Petrolia Resident Expresses His Anguish and Outrage Over Rainbow Ridge Logging
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Dear Editor,Why is it that Humboldt Redwood Company owned by the Fisher Family has the right to destroy the last unprotected old growth Doug Fir forest in Humboldt County? This is preposterous! It is common knowledge that a healthy forest is a diverse forest. As we speak roads are being cut through virgin forests. Ancient trees felled. Forest defenders arrested.
Humboldt Redwood Company is not logging sustainably. They are slashing and poisoning hardwood trees. This area should be protected! Not destroyed. Legal actions have been taken but the destruction continues.
Money drives this destruction, those that are most concerned are the ones without the capital to stop this. Is not this area special? I feel like it is one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. And here we are letting it be destroyed right before our very eyes.
Have we not learned from our previous actions? We logged nearly all the Redwoods that once lived in this area. We have tapped into and depleted so many of our ocean and river creatures. We have harvested and brought to near extension many animals for their valuable hides. Our actions have changed the way our rivers flow and where the wildlife once roamed free.
Rainbow Ridge must be preserved. It is our duty, our responsibility to stop the destruction. Industry will kill our planet which will of course destroy us which I guess would be the best thing for the planet to heal. Instead we need to continue preserving our wild lands. It’s all that we have left.
Your respectively,
David Grant
Petrolia, CA
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*buzzer* Wrong. Should have stopped reading after the first sentence where you called it old growth. Misinformation spreaders like you make real environmentalists look bad.
What is your definition? Ive seen them on the highway with one tree filling a whole truck. That looks old growth or at least seriously mature.
Eli’s coming those that deal in death and destruction might have to pay the ultimate price Elijah is coming and he is bringing God’s love might be more than alot of people can handle
The dawn of a new day taking care of things Sacredly well ensure our children a future the bells of Ascension are ringing we are walking into the heavens to bring a positive change more than humanly possible yes superhero shit death and destruction bye-bye we don’t want to play the lie say hello to good times
Size does not necessarily equate with old growth. I’ve seen five foot diameter stumps in Ettersburg that had 95 rings. There are technical specifications relating to this, Not sure, but those could vary between Cal Fire and FSC (the overall certification organization). Of course, even if it’s not old growth, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have high conservation value. I’ve heard from reliable sources that it is largely unentered. That means that it is “primary forest” that has not been previously logged. But once again, that doesn’t make it old growth. Hope that helps.
I put a lot of stock in the opinion of David Simpson, one of the “elders” who got arrested recently. He was on the board of directors of the Institute for Sustainable Forestry back in the ’90s, as was I. ISF at that time developed the first set of standards for forest certification in the Pacific NW. He’s not knee-jerk anti-logging; he’s got a balanced perspective, he actually knows what he’s talking about, and the credibility that comes with decades of advocating and working for balance and sustainability. Personally, I always consider the source when evaluating information. He’s a considerable source.
As I said below,what you are calling old growth is trees that were left when it was logged in the late 50s and early 60s. They were left because there was no way to get them to market. Now it is possible to harvest these trees by hi- lead with little damage or less than before. Cut them all down.
Buzz…maybe he should just leave the valley? Next he will be bitching about cow farts like his sister in arms A.O.C….an outward communist.
Couldn’t agree more cutting down rainbow ridge is a horrible idea. One of the last stands it’ll never be the way it is now again. Never.
At one time the redwood forests extended as far south as present-day San Luis Obispo County. There are now about a tenth of what the early explorers saw when they got here. Just about everything that this guy says in the above letter is true–or at least I completely agree with it. And so, we’re systematically killing the Earth. It’s highly possible that we’re irreversibly on that path. I’m starting to think that the only people worth paying attention to are these Earth First!-ers and the ELF-ers. They’re about the only ones anyone does pay much attention to any more. So, all these things that this man mentions in the above letter are the reasons why these environmental militants are going out and doing what they’re doing. I wish I had their spirit and their dedication to this cause.
