GREEN DIAMOND CLEARCUTS FOREST AMIDST THE COLLAPSE OF OUR CLIMATE

Trinidad, Humboldt County, CA–A group of forest defenders have started defending another redwood grove a few miles north of Trinidad, CA. Green Diamond Resource Company plans to clearcut the forest under an active Timber Harvest Plan (THP). The 40.5 acres of the THP is almost entirely within the limits of the protection zone of two osprey nests (Pandion haliaetus). This bird of prey is a “Species of Special Concern” in California and is considered a key component of the ecosystem.

In an open letter addressed to the company, Karen Porter, a forest defender, commented, “Before colonization, old growth redwoods stretched across 2 million acres of coastal California. Now, a tiny fraction of that is protected in national and state parks, and the vast majority of it has been converted into tree plantations.

Green Diamond’s management scheme – clearcutting every 45 years – is creating an ecological dystopia. We must allow these forests to grow into the next generation of old-growth habitat.”

While Green Diamond maintains two third-party sustainable certifications on their California timberlands, forest defenders call the company’s clearcutting unsustainable and say it directly contributes to the degradation of canopy connectivity, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity.

Forest defenders have raised a tree-sit in a redwood tree slated to be cut that is seven feet in diameter and is located on a steep slope above McNeill Creek. This sit was raised in the midst of a heatwave in the Arctic Circle. The tree-sitters say their actions are connected to broader issues surrounding climate change.

“Deforestation is a major driver of climate change worldwide, and because temperate rainforests such as this are especially critical carbon sinks, logging within the redwood bioregion has global implications. Green Diamond’s management is devastating for the species that call this ecosystem home – but it also affects other biomes worldwide. We are calling for a moratorium on industrial logging during this climate catastrophe.”

This forest lies just north of an area that has been protected from additional logging by tree-sitters for the last three months after forest defenders discovered active logging there in March.

The group states, “We call on Green Diamond to cancel these two Timber Harvest Plans, but more broadly, to take responsibility for the generations of harm they have caused – the legacy of colonization they benefit from and their profit-driven destruction of habitat.

We also call on CalFire, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to stop approving and supporting Timber Harvest Plans that destroy habitat for the threatened species that they, as state and federal agencies, are tasked with protecting. Now is the time to realize the value of these forests and restore them rather than allowing further degradation.”

OPEN LETTER:

To:

• Gary Rynearson, Chief Communications Officer and Forest Policy Director, Green Diamond Resource Company
• Forest Stewardship Council – US Board of Directors
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative Board of Directors
• Stefan Bergmann, Certification Forester, Technical Associate, Scientific Certification Systems, Inc
• Dennis Hall, Forestry and Fire Protection Administrator, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
• Charlton H. Bonham, CDFW Director, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Pacific Southwest Regional Director of Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Steve Madrone, 5th District Supervisor, Humboldt County Board of Supervisors

From: Redwood Forest Defense info@redwoodforestdefense.org

Subject: An Open Letter to Green Diamond Resource Company from Redwood Forest Defense

Monday, June 29, 2020

Dear Mr. Rynearson,

Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, department leaders in managing the State of California’s forests and wildlife, and international agencies certifying sustainable timber production,
We, a group of community members advocating for the health of the forests in the Humboldt County bio-region of Northern California, write to inform you that Green Diamond Resource Company is irresponsibly managing timberland in Humboldt County without adequately mitigating for climate change and biodiversity loss.

We are protesting Green Diamond’s forestry practices and, in Timber Harvest Plan (THP) 1-19-00215 HUM, have raised and are dwelling in multiple treesits throughout Unit A. In addition to the trees now actively hosting human life, several are connected with aerial traverses. It would be extremely dangerous to fall trees or operate machinery anywhere within the single, large unit in this THP. These actions are in addition to multiple treesits in the adjacent THP 1-18-00157.

Deforestation is a major driver of climate change worldwide, and because temperate rainforests such as this one are especially powerful carbon sinks, logging within the redwood bioregion has global implications. Green Diamond’s management is devastating for the species that call this ecosystem home – but it also affects other biomes worldwide. We are calling for a moratorium on industrial logging during this climate catastrophe.

We call for Green Diamond to cancel these two Timber Harvest Plans, but more broadly, to take responsibility for the generations of harm they have caused – the legacy of colonization they benefit from and their profit-driven destruction of habitat. We also call on CalFire, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to stop approving and supporting Timber Harvest Plans that destroy habitat for the threatened species they are tasked with protecting. Now is the time to realize the value of these forests and restore them rather than allowing further degradation.

Overall this forest is remarkably decadent, especially compared to surrounding Green Diamond timberlands. Areas within this THP are of particular value and deserving of special protection. This unit displays ecological value not commonly found within second growth and contains what could be the next generation of old growth, if it is allowed to survive and thrive.

READ Demands included in this letter located in the Right column above