Headwaters Forest: The Last Unprotected Ancient Redwood Forest

By Jamie Jacobsen

3/12/99

A diversified and sustainable economy depends on the wisest use of our natural resources. It is critical that we work toward the protection of the world's natural resources through careful preservation of the environment. The most current topic in the news today is the protection and restoration of forest ecosystems. In this paper, I will use the example of the Headwaters Forest in Humboldt County, California to explore the activist efforts to reform logging practices that endanger natural resources.

Headwaters Forest contains the six largest unprotected groves of ancient redwood forest left on Earth. The groves at Headwaters Forest are considered unprotected because the forest land is owned by a logging company called Pacific Lumber/Maxxam. The other large remaining groves of ancient redwoods left on Earth are protected in state and national parks. It is a known fact that over 97% of California's Old Growth Redwoods have been cut down'. Environmentalists strongly believe that the small preserves in state and national parks are not enough to protect the redwood ecosystem.

The redwood ecosystem is fragmented. Headwaters Forest is well positioned in Humboldt County, California. It forms a critical ecological link between the redwood parks to the north and south of Humboldt County. It also provides refuge for the many plants and animals dependent on the dwindling ancient redwood ecosystem. Animal life includes the marbled murrelet. The murrelet is a seabird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in California, Oregon, and Washington. The land owned by Pacific Lumber also contains numerous critical salmon spawning streams.

Many people are concerned about Headwaters Forest. A coalition of environmental activists seeks federal acquisition of approximately 60,000 acres of the Headwaters Forest. They specifically seek "wilderness preservation status for the six intact ancient redwood groves (totaling approximately 4,500 acres), protection of habitat recovery zones where restoration will be undertaken, and sensible, sustainable management of the cut-over lands between the groves and their protective buffer zones".

The reason for the activists' bold action is Pacific Lumber's irresponsible logging practices. In 1985, the logging company that currently owned Headwaters Forest, Pacific Lumber, was taken over by Charles Hurwitz and his Maxxam Corporation. Due to the debt caused by the highly leveraged buyout, Hurwitz immediately increased the annual harvest plan. He blatantly disregarded the slow cut policy and cashed in on the forest's old-growth redwoods, and continued to do so for years. Earth First activists continually stage protests, tree-sits, rallies, blockades, and other campaigns to stop the logging. Legal action has been taken, including a 1993 federal lawsuit filed by the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC). In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed earlier rulings that Pacific Lumber had "repeatedly violated the California Forest Protection codes by illegally logging in endangered species habitat and falsifying data regarding endangered species populations”.

The legal system is one of the mechanisms available to the world to guide logging practices. However, protesters and especially tree-sitters have demonstrated that grassroots mechanisms are also available. Julia Butterfly Hill, the most interviewed tree-sitter, has remained perched in a 1000-year old redwood tree for fifteen months. She uses a solar powered cell phone to give interviews to the media and phone-in weekly messages to draw attention to the issue. She plans to occupy the tree until she feels real lasting protection has been created for the Headwaters Forest.

Members of Earth First and other coalitions are dissatisfied with the Headwaters Deal and other environmental legislation that is supposed to protect stands of redwoods, as well as endangered species that make their homes in the redwood forest ecosystems. The Headwaters Deal is a plan for federal acquisition of the land owned by Charles Hurwitz and the Pacific Lumber Company. The Headwaters Deal does not do enough to protect forest ecosystems and the endangered species. Government intervention is clearly not sufficient as the sole mechanism for guiding logging practices.

I recommend using the grassroots methods of the environmental activists to draw attention to the illegal and irresponsible practices of logging corporations. At the extreme end, these activities include protests and tree-sitting. However, less radical actions also exist. I recommend letter writing, joining ongoing campaigns such as Earth First, and inventing new ways to put the pressure on Charles Hurwitz and his Corporation. The goal is to draw attention to Hurwitz's actions and make logging companies become accountable for their unethical and criminal actions.

Websites Consulted

Headwaters Forest Earth First http://www.headwatersforest.org/ef/

Headwaters Murrelet Modeling Project http://sei.org/headwaters/

Headwaters Forest online resources http://www.net-code.com/headwaters/

Headwaters Forest - Pacific Lumber http://www.palco.com/hforest.htm

Tree Sitting in Humboldt County http://southern.humboldt.ca.us/luna/