Forestry Dept. Told to Hire Lawyer in Suit Over Redwoods
A judge has ordered the state Department of Forestry to hire outside lawyers to defend it against an environmental group’s lawsuit.
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge John E. Buffington made his ruling after deciding that Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp’s office “cannot . . . carry out its duty to assure that the environment of this state is protected.”
The ruling grew out of a lawsuit in which environmentalists are challenging the harvest of some of the world’s last privately owned virgin redwood forests, despite warnings by the state Department of Fish and Game that logging would threaten endangered species and degrade the environment.
“The public could easily conclude that the attorney general is overlooking some legitimate environmental issues while adopting a position which favors a large corporation’s business concern,” Buffington wrote.
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