Many people were outraged that one of the most beautiful and rare forests in the world could be destroyed for a single company’s profit. Environmental groups filed lawsuits to stop the logging. People chained themselves to the trees. Thousands swarmed a sawmill where the trees were cut into lumber and formed human chains blocking bulldozers and logging trucks. Some activists moved into the trees. The most famous, a young woman named Julia Butterfly Hill, lived in her tree, nicknamed Luna, for over two years, while her friends and fellow activists provided her with necessities such as food, water, clothes, and batteries. Some tree-sitters came down on their own. Others were brought down by “Climber Dan,” a skilled tree climber hired by Pacific Lumber to remove the protestors by force.
The fight over Headwaters Forest finally got so big that the United States government and the state of California stepped in. In 1999, they paid Pacific Lumber $480 million in exchange for 10,000 acres of ancient and second-growth redwoods that would be protected in a preserve. Eight additional redwood groves, totaling 8,000 acres, were spared from logging for a fifty-year period. While Pacific Lumber could continue logging on its remaining land, it had to follow a Habitat Conservation Plan—a set of rules designed to protect endangered species like the Northern spotted owl, the coho salmon, and the marbled murrelet, a seabird that nests in old-growth forests.
The story didn’t stop with the Headwaters deal. There was continued controversy over whether the Habitat Conservation Plan did enough to protect wildlife and streams and allowed too much logging in the land outside the preserves. In 2007, Pacific Lumber filed for bankruptcy and a year later, its lands were taken over by another company that promised to be a better steward for California’s redwood country. Many will be watching to see if this promise is fulfilled.
Today, experts estimate that roughly 100,000 acres of old-growth redwood remain in the world. Fortunately, most is protected in parks and preserves like the Headwaters Forest Reserve. About twenty percent, however, is located on private lands where it may be subject to logging under state and local regulations. Redwoods continue to need the protection of people, young and old, who care about forests and the diverse life they support.
S. Terrell French grew up near Washington, D.C., and spent her summers running barefoot in the forest. She graduated from Harvard College and Berkeley Law, and once spent two months as a Forest Service volunteer in Misty Fiords National Monument in Alaska. She currently lives with her husband and three children in the very foggiest part of San Francisco, where she divides her time between writing and practicing environmental law. She tries to visit the redwoods as often as possible. You can visit her at www.operationredwood.com.
his book would not have been possible without the hard work and optimism of my agent, Kate Schafer Testerman, and the vision of Susan Van Metre, whose editing was always marked by thoughtfulness, flexible thinking, and a sense of humor. Special thanks also to Maureen McLane, my earliest champion and the catalyst for all that followed; to Tina Bennett, for opening a door; and to Charles and Vanna Rae Bello, for sharing their home and work in the redwoods with my family.
I am truly grateful to the friends and neighbors who fed and cared for my family, took walks with me, and generally cheered me on during the writing of this book, as well as to the communities at Clarendon and Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger. I would also like to thank those who took the time to review early (and later) drafts of this book, particularly my young readers, Jules Cowan, Izzy Miller, and Kara Scherer. Françoise and Jim French, Kelly Kilcoyne and Melissa French, and Chris and Judy White were a constant source of reassurance and encouragement; special acknowledgment is due to my sister for her many good ideas (like tree houses) and my mother, who followed Operation Redwood’s progress with unflagging enthusiasm. My husband, Sai, provided frequent logistical aid and whatever else I asked of him. Finally, Operation Redwood was inspired by, and is dedicated to, my children, Nathan, Clara, and William, who taught me the value of perseverance and waited patiently for this book to come out.
This book was designed by Maria T. Middleton and art directed by Chad W. Beckerman. The text is set in 12.5-point FF Atma Serif, a modern typeface with transitional characteristics similar to Baskerville. FF Atma Serif was designed by Alan Dague-Greene in 2001.
The interior of this book was printed on recycled paper.
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