By Mokai, et. al. – Earth First! Journal, Litha (June 21), 1987
May 17-18: The large crowd swarms around the gate to the log deck. They completely occupy the road, blocking what is probably the world’s major transport route for old growth Redwood. The Humboldt County sheriffs are deployed inside the gate. Suddenly three women leap the barrier, carrying a banner, and head toward the stack of huge logs. The sheriffs sprint to intercept them before the banner can be read. The protesters and police reach the logs at the same time. The cops hit in a flying wedge. Karen Pickett, Berkeley eco-activist, is straight-armed face first against the logs. Sinkyone Warrior Agnes Mansfield is forced to her knees as the sheriff twists her arm behind her back, dislocating her shoulder. Aster Phillipa, Arcata Earth First! coordinator, squirms in her captor’s grip, struggling to spread the banner until a cop pins it under his boot. Other women take advantage of the confusion to climb to the top of the stack. The women dance from log to log, garlands in their hair, as cops pursue them. Later, Sally Bell attempts to leaflet the deputies on “their” side of the fence. She is thrown to the ground. A cop twists her arm behind her back, and steps on her back. Viewing these women violated, so tiny among the massive boles of the ancient, now horizontal forest, I wonder about the petty men who call us terrorists.
This action is part of the simple plan of a determined group—to stop the cutting of all old growth, and alert the world to the old growth issue through the controversy surrounding the liquidation by Pacific Lumber (P-L) of 40,000 acres of old growth Coast Redwood, almost 40% of that remaining in the world. At the heart of these forests is an estimated 6,000 acres of virgin Redwoods, including one 2,800-acre grove spanning a headwaters. These remote, roadless Redwood islands are under attack from a high-finance pirate band called Maxxam. After illegally taking over P-L, Maxxam, with the complicity of the California Department of Forestry (CDF), embarked on a military-like cutting frenzy. Clearcuts of virgin groves, and removal of all old growth remaining on lands recently selectively cut, are the tactics. This, coupled with deforestation of P-L’s vast second growth holdings, could punch a hole in the fog belt between Humboldt Redwood Park and Redwood National Park big enough to endanger all protected Redwood habitat. It could also choke with sediment the mouth of the Eel, already California’s most sediment-laden river.
We began planning months ago, Contacting EF! groups in New York, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, for a coordinated day of direct action. We networked throughout our region. Darryl Cherney and Greg King cultivated media contacts they had gained on our previous demos in San Francisco at P-L headquarters and at a local mill.
Research of Timber Harvest files and aerial photos enabled us to explore and map the most sensitive areas. In April we published a 12-page tabloid, exposing CDF’s role in the destruction of the world’s largest unprotected redwood habitat. Our work in alerting the public to comment on Timber Harvest Plans (THPs) had already caused major revisions and withdrawal of illegal plans—plans like those routinely approved at the beginning of the takeover. As P-L scrambled to make their THPs lawsuit proof, cutting continued feverishly on approved plans.
We decided to take a large group to PL’s largest old growth log deck and blockade their main haul route. To give the action staying power, we planned a tree occupation in one of the active plans dubbed “All Species’ Creek.” After networking with the Nomadic Action Group, we were in the woods on Sunday, May 17, 1987.
Five tree sitters were ready. To set the platforms required spur climbers. Our team was comprised of Darryl Sukovitzen, tree surgeon, of the Dubrova grove action in Sonoma County; an Oregon EF!er; and myself. At the site, Darryl swarmed up a large tree near a giant. I had only gained 30 feet on the spongy, spur-defying bark of my tree when the sound of a rig arriving under us startled me. Two workers had discovered us, scattering our ground crew. Conferring with the two tree sitters below, we decided I should back down, and help them set up in the trees which the other spur climbers were climbing. As I coiled my rope, Darryl kept the loggers slack jawed with an amazing aerial traverse from his tree to the giganto.
Both spur climbers fixed girth hitches with webbing, set climbing ropes, and rappelled down. The sitters began their descents. I hurriedly tied gear to Larry Evans’ platform and attached it to the rope. Darryl was already in another tree. Unfortunately, everyone else was hiding. I went looking for tree sitters. When I found them, up the hill, we could see P-L security arriving below. We began hauling equipment out of the area, evading security as they combed the woods. (EF! attitude: don’t stop when they yell “halt” unless they are armed cops in full line of sight.)
I watched through binos.[1] The climbers were like little nodules on the sides of the trees, giving perspective to the trees’ immense size. Darryl stood in his spurs 150 feet off the ground, P-L security at the tree’s base. Larry was up at l20 feet, in his stirrups and harness attached to the rope with climbing aids. P-L security had intercepted his platform. Kurt Newman had raised his platform 60 feet up his tree. As the day passed, they developed a “good” protester, “bad” protester dynamic with the loggers below. Kurt goaded the loggers into cutting them down. Larry talked no crap forestry, and impressed them with his endurance. Darryl told off color jokes.
The sheriffs arrived and split up in teams returning later with a ground person and gear. They unfurled the 30 foot “Save the Redwoods” banner on the mad. The graphic banner “Stop Maxxam”, replete with blood-spattered skull and crossbones, had them silent and pensive.