To everyone and their comments, you don’t have a clue as to what you are addressing. 1. Its private property, the permits have been filed and approved 2. You have no say in what they do on their property 3. Most importantly of all you need to find something else to bitch about, no raises any hell when weed growers drain creeks and kill off whole runs of coho salmon and steelhead. Get your priorities straight, the trees will come back maybe not in your lifetime but the fish are gone forever.
I was under the impression that there is no old growth being cut. This was reported by independent media sources and their sources seemed credible and independent from the timber company.
Does anyone have proof they are logging old growth?
Does anyone have proof they are logging old growth?
Yeah, sun bleached wastes where there used to be shady, verdant forests.
Show me
The timber harvest plan strictly prohibits taking of any old growth, rather mostly 2nd growth fir, and some first growth. People are purposely ignoring that to push their little protest. It will also not all be harvested either. Only up to ~2/3 of the land will be affected.
“Only up to ~2/3 of the land will be affected.”
~well then, we can all breathe easier.
Thank you for your letter, David Grant.
No one is stopping it stop complaining go live in Australia there’s pleanty of trees not occupied by logging there. There’s to many people on the planet already your one logging operation isn’t stopping any world pollution or tree saving.
😀😀😀😀 😘
Even if only the second and third growth is taken, the forest floor is ripped up by tractors and falling trees. Conservation, Con means ‘with’ servation means ‘servitude’.. that’s not what a pristine Old growth forest needs to serve humans. Especially rich folks like the ones who ‘own’ this land. Don’t shop at the GAP.
The GAP? What is this 1983? Is it even possible to shop at the GAP anymore? Maybe the GOP should change their acronym to the GAP, which stands for Grandpa Alzheimer’s Patient.
Yes they’re logging old growth.
Besides that the forests there are as close to pristine as a forest can be these days on timber land, the golden eagle nests there have been documented for at least 30 years.
The protests out there on rainbow ridge have been going on since the late 90’s this is not a new thing. So much wildlife out there its an absolutely incredible ecosystem or i should say was. Shame on HRC!!! Sorry the millions offered to you for this property werent enough. Greedy bastards coming to our area abd making money off our resources while giving nothing back. Probably hired workers from Oregon again. I hope they are haunted by the things theyve killed and trust me its not just the trees its a whole ecosystem.
They are literally stealing oxygen from your children. These are dire times. Take a look back at all the things environmental activists warned us all about over the last 30 years that have happened.
Me Bear. Try looking at the trucks coming off the hill.
You sound like someone who has to see to believe
Logging Is impactual. If they aren’t living up to their commitments please take pictures and measurments. I wonder what green diamond is up too. Cant be good. Probably worse..And they do support the community, they mill the trees here. I luv old growth and Old forests. Maybe there is some sort of consevation agreement that could be reached. I don’t shop at the gap. It is sad that it’s an unentered stand. Please take lots of pictures and measurements so people can see the damage as well. I am actually glad a company has a commitment to old growth and is trying to do better.. but hold them to thier commitments which is fairly extensive. Out of like 500,000 acers they have only deemed 350 or so unentereted OG. Sounds like Rainbow Ridge might have need to be added..
Green Diamond and HRC are in cahoots. HRC/MRC saws GDs clearcut logs into boards and puts them on the shelf at home depot with a stamp of sustainability.
Still, Green Diamond has no commitments.. target them.. HRC has a very extensive commitment. And it’s VOLUNTARY. Maybe you all need to look at the bigger picture here… HRC could be FSC certified with LESS commitments. And in fact, if it’s not profitable, they could go back to no commitments at ALL.. Lumber is at a high demand right now, they could probably be more profitable if they didn’t take these commitments.. And they could just sell the timber to China.. which is much much worse… If it was an obvious bad harvest, I would support you all. But still no measurements, no pictures..
And actually, I was looking at Rainbow Ridge on Google and there are large obvious clear cuts all up and down that ridge, so it’s not an un entered grove. You all are making a mess of what could be a move toward a better solution.. Please Stop, Think about the bigger picture. Measurements, Pictures.. Please.
