Descriptive Summary
Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Biography/Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC)/ Headwaters Court Cases Collection
Dates: 1944-2005
Collection Number: 2012.04
Creator/Collector:
Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC)
Extent: 42 Cubic feet (35 boxes)
Repository:
Humboldt State University Library
Arcata, California 95521-8299
Abstract: This collection is the product of a series of court cases filed by the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC),
Sierra Club, and United Steelworkers of America during the 1990s and early 2000s against Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO)/Maxxam.
The litigation in these cases focused on the environmental effects of PALCO’s logging practices around what is now the Headwaters
Forest Reserve in Humboldt County, California. The bulk of the collection consists of evidentiary documents provided by the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) and the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) for the court
case EPIC v. CDF, et. al. The strengths of this collection are materials that relate to local endangered species such as the
Northern Spotted Owl, the Marbled Murrelet, and the Coho Salmon, as well as affected watersheds including the Bear/Mattole
River, Eel River, Van Duzen River, Yager Creek, Freshwater Creek, and Humboldt Bay.
Language of Material: English
Access
Open for research by appointment
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to Humboldt State University. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce in any format please
contact the Special Collections Librarian.
Preferred Citation
Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC)/ Headwaters Court Cases Collection. Humboldt State University Library
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated in 2012 by EPIC to the Humboldt State University Library’s Special Collections.
Biography/Administrative History
From EPIC’s website, http://www.wildcalifornia.org/ (retrieved 03/28/2013):
The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) is a community based, non-profit organization that works to protect
and restore forests, watersheds, coastal estuaries, and native species in Northern California. EPIC was founded in 1977 when
local residents came together to successfully end aerial applications of herbicides by industrial logging companies in Humboldt
County.
Our work played a pivotal role in bringing the plight of the Headwaters Forest to the world’s attention during the 1990s.
Three of the six groves in Headwaters Forest are now in public hands and EPIC continues to pursue actions to preserve the
forests left unprotected as part of the infamous Headwaters Deal.
The Headwaters Forest Agreement, also known as the “Headwaters Deal,” resulted in the purchase of 7,472 acres of forest lands
from PALCO at the cost of $380 million dollars in public funds. The forest, located approximately 6 miles southeast of Eureka,
California, has been classified as a reserve and is under the stewardship of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Scope and Content of Collection
The majority of the EPIC/Headwaters Court Cases Collection consists of evidentiary materials used in the EPIC v. CDF, et.
al. case, referred to as the “Administrative Record.” Types of documents found within the Administrative Record include: Timber
Harvest Plans (THP), Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP), Sustained Yield Plans (SYP), reports, letters, memos, official comments,
permits, maps, schedules, emails, findings, transcripts, public notices, payments, errata, newspaper articles, magazine articles,
and non-technical journal articles. All documents in the Administrative Record fall into the following 12 categories, taken
verbatim from the collection’s set of indexes:
Materials submitted by PALCO relating to project application
Documents relating to CEQA compliance and project approval
CEQA Findings and Statement of Overriding Consideration, including DFG/CDF staff reports, written testimony, and documents
by anyone else
Transcripts or minutes of public hearings on the EIR or any CEQA document and any Headwaters permits/approvals
Notices issued by DFG and CDF regarding CEQA compliance and issuance of the permits/approvals
Written comments on the EIR or any CEQA documents
Final CEQA documents and permit decisions including documents cited and relied upon by the CEQA Findings or any Statements
of Overriding Considerations
Drafts of environmental documents or portions thereof released for public view
Internal agency communications and staff notes relating to the project or CEQA
Documents to which none of the Administration Record categories apply
Documents relied upon in any environmental document for the project
Written evidence or correspondence to or from DFG/CDF regarding CEQA compliance or the permits/approvals
The set of seven indexes that follow the Administrative Record are organized by these 12 categories. The first index serves
as a general index to the entire Administrative Record. The remaining six indexes each relate to a specific decision that
resulted from one of the Headwaters court cases.
The collection also includes the legal documentation and some evidentiary materials related to subsequent court cases filed
by EPIC, The Sierra Club, and United Steelworkers of America against CDF after the conclusion of the Headwaters Forest Agreement.
Documents in this section are primarily copies of evidence used in the previous court cases with some additional materials
that were received and/or created at a later date. Types of materials include: Incidental Take Permit (ITP), deposition testimonies,
notices of conformance, official responses to findings, reports, official comments, and legal documents.
Indexing Terms
Coho salmon
Eel River (Calif.)
Headwaters Forest Wilderness (Calif.)
Logging--California--Humboldt County
Logging--California--Headwaters Forest Wilderness
Logging--Environmental aspects--California.
Marbled murrelet
Mattole River (Calif.)
Northern spotted owl
Old growth forest conservation
Redwoods--California--Humboldt County
Sustainable forestry
Van Duzen River (Calif.)