The arrival of a police blazer on the other side of my bush forced my retreat, but I returned later. Larry was coming down. After a Herculean effort, the cold was proving too much. He surrendered. A generator roared and the forest was illuminated by floodlights. A spotlight hit Darryl’s tree. He was gone! During the diversion, he had jammed it into the canopy. He made a bosen’s chair from his rope, and persevered until midnight, when the cold forced him down too.
Kurt was warm in his down, but the loggers were building a road to his tree. They were ready to bring in a crane. As Kurt parlayed with the sheriff to gain time, the loggers shot at him with slingshots.
At dawn a spur climber was sent up. Setting up a banner would involve preventing this dude from interfering. Kurt’s rock climbers’ safety ethic prevailed; he surrendered. A few hours later, 150 people gathered in a car caravan. As we approached the log deck, the absence of log trucks struck us. The deck was shut down! In an effort to prevent a photo of a blockaded, bannered log truck, they stopped work for the day … Bewildered workers were turned away by cops.
A festive atmosphere prevailed. EF!ers reveled in marimba music, and spoke with non EF! locals with eyes full of awe at our having stopped the trucks.
It was a successful action: 13 local arrests, five more in Mill Valley, where 800 pounds of tree stumps were cemented in front of P-L’s sales office door. In New York Earth First!’s first action, demonstrators picketed Drexel-Burnum offices. In Washington. DC, the Security Exchange Commission was leafleted. In Los Angeles, the Earth Goddess took a redwood sapling to Maxxam / P-L headquarters. At CDF’s THP mill in Santa Rosa, EF!ers made their views known. Our power is obvious. We shut them down for a day just by saying we’ll be there. The Sheriffs’ department set up road blocks and threatened to arrest media trying to approach the tree-sit. The judge disqualified himself from the blockaders’ trial, and we gained national news with a report on the “Today Show.”
Our issue will be heard. As I left All Species’ Grove a few nights later, I heard a male Spotted Owl call and a female respond. I wonder, will it be in time?
Los Angeles - by Peter Bravier
On May 18—the day of the multi-city coordinated Humboldt action—LA Earth First!ers stood in front of the MCO offices (Maxxam / Pacific Lumber) holding banners to contest the destruction of the North Coast forests. Denise Conway-Mucha, dressed of Mother Earth in winding vines over her dress, tried to carry a baby Sequoia Redwood in a bucket into the offices of those now lining the North Coast clearcutting machine. She was prevented, however, and to push an arrest would have been fruitless with no media recording our lonely vigil.
Texas - by Jean Crawford
The Texas action against Charles Hurwitz and Maxxam took place far from the mist-wreathed redwoods on the Northwest Coast. Our action was in hot, smoggy Houston surrounded by concrete buildings—so we took the forest with us, in the form of cardboard redwoods and three living cedars. Our eco-defending trees bore signs and our “forest” was accompanied by 15 Earth First!ers. They included an outraged lumberjack, Bob Gartner, who strode up and down the sidewalk shouting that Hurwitz was destroying America! We planted ourselves in front of MCO Plaza and committed telling Houston that this was the home for an ecocidal vampire.
Traffic was thick so the passers-by got a good look at us. Some folk were amused, some were angry, but many were supportive. Suits and secretaries descended from the MCO building to gawk at and talk with us. We explained our objection to ancient trees being sacrificed to Hurwitz’ greed.
Three spokespeople, Lisa Henderson, Sedge Simmons, and myself tried to deliver a message to the Vampire’s office. The armed guards wouldn’t let us in the building; they said Mr. Hurwitz didn’t want to see us!
After our attempt at “civilized” communication failed, the trees held a tribunal. Hurwitz was represented by a dummy labeled “Charles Hurwitz —Corporate Vampire.” He was found guilty of Crimes of Nature. The trees were certain that he believed in the Golden Rule, so they did to him what he was doing to them—they chopped him down! We finished by chanting at the building, “Charles Hurwitz, you can’t hide, we charge you with arborcide.”
New York City - by Matt Meyers
On May 18, 1990 the New York City chapter of Earth First! became reality. The issue that brought us together was the clearcuttiug of (California old growth Coast Redwoods by Maxxam Corporation. Together with Earth First!ers in six other locations—Humboldt County, Mill Valley, Santa Rosa, and Los Angeles, California; Houston; and Washington, DC—we joined in a national day of protest against Maxxam’s ecocide of the redwood forests which Maxxam grabbed from the Pacific Lumber Company two years ago,
NYCEF! protested on Park and Madison Avenues. For the first time in NYC politics, redwood trees carried signs on behalf of their sisters and brothers in California. We were also dressed as owls and other non-human species facing extinction due to the clearcutting of their habitat.
Two weeks prior to our demonstration at their headquarters, Maxxam left town moving to their “parent” headquarters in Los Angeles. We celebrated our city ridding itself of Maxxam, by marching over to an office of Drexel, Burnham, Lambert—the investment banking firm who issued the junk bonds that allowed Maxxam to take over Pacific Lumber. Future deep ecology picket lines are planned for Drexel’s main office. The demo on brought together sisters and brothers from Greenpeace, The Greens, Rainforest Action Network, Big Mountain Support Community, as well as Long Island and NYC Earth First!
Guided by the slogan “Wall Street Out of the Wilderness” we Earth First!ers in New York City have finally come together and found a mission.
Footnotes:
[1] Binoculars.