I don’t know what’s happening. If the THP says no old growth will be taken, no old growth will be taken. Killing the hardwoods allows for faster conifer regeneration, and even if HRC does destroy some habit by doing it, the trees themselves would eventually do it.
They can’t log golden eagle territory: https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Birds/Golden-Eagles
I don’t know how it is with MRC/HRC nowadays, but I do know that they were at great pains to do WONDERFUL logging practices down in Mendocino. They won’t be clearcutting, and they will in all likelihood be doing things to help stream restoration and erosion mitigation. They REALLY do, or at least DID, try very hard to be the most responsible stewards they possibly could.
Seeing our beautiful habitat come down is very difficult, but I went out to some of their logging sites back in the day, and some of them still looked like forest, still felt like forest. Others were given the chance to turn back to real forest even though needing some years on them. Point being: It’s not as though their timberlands don’t need the attention and they have to pay for it, so….
I think the Fisher Family has to be crazy to take the leavings of the horror story logging companies we cried about before, but they ARE trying to turn it back into conifer forest, or timberlands, which really is the best chance the trees have to hold their ground, and maybe we should be thankful that at least they have to follow some rules, unlike the maniacs who move in with guns and chainsaws for their dope farms.
True. Nines.. TY
Im sorry, but you are correct about not knowing what’s happening. One of the THP documents falsely claims this to be a second growth forest, the other avoided such a blatant lie thanks to the scrutiny HRCs plans were recieving. Calfire seems to have niether the will nor capacity to fully enforce regulations. HRC fully admits that old growth trees are cut to build roads on their land.
HRC is attempting to convert unlogged wild forest into tree plantations. Some of these stands are pure hardwood, including towering giants, that they can’t sell. This isn’t some kind of restoration, it’s conversion of a natural old forest into a tree farm.
Insta @blockade.babes
“HRC fully admits that old growth trees are cut to build roads on their land.”
~this seems to be the “policy” loophole.
HRC’s “policy” which, according to their website, allows for the cutting of old growth trees if it “is required for road construction.”
It also states they will leave the old growth tree cut for roads in the woods if it is old growth..
“Policy” is NOT law. I don’t give a rat’s rump what T.H.E.Y. say. (The Hierarchy Enslaving You). T.H.E.Y. are incompetent, ignorant, liars.
People better be ready to ban together against the evil doers; United we Stand.
No Sheepie Shurlock. Of course THEY lie, why do you think I am suggesting tape measures and pictures… Keep em to thier commitments..
Impeach Trump Now!
The roads exception has been in place for decades. If you want to contest it successfully, you have to show that the road could avoid the old growth without impacting watercourse health. And, unfortunately, we have always had to sit on CDF to make sure they don’t cave to industry’s fudges. Still, I don’t think MRC/HRC are the kind who abuse that rule. It doesn’t serve their mission and it invites rabid reactions from locals.
And, yes, I am clueless about the site in question and as to whether the company has hired scoundrel or incompetent replacements for retired forestry staff. I just know that having billionaires bent on holding the ground for timberlands is a GOOD thing. It has to pay for itself, but other than that, they’re not shooting for profitability.
If you are serious about the environment and not just being bratty against logging, you would do well to consider that holding MRC/HRC to their commitments is the BEST way to insure the trees are not replaced by ranches, pot farms, vineyards.
It’s THAT bad. It’s THAT vital.
Matt ole…new to the area? The area in question was logged in the 50s and early 60s…so where do you get old growth? Go back to where you came from, the pot growers have done more damage then the loggers ever will, by the way was it LA, or bay area,?
Elijah’s coming Greta thunberg boyfriend a new day is Dawning the destruction of the planet by greed and warmongers well soon come to an end a new Awakening the Ascension of the body and spirit is here we are walking on sacred ground our motherland will not be taken by force Elijah’s coming and he is giving freely of GOD’s love for mankind and the animals on this planet we call home
wow
Yes, wow indeed…
Timber lands are for timber. If they are valuable enough for buying for recreational use or preservation, then come up with the money and make an offer, as has been done in the past. These big companies will take the money and good press, they always will, if it’s a good deal.
