Save the Redwoods. Here's your chance.

Would you pay 5 or 6 million to save 160 acres of redwood forest?

If you were willing to be arrested, go to jail, give up two years of your life or even die to save them, the answer ought to be "Yes."

I've been thinking alot about the recent discussions of "what it's worth" with respect to those forests, and I think the environmental community is missing the boat here.

It is a whole lot cheaper than the donations for the protracted media, activist and public relations efforts.

I predict "environmentally involved celebrities" will be standing in line.

Background and updates:
Anger still boils over timber ordinance 10/16/07
Landowners continue to seethe over a temporary ordinance banning building on timberland passed last week by Humboldt County supervisors.
At the Fortuna Chamber of Commerce meeting Monday, attorney Bob Barnum, whose family owns 36,000 acres of timberland in the county, urged members to speak up against what he sees as improper use of a police power. He said supervisors set off a “neutron bomb” when they adopted the 45-day ordinance aimed at an exclusive rural development pitched by the Pacific Lumber Co. as part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan
☛ TS editorial County has a Palco freakout 10/14/07 ★ ★ ★ ★
At first blush, the 4-1 action by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors last week -- a 45-day de facto housing permits moratorium on timberlands -- seemed like a run up San Juan Hill in reaction to Pacific Lumber Co.'s proposal that it buy its way out of bankruptcy by converting 2,200 acres of trees for 136 160-acre parcels with luxury homes in an exclusive development.
In the light of day, however, it's looking like more like a “run in circles, scream and shout” reaction that stands to hurt the county's planning process and cause collateral damage to other, smaller landholders. Panic is not a way to run a county.
☛ NCJ The Town Dandy - Jolly Good Show 10/11/07
If you’ve got a head for it, the gears of democracy in action can sometimes deliver unparalleled drama, and Tuesday’s supes meeting was a fine example of the genre. It went on for four hours, and I don’t think I was bored once.
☛ Palco creditors put lower value on asset 10/11/07
A document that had been under seal in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court case of the Pacific Lumber Co. holds that its timberlands are worth only a fraction of what the company has estimated.
☛ TS Supervisors pass timber ordinance 10/10/07
A barely muted battle between most county supervisors and the Pacific Lumber Co. played out Tuesday, with dozens of timberland owners begging not to be caught in the middle by a temporary ordinance restricting building.
☛ ER Supervisors pass TPZ ordinance 10/10/07
This is “really our only shot to send a message of concern to the bankruptcy court,” Supervisor John Woolley said.
☛ TS Forest land owners nervous over ordinance 10/9/07
A temporary building moratorium for timberland parcels being considered by county supervisors today has some landowners sweating over possible damage to the value of their property and their ability to sell it.
Humboldt County supervisors will weigh the adoption of an interim ordinance that would be in place for 45 days with extensions possible out to 22 months, 15 days. It's aimed at a proposal by the Pacific Lumber Co., which has pitched an exclusive development of more than 130, 160-acre “kingdoms” linked together with amenities like a golf course and a club house.
☛ TS Landowners sweat short-term TPZ rule 10/8/07
☛ TS Supes to hear ordinance in response to Palco plan 10/7/07
Faced with a possible rural development on a scale the county hasn't seen in years, Humboldt County supervisors on Tuesday will consider a temporary halt to issuing building permits on timberlands
☛ TS 'Make no little plans' 10/05/07
The Pacific Lumber Co. has come out with an ambitious and creative (and some say outlandish) proposal for pulling its way out of bankruptcy. While a satisfactory solution to debt problems is to be desired for the sake of the many Humboldters whose livelihoods depend upon a healthy Palco, the company's plan seems to be overreaching on its face.
☛ TS Palco plan hinges on big money land sales 10/3/07
The Pacific Lumber Co. is looking to reinvent itself by selling thousands of acres as an exclusive planned development bordering pristine redwood reserves, and using the cash to pay down its massive debt.
☛ ER PALCO files reorganization plan 10/1/07
To pay off its creditors, PALCO is seeking to generate $400 million through the sale of approximately 6,600 acres of SCOPAC’s logging-restricted timberlands, which the company is calling “Ancient Redwood Groves.” Under the reorganization plan filed in the Texas bankrupcty court, the company aims to to sell off the old-growth forests within 24 months of the plan’s approval at a value of $60,000 per acre to buyers who are willing to commit to the permanent environmental protection of the land. PALCO is also seeking under the plan to raise an additional $780 million through the sale of approximately 22,000 acres of lands the plan identifies as “Redwoods Ranch Development,” which will be offered for sale as individual 160-acre parcels that will be marketed as “trophy” properties valued at approximately $5 million on average. Map provided by PALCO (caption on image shown below)
Fred reports - The Sacramento Bee takes a look at Palco/Scotia (obliquely related)n. Makes the situation sound a little rosier than the news we get locally. Or maybe it's just me? If asked for a login, you can use humboldtlib as the username and blogspot as the password.