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and the State of California collectively face a dilenuna 

 with respect to the 3,000 acres comprising the Headwaters 

 Forest. In the simplest terms, our dilemma is whether to 

 preserve this wilderness area through public acquisition 

 of the 3,000-acre Headwaters Forest area and a 1,500 acre 

 buffer zone, or allow the land to be managed for its 

 intended and authorized use and the trees selectively 

 harvested in an environmentally responsible manner. The 

 Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Wilderness Society, and 

 other environmental organizations have in the past 

 advocated public acquisition of the Headwaters Forest area 

 but, to date, have expressed widely divergent views on how 

 that should come about. 



As we have previously testified. The Pacific Lumber 

 Company would prefer to continue directly to manage and 

 selectively harvest all of its properties, including the 

 3,000-acre Headwaters Forest, so as to provide continuing 

 employment security for our workers and their families. 

 We are, however, prepared to transfer these approximately 

 4,500 acres, but no more , if the government (federal, 

 state or a combination of the two) is willing and ready to 

 acquire the property at its fair market value. That 4,500 

 acres is an ecologically sound unit and the government's 

 legitimate preservation objectives do not warrant a larger 

 land acquisition such as that contemplated by H.R. 2866. 

 A larger taking, such as that contemplated by H.R. 2866, 



