"This is extortion!" exclaimed Cecelia Lanman, former Programs Director of EPIC, in February 1999. She was quickly escorted from the California State Capitol, and the legislature called its first vote on the infamous Headwaters Deal. It failed. Missing its deadline to pass the bill, the legislature "stopped the clock" at midnight, and Maxxam Corporation's lobbyists scurried to the hallways to secure the additional votes it needed. A second vote passed the Headwaters Deal into law, seeming to seal the fate of more than 210,000 acres of land. (read more)

The Eel River Photo: Traci 'Bear' Thiele

On June 20, a federal judge ruled that the Forest Service violated the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and other laws when it authorized livestock grazing along the North Fork Eel River, finding that it failed to protect and enhance steelhead trout as required. (read more)