Mendocino Humboldt Redwood Company, LLC
Communications

Bulletin Board

Public Meeting Notice
10/19/2011 All Interested Parties
HRC

Notice of Public Meeting

Humboldt Redwood Company, LLC (HRC) will hold a Public Meeting on Wednesday, October 19 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the River Lodge Conference Center, 1800 Riverwalk Drive, Fortuna.

HRC staff will discuss forest management practices and milestones for 2011.  HRC welcomes public feedback and will answer any questions regarding company policies and activities.  See our web site at www.hrcllc.com.

Public Meeting Notice - Mattole Watershed Analysis
10/17/2011 All Interested Parties
HRC

Humboldt Redwood Company Mattole River Watershed Analysis Public Review Draft Presentation

Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC) will present key findings of a watershed analysis conducted across its 18,000 acre ownership in the Mattole River watershed on Monday, October 17th at the Mattole Grange beginning at 5pm.  The “Mattole Watershed Analysis” began in 2005 and has collected and analyzed data from six different subject areas: stream channel, fisheries, landslides, surface erosion, riparian stand composition, and amphibians.  This information is being used to help determine future forest and watershed management priorities and practices. 

A Public Review Draft of the Watershed Analysis Report will be available for viewing at the Humboldt County Library and on HRC’s website at www.hrcllc.com.  Public comment regarding the draft report is being accepted through December 15, 2011.  Please send comments via conventional mail or e-mail to:

Mike Miles, Humboldt Redwood Company LLC, P.O. Box 712, Scotia, CA 95565

mmiles@hrcllc.com

For additional information regarding the public meeting or to obtain an electronic copy of the Public Review Draft report, contact Maralyn Renner at 707-764-4199 or by e-mail at mrenner@hrcllc.com.

Letters to and from the Wildlife Conservation Board regarding conservation transactions on the North Coast
2/22/2011 All Interested Parties
MRC

"Is California paying too much to preserve Mendocino forest?" by Susanne Rust for California Watch

Letter to John Donnelly, 9/7/2011

"Putting Aside 20 Years of 'Division and Mistrust' Over North Coast Forests" by Kendall Smith and Mark Lovelace for The Press Democrat

"Land Deals Protect Fake Threats" by Steven Greenhut for The Orange County Register

Letter to John Donnelly, 6/14/2011

MRC Response to "A Dream Delayed", 4/14/2011

"A Dream Delayed" by David Simpson for Forest & River News

Letter from John Donnelly, 3/31/2011

Letter to The Conservation Fund, 3/29/2011

Letter from The Conservation Fund, 3/21/2011

Letter to John Donnelly, 3/15/2011

Letter to John Donnelly, 2/22/2011

Letter from John Donnelly

Letter from 6 Forest Managers

To read current press articles about our companies, please see the News section of our website.

To read current employee communications regarding this and other topics, please see the Employee Communications section of our website.

MRC completes Frykman Gulch Restoration Project
10/12/2010 All Interested Parties
MRC

During the summer of 2010, Mendocino Redwood Company completed a fish passage improvement project on its forestlands by removing a culvert and replacing it with a bridge. This project was completed on Frykman Gulch. Please download this Adobe PDF file for additional details.

Notice of Public Meetings by Mendocino Redwood Company, LLC
5/24/2010 All Interested Parties
MRC

MRC staff will discuss our forest management practices and milestones, including the status of our Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification, as well as provide an overall business update.

MRC would also like to take this opportunity to seek public feedback and answer any questions regarding company policies and activities.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 7:00-8:30 PM, Ukiah Valley Conference Center

Wednesday, May 26, 2010, 7:00-8:30 PM, CV Starr Community Center

Please click on this link for additional details, including address information for the meeting locations.  

We look forward to meeting with you soon!

www.mrc.com

Humboldt Redwood Company forestlands achieve FSC-certification
3/15/2010 All Interested Parties
MRC, HRC

Humboldt Redwood Company, LLC (HRC) achieved FSC certification of our lands by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in December, 2009. Consistent with the certification process of our affiliate company, Mendocino Redwood Company, LLC (MRC), we used the auditing services of Scientific Certification Systems of Emeryville, CA, and Smartwood of New York City. The team reports from the audit are posted on our website, as well as additional information on our forest management and certification efforts. This information may be found here.

