State’s Top Court Upholds Ban on Logging in 2 Redwood Groves

A ban on logging in two groves of old-growth redwoods in Humboldt County, home to rare species of birds, was left intact Friday by the state Supreme Court.

While unanimously denying a hearing on an appeal by Pacific Lumber Co., the court also eliminated a pro-environmentalist ruling by a lower court as a precedent for future cases.

Among other things, the ruling strongly affirmed the state’s authority to regulate private land to protect rare species without having to pay the landowner. Justice Joyce L. Kennard cast a dissenting vote to leave the ruling on the books.

One parcel, near Salmon Creek, is part of the Headwaters Forest, the world’s largest privately owned redwood forest. The other grove is near Owl Creek, 13 miles away. Each parcel covers about 220 acres.

A state appeals court rejected Pacific Lumber’s plans to cut some of the trees, saying protective measures were lacking for several rare wildlife species. In particular, the marbled murrelet, a threatened shorebird, has used both groves for nesting, the court said.

The state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection approved the logging plans in 1988, rejecting recommendations by the Department of Fish and Game to reduce timber-cutting in nesting areas, near streams and in other sensitive areas.

Forestry officials later changed their minds and agreed that protective measures were needed. But Pacific Lumber argued that the initial approval was binding and that the state must reimburse the company for the property value it would lose from a halt in logging.

Upholding lower court decisions, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled in November that the initial approval was improper.