KMUD discusses the McKay Tract with EF! Humboldt and Mind Petals on December 9, 2008

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A few days ago I spoke on KMUD radio to spread awareness and muster support in the defense of the McKay Tract currently threatened by Green Diamond and others. Tomorrow, Nov. 11, community members and activists will be gathering to go on a hike — to see what’s at stake. We’ll be meeting at 1PM. Call 631 445 2185 for meeting location.

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Frank Hovenden, attending the rally at legislature to protest old-growth logging, of Gold River wore a paper bag on his head and carried a placard saying “Embarrassed to work in the woods.” I wonder if the Green Diamond, SPI, and HRC foresters are proud of their work? I wonder how well they sleep at night? Probably just fine, most of them. Ignorance is bliss, eh.

Thousands of protesters march up Government Street toward the legislature yesterday during The Rally for Ancient Forests. Read full story

Forest activists attacked in the Upper Florentine Valley, Tassie

Forest Defenders of Still Wild, Still Threatened in Tasmania, Florentine Valley, are shown here being viciously assaulted by a mob of irate loggers. These peaceful activist were attempting to halt logging and protect the critically endangered Swift Parrot (below 1000 pairs ) in the forests on the eastern edge of the World Heritage Area. The behavior of these loggers absolutely disgusts me. And the wanton destruction of the Crass Parrot habitat is even more disturbing. What is this world coming to?

Read more: Violence and extinction in Tasmania’s forests

activists refused to be intimidated by logging thugs and returned into the forests, this time in the Weld Valley to protect some of the old growth forests there. One of the forest defenders locked on to a excavator was threatened with a power saw held close to his head, the idiot logger pressed his saw against the metal so that sparks showered his hair. Native Forest

Styx Forest Defense Video
S:O:S — Save Our Styx –Anti Logging Protest

I recently learned of threatened old growth in Maine from an Earth First! Journal article. I’m from the East Coast and it hurts to learn of this, though I am not at all surprised.

This 220 acre tract of land adjacent to Big Wilson Steam in Elliotsville, Maine, is being threatened by one of the nations largest land owners, Plum Creek. The “owners” are waiting for the outcome of a rezoning proposal that would allow them to destroy this ancient forest, profit off of the wood, then use the land to develop on.

Forest Defenders in the area are actively working to protect this land and are in the process of finding a purchaser to conserve the land.

If you reside on the East Coast, or on the planet Earth, and care about preserving our forests, please send your support, in any way that you can, to Big Wilson forest in Maine.

Follow the struggle on the Big Wilson Blog

Associated Press recently dropped an article on the recent “saving” of the old growth here in Northern California. But I’ll say it again and again and again: The trees are not saved. Trees are still being clear cut. Habitat is still being destroyed for profit. Sure, we have a line of communication open with the president of Humboldt Redwood Company, Mike Jani, that’s great. I’m happy that we do. And I’m happy that HRC purportedly isn’t going to cut old growth, which is yet to be witnessed. But the battle isn’t over — long from it. It’s disturbing when 9 out of 10 people in Arcata come up to me and say: “Hey, why are you doing this?? The trees are saved.” We need to have some huge event to let people know what’s really still going on. The media surely serves a vital purpose, but skewing the facts in order to sell stories is horrible and detrimental to the defense of the forest.

Last Friday ended the week long Earth First! Action Camp. It was my first Action Camp and the experience was amazing. People sharing skills, people teaching each other how to protect forests, people sharing food, people singing together, people hiking together, and people bringing their minds together to share ideas on how to protect what’s most valuable to us: Nature. The week was a success.

I was honored to be a part of such a motivated, loving, and determined group of people. I come from a place where it’s rare to encounter direct action activists, so seeing people getting directly involved invigorates my spirit to keep on pushing forward.

Who will? “Who will?” is the question I continue to ask myself when I think of the endangered forests and threatened animals. Who will stand up for them when these companies fell the land? Who will step up to the front lines when the land is being raped and the environment destroyed? Who will make sacrifices to preserve life? It’s a question that I honestly feel that most of our society doesn’t even bother to consider.

Busy with their daily lives of work, family, friends, material attainment, what have you, this question is eclipsed under the norms of society. The status quo of “who cares about that fucking tree, go get a job!” The general prescription of “Make money by any means necessary and establish yourself. Don’t worry about anything else.” The deeply rooted modality of “look out for yourself and nobody else.”

Sad.

Being here in Humboldt County I’ve witnessed a new paradigm. People who really care about Nature. It’s amazing to see just one person who is willing to take a stand, let alone a dozen at the Action Camp.

I really hope to see more people getting involved and doing whatever they can — in a peaceful, non-violent manner — to preserve that which provides life. To protect Nature is to protect yourself. You’d think such a simple statement would be more readily accepted and understood. But it’s not. We must continue to lead by example and show the world that what’s happened to the forest is not right.

We need more minds. More hearts. More action in the movement. Anyone can help in myriad ways. This movement isn’t solely about tree sitting, but so much more. Any passion or talent you have can be directed towards the aim of protecting Nature.

Help us stop this…

Peace and Love.

The title of the story is “What Now, Treesitter?” That has to be the most unfitting and ridiculous titles for such an article! What now??? Ha!… Do you think that it’s over?

…They won’t be cut, ever. That was the word, delivered in person on Aug. 12 by Humboldt Redwood Co. President Mike Jani, who hiked into the woods to two treesitter villages with his wife and several activists to see the old trees and talk to the treesitters. He told them it wasn’t his company’s policy to cut old-growth trees such as these. He said if they hadn’t sat in these trees, the trees surely would have been cut under the former company’s plan. He shook their hands and said, “Thank you.” Then they all walked around attaching pink “Do Not Cut” tape to the trees…

Here’s the article >>

The Los Angeles Times published a piece on the Humboldt Redwood Company visit to the tree-sits (read article here »). It’s a pretty good article, but, again, I’m concerned about the media casting HRC in too good of a light. Let us hope that HRC’s actions of “saving” old-growth trees can be the impetus for Green Diamond Resource Company and Sierra Pacific Industries to STOP cutting “their” old-growth trees.

The larger issue here, regarding all of these companies, is that they all practice clear-cutting. Clear-cutting must stop. Sure, let’s save the old-growth. But let’s not let the positioning of ” saving old-growth” cloud our aims here. Animals are at stake. Poisonous chemicals are being deployed. Lakes and streams are being destroyed. Fish are suffering. The entire forest is suffering.

The real victory will come when these companies stop destroying the land, not from solely protecting old trees.