Management of these forestlands in an exemplary and environmentally appropriate manner has been a long-sought goal for many stakeholders. We recognize that FSC certification of the approximate 210,000 acres of HRC lands, added to the 230,000 FSC-certified acres of MRC lands, is a major milestone and accomplishment.

Charitable or Non-Profit Contribution Requests
8/26/2009 All Interested Parties
MRC, HRC

Mendocino Forest Products/Mendocino Redwood Company (Mendocino) and Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC) have established Community Giving Programs designed to review and consider Non-profit funding requests in a fair and equitable manner. The companies accept requests for donations from Local Non-profit organizations from September 1-November 15, for funding consideration in the coming year. Requests received after November 15 will not be eligible for consideration, with the exception of youth sports and education programs. Youth sports and education programs will continue to be considered for year-round funding, as long as the companies giving funds have not been fully allocated.

Non-profit organizations with 501(c) (3) status may request funding over $250. Non-profit organizations that do not hold 501(c) (3) may be considered for funding up to $249. Funding priority may be given to programs designed to impact a broader group, in support of youth sports and education, the elderly, those less fortunate, the environment, safety, and those organizations the company has supported in previous years.

Requests may be submitted in writing on the organizations letterhead with a brief narrative of the organization and its charter mission, along with a description of how the requested funds would be used.  In Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma Counties, request may be submitted to Mendocino Redwood Company, Attn: Community Action Team (CAT), P.O. Box 996, Ukiah, CA 95482, or e-mailed to lgarbocci@mendoco.com or ksavonen@mendoco.com. Request for donations in Humboldt County, may be submitted to Humboldt Redwood Company, Attn: Community Action Team (CAT), P.O. Box 37, Scotia, CA 95565 or e-mail to jcurteman@hrcllc.com.

Award recipients will be notified of approved funding in the first quarter of the coming year.

Unsecured Trade Claims
10/9/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC

We regularly get requests from unsecured creditors seeking information about the administration of the Scopac and Palco unsecured creditors trusts that were set up as part of the MRC/Marathon plan of reorganization.  Therefore we thought it would be helpful to provide the following:

Distribution Status:
All allowed Scopac trade claim payments were paid 100% in full on October 4th.  
Also on October 4th, allowed unsecured Palco claims received a distribution of 25% of their allowed claim.  
As soon as the larger disputed Palco claims are resolved a subsequent distribution will be made.  At this time we do not have a date for that distribution.

Contact Information:
For Palco unsecured or Scopac trade claim related questions, please contact:
Julianne Viadro, Trustee, PLC Litigation Trust.
by email:  viadro@hickeyhill.com
by phone: 925-283-7802.

Q and A Meeting
9/1/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC
This is an open invitation for folks to join us Thursday, September 4th at 5:00pm, at the Monday Club, 610 Main Street, Fortuna, CA for our initial Q & A Update Meeting. 

These are brief periodic meetings to stay in touch with our community, discuss open or emerging issues and to answer questions from those who attend.  Hope to see you there.

By: Richard Higgenbottom, CEO

      Mike Jani, President

Organization Announcement
8/26/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC
Two weeks ago we identified our HRC leadership team via an internal Organization Announcement Letter To All Employees.  Seems appropriate we share this with a broader audience. This letter can be seen by going to the following link:
Letter to All Employees from Richard Higgenbottom re: Organization Announcement (PDF size 44K)
Letter to Customers
8/9/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC

On August 4th we sent letters to about 125 recent former customers of Pacific Lumber Co.  Through the years many distributors throughout the country, and abroad, have purchased lumber from Palco. In an effort to reach as many former customers as possible, we felt it would be helpful to post the aforementioned letter on this website. Here is the link...

Letter to Customers of Pacific Lumber Company (PDF size 84K)

Employment
8/8/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC
In recent days we have been asked by a number of people about final employment numbers. Here is what we know:
 
Pacific Lumber and Scotia Pacific had 363 employees in various categories on their payrolls as of the Plan of Reorganization Effective Date (July 30, 2008).
 
