![\"Lost](\"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/18-0815-lost-coast-league-696x522.jpg\" "\\"Lost")
\nThe announcement came late last week in response to a grievance letter filed July 31 by the Lost Coast League (LCL) and signed by some 100 concerned citizens, businesses, organizations and elected officials.<\/p>\n
PETROLIA, Calif., Aug. 15, 2018 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The Petrolia-based Lost Coast League (LCL) today announced that the growing controversy over Humboldt Redwood Co.\u2019s (HRC\u2019s) plans to log virgin forests at Rainbow Ridge stepped up a notch when auditors for the highly regarded Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) announced they will be reviewing the \u201csustainable\u201d certification associated with two of the company\u2019s key logging plans.<\/p>\n
\nThe announcement came late last week in response to a grievance letter filed July 31 by the Lost Coast League (LCL) and signed by some 100 concerned citizens, businesses, organizations and elected officials.<\/p>\n
The letter follows decades of protests, intense local debate, and social media acrimony surrounding the potential destruction of some of California\u2019s last unprotected and unentered forest stands, located about 25 miles south of Eureka in the headwaters of the Mattole River.<\/p>\n
LCL asserts that FSC\u2019s coveted \u201cgreen\u201d label applies only to lumber harvested from HRC\u2019s second-growth (cutover) forest stands\u2014meaning that forest products derived from old, primary forests are ineligible for \u201csustainable\u201d certification. HRC charges more for FSC-labeled \u201csustainably\u201d sourced lumber in response to demand by eco-conscious consumers.<\/p>\n
Robert J. Hrubes, lead investigator with SCS Global Services, FSC\u2019s auditing firm, responded to the letter by proposing a method to \u201cascertain conformity\u201d to FSC standards. This method will involve a field review of the controversial logging plans on Sept. 11.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay we assume that HRC will preserve the status quo for the operations in question until the investigation is completed?\u201d asked LCL\u2019s Ellen Taylor in an email to Hrubes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a question that you should direct to HRC,\u201d Hrubes replied, adding that HRC \u201cis free to take whatever actions they wish to take.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile I cannot speak for HRC, I expect it is very highly unlikely that any site-disturbing forest management activities will take place in the \u2018Rainbow Ridge\u2019 area prior to the mid-September audit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn other words,\u201d said Taylor, \u201cthere is no guarantee whatsoever that HRC will not log the old trees while the investigation is taking place, thereby voiding the process of investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Any suspension of the controversial logging plans while the SCS investigation takes place would come as welcome news to citizens groups opposed to the destruction of these unique ancient forests situated on steep unstable slopes, and the species that depend upon them.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks HRC has escalated tensions by deploying a paramilitary-style security corporation, Lear Asset Management, that has threatened nonviolent protesters with tasers and attack dogs, sought to deprive protesters of sleep by playing loud music and shining bright lights at them at night, and tugging at the \u201clifelines\u201d that keep them suspended in precarious tree-top perches near the ridge.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsumers embrace certified wood because they want to keep the old, original forests standing and preserve their public trust values of water, wildlife and fish,\u201d LCL\u2019s Michael Evenson said. \u201cThey believe certified wood comes from carefully managed second- and third-growth stands without the use of poisons.<\/p>\n
\u201cShould HRC cut this forest down before the inquiry is completed HRC will have abandoned any claim to sustainability and be destroying the evidence of a primeval intact ecosystem flourishing on their lands.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the full text of the grievance letter click here<\/a> – https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1BZ2_pTlZntpE-X1T9TCwbDbnuYBSb3zb\/view<\/a>.<\/p>\n About the Lost Coast League:<\/strong> The Lost Coast is home to a vast number of plant and animal species indigenous and only found in the Pacific Northwest. We work closely with board members and consultants from other local non-profit organizations to maintain wildlife values in this region.<\/p>\n
\nFounded in 1961 as the Mattole Action Committee, the Lost Coast League is a grassroots organization made up of working professionals pledged to protect the public trust resources of this unique area. Collectively we believe that conserving what is left of our old growth forests-and restoring the vast majority of lands that have already been damaged-is important not only for our local ecosystem, but for the global community as well.<\/p>\n