Calif. Court Orders New Headwaters Logging Plan
Headline Legal News 2008/07/21 08:02
Pacific Lumber Co. must revise its long-term logging plan for Humboldt County to provide adequate protection for endangered species, the California Supreme Court ruled.
In the controversial $480 million Headwaters Forest deal, state and federal governments bought 10,000 acres of old-growth redwoods and other trees from Pacific Lumber, which owns property in Humboldt County, and regulated how the company would log the remaining 220,000 acres.
The Environmental Protection and Information Center objected to the deal, as did the United Steelworkers of America and other labor and environmental groups.
Justice Moreno ruled that Pacific Lumber did not submit an identifiable Sustained Yield Plan, or a master plan for logging a large area. If the company submits a new plan, it would have to analyze the impact of logging on individual watersheds, Moreno ruled.
Also, Moreno found that the previous logging agreement improperly limited the company's obligation to mitigate the impact of old-growth logging on endangered and threatened species.
In the controversial $480 million Headwaters Forest deal, state and federal governments bought 10,000 acres of old-growth redwoods and other trees from Pacific Lumber, which owns property in Humboldt County, and regulated how the company would log the remaining 220,000 acres.
The Environmental Protection and Information Center objected to the deal, as did the United Steelworkers of America and other labor and environmental groups.
Justice Moreno ruled that Pacific Lumber did not submit an identifiable Sustained Yield Plan, or a master plan for logging a large area. If the company submits a new plan, it would have to analyze the impact of logging on individual watersheds, Moreno ruled.
Also, Moreno found that the previous logging agreement improperly limited the company's obligation to mitigate the impact of old-growth logging on endangered and threatened species.
