Suit Accuses Maxxam of ‘Reckless’ Redwood Logging

A group of California property owners Tuesday sued Maxxam Inc. and its chairman, Charles Hurwitz, for “recklessly irresponsible logging” in an environmentally sensitive area of ancient redwoods.

In separate criminal and civil actions filed in Humboldt County Superior Court, the plaintiffs alleged that Maxxam’s Pacific Lumber Co. caused mud slides, floods and destruction of the local watershed through its logging practices.

“Maxxam’s logged timberlands lie like open bleeding sores on the landscape,” the suit said.

The case marks a new tack against Maxxam by opponents of logging, who have long relied primarily on protests by environmentalists committed to preserving California’s old-growth redwood forests.

The suits name some 33 residents of Stafford, 250 miles north of San Francisco, as plaintiffs and says Pacific Lumber was directly responsible for property damage they sustained in landslides caused by deforestation.

“This is a case in which a whole community, Stafford, has been virtually wiped off the map due to the callous disregard exhibited by Maxxam corporate entities in their rush to turn trees into cash,” the suit alleged.

Maxxam spokesman Bob Irelan said the destructive December 1996 landslides in Stafford were “very unfortunate, but it has not been determined if harvesting by us or another land owner caused it.”

“Based on our understanding, the suits are without merit and we will certainly defend against them,” Irelan said.

Maxxam and Pacific Lumber have faced a long campaign against their logging activities in Northern California, with celebrities such as movie star Woody Harrelson and singer Bonnie Raitt joining protests.

Environmental activists are particularly concerned about logging in and around the Headwaters forest, which contains towering redwoods dating back as far as 1,000 years.

The U.S. and California governments reached a tentative agreement last year with Hurwitz to buy 7,500 acres of the forest, including a 3,000-acre ancient redwood grove and a smaller stand of trees for $380 million.

Environmentalists say instead that 60,000 acres of forest should be taken into public ownership.

Irelan said Maxxam was committed to acting responsibly in the area, had bought several properties effected by the landslides and was working on a safety program to ensure that future disasters are averted.

“We are doing all of this as good neighbors, so this seems to be a shame,” Irelan said of the suit.

The plaintiffs, who are demanding a jury trial, seek a temporary injunction on logging in Stafford, restitution from the company and punitive damages.