Concern at Weyerhaeuser's takeover of Macmillan Bloedel
"With its program of phasing out old growth clear-cuts, MacMillan Bloedel brought the
world one step closer to ending all logging in the last remaining old growth forests.
Weyerhaeuser must continue MB's plans or suffer the consequences." - Christopher
Hatch, RAN Campaigns Director
SAN FRANCISCO - News of Weyerhaeuser's purchase of British Columbia
logging company MacMillan Bloedel has environmentalists across the US and Canada in a
state of concerned anticipation. The sale came just days after MB signed a memorandum of
understanding with
environmental organizations and Canadian Indians not to log in pristine forest areas
within the company's British Columbia holdings. Last year, MB instituted a new logging
plan to phase out clear-cut logging in old growth forests. Weyerhaeuser has yet to comment
on whether it will honor these commitments.
"Weyerhaeuser is teetering on a precipice," said Rainforest Action Network
Campaigns Director Christopher Hatch. "If the company honors MB's commitment to
lessening the strain on the Earth's last old growth forests, it could become the world's
leader in ancient forest preservation. If it doesn't, Weyerhaeuser will have its market
ripped apart by blockades, protests and high profile demonstrations the likes of which
haven't been seen in decades."
"In a time when only 22 percent of the world's original old growth forests remain,
continuing logging of old growth wood is simply barbaric," RAN's Hatch concluded.
"Whether you approach the issue economically, ecologically or ethically, it's just
not a sound business practice to cut down old growth forests."
In December 1998, 27 U.S. corporations - including IBM, Dell, Kinko's, Nike, 3M,
Levi-Strauss, Mitsubishi Motors America, Mitsubishi Electric America, and others -
announced their commitment to stop selling or using old growth wood. Europe's largest home
improvement center, B&Q, has nearly completed removing old growth wood from its
shelves.
Source: Rainforest Action Network. Website: http://www.ran.org