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| Environmental Groups Raise Alarm Over Sierra Pacific Bid May 16, 2008 For Immediate Release - Contact: EPIC, Sam Johnston, (415) 377-0415 ForestEthics, Joshua Buswell-Charkow, (415) 863-4563 x328 Ebbets Pass Forest Watch, Addie Jacobson, (209) 795-8260 Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (BACH), Karen Pickett, (510) 548-3113 Humboldt County, California - A coalition of environmental groups expressed alarm today at news that Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) has entered the Pacific Lumber bankruptcy process with a bid to purchase and operate Pacific Lumber's Scotia, California lumber mill. The groups warn that a takeover of any part of Pacific Lumber by SPI would be likely to lead to continued conflict over logging in California's redwood forests. The groups cited SPI's record of clearcutting and conversion of timberland, as well as concerns about the company's aggressive approach to environmental regulation and policy. "Given SPI's record, we'd view a takeover of Pacific Lumber by Sierra Pacific as something of a worst-case scenario for Humboldt County," said Scott Greacen, executive director of the Humboldt County-based Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC). EPIC 's long history of litigating against Pacific Lumber Company logging and its present ownership includes the successful campaign to gain permanent protection for the Headwaters Forest. Longtime Opponents of SPI Join Warning "Even though more environmentally friendly alternatives exist, SPI persists with a heavy emphasis on outdated and destructive logging practices like clearcutting," said Josh Buswell, Sierra Campaigner with ForestEthics. "SPI came into our county promising to be a good neighbor and an asset to our local economy In fact, the results of their activities have been the loss of forest industry jobs for locals, closed mills and thousands of clearcut ares. They've been no friend to Calaveras County," said Addie Jacobson of Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch. "SPI is among the last large timber companies to aggressively defend the use of clearcutting," said Sam Johnston, EPIC's Private Lands Campaigner. "Clearcutting isn't just ugly; it destroys wildlife habitat, degrades soil fertility, and wrecks water quality." "Not only is SPI the biggest clearcutter in the state," said Karen Pickett, Director of the Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters Forest (BACH), said, "it has also made a practice of selling forestland for development across the northern part of the state." Greacen noted that the SPI bid reinforces EPIC's support for the Pacific Lumber reorganization plan proposed by the Mendocino Redwood Company and Marathon Finance. "One of the key reasons we've opposed an auction of Pacific Lumber from the outset was a concern that some or all of the company could fall into the hands of operators who would not be an improvement over PL's current ownership," said Greacen. SPI is owned by the family of Archie "Red" Emmerson, California's largest landowner. Emmerson appeared in the federal bankruptcy court earlier this week in Corpus Christi, Texas to submit SPI's bid for Pacific Lumber's Scotia mill. The SPI bid is tied to efforts by key creditors - entities that own notes secured by the PL timberlands - to force an auction of the timberlands. ###  << Back to Press Release Archive | Latest Press Release | Newsroom | | 
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