Scotia, CA: Bicycle Blockade Stops Log Trucks At Scotia Mill

Report on recent blockade of logging trucks in the ancient Mattole watershed, part on a campaign that reaches back several decades.

Scotia, CA – At 12:30 Thursday afternoon, two people locked their bodies to bicycles at the north and south entrances into the Scotia sawmill, effectively stopping log truck traffic for nearly two hours. Both people were cited and released, while a third was arrested.

That arrestee is being held with a $25,000 bail, on charges of dispersing a toxic substance. The substances in question are peanut butter, honey, and latex paint that were applied to the bicycles that a protester was locked to.

This road blockade is another attempt by community members to call attention to active logging in the Mattole watershed. Located at the headwaters of the north forks of the Mattole River, Long Ridge is the site of two controversial Humboldt Redwood Company timber harvest plans. This summer, the Ridge has seen two tree sits and over a dozen arrests as community members try to stop the logging in what they say is irreplaceable habitat.

“This is about this endless local flow of trucks carting away whole forest communities, despite our world facing such devastating climate ordeals. Plundering and trucking away our natural treasures spells disaster, unless we find ways to reign in this foolishness! Time is of essence!” stated Jack Nounnan, an 87 year old, longtime community organizer who locked himself to the bicycles yesterday.

Another protester at the mill stated, “John Andersen, CEO of HRC, has promised not to cut the tree that tree sitter Rook defended for two months. But this is not about saving individual trees. This area is a biological hot-spot, one of a kind habitat and a valuable carbon sink. The entire forest deserves protection. We are calling for the cancellation of the remaining work in Long Reach 1-14-034 and Rainbow Ranch 1-19-00029 timber harvest plans.”

Though HRC is nearly finished with operations on Long Ridge, the protesters say the battle isn’t over. The Scotia mill is the single largest sawmill in the county and is processing logs from both unentered forests on Rainbow Ridge and Green Diamond clear cuts.