opps, but will they work it out
No Agreement on Pacific Lumber HCP
SCOTIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 1998--Pacific Lumber Company President and Chief Executive Officer John Campbell acknowledged today that negotiations on a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) have not produced an agreement.
"This is especially unfortunate because scores of people have worked so hard over so many years to put together an agreement that was a victory for all involved," Campbell said.
"Government agencies made a series of substantial new demands during the last several days. While we were able to reach compromises on a number of them, in total the proposed changes would have left Pacific Lumber unable to operate effectively," Campbell said. "We simply could not agree to a package that would threaten our ability to survive and provide job security to our employees."
Forged over more than 10 years of negotiations, the Headwaters Agreement would preserve in perpetuity the largest remaining privately owned tract of old-growth redwoods on Earth. The plan goes far beyond existing law to provide unprecedented levels of habitat conservation on 210,000 acres owned by Pacific Lumber.
Support for the Headwaters Agreement is bi-partisan and broad-based. President Clinton, Governor Wilson, Vice President Gore, Senator Feinstein, Interior Secretary Babbitt and California Resources Secretary Wheeler all back the plan.
Pacific Lumber has been in business for 129 years. With 1,600 employees, it is Humboldt County's largest private employer, contributing an estimated $170 million dollars annually to Northern California's economy. |