Otherwise, accept that it’s timberland and be glad it’s not being subdivided into 40s. If you really want to see environmental destruction, look at grower subdivision.
We all use timber and we should support local economy, esp in these tough times. Not everyone has rich families to support them, as many timber activists do.
Best part? Mattole Restoration Council made the deal to sell to Green Diamond. Said they would protect it. And ol Dave Grant used to work for them. Good thing the joke of a restoration group kept those “old growth” safe!
You are writing sheer nonsense.
Or was it the east coast…Matt ole. My family were homesteaders in the Mattole valley since the 1850s. Go back greenrusher your input is not needed or appreciated.
I hate trees. Trees are so stupid, they just stand there. Get them all outta here. Thank you loggers!
Yeah, what’s up with these lazy forests just standing around? We need working forests that can pull their own weight. Carbon storage? More like carbon snorage, am I right? Zzzzzzzzz….Send the tree lovers to gitmo!
These fat-ass lazy forests need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps! Get off of the wooded welfare, trees! What was that, you say? Forests don’t have boots? Well, like Ozzy said, “Fairies Wear Boots”. So why wouldn’t trees wear boots too? Why not?
Another Mattole resident who feels entitled to a fiefdom extending to Rainbow Ridge and beyond.
Can’t understand the STUPIDITY OF THOSE WHO ASKS OR SAYS WHAT RIGHTS DOES HRC HAVE TO CUT DOWN THE TREE’S. THEY OWN THEM YOU STUPID BRAIN DEAD ASSHOLES. DON’T LIKE IT, SELL OUT AND MOVE TO ALASKA, MEXICO, IRAN OR IRAQ. VERY SIMPLE. MAYBE I WILL COME TO YOUR PROPERTY AND SET UP TENTS TO PROTECT THE LAND FROM YOUR CRAP OR ARE THEY GETTING TO CLOSE TO YOUR ILLEGAL POT GARDENS AND IF SO, GOOD RIDDANCE ALONG WITH YOU.
E.G.W. well put they would try to have you arrest as soon as you stepped on their property. Their rationale is do as I say,not as I do…freaking dumbshits,maybe they just need a job, but really just a clue…
Logging that area is especially a slap in everybody’s face. It’s as ass backwards as it gets.
~100%
Stop the logging…to bad it’s not your face being slapped, keep on logging, stop the pot growers and the decimated watersheds from the entitled pot growers. I really hope the National Guard pays a visit to the lost coast before it is truly lost. Fuck all the Green rushers put them all in jail,especially the Bulgarians.
“Bulgarians?” Is THAT what we’re calling Russians these days?
Next time you come across a local drug dealing Russian (“Bulgarian” my ass!), call the FBI, the DEA, the CIA, the ATF, etc. Be a patriot! IMPEACH TRUMP & let Melania get a divorce so the 3rd Lady/Red Sparrow can move back to Moscow (“Slovenian” my ass!).
I lived in Honeydew for 24 years looking at rainbow ridge from my property,and I remember the trees were so big they would stop the fog bank.Im sad to hear they are going.
“The unnecessary falling of a tree, perhaps the growth of centuries, seems to me a crime little short of murder.” –Jefferson
Was that Thomas Jefferson or George Jefferson? Speaking of Jefferson, how did he feel about raping his slaves? Did he find that to be objectionable too? Or, like Rapepublican Donald Trump, did Jefferson insist “She’s not my type.”
Cen hum…wipe your ass with a pine cone,or maybe poison oak…your so opposed to wood products do you live in a tent or maybe under a bridge?
BITCH BITCH BITCH !
… from your wooden houses.
3 Mineral Waters That Remove Aluminum From the Brain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0XpLAduXrg&t=43s 9 mins.