November
2001
Editorial:
Who’s the Terrorist?
By Catherine Clyne |
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It was a late October night, pitch black, deep in an
Oregon state forest when he fell, some 60 feet from his perch high in
a hemlock tree. For two days, crowds of authorities, including state
troopers, local sheriffs, Oregon Department of Forestry representatives,
and loggers—even a SWAT team at one point—used aggressive
and dangerous scare tactics to force the environmental activist to come
down. Tre Arrow was risking his life to protect trees on public land
from the saw, tree-sitting in a 40-acre area known as God’s Valley
in Tillamook State Forest. Men on the ground felled nearby trees, used
harsh lights and blared loud music to keep him awake while professional
climbers scaled neighboring trees in an effort to scare him down. Other
tree-sitters and activists on the ground were arrested. In all the confusion,
Tre ended up falling, breaking his pelvis, fracturing several ribs as
well as his skull, puncturing a lung, dislocating his shoulder and suffering
torn ligaments. He is very very lucky to be alive.
One of Tre’s greatest frustrations is that Governor John Kitzhaber
is not holding anyone accountable for putting people’s lives at
risk; for valuing the bottom line more than human life. In the controversial
Acey Line Timber Sale, the Oregon Department of Forestry sold logging
rights to 124 acres of state forest to Christian Futures—a commercial
interest profits by destroying public land at the expense of taxpayers.
As Tre points out, the Department of Forestry ends up losing money from
the boondoggle because in the bargain, they end up footing the bill
for developing the roads used to haul out logs.
Before the public comment period for the Acey Line Sale had finished,
loggers had begun to collect their bounty. So, activists moved in to
prevent them from destroying some of the last remnants of near-native
forest in the Northwest Coast region. This area is the residence of
cedars and Douglas firs and endangered species like the spotted owl
and marbled murrelet. Some of the trees are 500 to 700 years old and
are eight to ten feet in diameter.
Under the rubric of forest “management,” commercial logging
interests may cut down trees to allow sunlight in to help new trees
grow. The reality is that all of the trees in a given area are eventually
cut down, as has happened in many similar cases.
Some people scoff at tree-huggers, saying that they are overly romantic
and out of touch with reality; that they are more interested in narcissistic
stunts, like tree-sits, than they are in the well-being of their fellow
humans. The truth is, tree-sitters are acutely aware of the high stakes
involved in the day-to-day destruction of our planet. Although it isn’t
immediately apparent, they know that the destruction of trees compromises
the symbiotic nature of the surrounding ecosystem, causing the destruction
of dependent wildlife. The damage not only affects the creatures living
in the immediate area, it affects our daily lives as well. Cutting trees
causes soil erosion, which contaminates our drinking water and causes
landslides. Trees purify the air that we breathe; cutting them down
lessens the quality of the oxygen we need. These activists know that
everything is interconnected. As Tre puts it, “When we destroy
the environment, we’re destroying ourselves.”
So, who do I think is more committed to my well-being? Someone wielding
a buzzsaw to render ancient trees on publicly-owned land into paper
pulp and profiting from it? Or those intrepid souls who see the connections
and are brave enough to put their lives on the line to keep us from
wiping out our planet altogether?
This aggression by authorities against Tre sets a dangerous precedent
for activists or anyone dissenting the idea that corporate interests
are more important than the well-being of our planet. Sadly, logging
has commenced in another section of the Ace Line Sale and more tree-sitters
are being harassed and their lives endangered.
After Tre recovers, he plans to get right back up in those trees. Aside
from tree-sitting yourself, Tre encourages people who want to help to
adopt a vegan diet to minimize the negative impacts that meat-eating
has on the animals and our planet. He also feels that such a diet is
the best thing to keep activists clear and focused. Tre asks that people
call Gov. Kitzhaber at (503) 378-3111 and urge him to stop the logging
of the Acey Line Timber Sale and all old growth forests in the Coast
Range. Ask Gov. Kitzhaber to launch a criminal investigation into the
actions of the ODF and local law enforcement agencies and drop all charges
against the activists arrested at Acey. Finally, Tre encourages people
to send donations to help support the efforts of the tree-sitters, who
need food, water and equipment to keep them going. To learn more about
environmental actions in Oregon and how to help, visit the Cascadia
Forest Alliance at www.cascadiaforestalliance.org
or contact Donald Fontenot at (503) 232-0272.
My thanks to Robert Miller for information about Tre Arrow’s case.
