A mediator has been appointed to try to broker a deal on the fate of 29,000 acres of giant, 2,000-year-old California redwood trees, which environmentalists and loggers battled over in the 1990s, according to an ENN report. US Judge Richard Schmidt expressed frustration at the slow pace Maxxam subsidiary Pacific Lumber was moving since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and has opted for a short-fuse mediation to decide the redwoods’ future.

Under a bankruptcy plan, Pacific Lumber had put forward, 6,000 acres of timberland including old-growth redwoods that would be sold for $300 million to a conservation agency or group. Other nearby timberland, also including redwoods, would be sold or developed to raise another $1.1 billion. Schmidt told the lawyers for Pacific Lumber and its creditors they could try to agree on a mediator, hoping it would be the first agreement reached in the case. The mediator would have 30 days to try and hammer out an agreement between the parties involved. Maxxam Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Hurwitz became the target of protestors who lived in California redwoods as they attempted to prevent Pacific Lumber from cutting the trees down in the 1990s. Pacific Lumber signed a 1998 agreement with the state of California and the US government to protect nearly 8,000 acres of timberland, including old-growth redwoods, as habitat for an endangered Pacific Coast bird the Marbled Murrelet. The firm filed for bankruptcy protection because of its inability to pay on $714 million in bonds. The company has taken on more debt to continue operating while working out of the bankruptcy. “I want everyone to participate,” Schmidt said. “Whether that means Mr Hurwitz needs to attend or to send somebody.”