|
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/1999/03/031299/julia_2118.asp Friday, March 12, 1999 Headwaters deal falls short, says tree-sitter When the Headwaters forest deal was finalized March 1, a collective sigh of relief could be heard coming from Pacific Lumber, government negotiators and even a fair-size group of environmentalists. An editorial in the Times-Standard of Eureka, Calif., hailed the deal as a compromise every reasonable person should be able to accept. Yet, infamous trespasser and tree-sitter Julia Butterfly Hill continues her protest atop the 200-foot-tall Redwood named Luna on Pacific Lumber property in Northern California. The Earth First! activist has lived in her 8-by-8-foot tree house for 15 months now to protect the 1,000-year-old redwood and other old-growth trees from lumber company saws. She doesn't plan on climbing down anytime soon. "Compromise is a death sentence," she says in a recorded hotline update. "This agreement and associated Habitat Conservation Plan is based on the premise that only a bare minimum needs to be protected for endangered species recovery, and from the beginning it has failed to require what is biologically necessary to accomplish even that," Hill said in a statement March 2. Luna, which she has occupied since Dec. 10, 1997, and the surrounding steep and unstable hillside are, according to Hill, representative of the many areas that the agreement fails to adequately protect. One of the reasons she will maintain her vigil. "There is certainly much more work ahead to achieve our goals for permanent protection for all remaining old growth, habitat recovery, restoration and truly sustainable, responsible forestry," she said. "The final agreement is truly a compromise," said Pacific Lumber President and CEO John Campbell, in announcing the agreement March 2. "Years of work went into this agreement but, in the end, it was worth it. We were able to craft an arrangement that saves valuable forest land for future generations while at the same time recognizes the economic rights of Pacific Lumber to operate a business we have been in for 130 years." Pacific Lumber is a subsidiary of Maxxam, a company owned by Charles Hurwitz. It has more than 1,400 employees, making it Humboldt County's largest employer, and contributes about $170 million a year into Northern California's economy, according to the company. Campbell is also aware, even though the agreement has been finalized, that there are more challenges to come. "Various environmental groups have mounted a coordinated campaign to discredit this agreement. All of us who care about the future of the North Coast need to realize that this proces is still ongoing," he said in the March 2 announcement.
|
Return to Home