Important Hearing Regarding Headwaters Forest Friday September 16, 9:00 – 11:00 in San Francisco In 1999 the state and federal government completed a deal with the Pacific Lumber Company to purchase roughly 7,500 acres of Headwaters Forest in Humboldt County near Eureka. This deal was contingent upon a complex framework of federal and state documents detailing how future logging would protect forests, endangered species and timber jobs over the next 50 years. The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) and the Sierra Club were intimately involved in reviewing all of these long term management documents. Based on the review of our …

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Notice regarding the evidentiary hearing about the watershed-specific discharge requrirements being considered by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, taking place in Fortuna on Sept. 14 If you may be attending this hearing, read on. It will probably not be possible to sign up to speak at the hearing. Any persons wishing to speak at the Regional Water Board’s September 14th hearing on Palco’s Watershed-wide Waste Discharge Requirements permits for Freshwater and Elk River need to contact the Regional Water Board as soon as possible to assure a time slot. The Regional Water Board is making the final …

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>>>Hurwitz is enriched–once again>NEW CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT CLEAR CUTTINGMr. Nehring does not meet the qualifications for the job, as outlined in Sec. 731 of the Public Resources Code of California >>Mr. Nehring hs no experience dealing with problems relating to watershed management (including hydrology and soil science), forest management practices, fish and wildlife, range management, forest economics or land use planning. >>California’s forests deserve better leadership. Ask Sen. Perata to NOT confirm Mr. Nehring to this position. —

Will there soon be a NEW owner of redwood forest in Humboldt county? You may have read news reports today-here is a breakdown of information in a hasty synopsis. With the announcement that Maxxam Corp. has offered terms to the bondholders of its financially troubled timber company, Pacific Lumber subsidiary Scotia Pacific, various stakeholders have focused their attention on discussions that are, for the most part, taking place behind closed doors. Scotia Pacific (ScoPac) released a report on Monday Aug. 1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission outlining an offer to the company’s bondholders of 90% of the equity in …

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COMMENT to the Regional Water Board on Proposed New Limitations on Pacific Lumber Logging The DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED to Monday, August 8, 2005. Write to: North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board 5550 Skylane Boulevard, Suite A Santa Rosa, CA 95403 or email to dkuszmar@waterboards.ca.gov or fax to 805-788-3579 The proposed Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) are watershed-specific requirements designed to address the cumulative impacts from timber harvesting activities in the two watersheds–Freshwater and Elk River–whose rivers are already listed as impaired for sediment and temperature under the Clean Water Act. “Waste discharge” in this case is silt and sediments …

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As you read in our previous alerts, the Maxxam-owned subsidiaries ravaging the redwoods in northern California had been loudly forcasting chaos and ruin because of impending bankruptcy. The day of reckoning was tomorrow, July 20, because of an interest payment due from Scotia Pacific (now a subsidiary of Pacific Lumber, via Maxxam’s 1998 refinancing). The bankruptcy has been averted, at least for the moment, due to an “early payment” from Pacific Lumber’s mills that handles the logs from the logging operations. It was only by the skin of their teeth (fangs?) that the company avoided default, however, and they continue …

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June 27, 2005 >< +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Please Comment: Endangered Habitat On the Chopping Block +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ** Please contact California Department of Forestry (CDF). Deadline is July 8 ** Charles Hurwitz's Maxxam / Pacific Lumber Co. is at it again - this time trying to liquidate as much old-growth forest as it can in anticipation of filing for bankruptcy, which it has been threatening for months. Recently prevented by the State Water Quality Control Board from logging his desired volume of trees in the Elk River and Freshwater Creek watersheds, Hurwitz is now turning to the damaged Eel River watershed, looking for ...

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REMINDER– State Water Board will decide at a hearing JUNE 16 whether the stay on logging in the impaired watersheds of Elk River and Freshwater will stand. (See BACH’s April 7 and March 30 alerts for details). We re-post EPIC’s alert below, which also includes information about old growth forest hikes. Also check out detailed stories about Maxxam/Pacific Lumber in last Sunday’s SF Chronicle: The financial wizard behind Pacific Lumber controversy and Lumber dispute coming to a head. The financial wizard behind Pacific Lumber controversy Lumber dispute coming to a head. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/12/BUG87D71N21.DTL EPIC ACTION ALERT _______________________________________________________ PUBLIC MEETINGS, EMAIL YOUR …

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Water Board caves to PL pressure despite rivers of evidence Pepper Spray by Q-tip civil rights trial nears, trial-related events in Bay Area Forest activist get-together next week (April 7) Day of Action for forests at Victoria’s Secret April 14 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WATER REGULATORS CAVE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On March 10, we alerted this list regarding the March 16 North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB) public hearing in Santa Rosa to consider demands by Maxxam/Pacific Lumber Co. (PL) for authorization to conduct extensive logging in two of its severely fractured watersheds, Elk River and Freshwater Creek. The March 16 hearing before …

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On March 10, we alerted this list regarding the Wednesday, March 16 North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB) public hearing in Santa Rosa to consider demands by Maxxam/Pacific Lumber Co. (PL) for authorization to conduct extensive logging in two of its severely fractured watersheds, Elk River and Freshwater Creek. That hearing is still taking place, but has been moved to a larger venue. Earlier agenda items will be heard at the regularly scheduled venue (Regional Board Hearing Room, 5550 Skylane Boulevard), starting at 9 am. The Regional Board will reconvene for the public hearing at 12 noon at …

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