Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC)/ Headwaters Court Cases Collection

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

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

Open for research by appointment

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.

Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC)/ Headwaters Court Cases Collection. Humboldt State University Library

The collection was donated in 2012 by EPIC to the Humboldt State University Library’s Special Collections.

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).

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.