3 Arrested in Greenpeace Protest at Times Building

Three environmental activists were arrested and booked Monday on charges of trespassing at the Los Angeles Times Building during a Greenpeace protest, police said.

The three were cited, given a court date and released, said Police Sgt. Eugene Lewis.

The protesters had draped a sign from the building reading “Stop Buying Ancient Forest Destruction,” said Gina Sanchez, spokeswoman for Greenpeace.

In addition to The Times, Greenpeace said other business in the area it is targeting include the Orange County Register, GTE and AT & T for allegedly buying newsprint from Fletcher Challenge, whose mills use wood fiber from Pacific rain forests in Canada’s British Columbia, Sanchez said.

Times spokeswoman Martha Goldstein said that Times Mirror, parent company of The Times, looked into the situation in British Columbia “because we were also concerned about the environmental issues surrounding newsprint.”

“It was confirmed to us that Fletcher Challenge is in full compliance with all forestry management regulations in British Columbia,” said Goldstein. “The government of British Columbia takes the position that those regulations provide for the perpetuation of ‘old growth’ forest resources in the province.”

Seventy percent of the paper used to publish The Times is recycled newsprint containing 55% recycled fibers, Goldstein said.

Jerry Kramer of the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles said less than 1% of the 60 million acres of forests in British Columbia are harvested per year, “with more being replaced than taken out.”

“There’s no perception of a crisis,” said Kramer. “We have very tough environmental regimens. More than two-thirds [of the rain forests] will never be harvested.”