The opportunity to join Humboldt Redwood Co. or Town of Scotia LLC has been extended to 320 individuals out of the 363 referenced above (an additional three will continue on as contract employees).
 
Due to prior planned vacations and approved leaves of absence the final active employment count will remain undetermined for a short amount of time.
 
We greatly appreciate the patience of everyone as we have worked through these employment transition issues.
Up and Going
8/7/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC

By the time the 6:30 a.m. whistle blew Wednesday morning, the HRC sawmill was well into day one of production.  The previous week's activities were an exciting crescendo to the 6:00 a.m. start-up of the mill, and Thursday's return of log deliveries to the yard.  On the surface it looks like business as usual, but underneath a careful observer will see some differences:

  • Immediate implementation of a comprehensive old growth protection policy
  • Elimination of traditional clear-cuts
  • New log and lumber inventory management system supportive of a market driven approach to distribution
  • Lean executive leadership team
  • A lot of smiles

We are generating more questions than we have answers for, more projects than we have time for, and more excitement than we have stamina for.  One of our HRC managers said, "I feel like a little kid again."  Our hope is that others feel rejuvenated too as they consider the many positive opportunities in front of us.  Faith has been described as "the assurance that what we hope for will come about."  We have great faith in how our newly formed HRC team will perform, and once again want to say thank you to this community for the great support they have provided.

By: Richard Higgenbottom, CEO

The Whistle!
8/4/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC

We BLEW IT because we didn't BLOW IT!

Yes we heard it loud and clear "the whistle is part of our heritage... please keep it going." We have full intention to keep the whistle blowing everyday on the same schedule it has for many years. During a recent town meeting both HRC and Town of Scotia agreed to do just that, and the very next morning at 6:30 a.m. the whistle didn't blow. For years the whistle has been triggered manually from a switch in the main office. Well seems for it to work properly and on time someone must be on the job to push the button. Somehow we missed that detail! Going forward we aim to do better by installing an automatic timer switch. Until then we will keep someone pushing the button as we understand and agree that "the Whistle must BLOW!"

Getting Close
8/4/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC
HRC still has a few open positions to fill throughout various areas of the company.  We recognize the importance of completing the hiring process in a timely manner, and this truly is our number one priority.  By midday tomorrow, Tuesday, we expect to be 95% through the hiring process.  Wednesday morning we will have finalized a complete log and lumber inventory, and expect the mill to begin operating again by 6:00 a.m.  Everyone should receive a personal phone call, one way or another, in reference to employment by late Wednesday.
Update for PALCO Employees RE: HRC Staffing Plans
8/2/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC

Our Human Resources teams are still working diligently to finalize HRC staffing plans.  We are all anxious to get this transition phase completed and begin moving ahead.  Trying to fairly and objectively fill nearly 250 jobs from a pool of approximately 300 great employees is a challenging and emotional process for all involved.  We hope to make some progress today, Saturday, and use Sunday as a day of rest. Therefore the timeline for job offers will continue into the middle of next week.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

By: Richard Higgenbottom, CEO
Officially Day One; Humboldt Redwood Co. LLC
7/31/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC

After many starts and stops in trying to get to this day, we are all excited to work on building Humboldt Redwood Company. Our first and most important task is working through employment offers for close to 250 folks.  Below is our most current letter To All Employees that shares some information about a variety of important employment related items. For the most current updates continue to view this Bulletin Board.
First Letter to Future Humboldt Redwood Company Employees (PDF size 40K)

Welcome to our new web Bulletin Board
7/29/2008 All Interested Parties
HRC
Welcome to our new Humboldt Redwood Company Bulletin Board. We will use this space to provide employees, and others interested in Humboldt Redwood Company, the most timely updates possible. We are pleased to announce we have begun to implement the MRC/Marathon Plan of Reorganization for Pacific Lumber Co. and Scotia Pacific.  The Plan of Reorganization is expected to be consummated Wednesday, July 30, thereby becoming the Effective Date of the plan.
For more information, see our July 29 Letter to Employees (PDF size 40K)