Last month’s art show at Umpqua Bank’s Meridian Fine Arts Gallery in Arcata, was entitled Returning to the Redwoods, photography by Michael Harris. The photos were a pleasant reminder of the forest's eternal beauty. What was most telling of the show, though, from Meridian's upstairs gallery, was its abundant hypocrisy. Mr. Harris may not have known but the precious old-growth trees he captured so well are being clear-cut and poisoned by Umpqua Bank executives and shareholders!
Here's the story of Umpqua Bank’s involvement with deforestation, in a nutshell: Allyn Ford, chairman of Umpqua Bank, is also the owner of Scott Timber/Roseburg Forest Products, which cuts old growth forest he has bought from the Forest Service. He is the sole owner and CEO of Roseburg Forest Products, which oversees 800,000 acres of forests across Northern California and Oregon. Indeed, he is the purchaser of the most federal timber sales in the Pacific Northwest. He owns old growth timber sales in the Willamette, Umpqua, and Siskiyou National Forests (in Oregon), which means that massive amounts of old growth are being cut that are supposed to be set aside and protected as public lands. This also means that our tax dollars (because this is publicly owned land) are subsidizing the whole thing. Ford’s insane model of slash-and-spray (de)forestry is to blame for horizon-to-horizon clear cuts, polluted drinking water, dead salmon (and countless other species loss, due to watershed runoff and habitat destruction) and the emission of tons upon tons of greenhouse gases.
As if this were not enough, 20 percent of Umpqua Bank’s stock is owned by lumber interests, including the Herberts of Herbert Lumber, the largest shareholders in Umpqua Bank. These associations are not coincidences; Umpqua Bank is, by proxy, funding clear cutting! The latest art show only adds insult to injury.
We at Earth First Humboldt urge all students, staff and faculty of Humboldt State to divest from Umpqua bank as soon as possible. Since Umpqua Bank’s purchase of Humboldt Bancorp in 2004, they have perpetuated deceit in our community. The deforestation of our forests is a degrading and unsustainable practice. We hope that with this very introductory information all citizens become aware of the bank-timber sale connection, seek more education on the matter and close their Umpqua Bank accounts until they cancel their association to old growth timber sales! Both Ford and Herbert are sole proprietors of their timber companies and thus have full power to decline the timber sales. Concerned citizens of the forest, we propose one simple step in the right direction!
More to come on the hypocrisy of logging practices in Humboldt County and the world abound! Please contact us and visit our website for more updates about local forest villains Green Diamond and our year long occupation to save the McKay Tract in Eureka as well as the many other ways you can educate yourself and get involved to help save the irreplaceable ancient trees and forest life in Humboldt. Boycott Stumpqua Bank!
Duane Wright
Earth First! Humboldt
The Lumberjack > Opinion > Guest Columns
Climate Criminals Out of Humboldt!
Published: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Updated: Monday, November 16, 2009
2 comments
(zinelibrary.net), documented the canopy ninjas protecting native forests.EF! HUMBOLDT