Forest Defenders

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.

Download and listen to KMUD Radio Interview

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

Timber Harvest Plan: 1-08-041 HUM

On section II “Plan of Timber Operations” of Humboldt Redwoods Company’s recently approved THP, Sept. 30, 2008, it clearly states that HRC intends to clearcut 122.7 acres with an Evenaged Management Silviculture Method.

See for yourself:

HRC's plan to clearcut 122 acres

As my friend Jeff stated: “HRC came to Humboldt to make money.” With all the recent media hype aggrandizing HRC’s logging practices, people have come to believe that HRC came here to protect the forest. But at the end of the day, they came here to make money. And I’m not going to sit here and ignorantly state that companies don’t have a right to make money. They do. I don’t hate capitalism. I hate destructive logging practices.

UPDATE [10.21.08]: This discovery I made about clear cutting made it back to President of HRC, Mike Jani. I have been told by 2 credible sources, last week, that he has corrected the “mistake.” And that there are plenty more “mistakes” to correct in more THPs.

Mr. Kramer plans to turn the fecund, beautiful, and diversity-rich North McKay Tract into this:

• 64 “workforce” apartments
• 32 “affordable” single family parcels
• 46 “townhouse” units
• 64 “condominium” units
• 114 single family units
• 1.8 acre of neighborhood commercial space with “affordable” apartments
• 30 acres of open space

If this plan goes through, Cutten and Eureka would be a mess at the expense of one of the most diverse tracks of land remaining in Humboldt County. The McKay Tract deserves to be a fully protected Neighborhood Park, such as Arcata’s. With sustainable selective logging, the town of Eureka could financially benefit indefinitely. If rezoning is allowed, no one will benefit except Green Diamond Resource Company.

Endangered Northern Spotted Owls, bears, deer, salamanders, fox, mountain lions, etc.. are all at risk of losing their home. Please take a stand and help us stop this plan. Development is not an option!

Download full plan for further details:
North McKay Tract Rezone Plan

Join the party and jump for joy that Hurwitz is finally out of here! This Saturday is the celebration. View the site for more details.

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.

Okay, so Green Diamond Resource Company is playing chess, not checkers like the now defunct Pacific Lumber Company. This company is actually thinking! Wow, amazing, eh. Or… maybe things aren’t what they appear to be…

Green Diamond has strategically (re: new markers) placed “Wildlife” markers on various old growth trees throughout the McKay Tract 60 acre THP (McKay-09) which is scheduled to begin “not before February 2009.”

Obviously the lines of communication are weak throughout the company, due to the fact that on Saturday August 23rd a Green Diamond forester placed a wildlife tag on a tree known as Millenia that sitters had been occupying; the forester looked up and acknowledged the tree sitters as they yelled “Hello!”

On August 28th the North Coast Journal published a story about the Green Diamond tree sit in which, Neal Ewald, Vice President of the Timberlands Division, had no idea about the tree sitters: “…was surprised to hear of the treesit. Ewald said he couldn’t remember the last time his company had had treesitters.”

Now why wouldn’t the Green Diamond forester notify anyone about the tree sitters? How peculiar…. And why is Green Diamond now going back and marking new wildlife trees after they already stated in their THP that “91 Wildlife trees have been marked in clear cut areas?”

Does anyone know the legalities of marking a wildlife tree, then removing it to cut the tree? Is this a possibility?

Is it because they, too, are trying to ride the wave of all the media hype that Humboldt Redwood Company is now receiving about “saving” old growth trees? Do they also want to save old growth and just not declare it so? Was marking the trees a subterfuge to use tree sitters as a tool to go running to the media screaming in joy: “YAY!!! Green Diamond is not cutting old growth!!”

Not sure. But it lends way to an interesting situation. As far as I’m concerned Green Diamond is the new Pacific Lumber if they are still cutting old growth. And ALL the companies are equally destroying nature if they continue to clear cut and use ridiculous loopholes of Habitat Conservation Plans (ha, what a joke!) to kill endangered and threatened species.

But you know what…. the CDF (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) is the ROOT of the problem because they are giving these companies the key — the green light — to commit these atrocities on Nature. CDF, no worries, we haven’t forgotten about you.

The battle continues…. It never stopped!