The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) challenged a series of Maxxam/Pacific Lumber's logging plans in state court today, as well as a 100-year management plan that was approved without public notice or environmental review. All of the logging plans would clearcut trees that are as young as 35 years of age, and also include ancient redwood trees that are adjacent to Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

The lawsuit charges both Maxxam/Pacific Lumber and the California Department of Forestry (CDF) with violations of the Forest Practice Act and California Environmental Quality Act. Most of the logging plans at issue are located within the Van Duzen River watershed, where Maxxam/Pacific Lumber owns approximately 24,000 acres of forestland. Maxxam/Pacific Lumber has cut a large percentage of this land within the last few years, which EPIC and others contend is having dire ecological and economic consequences.

As summarized by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board: "In this year alone, [Maxxam/PL] has submitted twenty-two THPs and Major Amendments, proposing harvest on nearly 2,500 acres (approximately 10%) of its Van Duzen ownership. Prior to 2004, and since the approval of [Maxxam/PL's] Habitat Conservation Plan in 1999, the company had already harvested timber on approximately 6,000 acres in the Van Duzen, or nearly 25% of its ownership in the watershed..."

Many officials objected to the logging plans at issue in this case, including local foresters from CDF. Regarding one of the timber harvest plans, which is directly adjacent to Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park, the CDF Forester stated: "From the Departments' perspective, this silvicultural prescription is inappropriate under the...rules and will not be accepted for this young of stand...." However, high-level bureaucrats soon overrode these concerns when Maxxam/Pacific Lumber brought the issue to Sacramento.

"Maxxam wants to remove every stick from the forest, now targeting small, baby trees in addition to giant ancient redwoods. This `cut and run' style of logging is largely what caused the massive environmental and social problems we're experiencing on the North Coast today. EPIC will not stand by and let this devastation take place," Cynthia Elkins, EPIC's Program Director, stated.