March 17: Long time tree-sitters Remedy and Wren were forcibly removed from the ancient redwoods they were occupying. Remedy hadn't touched the ground in 361 days. Both trees were immediately reoccupied. Humboldt County sheriff's deputies used batons and pepper spray on a crowd of activists on the ground who were protesting the removal of the tree-sitters and Maxxam's liquidation logging practices. Several others on the ground were arrested, including two women who had locked down in an attempt to prevent the extraction of Remedy.
March 18: Tree-sitter Anna Purna was forcibly removed from the old-growth redwood she was defending. Her hands and feet were bound as they lowered her to the ground. The tree was immediately reoccupied, but Pacific Lumber (PL) workers "girdled" the tree, cutting a ring around the tree to sever the living layer, effectively killing the tree. This was done with a tree-sitter in the tree. Anna Purna and several other activists on the ground were arrested.
March 19: Tree-sitter Silver Willow was evicted from the old-growth redwood called Utopia, and the tree was immediately cut.
March 20: A second extraction team went into the tree where Remedy had lived. The tree-sitter, called Mystique, went to the very top of the 200-foot tree to avoid eviction. Although approximately 20 sheriff's officials, Eureka police and CHP officers were there, all refused to witness the extraction. PL's main climber, Eric Schatz, went to the top of the tree after her, where the trunk was no bigger than an average person's arm. He told her that if she fell, he and his team of climbers would testify it was suicide. After she was removed, the tree was topped and limbed. When loggers arrived the following morning, they found the tree occupied once again.
April 10: Hired climbers went up into an old-growth redwood in the same unit where Wren and Remedy had sat. A tree-sitter, Jungle, was locked down out on a branch, 160 feet above the ground. A second forest defender, Phoenix, climbed up and was roughly handled and assaulted by PL climbers, at one point hanging up side down by one leg. The tree-sitters were repeatedly kicked and stepped on, and a tourniquet was used around their legs to cut off circulation. Pain compliance techniques gave way to torture. After the tree-sitters were re-moved, the tree was cut down, and shattered upon impact. The tree offered far greater value by helping hold up a steep hillside in this highly denuded watershed, than by being felled for the few 2 x 4s that could be salvaged from the wreckage.
Freshwater is facing permanent damage due to Maxxam's unsustainable logging practices. Unless they immediately reduce their rate of harvest, the watershed will not recover. Tree-sitters continue to be forcibly removed.
To find out how you can help with the defense of Freshwater and other Humboldt County forests, call the North Coast Earth First! action line: 825-6598. Donations to the Freshwater forest defenders can be sent c/o NCEF!, P.O. Box 28, Arcata 95518.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2003
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited