The Pacific Lumber company lands in northern California comprise some 200,000 acres of Redwood and Douglas fir forest. Over the past several years, this forest has been the center of considerable activism and litigation. Particularly noteworthy were lawsuits preventing PalCo from harvesting habitat of the threatened Marbled Murrelet, and a suit under the 5th amendment of the constitution alleging unreasonable seizure of private property. If the company had succeeded with this last lawsuit, in addition to the large damages assessed against the government, it was likely that a precedent would be set for compensation under the Endangered Species Act.