Ineffective and Destructive Bulldozing in Wilderness Fires

I am glad there are firefighters out there protecting people and their dwellings. That's what I think should be focused on, not fires that are burning in wilderness areas.



This picture shows the "Siskyous Complex" fire crossing the GO road.

The below email was forwarded to me today.

Key sentences:

"the logging is shaking houses on the property I'm living on many miles away because they are falling so much old growth"

"Notice the fire immediately went over the line..."


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Hi there,

Here is the incident report from the other day that they hooked a Rock Creek dozer line into the GO road. I believe this had to go through the Dillon Creek Roadless area. Rock creek is the most intact creek around and the logging is shaking houses on the property I'm living on many miles away because they are falling so much old growth where no one lives. Notice the fire immediately went over the line, same as at the Wooly Creek fire which I have photos of if anyone wants them.

They may also want to put a dozer line into the Elk Valley area near Dillon Creek. It is famous for being the reason for the GO road throw down in the 80's and the Salvage Rides throw down of the 90's.

Any one who thinks they can put the pressure on the Six Rivers and Klamath NF, or local representatives should. This is roadless, wilderness, and sacred areas in one of the wildest places in the lower 48. It is also the area where the craziest logging showdowns in the last twenty-five years have happened for the Klamath River area. It is also threatening zero houses yet they are building dozer lines and roads like crazy.

Thanks,
Regina

Earth First! Humboldt

Keep an eye on the timber wars. Like coals smoldering underground, the resistance to Old-Growth logging and clear-cutting may be out of sight for most, but the strong wind of highly destructive logging plans is in the forecast and forest defenders are watching- check out the new website..

Ain't over til it's over

For me, the Pacific Lumber Bankruptcy has been a long series of delays and postponements. Now we face the whole shebang getting dragged into appeals court by the creditors, those who initally said they wanted to make peace and foster sustainable forestry in Humboldt. Now we've been witnessing the other side of their forked tongue as they threaten the viability of the business they claimed they would rescue by dragging out the courtroom B.S. . I don't expect this to be over anytime soon. I hope I'm proven wrong but it looks like the status quo at PL will remain the same for quite a while more while the same terrible logging practices continue, albeit at a slower pace.

I'm still alive

The forest fires have complicated matters a bit around here. Had to evacuate some friends who had been engulfed in smoke for days. They didn't realize how close the fire actually was. Had to drive through the fires to reach them, the fires were on both sides of the road, I had about 50ft of leeway on either side on the way in. They said it was periodically raining ashes and burned leaves. I'll share more about it when I can. Exciting things happening...

On the fly...

Stuff's afoot and I'm really busy. When will this bankruptcy actually be over? Will it ever? If MRC has to pay $300 million on top of what they already offered it doesn't bode well. It would probably mean a higher rate of logging to pay off the debt.... sounds kind of familiar doesn't it?

Sandy Dean told me at the Warfinger that he doesn't like herbicides either but they need to use them to convert (wipe out) hardwood forests to something more profitable, namely Redwood or Douglas Fir. Funny how these companies seem to assume that in 50 years, when those new tree farms become harvestable, the wood market will be the same as it is today.

If MRC expects to be able to surf on their "green" reputation then they have another thing coming. If Julia Butterfly took over Pacific Lumber I would be just as skeptical until I saw the actual on the ground results.

While MRC's stated policy of no old-growth logging sounds cool, it is not legally binding and they could change it any day if market conditions require they do so. What's a couple decades of old-growth protection mean if it can be reversed overnight? They have so far written off the possibility of a conservation easement that would gain them millions of dollars but would legally require them to practice better forestry than their predecessors. Get with it MRC.

Mendocino Redwood Company to Assimilate Pacific Lumber

The ruling is in, Pacific Lumber will be taken over by Mendocino Redwood company (knock on wood). Texas bankruptcy Judge Richard Schmidt chose the MRC plan over the Noteholders proposal to auction off the company, essentially stating that the auction plan did not fulfill the requirements of a successful reorganization plan. Not much time to get into more detail today. Check out the Humboldt Herald blog for more. (also see the times standard report) I'm planning to write up some analysis of how this could effect forest defense activities.

Judge Says Ruling on the Bankruptcy Likely Next Week

Repeating what they were told by Pacific Lumber lawyer and VP Frank Bacik, the Eureka Reporter writes that Judge Schmidt indicated from his courtroom in Texas that he would probably make a ruling next week. He will reveal his decision as to whether the bankrupt Pacific Lumber should go to Mendocino Redwood Company or be auctioned off as requested by the banks who loaned millions to the failing, exploited company. The judge says that the MRC plan may not be legally acceptable. How long this state of limbo for PL will continue is anyones guess.

Clearcut Logging- Fueling Global Warming

The paragraph below is from the Union of Concerned Scientists. I will be writing about this topic again soon as climate change is possibly the greatest threat to our world aside from nuclear annihilation. The above photo is from the Grizzly Creek watershed and shows both Green Diamond and Pacific Lumber clearcuts. The graph below was found at the Stop Clearcutting California website.


"There is a widespread and misguided belief that logging or clearing mature forests and replacing them with fast-growing younger trees will benefit the climate by sequestering atmospheric CO2. While younger trees grow and sequester carbon quickly, the fate of stored carbon when mature forests are logged must also be considered. When a forest is logged, some of its carbon may be stored for years or decades in wood products. But large quantities of CO2 are also released to the atmosphere - immediately through the disturbance of forest soils, and over time through the decomposition of leaves, branches, and other detritus of timber production. One study found that even when storage of carbon in timber products is considered, the conversion of 5 million hectares [12,355,269 acres] of mature forest to plantations in the Pacific Northwest over the last 100 years resulted in a net increase of over 1.5 billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere."

20. Harmon, M.E., W.K. Ferrell and J.K. Franklin. 1990. Effects on carbon storage of conversion of old-growth forests to young forests. Science 247: 699-702.
Union of Concerned Scientists. “Recognizing Forests' Role in Climate Change”