Nancy Pelosi: “The Headwaters Forest is very important, Mr. Chairman. It is home to the largest private growth of giant redwoods…”

“The Headwaters Forest is very important, Mr. Chairman. It is home to the largest private growth of giant redwoods anywhere in the world, as well as home to the endangered marbled murrelet, as we have discussed. The critical habitat of the murrelet in the headwaters is an essential link between Redwood National Park and Humboldt Redwood State Park, where the murrelet also depends on old growth forest for survival. A few points on this. The great redwoods are a symbol of California's, indeed America's, magnificent natural wonders. Many of the trees are thousands of years old. They existed when Hannibal crossed the Alps. People come from all over the world to view these giant redwoods, and some of the trees would require many people to completely encircle them. They are truly natural wonders of the world. Mr. Chairman, I think this is important to the point that has been made earlier. Once, 2.1 million acres of dense coastal redwoods covered the coast from the Oregon border to Big Sur in California.”