Judge Bars Logging on Unstable Terrain

In an unprecedented decision, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday barring a timber company from proceeding with state-approved plans to log on unstable terrain prone to landslides.

Environmentalists sued under a law triggered by a $380-million Headwaters agreement--a deal the federal and state governments reached with Pacific Lumber Corp. to buy 7,500 acres of the world’s largest privately owned stand of ancient redwoods. Pacific Lumber said Friday that the temporary restraining order could undermine the pact.

The six-page order by U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson bars Pacific Lumber from logging on three parcels of land in Humboldt County near the Mattole River and Bear Creek until a hearing for a permanent injunction is held Aug. 24.

The logging plans, which were approved by the California Department of Forestry, outraged residents, who say that the soil loosened by logging has muddied the waters near their homes, raised the stream bed and washed away their land. More than a dozen protesters have been arrested.

Michael Evenson, a Humboldt County rancher who said the Mattole River has eaten away his land, said he was grateful for the judge’s decision.

“For us, it’s relief to our community,” he said. “It’s been a disaster for those of us living downstream.”

Other Humboldt County residents have made similar complaints about Pacific Lumber logging practices, contending that excessive logging along riverbanks has caused landslides and severe erosion, destroying property and fouling fresh water.

Pacific Lumber said it was shocked and disappointed by Friday’s ruling.

The order “would, if allowed to stand, have dire consequences for habitat conservation planning nationwide, as well as for Pacific Lumber, its employees and the economies of California’s North Coast communities,” the company said in a written statement.