Timberworkers Suffer When Forests are Overlogged or Converted to Housing Tracts

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Saving Forests from becoming Housing Tracts Saves Millworkers' Jobs

From the High Sierra Rural Alliance:

Regarding the Settlement between HSRA, SPI and the County of Sierra

4/18/2009--Since the announcement of the HSRA settlement with Sierra Pacific Industries and Sierra County, there have been a spate of letters-to-the-editor and an opinion piece in local newspapers implying that the closing of the SPI mill in Quincy and the loss of 150 jobs was caused by the litigation settlement between the parties. This is not true.

The agreement which SPI proposed and was agreed to by HSRA and the County of Sierra resulted in:

* 7000 acres of land zoned as Timber Production remaining in Timber Production Zone, and

* Reimbursement of HSRA costs and attorney fees by SPI, $15,640.

Making sure productive timberland within reasonable distances of timber mills is not converted into other uses protects mill jobs. The monetary settlement consists of less than four months wages for one mill worker. SPI receives generous property tax deductions by having the land in Timber Production Zone rather than General Forest. This case did not cause the loss of 150 jobs at the SPI mill in Quincy or anywhere else. For more information, please see: http://www.highsierrarural.org/announcements/aresponse