Logging Continues in Clayoquot Sound-Protest at MacBlo AGM

[the.greenbase@green2.greenpeace.org]

----------
Original-TO:      World Press (Green2:Green2:Gnl:INET)
Original-TO:      Media Group (Green2:Green2:Gnl:List)
Original-Cc:      Forests Staff (Green2:Green2:Gnl:List)
Original-Cc:      The Greenbase (Green2:Green2:Gnl:Main)
----------
               ************************
               GREENPEACE PRESS RELEASE
               ************************

  
>> ENVIRONMENTALISTS AT MACBLO'S AGM PROTEST PLAN TO 
                  KEEP CLEARING CLAYOQUOT SOUND
 
VANCOUVER, B.C., 18 April, 1996 (GP) Greenpeace and the
Friends of Clayoquot Sound today blockaded MacMillan Bloedel's
annual general meeting and demanded that MB commit to staying
out of Clayoquot's pristine watersheds. 
 
A truck with photos of MB CEO Robert Findley and B.C. Premier
Glen Clark, displayed the banner: "Remember Clayoquot? We're
still Cutting It Down".  It blocked the entrance to the Four
Seasons Hotel where the AGM is being held.  Other activists
participated in the hotel  meeting room.
 
MacMillan Bloedel is threatening to log the pristine areas
within the next two years.  Previous logging resulted in over
260
landslides in Clayoquot in January of this year alone, and
MacMillan Bloedel currently faces charges for having destroyed
salmon streams in Winter Creek. MacMillan Bloedel is also the
largest tenure holder in the controversial temperate
rainforests of the mid-coast region.
 
Said Valerie Langer of the Friends of Clayoquot Sound, "The
intact watersheds are out of bounds. It should be obvious that
a company with MacBlo's criminal record should not be allowed
to experiment in ancient rainforests that are of global
significance."
 
Shareholders meanwhile criticised MacBlo executives for being
arrogant and slow to adapt to changing markets and demanded a
reformation of the Board of Directors. For the second year in
a row, Tzeporah Berman of Greenpeace International was
nominated to MB's Board. 
 
"I have heard directly from MB customers and the Canadian
people that MacMillan Bloedel needs to clean up its image and
forestry operations in order to respond to a growing
environmental
consciousness in the international marketplace," said Tzeporah
Berman. "An environmental voice on the Board of Directors is
necessary to move this dinosaur into the 21st century."
 
Environmentalists have been examining recent trends
internationally and are predicting that MacMillan Bloedel will
have difficulty marketing its new MB Pacifica magazine paper.
 
"Jurisdictions in the U.S. and in Europe have passed
resolutions against purchasing paper made from clearcut
rainforests and that trend is continuing to grow," said Tamara
Stark of Greenpeace. "When over 50% of B.C. rainforests have
already been destroyed, customers of B.C. forest products are
not going to buy into the destruction of what remains."
 
Greenpeace and the Friends of Clayoquot Sound are demanding
that MacBlo commit to staying out of Clayoquot's pristine
watersheds; stop clearcutting the rest of the rainforest; and
return to B.C.'s taxpayers the $5.6-million it was given to

"log better" in
Clayoquot.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL: 604-313-0159
Tzeporah Berman/Patrick Anderson, Greenpeace International
Valerie Langer, Friends of Clayoquot Sound
Tamara Stark, Greenpeace Canada
----------