EF! Humboldt Forest Defense Update
by EF!Humboldt ~ July 10th, 2010
It’s been eighteen months since the beginning of our non-stop occupation of the forest canopy in the McKay Tract. But perhaps more importantly for us, we are nearing two years since logging plan #1-08-102 “McKay 09″ was approved in August ‘08 (see yellow polygons pictured above, the circle surrounds a Northern Spotted Owl nest). This means we have three years to go until the permits run out. Click here to read about the background of our campaign.
On February 15th, 2009, loggers and Sheriffs came out in force and seemed ready to begin toppling trees at any time. They apparently decided to avoid a confrontation at that point and have since been an occasional presence on the ground, monitoring us but not talking to us. There has been no logging here since our arrival and over time we have gotten to know the wild inhabitants of this grove intimately, further strengthening our resolve to keep this deep and lush wildlife refuge intact.
The pair of endangered Northern Spotted Owls that nest near our tree-village are raising at least two offspring. The youngsters are big enough now to fly around the grove but still rely on food from their parents. The Osprey, (big, fish eating, birds of prey that fly to South America for the winter) are back, occasionally circling above the tree-sits. We aren’t sure how many Osprey there are yet but they have at least 2 nests in huge old-growth snags in the grove. Northern Flying Squirrels have been a persistent visitor at the tree-sits at night. They scramble around the trees, hoping to find an food bucket accidentally left open. They’re one of the main prey animals of Spotted Owls.
Green Diamond has been busy during this time as well, frequently filing new logging plans in other areas and cutting thousands of acres of young growth forests, generally 45-60 years old. During recent visits to threatened forests, defenders have been repeatedly suprised by the small size of the young trees in groves the company plans to liquidate. We wonder if this indicates that GD is down to the last scraps in areas like Jacoby Creek, or if the tree-farming and cutting of these Redwood poles is actually status quo at Green Diamond. Either way, the more we see of their cut-over lands, the more it sinks in that the big, old second growth Redwood groves in the McKay tract, are extremely rare. Under GD’s thumb, this forest would never again attain such magnificent stature and bio-diversity.
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There are often sparse and scattered Old-growth trees targeted in GD’s logging plans. We’re working to improve our documentation of these threatened forests and fresh clearcuts in order to show the public what is actually going on behind the “beauty strips” along our highways and roads.
GD’s logging plans submitted just this year total over 3,000 acres. Lacking sufficient numbers to physically stop it all, we have focused on the forest targeted in the McKay 09 logging plan as an example of their extreme eco-cidal policies. The tree-village also functions as our platform to voice dissent and opposition to this insanity.
Our occupation will continue as long as it needs to in order to keep this grove standing. Earth First!
