From: Christic Institute <christic@igc.apc.org>
Subject: Owl Creek On The Chopping Block
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: daemon@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: ?
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 10:52:45 GMT

/* Written  7:19 pm  Sep  5, 1992 by econet in cdp:en.alerts */
/* ---------- "Owl Creek On The Chopping Block" ---------- */
          ANCIENT REDWOODS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY

On March 6, 1991, the California Board of Forestry voted to overturn 
California Department of Forestry's decision to deny Pacific Lumber 
Company's (PALCO) Timber Harvest Plan (1-90-237-HUM) on Owl Creek.  Owl
Creek is the second largest unprotected old growth stand left in the world.
It is known habitat to many endangered species including at least two pairs
of Spotted Owls, the Marbled Murrelet, Tree Vole, Tailed Frog and possibly
the Pacific Fisher!  The severely flawed THP provides only minimal protection
to the known spotted owls while ignoring and refusing to even study the 
other endangered species.

The Board's dicision to overturn the CDF's denial came on the heels of a 
decision last January to uphold a CDF decision to deny two THP's in the 
infamous Headwaters Forest.  At 3,000 acres, the Headwaters Forest is the 
largest unprotected redwood stand and the only "redwood wilderness" on the
planet!  Owl Creek is a similar forest of approximately 500 acres located
in an adjacent drainage only a few air miles from Headwaters.  Owl Creek 
drains into the Yaeger Creek, a tributary to the Van Duzen River which meets
the Eel River near its mouth.  Owl Creek is a major part of the Headwaters
 Wilderness Complex that is currently being proposed in Congress as a 
federal preserve.  The Wilderness Complex encompasses several significant old
growth and residual stands surrounding the Headwaters Forest.

The decision to deny the Headwaters harvest plans in January of '91 should
have set a precedent for protection of the marbled murrelet.  The marbled
murrelet is a rare sea bird that flies inland to nest in the branches of
old growth trees.  It is an endangered species in California, and a candidate
for federal listing.  There are less than 1,800 of these birds in California
and fewer than 2,000 in Oregon according to ornithologist C.J. Ralph.  The
marbled murrelet is evenmore dependent on the ancient forest than the 
Northern Spotted Owl, and along with the decimation of the these ecosystems
comes the extinction of the species.

The Board's decision is not only an ecological disaster, it is illegal 
according to the California Forest Practices Act and Endangered Species Act.
Because of the blatant legal violations made by Pacific Lumber and the 
Board of Forestry, a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Protection and 
Information Center (EPIC) has an excellent chance of stopping the impending
cut on Owl Creek.  However, it will take time to get a judge to issue a
temporary restaining order (TRO), and a lawsuit won't put the ancient 
redwoods back after the chainsaws come.  Your help is needed to stop the
massacre until the court silences the operation in Owl Creek.

Help save the last redwood wilderness!  Come to Humboldt County and take a
stand for the last unprotected stands.  The redwoods need us, and we can't
count on the agencies or the Save the Redwoods Leagus to stop this one.
People are needed for all types of action, including support (non-arrest
situations!).

Nightly hiking tours of Owl Creek are being held now!  Spend an unforgettable
night under the magestic canopy of the redwood forest.  For information on 
this and other ways to help stop this destruction, call (707) 839-5847.

(ref.: mnelson Sat Sep  5 17:12:01 1992)
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive