Pacific Lumber Company is refuting claims that it lied to state and federal agencies so it could log more trees on unstable slopes.
The allegations have been made by officials in Humboldt county, north California who are seeking up to US$250m in damages. They maintain Pacific Lumber received approval to cut down about 100,000 additional trees for an extra US$40m in profits per year based on false information in an environmental impact report for a 1999 plan to harvest trees in Headwaters Forest.
Pacific Lumber president and chief executive Robert Manne said his company had agreed to “unprecedented environmental and monitoring restrictions”. He added that the environmental protections the company has in place include “stringent protections addressing harvesting on unstable slopes”.
