A couple of hours north of San Francisco, in Humboldt county, California, lie some of the best and last examples of oldgrowth coastal redwood forest in the world. These ancient forests, some containing trees predating the discovery of the New World, are home to a rich biological community, including many sensitive, threatened and endangered species such as the spotted owl, fisher, marbled murrelet, tailed frog, Olympic salamander, coho salmon and steelhead trout. They have also formed the economic backbone of Humboldt county for more than a century, supplying high quality lumber to communities around the world and providing a stable, reliable source of income for local inhabitants and their families. Redwoods grow quickly, and used responsibly, the forests of northern California can and have supported both human and ecological communities over the long term. Recently, however, they become the focus of one of the most bitterly contentious environmental battles in American history.
At the center of this fight lay the Headwaters Complex, a 10,000 acre plot of forest containing the largest privately owned oldgrowth redwood stands in the world. In 1999, Pacific Lumber, the Headwaters’ owner, signed a deal with the federal and California governments, ceding the complex to public ownership and filing a habitat conservation plan for its remaining holdings. SEI played an important role in drafting marbled murrelet protections under this plan, and continues to be involved in the conservation of the Headwaters Forest.
