Mattole Action at Maxxam/PL Headquarters In Scotia, Ca.

For Immediate Release: August 6
Contact Fuscia (707) 826-2511



On Monday, August 5th, at around 11:45am a car occupied by three environmental activists drove up to the front door of the Pacific Lumber Company (PL) headquarters in Scotia, Ca. Still inside the car, they locked themselves to each other and the vehicle using “lockboxes” made from metal pipes. They were there to call public attention to a proposal given to PLs’ new president Robert Manne last week. In the proposal, activists outlined the following two steps that could be taken to end civil disobedience on the companys’ holdings in the Mattole watershed.

1. We ask that all timber harvesting related activities in the Mattole be halted at once, until a solution is created that all parties involved can agree to. Activities that we wish to see end include tree felling, road building, and the creation of new timber harvest plans. This does not include legally required surveys.
2. We ask that the company compensate employees and contractors whose work is interrupted by conservation efforts.

“Our repeated attempts to make an appointment with Manne seem to have been disregarded. PLs’ logging operations in the Mattole are a serious threat to the environment and we have taken non-violent steps to make sure that our attempts to resolve the crisis aren’t ignored”, said Bracken, a Mattole Forest Defender.

The Humboldt County Sheriffs and Scotia Fire Department removed the activists from the car after 5:00pm using the Jaws of Life and a grinder to cut the lockboxes. In the process a Sheriff using the grinder cut one of the activists on the hand. Another activist who locked to the car has been fasting for twenty-two days to protest PLs’ logging operations in the Mattole and will continue her fast in jail.