
Lumber, a unit of MAXXAM Inc, was due to begin taking downed trees
in the
Headwaters Grove in Humboldt County Monday.
But the
company has been negotiating with the government to exchange the
3,000
acres of virgin forest of ancient redwoods and Douglas fires for
surplus
federal land or rights to harvest trees on other federal land.
The
forest in northern California's Humboldt County is home to the
endangered
marbled murrelet and coho salmon.
Deputy
Interior Secretary John Garamendi Thursday described Sept. 15 -- the
last
day of the nesting season for the murrelet -- was the target date for
reaching
an agreement.
Talks
have remained snagged on assessing the value of the 3,000 acres of
land to
be exchanged and finding suitable land to be transferred "without
creating
new economic problems, new environmental problems," Garamendi
said.
MAXXAM
chairman Charles Hurwitz is fighting charges by the Office of Thrift
Supervision
(OTC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) that his
company
contributed to the failure of a savings institution in 1988, and
has
been in talks with the two agencies for a possible debt-for-nature swap
which
could involve the Headwaters redwood stand.
The
Interior Department has been discussing a land swap that would save
4,500
to 4,700 acres of forest from timber harvesting, Garamendi said
Thursday.
*********
ADDRESSES
to contact:
President
Bill Clinton
The
President of the United States
The
White House
1600
Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington,
D.C. 20500
Email: president@whitehouse.gov
Fax: 202 456 2883
Vice-President
Al Gore
The
Vice President of the United States
The
White House
1600
Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington,
D.C. 20500
Email: vicepresident@whitehouse.gov
Fax: 202 456 7044
Additionally
the White House has a World Wide Web comments page at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Mail/html/Mail_President.html
U.S.
CONGRESSIONAL CONTACT INFORMATION:
The
Honorable_____________
U.S.
House of Representatives
Washington,
DC 20515
The
Honorable_______________
United
States Senate
Washington,
DC 20515
Capitol
switchboard in case people want to get their reps. fax or phone
number:
House
(202) 225-3121
Senate
(202) 224-3121
Rainforest
Action Network has most representative's email addresses in a
searchable
database at:
http://www.ran.org/scripts/ran/search.pl?congress
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