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| Pacific Lumber Loses Exclusive Right to Present Reorganization Plan December 21, 2007 For Immediate Release - Contact: Sam Johnston, EPIC (510) 665-3920 Corpus Christi, TX, December 21 - Judge Richard S. Schmidt terminated "exclusivity" today in the bankruptcy of the Pacific Lumber Company (PL), meaning that PL's creditors may now come forward with alternative plans for reorganization of the beleaguered company and its timberland-holding subsidiary, Scotia Pacific (Scopac). The Judge set a deadline of January 30 for the filing of alternative plans with the court. As many as four plans are expected to be presented - from the three creditor entities (noteholders, the credit facility, and unsecured creditors) and from Pacific Lumber, which filed an amended proposed plan at the end of business on Thursday, December 20. On January 11, the court will hear arguments on whether there should be a valuation phase in which PL would have the opportunity to present expert testimony on why it thinks its timberlands are worth some $1.4 billion. The creditors have asserted a value of only $440 million for the timberlands. According to a report today in the Eureka Times-Standard, the credit facility, Marathon Structured Finance Fund, has proposed that its reorganization plan include the Mendocino Redwood Company, which has offered to put up $200 million for an equity stake in the reorganized PL/Scopac. "Today, Judge Schmidt brought the Pacific Lumber Company and Humboldt County a significant step closer to becoming Maxxam-free," said Sam Johnston, Private Lands Campaigner for the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC). "The door is now open for other parties to seek to demonstrate realistic approaches toward managing this company and its timberlands in a responsible, forward-looking manner. Pacific Lumber's increasingly expensive attempts to push its flawed plan forward suffered a serious blow as a result of today's ruling," Johnston added. "The news that the Mendocino Redwood Company is interested in taking on management of Pacific Lumber's abused timberlands sure isn't a lump of coal in Humboldt County's stocking," said EPIC ED Scott Greacen. "Of the major timber managers on the North Coast, MRC stands head and shoulders above the rest in its pursuit of timber management that is truly sustainable for forests, fish and wildlife." ### Sam Johnston Private Lands Campaigner Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) P.O. Box 397 Garberville, CA 95542 (707) 923-2931 (707) 923-4210 (fax) www.wildcalifornia.org  << Back to Press Release Archive | Latest Press Release | Newsroom | | 
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