Protesters in Oregon Take to the Trees to Save Old-Growth Forest
12/5/98
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Title: Protesters in Oregon Take to the Trees to Save Old-Growth Forest
Source: The Associated Press
Status: Copyrighted 1998, contact source to reprint
Date: 12/5/98
FALL CREEK, Ore. (AP) -- It's cold and wet up there, but 200 feet
high in four Douglas fir trees eight protesters are perched in a
"tree village" to protest a sale of old-growth timber.
The group calls itself Red Cloud Thunder, and members built the
interconnected tree houses last April just above Fall Creek about
35 miles southeast of Eugene.
The tree village was constructed to protest the 96-acre Clark
Timber sale, part of the Northwest Forest Plan, auctioned to
Eugene-based Zip-O Log Co. in March, said Dean Rimerman, one of
the group's founders.
The village has been a source of confrontation with the U.S.
Forest Service. It is part of a growing trend of environmental
activists taking extreme measures.
Any base camps used by protesters and supporters are quickly
disassembled by Forest Service officers. Officers tell protesters
that they are breaking federal law by inhabiting the trees and by
building in the national forest, spokeswoman Sue Olson said.
"Our approach on how to deal with the situation hasn't changed
over time," said Olson, who said bad weather has increased concern
about the tree protest. "Safety has always been our first
consideration."
Olson said Forest Service climbers will not go up and attempt to
bring down the protesters.
The protest centers not just on the timber sale, but protesters'
beliefs that their opinions about the logging old growth trees
don't matter, said Rimerman.
"The Forest Service is unwilling to take into regard popular
public opinion," Rimerman said. "People don't want the ancient
forest cut."
After exhausting legal options, he said, the choice was to take a
"no compromise" position in the trees.
He said Red Cloud Thunder wants to draw attention to what the
group claims is a lack of adherence to the Northwest Forest Plan,
including a "completely lacking survey for endangered animals."
Protesters have reported endangered red tree voles, flying
squirrels and spotted owls, none of which were documented in the
Forest Service 1996 biological survey of the parcel.
So the forest dwellers, who range in age from 15 to 40, have
settled into the woods.
They have named each tree in the grove. Members have a
deep-throated call when they want to communicate. Their skin
coated with dirt and their clothes tattered, they say this is the
kind of family they like.
But there is little peace, as the protesters wait to see what the
Forest Service will do next.
As winter settles in, the protesters say they have no intention
of abandoning their plywood-and-tarp dwellings.
"We're stronger than ever," said Rimerman, who came to Oregon
from California's Bay area.
One 35-year-old protester calls himself "Pacific," citing the
need to use a "woods name" to avoid legal consequences. Pacific
wears camouflage clothing and has painted his face green to better
hide in the woods. Though he spends most of his time in the
forest, Pacific said when he is in town, he hears strong support.
Rimerman said the group has had no trouble getting supplies and
gear from Eugene residents.
"We can stand in front of a local natural food store for two
hours and have $50 in cash and big box of healthy food," he said.
Since April, hundreds of tree-sitters have inhabited the village
at about eight at a time.
Climbing ropes between the four structures serve as a midair
walkway, allowing travel from tree-to-tree with the use of
harnesses and clamps. A propane stove is used to cook. Buckets
hoist water and lower wastes.
Olson is frustrated because the group did not organize to oppose
the sale during hearings last year.
Doug Heiken, of the Oregon Natural Resources Council, said his
organization tried to stop the sale through legal and procedural
means. The council is suing, alleging the failure of the Northwest
Forest Plan in general, he said.
"The Clark sale is a good example of the many problems in the
plan," he said. Those include lack of legitimate endangered
species surveys and lack of protecting steep slopes and wetlands,
he said.
Heiken added that though he worries about the safety of the
people in the trees, he supports the principles they are fighting
for.
"This parcel is close to Fall Creek; it's close to Eugene; so
many people come out and enjoy it," he said. "And it's a cathedral
to these young people."
Copyright 1998 Associated Press.