Police called in to remove Mattole protesters
April 06, 2001
By James Tressler The Times-Standard
SCOTIA -- Humboldt County Sheriff's deputies Thursday arrested three activists sitting on Pacific Lumber Co. property in the Mattole watershed.
Protesters, 20 to 30 in number and calling themselves the Mattole Forest Defenders, have been there 128 days, blockading logging roads because they are unhappy with the timber company's plans to log old-growth Douglas fir there. The group has been there ever since losing a court effort to halt the logging in November.
The three -- two women and a man -- were arrested on suspicion of trespassing and more arrests could be made, said Detective Dave Walker of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department.
The activists handcuffed themselves to old, hollowed-out cars they had moved onto the roads, Walker said. It was difficult getting the activists out of the cars safely, but no pepper spray was used, he said. Upon arrest, the protesters refused to give police their names. Walker said it's "anybody's guess" on how many more activists could be on the property.
A press release from the Mattole Forest Defense estimated there are 20 to 30 "defenders" in the woods. The group insists that the timber company's plan to cut old-growth fir is unsound because the trees sit on steep, unstable slopes. Cutting them down could cause erosion and affect salmon and steelhead habitat in the Mattole, a spokesman for the group said.
The activists also claim residents of the Mattole community have been trying to buy the land from Maxxam, the Texas-based corporation that owns Pacific Lumber.
The group claims to have had several clashes with police and PL logging crews, including Nov. 27 and 28, when logging crews allegedly cut 50 trees "dangerously close" to activists.
"We have endured 128 days of rain and snow to keep these ancient trees standing so the Mattole community can acquire these lands from Maxxam and (PL)," said Josh Brown, an Earth First spokesman. "During the attempts for acquisition Maxxam has continued to threaten clearcutting, creating a crisis atmosphere that stands in the way of a fair solution for all."
Pacific Lumbers spokeswoman Mary Bullwinkel said protesting is one thing, but breaking the law is another. She said the activists not only were on private property, but also defacing it, digging holes in the roads and putting up rock barriers. She also accused the activists of threatening biologists who recently tried to enter the property to conduct a study.
Bullwinkel said some of the old-growth has been cut. Helicopters were used to avoid using the roads, she said. The company's next move will be to get the biologists in to do the studies.
Mike Evanson, a cattle rancher who has lived near the Mattole River since 1987, said he's concerned that PL's habitat conservation plan fails to address water quality and erosion issues. He said people should take a look at the Mattole River near the North Fork, where the river has gotten shallow due to sediment build up from clearcutting.
"I think they'd understand what there shouldn't be old-growth clearcutting," he said.
Bullwinkel said the company's plan adheres to even higher standards than state law requires and said Evanson has nothing to worry about.
"We feel those issues have been addressed."