For this first episode of two, Rob DiPerna of the Environmental Protection Information Centre (EPIC) provides an introduction and thorough overview of logging issues in Humboldt County, particularly the Headwaters Project, which saw the Houston-based investor Maxxam hostilely acquire long-established local company Pacific Lumber in 1985. Maxxam’s takeover involved the raiding of Pacific Lumber’s pension fund and the accelerated destruction of the some of the oldest trees on the planet - 10 metres in diameter, 30 meters in circumference and over 2,000 years old.
In this 27-minute podcast, DiPerna walks us through the politics around the industry, the technological advances, sustainability issues of clear-cutting the redwoods (and replanting them), the protest movement and its methods, which included cat and mouse tactics and tree-sits (one of which lasted for two years), and closes with discussing the rift in the community over the issue.
A bit of vocabulary, which may help…
HCP - Habitat Conservation Plan
THP - Timber Harvest Plan
BLM - Bureau of Land Management (federal level government agency)
CAL FIRE - California Department of Forestry and First Protection (state level government agency)