Headwaters '97: Tree-villages and Revolution

by Josh Brown and Patrick Oliver

Last fall, in the heat of Earth First! rallies, tree villages and road blockades, the federal government responded to a decade of public outcry and negotiated to protect Headwaters. But don't believe the hype about a "deal" for Headwaters Forest: corporate criminal Charles Hurwitz, Maxxam and the Pacific Lumber Company (PL) continue to slaughter ancient redwoods every day. With the encouragement of the Clinton administration and the scheming of California Senator Diane Feinstein, the proposed Headwaters deal continues to reward corporate plunder.

This conspiracy is contingent upon a proposed Habitat Conservation Plan which would grant incidental take permits. The deal protects little more than 3,000 acres of ancient forest, some huge clearcuts and a connecting strip of second-growth. In exchange, Maxxam/PL would be exempt from complying with the Endangered Species Act on the rest of their 200,000 acres. Plus Hurwitz gets $380 million in cash and properties.

Under a little known provision of this federal agreement, Maxxam would also be given thousands of acres of forest to log in the South Fork of the Elk River. This land now belongs to Sierra Pacific, the largest landowner in California. Sierra Pacific would be given old-growth from Sierra Nevada national forests and BLM lands. As if it weren't bad enough that Diane Feinstein is supporting the Quincy Library Group's logging plans (see article on page 12), she's also brokering corporate timber swaps for the northern Sierras.

Hurwitz and Feinstein reportedly spent 48 hours in a hotel room in San Francisco negotiating the deal. Perhaps after that experience together they won't mind being cell mates in a federal pen after the Revolution.

As evil as the deal looks on the surface, there is an even greater disaster lurking in the fine print. Under the agreement, Charles Hurwitz and Pacific Lumber would be granted an incidental take permit to "take" endangered species through a federally-approved Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). These permits are essentially "kill an endangered species free" cards for corporations.

Like all of the HCPs approved through the Clinton administration, Hurwitz's proposed HCP will result in the loss of endangered species habitat. It calls for eliminating all of the 6,500 acres of old -growth forest outside the deal boundaries over the next 15 years!

This document spells certain death for Owl Creek, a 450-acre grove currently protected by the Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the site of last year's 19-day tree village. This deal says syanora to All Species Grove, which despite being salvage logged of downed wood last year, still has the greatest diversity of tree species left in Headwaters. Don't forget to pay your respects to Allen Creek and kiss goodbye to Shaw Creek also.

The Earth First! Headwaters basecamp opened a week before the September 14 rally, bursting with backwoods energy and activists ready to defend the entire 60,000-acre Headwaters forest. Our primary concern was making adequate preparations to defend the forests within the ten new Timber Harvest Plans (THPs) that PL filed. Clearcuts totaling 1,243 acres of residual old-growth forests were on the brink of approval by the California Department of Forestry (CDF).

A "residual" old-growth forest is a stand of ancient trees that has been selectively logged but not clearcut. This wide definition encompasses everything from a heavily-cut shelterwood stand with 15 percent canopy remaining, to a lightly touched, virtually intact stand of perhaps 85 percent canopy retention. Most of the residual ancient forest that remains is excellent wildlife habitat, and much of it is in the vital riparian spawning areas for the Coho salmon. Maxxam/PL has been able to clearcut these residual old-growth forests every day.

Activists worked in earnest to fortify the woods, hauling in supplies and gear for blockades and tree villages. We are shocked that (as of press time) the California Department of Forestry has yet to approve any of the ten new THPs within the 60,00 acres.

Is our dogged vigilance and grassroots support affecting the CDF decision makers? Yeah, right. We know they're just taking extra time to prepare for our lawsuit.

Logging in the residual ancient forests of Bear Creek, Jordan Creek, Freshwater and Stafford continues unabated. There are nine activists living high up the canopy of old trees in two separate tree-villages. Earth First! has expanded our message to say: "No deal! Not one more ancient tree!"

Here's the Fall 1997 Headwaters Action Chronology:

Aug. 22, Activists locked down to the gate at Fischer road, PL's main entrance to Headwaters. Activists blocked the road with a "living-room" guerrilla theater action, complete with a couch, coffee table and smashed TV. Activists covered themselves in mud to spotlight the local town of Stafford, which experienced a mudslide from a PL clearcut. Three activists were busted.

Sept. 14, Third annual mass rally for Headwaters. Despite overwhelming law enforcement response, 7,000 people attended and helped sandbag homes at the Stafford mudslide site. Two arrests were made.

Sept. 15, Four hundred people at the California Department of Forestry Region 1 headquarters in Fortuna and marched to Newburg gate, another entrance to Headwaters. Activists demanded access to the forest but were denied; 45 arrests were made.

Sept. 19, Fischer gate lockdown. Twenty activists linked together in a web of concrete and steel "superboxes" to block truck access to one of PL's main haul roads. The gate was held all morning until activists were removed with diamond-bladed saws, jackhammers and pain compliance holds. Thirtysix people were busted for "unlawful assembly."

Sept. 25, Earth First! took over PL headquarters in Scotia. Seven brave activists entered the corporate offices and gained access to an upstairs lobby. Activists formed a "daisy chain" of lockdowns in the lobby while others occupied the roof displaying banners. Chemical agents (i.e. pepper-mace) were dabbed on huge Q-tips and then swabbed in the eyes and on the faces of activists. Nine people were jailed.

Sept. 26, Thirty activists occupied the Bear Creek watershed and halted the felling of ancient trees all day; no arrests were made. (See article about this and other actions at Bear Creek on page .)

Sept. 29, Another Bear Creek "cat and mouse" occupation successfully halted logging.

Oct. 3-6, Art and Revolution Convergence! Artists, dancers and puppet makers descended on Humboldt County for this annual festival. On Monday, Oct. 6, 300 activists took to the streets of Eureka with giant puppets, dancers, clowns and guerrilla theater. The celebration spilled over into one lane of traffic and culminated with performances at the courthouse. Many of the skits focused on worker/activist unity against Maxxam. The march was later charged by Eureka Police officers on horseback who assaulted and carried off an innocent clown. Two arrested for dancing.

Oct. 10, Two activists locked down to a tripod at Wrigley gate, the North Fork of the Elk River. Just days before Earth First! hikers discovered the cutting of 10-foot-diameter redwoods in the North Fork.

Oct. 17, activists begin to occupy a 14 foot diameter redwood tree in PL's old-growth THP above the basecamp and the town of Stafford. There are currently five activists living in this and other nearby trees, even as the forest falls around them.

Oct. 23, seven forest defenders busted at the gates to the Stafford Timber Harvest Plan. Activists erected the first ever bi-pods in Headwaters. The blockade lasted an impressive 30 hours.

Basecamp is going strong in Stafford, and actions will continue until at least November 15. Come join us! We are located right off Highway 101, just a few miles south of Scotia, in Humboldt County. We are offering nonviolence trainings and actions, deep-woods trainings and hikes, and climbing trainings and tree-sits! We have a full-service vegan kitchen provided by the East Bay Food Not Bombs and the basecamp kitchen collective. Bring enough gear to be self-sufficient and try to get equipment donated for the deep woods crew as well. We are in need of everything.

Join us in this struggle, and see Headwaters while you still can. Contact the Earth First! Basecamp at (707) 764-5757, 764-5711 or Northcoast Earth First! at POB 4796, Arcata, CA 95518 (707) 825-8911; www.envirolink.org/orgs/headwaters, then smash your computer!