ACTION ALERT: Stand Up for Old-Growth at the Humboldt Planning Commission

The Humboldt County Planning Commission will decide on Thursday, June 20, whether a property owner can log.

The community of Lower Redway was shocked last winter when old-growth redwood trees started falling. A person who recently purchased a house began cutting large, old trees that predated the construction of the house by hundreds of years. These trees should have been protected, at least in part. Humboldt County had a resolution in place that required a special permit prior to any large tree removal. But Humboldt County told the property owner that its permit was no longer in effect. CAL FIRE, meanwhile, signed off on the logging, bypassing the need for a timber harvest plan because the property owner claimed that these trees constituted a hazard.

Four out of five trees were felled. The fifth never did. On the day the last tree was supposed to fall, community members stood under the tree, stopping its removal. The community organized and challenged Humboldt County’s failure to require a permit. Because of the sustained outcry,  Humboldt County changed its mind and then required the property owner to obtain a special permit. 

There are numerous deficiencies in the argument that the remaining tree is a hazard:

1. Many of the “issues” with the trees are caused by the property owner himself, such as a large cut into the face of the main stem of the tree and increased wind because of removal of the other trees on the property. 

2. The property owner claims that root compaction from an adjacent driveway impacts the old-growth, despite the fact that the driveway has existed for many decades and is currently no longer in use.

3. The property owner has not considered other options, such as branch removal, to reduce the potential risk.

4. The tree has stood for decades after the construction of the house, likely adapting to the stresses caused by the construction of the house. 

If this logging is allowed to occur, the old-growth of Redway is not safe. Nearly all of the trees in the community could be declared “hazards” and removed. Houses here are intermixed among the large trunks of trees—and by design! The County rightfully has rules to protect these trees, but those rules only matter if they are enforced.

Let’s fill the Planning Commission with supporters of old-growth redwoods! Join EPIC on Thursday, June 18, at 6:00 pm at the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Chambers (825 Fifth Street, Eureka).

You can also attend and give comments remotely through Zoom:

Zoom Link, Password: 200525; or call in via telephone at 346-248-7799, enter Meeting ID 875 4480 7065, Password: 200525.

Busy that evening? Send a message to the Planning Commission to urge them to deny the permit.