Haven't seen the detailed reorganization plans yet but I expect to soon.
My initial reaction based on info from the local media is this:
Pacific Lumbers plan hasn't changed much and still sounds bad. Any plan that keeps Maxxam in the picture to any degree is suspect, not to mention the proposed residential developments on timberland.
The Noteholders plan to auction off the company to one or more bidders sounds terrible too. Pacific Lumber could end up in the hands of Simpson/Green Diamond, Sierra Pacific Industries or be re-purchased by Maxxam. The coalition of The Nature Conservancy, Bank of America and the Community Forestry Team say they would bid in such an auction but I don't know how good their chances of winning are.
The Marathon-Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC) plan would bring the MRC's logging practices to Humboldt County which are better than Maxxam's practices but still unsatisfactory in some ways. MRC has a company policy prohibiting logging of single Oldgrowth trees and cutting in unlogged forests. However they still utilize toxic herbicides to kill off hardwood trees like Tanoak and continue to clear-cut. Looking at their land base overall, they say they have a low rate of harvest. But it appears that they log more heavily in some watersheds and not in others, targeting areas that have higher amounts of "inventory", i.e. merchantable trees.
I certainly wouldn't endorse any of these plans but some are clearly worse than others.
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