Well folks, for better and worse I had the opportunity to accompany MRC foresters out into their property in Mendo this week. I was there to take a look at their mgmt practices, examine their treatment of their employees and get a feel for the state of their forest lands.
Is it ironic or scary that the day I was out there, Maxxam and MRC were busy deal making on the fate of the land here in Humboldt. Okay yeah, we are involved in an historic bankruptcy legal process, and yeah, the court ordered mediation did not go anywhere between Marathon and Beal. So now the deal is that the closed door meetings between these dudes are going to actually make the decision? Mike Jenai failed to mention that, while we were in the suburban together for hours.
The Palco-Marathon-MRC deal comes up with a bunch more cash on hands for the deal to look better to the noteholders. Gulp. Now Harvard is getting involved!? Jesus how many folks want a piece of this!
I suppose its worth mentioning as well that the recent coverage in the local papers about this most recent saga is deplorable. The consistent mentioning of JBH (Julia Butterfly Hill) as the sole contender in the resistance against PL is deplorable. Not to mention that JBH didn’t campaign for an end to clear cutting. To my knowledge, the only thing she campaigned for was her tree Luna. In honor of David Gypsy Chain, and all of the others who have given their lives for this shit, one would think we could do a little better.
Clearly to give a real analysis on how these guys (MRC) manage these lands, I’ve got to start by looking at how the land was when they bought it, and who/how they spend the money. Clearly it would be in their interest to explain to my little audience here on justice_through_jostle that the MRC are all peachy ecogroovy, and that their logged and treated forest lands look like wildlife sanctuaries. Yeah right.
That said, the worse thing they do right now, in my opinion , is their so called “frilling” or hack and squirt herbicide application on the tan oaks. True they do leave the madrones alone, also true that they leave whole areas of their forest lands alone, permanantly protected as long as they are at the healm. (hmm) What about fire!?!
True that their foresters seem more engaging than say (ahem) PL, SPI folks, or for that matter Simpson ((Green Diamond)) foresters. They dont decorate the bears with the flashy collars and ear rings that Green Diamond do, as far as I could tell from meeting one of their wildlife guys. Their logging practices are varied, and they are religiously FSC, if that means anything.
They took us into one area of their property, but offered to show us other areas if we requested to see them. It was hammered. There is a reserve that looks beautiful, although it’s dominated by douglas firs and needs a little fire to enliven the seed trees and take some of the fuel load out of there. (it seems to me) There were of course beautiful trees, flowers, bugs, spider holes, creeks, rocks and all that. I din’t see a single really old redwood tree. The MRC guys liked to remind us that LP and all those guys did all the bad stuff and that MRC is trying to recover from the liquidation years of reckless logging.
Their priority to make all conifer dominated hill sides is really depressing. In fact, the whole notion that there would be no mention of fire, traditional native land management techniques or anything by their area forester really stung me of my ignorance of private lands timber barons. Their reliance on monochromatic logic for alternatives slows down their ability to actually do things different. They are stuck in white folks mentality, as far as I can see. Judging from their website, this plagues them in a pretty deep way.
Sure, they will do a better job than Hurwitz. i am compelled to stand behind EPIC’s and Mike Thompson’s vote of confidence. Geez. what a weird feeling. At least MRC will be an easier-going adversary. They will likely also improve some things around soHum, at least in the sense that they will be going for the FSC certification. I suppose it helps that the VP Forest guy sits on the policy making committee for FSC, and the international board of directors for the group.
In a broader view, the lack of analysis and holistic thought about land management can be tied to the only thing holding them back from becoming cool. They are driven by profit.
As long as that’s the case, and with expected changes in the FSC funding mechanism, and how fees incurred by resellers of FSC products could gut the program, I wonder if FSC certification will really be worth the effort by the time the PL land comes into their possession.
I wonder what will happen. I am very skeptical, but sure as shit not going to support the empty promises of the Nature Conservancy. Did you know that the only way the TNC folks could have even a sliver of success is if they push the land to auction? To auction off these lands could result in a checkerboard ownership and mean really harsh logging with no insurance to the hundreds of workers at the mills and in the field. damn. TNC is harsh and I dont think I like them. I think they are wistful and perhaps on the level with the corporate business analysts, but not nearly as motivated. Im sure there are good folks from TNC. I am critical of their approach and do not like the way they are pushing people around in the process. Maybe I am missing something.
Well, I suppose it doesnt matter what the heck I think, cuz Hurwitz and Gap® model Sandy Dean are sitting down with their various monied buddies and cutting some kind of deal.
Wonder what they eat in those situations. Do you think they snack on cold cuts like the ones we ate off the back of the MRC truck out there near Russell Brook? Steaks and potatoes? Chicken wraps? Salmon? My guess is that an awful lot of $$ goes into fancy dinners, especially considering people are there dealing with supposed bankruptcy. My guess is that most of the folks negotiating this deal couldn’t distinguish an humboldt acorn from an American Chesnut.
Thanks for your report.
What a load of carefully crafted crap to pay attention to down there in Corpus Christi. Last minute deals have a history of royally screwing Humboldt County for the staggering benefit of crooks in suits.
Thank you Jostle for what you have written, this late entry into the scene by Emmerson & Co. is really worrisome. Anyone who has wandered around Trinity County and the northern Sierra and seen SPI’s damage to those watersheds will be as alarmed as I am … in fact, there are those who believe SPI may be worse, if that is possible.
I could write a book about the things people in Trinity Co have told me about the company, and are afraid to go public with.
As far as i can tell the only difference between SPI and Palco is the shareholders. SPI is strictly family owned, and now that the sons have taken over, things are changing for the worse. From everything I see and hear it appears they are hot to liquidate trees and get into the real estate development business.
This IS A BIG PROBLEM.
Ahmdelia
Well said, jostle. In light of the judges decision in favor of MRC the company deserves continuing scrutiny. Thanks for mentioning David “Gypsy” Chain. Corporate media is so damn shallow most of the time.
One thing that betrays a certain ruthlessness is MRC’s refusal to sell a conservation easement that would greatly benefit them in the short term but would rule out development or other messed up practices in the event that MRC is bought out and/or their owners decide to liquidate.