Redwoods that were saplings when the Roman
Empire was in its glory
have been saved in a midnight deal with the
timber company that owns the
tract along California's Pacific Coast.
The state and federal government spent $480
million to buy 12 square
miles of the Headwaters Forest, the largest
private block of ancient
redwoods in the U.S, and two other redwood
groves from the Pacific
Lumber Co. and set the properties aside as
public preserves.
Some of the trees saved are 2,000 years old, as
tall as 20-story buildings
and more than 12 feet in diameter.
The agreement, which concludes more than a
decade of negotiations, was
reached just before Monday's midnight deadline.
The deal also imposes
timber-cutting restrictions for the next 50
years on an additional 330 square
miles of redwoods that Pacific Lumber still
owns. That area includes 12
stands of redwoods dating back 1,000 years.
Leaders of major environmental groups welcomed
the deal, which appeared
dead following an impasse late last week.
But other environmentalists condemned the plan
for failing to restrict
logging in more redwood forests, which are a
symbol of America's
national wonders and celebrated in the song
"This Land Is Your Land."
"These redwoods are a natural treasure, as much
a part of our legacy as the
world's great libraries and cathedrals,"
President Clinton says. "I am truly
grateful that we are able to bestow this
priceless gift on generations to
come."
The deal consists of $250 million in federal
money and $230 million in
state money -- dwarfing the $63 million the
government recently paid Utah
for almost 1 million acres of desert in the
Grand Staircase National
Monument. The government's authorization to
spend the $250 million
expired at midnight Monday, forcing the
last-minute talks.
As a condition of the sale, Pacific Lumber
agreed to tighter environmental
protections on the rest of its property in
rugged Humboldt County, such as
avoiding logging on the steepest hillsides and
near seasonal streams.
