Earth First! Humboldt

Press release taken from http://forestdefender.blogspot.com

Green Diamond Threatens Lives of Protesters
Century Old Timber Company Continues to Clear cut Redwoods

ARCATA- Tree sitters lives were threatened Tuesday morning, when they awoke to the sound of Green Diamond Resource Company (Simpson Timber) chainsaws roaring, while trees were felled directly adjacent to the non-violent protesters’ tree-top demonstration. The ongoing protest intends to highlight widespread, destructive logging practices of the company by showcasing recent clearcut logging in the Jacoby Creek Watershed, just outside of Arcata, California.

Earlier this week, August 23, the four activists ascended trees within a cutting unit, to make a last stand for the threatened forest. This skilled platform installation 100 feet up came after an initial blockade of a logging road where a woman ascended 60 feet above the road in a small platform. When loggers arrived at the scene during last week, they cut through the rope that provided a lifeline to the activist.

These two incidents are the most company-caused danger forest activists have encountered since the days of struggle against Maxxam’s Pacific Lumber, said Shawna of the Redwood Forest defenders. We don’t want to hurt anyone, we just want them start listening to the people and stop destroying our watersheds by clear cutting redwoods. Maybe the timber wars aren’t over, after all.

The two logging plans Green Diamond is operating on in the Jacoby Creek Watershed provide a small example of the systemic clear cutting Green Diamond is engaged in, across their entire 430,000 acre ownership in northern California. In 2004, the century old logging company changed its name from Simpson Timber to Green Diamond, in a strategic greenwashing move. Kamilche Group, a Washington-state based conglomerate and parent company to both Simpson and Green Diamond, also owns California Redwood Company.

Green Diamond’s insistence on short-rotation, clear cut logging degrades the forests for the future, and contributes to the climate crisis, said Shawna. The company needs to get out of the dark ages of liquidation logging, to provide for more sustainable jobs and a better future for everyone. We cannot stop our campaign targeting their practices, until they do.

Forest Defense activists erected two tree-sits last night. Green Diamond is planning to clear-cut this now-occupied area of second-growth Redwoods, with individuals in the stand up to 150 years old. The THP (01-08-145) is on the Jacoby Creek watershed, an area in which salmon still come to spawn, and has been devastated by rampant clear-cutting in past years. Green Diamond has been informed of the occupation this morning, and company employees have yet to appear on the site. Tree-sitters say all is running smoothly at the moment.

This is a statement from Fly, one of the road blockaders-

“Last night I was forced to evacuate the Skypod. Under a blanket of darkness, I evaded the security guard and walked away to safety. Because of the way Green Diamond and the Sherrifs had cut and retied my life-line, I was unable to see my anchor and my platform kept slipping farther toward the ground. By the time I rappeled down, I was hanging about 35 feet below where I had started wednesday morning. I could not see how much of the rope was left to slip through the knot until I eventually would drop. I was in fear for my safety. If this company and the sherrifs put someone’s life on a knot, they should know a little more about what they’re doing.”

As of this 10:00 am today, the logging road is open and the highly destructive clear-cutting of the Redwoods within the Jacoby Creek watershed continues. The brave forest defenders who blocked the road in the early morning two days ago still there, still refusing to come down from the trees. Green Diamond Resource Company has posted 24 hour security at the site and are preventing any food or water from being delivered to the activists. Though the loggers say all the trees in the plans will be cut by the end of the month, their rampant clear-cutting is by no means over. The company has many active clear-cut logging operations year round in the northern Redwoods.

One forest defense activist on the ground was arrested at the scene just after the road was re-opened. He was arrested after repeatedly insisting that the sheriffs and loggers not tamper with the support ropes that extend high into the trees, holding up a platform that one of the defenders is sitting on. The pretext for the arrest was a traffic violation warrant and he was told he would be extradited (transported by police) to SoCal, but he was released in Eureka a few hours later.

The story was broadcasted on KMUD Radio’s local news. We will provide a link to the recorded news archive when it becomes available.

The company has 430,000 acres in the north coast region of California and much more in Oregon and Washington where they also clear-cut and spray herbicides on the forest from helicopters, sometimes poisoning local residents. According to their own documents, they plan to log around 500 acres more in Jacoby Creek in the next 10 years.