CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : NORTHERN CALIFORNIA : Bill Seeks to Block Redwood Logging

In a “political response” to a “political act,” Rep. Pete Stark (D-Oakland) introduced a bill to give federal scenic river status to several Northern California streams as a way to prevent the logging of some old-growth redwood trees. The Headwaters Forest in Mendocino County belongs to Pacific Lumber Co., which has been criticized for destroying increasingly scarce old redwoods to pay off debts incurred by leveraged-buyout artist Charles Hurwitz when his Maxxam Corp. took over the company in 1986. Stark’s bill would nominate Salmon Creek and parts of the Elk River for inclusion in the federal wild and scenic river program.