Last year over 3000 people came from all over the country to join in Redwood Summer. Before the summer even began, Earth First! organizer Judi Bari was maimed and nearly killed by a car-bomb assassination attempt. Despite our shock and horror at this attack, Redwood Summer went on. Demonstrators chained themselves to logging equipment, sat in trees, blocked logging roads and marched through timber towns to protest the overcut. Despite high tensions and extreme provocation, we maintained our presence and our non -violence throughout the summer, and made history in the redwood region.
Redwood Summer brought national and international attention to the destruction of the redwoods. It has helped bring about a changed political situation in which both timber industry and government officials admit the need for regulation and reform. But the redwoods are still going down at 200% the rate of growth, and 1000 -year old trees are still being cut to pay off junk bonds. We have made a dent in their corporate power, but we need to continue if the forest is to survive.
Conditions in the redwood region are different this year than last, and our actions will reflect that difference. After last year's logging frenzy, the timber companies began massive layoffs, plunging our already desperate communities deeper into poverty. We cannot ignore the economic devastation that comes with cut-and-run logging. So this year, along with our logging protests, we will be emphasizing the Ecotopian concept of sustainable lifestyles. Earth First! will have an ongoing forest restoration project all summer, and we will also sponsor educational events including alternative living workshops and clearcut tours for the tourists.
So you can come any time if you want to work. We need your help, but we don't want to mislead you. We can set you up with a place to stay, but we can't afford to feed or support people all summer. Base camp will only be in operation for Redwood Action Week and Ecotopia Bike Ride.
We also want to emphasize that this is not a picnic. It is a life and death struggle, and the tensions that led to last year's bombing attack (as well as other less publicized attacks) are still here in our communities. If you plan to help us in the redwoods this summer, you must be committed to non-violence. We think it is the only viable tactic if we are to succeed in saving the redwoods without getting hurt or killed.
We are a small rural community under siege by giant corporations. Both the forest and the people who defend it are being attacked. We have made great gains at great expense. But we still need your help to save one of the most magnificent ecosystems on Earth.
If you would like to come to the redwoods this summer, please write or call for more info. We also desperately need funds to pull this all off. Contributions, large or small, can be made out to Earth First!. You can contact us at: Ecotopia Earth First!, 106 W. Standley, Ukiah, CA 95482, phone (707) 468-1660.
June 26 - 30EF! Northwest Rendezvous, in the Siskiyou Mountains of Southern Oregon. Camping, workshops, music, and basic partying.
July 5 - 12Redwood Action Week. Tree-sitting, log-road blockading, and other actions in the forest. Non-violence training and woods action training will be given.
August 17Ecotopia Bike Ride from Willits to Ft. Bragg in Mendocino County., to protest the cutting of redwoods along Highway 20, and to promote alternative transportation,
August 27International Day of Outrage at Maxxam Corporation, who is destroying both desert and forest ecosystems to finance a corporate junk bond scam.
In between, we will respond to forest emergencies as needed, and work on ongoing forest restoration and education projects.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2004
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited