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Sep 20, 19

After Five Years of Direct Action, Timber Harvest Plan in Mattole Forest Expires

Report from Save the Mattole Ancient Forest on the expiring of the Timber Harvest Plan after five years of fierce direct action.

September 12th marked the expiration of the Long Ridge Timber Harvest Plan (THP) in the Mattole watershed. After 5 years of fierce direct action and multiple months-long road blockades, tree-sits, and tripods to save the Mattole forest, this day conjures both somber and celebratory emotions.

Despite the fact that Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC) managed to log and herbicide a portion of this ancient forest, relentless resistance from the community and devoted forest defenders succeeded in saving a significant amount of forest that would have other wise been logged by HRC.

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Owls and Goblins of the ancient #Mattole forest emerged from the #deepwoods yesterday to #takeover the #humboldtredwoodcompany office in #scotia. The greedy #profiteers have failed to meet regulations required by its Habitat #Conservation Plan for the past several years. HRC directly contributes to the #extinction of the sensitive #NorthernSpottedOwl by ravaging this #biodiverse #ecosystem. Please join forest defenders in speaking up for the #forest! Email [email protected] to get involved. #owlgetthedoor #yougetthebanner #ifyouevicttheowl #goblinsmovein #savethemattolesancientforest #saveitdontsprayit #treeplantationssuckwater #getcreative #singsongs #wespeakforthetrees #extinctionrebellion #forestdefense is #climatedefense #directaction

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Tremendous love and gratitude to the hundreds of people who showed up over the years and threw down hard to protect this precious ecosystem. These forests are safe because of you! Worth celebrating are the 512 acres of helicopter logging that was dropped from the original THP thanks to the 2014 blockade.

The successful blocking of the 2017 “road to nowhere” saved a hillside excavation and protected a grove of ancient Bay trees from destruction. Big love to Rook for holding it down this summer in the canopy for 60 days and effectively saving an old growth Douglas fir. Love to Pascal for sitting in a giant Candalabra tree in Unit 1 – a beautiful grove of mixed forest and magnificent Douglas fir trees which still stands.

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Yesterday marked the expiration of the Long Ridge timber harvest plan (THP) in the Mattole watershed. After 5 years of #fierce #directaction and multiple months-long road blockades, treesits, and tripods to save the Mattole, this day conjures both somber and celebratory emotions. Despite the fact that HRC managed to log and herbicide a portion of this ancient forest, relentless resistance from the community and devoted forest defenders succeeded in saving a significant amount of forest that would have other wise been logged by HRC. Tremendous #love and gratitude to the hundreds of people who showed up over the years and threw down hard to protect this precious ecosystem. These forests are safe because of you! Worth celebrating are the 512 acres of helicopter logging that was dropped from the original THP thanks to the 2014 blockade. The successful blocking of the 2017 “road to nowhere” saved a hillside excavation and protected a grove of ancient Bay trees from destruction. Big love to Rook for holding it down this summer in the canopy for 60 days and effectively saving an old growth Douglas fir. Love to Pascal for sitting in a giant candalabra tree in Unit 1 – a beautiful grove of mixed forest and magnificent Douglas fir trees which still stands. And of course the forest fought for itself, with a landslide in 2016 making parts of that forest unharvestable. None of these accomplishments could have been possible without the support of the community and all the wonderful people who traveled from near and far and those no longer with us to #savethemattolesancientforest! Sending love and gratitude to forest defenders, #waterprotecters, and #earthdefenders all over the world fighting to #protectwhatyoulove! The fight isn’t over yet y’all! #forestdefenseisclimatedefense #community #resistance #earthfirst! Photos from a recent community rally at fox camp gate and from the 2014 blockade (love and miss y’all!)

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And of course the forest fought for itself, with a landslide in 2016 making parts of that forest unharvestable. None of these accomplishments could have been possible without the support of the community and all the wonderful people who traveled from near and far and those no longer with us to #savethemattolesancientforest!

Thank you everyone for all the love and continued support over the years. This is not the end, but the continuation of decades of resistance in this bioregion.

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#Forestdefenders survey the #breathtaking #hinterlands of #RainbowRidge's threatened forest. Nearby, overburdened log trucks crunch and groan through dusty trenches. The collection of evidence of #HumboldtRedwoodCompany incursion into #ancient #unlogged #forest brought some of these #rugged #huggers to the #stump of the #213tree. It's surface was smeared with dirt, making it hard to count all of the growth rings, but over 200 rings were observed. Another #team went deep into the #ancientforest. #Amongthegiants they #encountered was a #massive #Madrone tree, the center of which had been burned out by fire. #stillmattolin #stillpatrolin #forestsarecarbon #keepthemintheground #banglyphosate #savethemattolesancientforest #earthfirst! #extinctionrebellion #mendocinoredwoodcompany #foreststewardshipcouncil @fsc_us #redwooddeck

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Sending love and gratitude to forest defenders, #waterprotecters, and #earthdefenders all over the world fighting to #protectwhatyoulove! The fight isn’t over yet y’all!

RIP: Bunny, Scout, Squirrel, Dave’s Not Here, Jungle, Nature Boy, Oat Groat, Root, Thorn, Bagel, and Roots

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Campaign to save the Mattole old-growth forest in Northern California.

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