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http://www.bpbasecamp.com/signpost/sp9912.shtml Signpost: December 1999 The High Price of Preservation After a 13-year fight, California's Headwaters is finally protected. Now what? About 300 miles north of San Francisco, virgin redwoods belonging to Earth's largest remaining stands soar 20 stories into a fog-shrouded forest canopy, as endangered marbled murrelets and northern spotted owls nest below. Head-high ferns sway in the breeze, the huckleberries are ready to explode with juice, and the rivers abound with rare coho salmon. Last March, politicos inked a $480 million, 11th-hour deal with Pacific Lumber and its parent company, Maxxam, Inc., to protect this idyllic spot in what is now known as the Headwaters Forest Preserve. Under the arrangement, the Bureau of Land Management received jurisdiction over 5,600 acres of redwoods, plus 4,500 acres of "buffer zone" and logging restrictions on other nearby areas. The deal punctuated a bizarre, acrimonious 13-year saga that saw an activist killed by a chain-saw-felled redwood, more than 1,300 protesters arrested, car bombs explode, and a woman take up residence in a tree for a year and a half-and counting. Some say the struggle was worth it. Louis Blumberg, assistant regional director of The Wilderness Society in San Francisco, first testified before Congress on behalf of Headwaters in 1991. He calls the new preserve "arguably the most outstanding tract of virgin, ancient redwoods in California, if not the world," though he admits that "you're going to have to hike through some heavily managed [read: clear-cut] timberland to get to Headwaters. The area around it is pretty trashed." But as of September there were no trails into Headwaters, and bushwacking, camping, and overnight parking were prohibited. Once the redwood groves, circled by clearcuts, are open to hikers, activists are hoping access will be restricted to guided hikes. "We need to be conservative," says Kevin Bundy of the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) in Garberville, California, "and not throw the gates open to everyone." Despite the high price paid for these relatively small, restricted parcels, Blumberg and others who dream of protecting the entire 60,000-acre Headwaters area worry that the true cost might not surface until the next piece of pristine wilderness comes up for consideration. "My fear is that this may embolden private landowners to hold out for more." For more information, contact: Mendocino Environmental Center, 106 W. Standley, Ukiah, CA 95482; (707) 468-1660; www.pacific.net/~mec/ -Matt Purdue The Strange Headwaters Saga 1986 * Earth First! convenes anti-logging rallies at Pacific Lumber offices in San Francisco, Scotia, and Arcata. 1990 * Northern spotted owl listed as threatened under Endangered Species Act, strengthening the cause for Headwaters protection. 1992 * Marbled murrelet listed as endangered species, further fueling protection. 1996 * More than 1,000 protesters arrested at Headwaters Rally in Carlotta, California 1997 * Julia "Butterfly" Hill begins tree-sit in a redwood she named Luna. * Police swab protester's eyes with pepper spray, bringing national attention to the Headwaters issue. 1998 * Protester killed when logger fells redwood. 1999 * Headwaters Forest Preserve is transferred to the public.
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