Part One: Craig Rosebraugh- Ecoterrorism, Or Act of Love?
10/27/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Craig Rosebraugh- Saving Earth, One Arson at a Time-
Ecoterrorism, Or Act of Love?
Source: ABCNEWS.com
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: October 27, 1999
Byline: Heather Maher
In the pre-dawn of Oct. 19, 1998, a flame was touched to gasoline-
soaked wood at a ski resort on Colorado's Vail Mountain. The sky lit
up, and five buildings blazed to the ground.
Some 1,200 miles away, Craig Rosenbraugh was asleep.
Hours later, an anonymous source asked him to tell the media the
fires were set by Earth Liberation Front, an underground movement
that uses arson and other illegal acts to advance its agenda of
protecting wilderness from human impact.
Rosenbraugh didn't hesitate. He had already acted as the mouthpiece
for ELF's close ally, Animal Liberation Front and, more importantly,
he felt that the arson was justified.
The arson, Rosenbraugh told reporters, was "not an act of
ecoterrorism, but an act of love."
A SYMPATHETIC ALLY
One year later, Rosenbraugh's opinion hasn't changed. "In my view,
the folks who went in and burned down the buildings at the Vail ski
resort did so to try and stop the continued exploitation and
destruction of our natural environment," he says from the Portland,
Ore., office of the eco-group he founded, Liberation Collective.
Though he denies any knowledge of ELF's plans, Rosenbraugh has become
the de facto spokesman for ELF - the self-described "burning rage
of this dying planet."
"The war of greed ravages the earth. Species die out every day,"
reads a communique from the group. "ELF works to speed up the
collapse of industry, to scare the rich, and to undermine the
foundations of the state."
It's a scary-sounding agenda that endorses anarchy, somewhat
incongruously, in the name of leafy spaces and wildlife habitat. That
goal suits Rosenbraugh, a passionate 27-year-old who doesn't care
about the American dream, and who has been arrested 10 times for
civil disobedience on behalf of animals and the environment.
And like those in the movement he speaks for, arson doesn't make
Rosenbraugh uncomfortable. "It gets to the heart of what these
businesses care about, which is monetary gain," he says. "If you can
hit them hard enough in their pocketbook, perhaps they will stop the
unjust acts that they are carrying out."
WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS
In ELF's view, an "unjust act" was committed by Vail Resorts, a large
development company vilified by environmentalists for its plan to
expand its ski operations in Vail into a tract of untouched
wilderness.
As soon as the company announced the plan in 1993, it met with fierce
opposition. Environmentalists raised legal challenges, rallied public
opposition, and tried to talk the company out of its plans.
But by October of 1998, the last appeal had been turned back, and
clear-cutting was getting under way. Then, while everyone regrouped
and tried to come up with new strategies, ELF simply burned the site
down.
"Putting profits ahead of Colorado's wildlife will not be tolerated,"
read the statement Rosenbraugh delivered. "This action is just a
warning. We will be back if this greedy corporation continues to
trespass into wild and unroaded areas."
MORE SOPHISTICATED, MORE OFTEN
With damages of $12 million, the Vail fires were the costliest
ecocrime in U.S. history. A recent Portland Oregonian study of
suspected ecocrimes in 11 Western states concluded that 100 major
acts since 1980 have caused $42.8 million in damages.
That number is probably low, since tracking ecocrimes is an inexact
science. FBI and U.S. Forest Service personnel confirm that such
incidents are on the rise, but say that even crimes that carry all
the tell-tale signs - a suspicious fire at a sawmill, for example
- are frequently never solved because the perpetrators can't be
found.
WHY THE ECOCRIME WAVE?
Communication is easier: The Internet has given underground activists
an efficient and anonymous way to exchange information and tips.
Stakes are higher: The amount of land left untouched by industry
continues to dwindle; a 1992 congressional report concluded that U.S.
forest plans have "emphasized timber and other commodities while
giving little attention to sustaining ecosystems."
Frustration is higher: As the new global economy devours natural
resources, exasperated environmentalists decide that conventional
protests aren't working.
Indeed, ELF boasts about its ability to elude law enforcement.
"Authorities can't see us because they don't believe in elves," it
declared. "We are practically invisible."
And getting more so, says Ron Arnold, author of Ecoterror: The
Dangerous Agenda to Save the Environment. "[Vail] was an expert job.
They not only have the ability to approach the target secretly,
without detection, they also have the tools of the trade, and much
more sophisticated weaponry, things like accelerants and jellied
gasoline."
MAKING THE POINT, BUT TO WHAT END?
Asked why he acts as an apologist for the group, Rosenbraugh - who
practices traditional activism like sidewalk demonstrations and
school presentations - chooses his words carefully, and draws
parallels to the civil rights movement.
"Anyone interested in positive social change has to realize that
throughout history, every single social movement that has actually
gained success has used a variety of tactics," he says. "Everything
from writing letters to talking to opponents, to - civil
disobedience, to nonviolent direct action, such as economic
sabotage."
Somewhat ironically, the effectiveness of ELF's crimes - which
always target property, not people - is debatable. The outrage from
the mining and timber industries is palpable, but large companies,
like Vail Resorts, often just clean up the damage and resume course.
But so does ELF. In its post-Vail communique, it warned skiers to
stay away from the mountain "for your safety and convenience - until
Vail cancels its inexcusible plans for expansion."
Far from heeding that warning, last month the company announced it
was opening part of the new expansion early. They call it "Blue Sky
Basin." ELF likely calls it its next target.
PLAYING BY NATURE'S RULES
Chances are, you've never heard of Earth Liberation Front. If you
think you have, you're probably thinking of EarthFirst!, a direct-
action group that advocates nonviolent civil disobedience, but from
time to time, engages in the kind of monkey-wrenching tactics that
bring them negative press.
ELF doesn't exist in the traditional sense of other environmental
groups. It is deep underground, with no offices, leaders, or
headquarters. It arose spontaneously in England in 1992, when a few
members of EarthFirst! became frustrated at the group's unwillingness
to use crime to achieve their goal of stopping the march of
development on wilderness spaces.
ELF rejects capitalism and industry in the belief that both are
destroying the earth's ecosystem. Its so-called "elves" use arson,
bombings and sabotage to destroy the infrastructure and machinery of
production.
That sounds ominous, but ELF communiques characterize its actions as
"nonviolent ecotage," carefully planned to avoid injury to humans.
People in the timber industry scoff at the idea of "careful arson,"
but no one has been physically injured by an ELF action.
ELF's use of property destruction as a tactic has given it an outlaw
status not only within the ranks of law enforcement, but also among
environmental groups.
In the year since its arson on Vail Mountain, law enforcement's
suspicion has fallen heavily on Ancient Forest Rescue - an
organization, ironically, founded by activists who wanted to distance
themselves from groups that condone property damage.
Several members of AFR have been subpoenaed and repeatedly questioned
by local and federal authorities. But the case remains open, and no
suspects are in custody.
INVISIBLE "ELVES" OF ELF
"We embrace social and deep ecology as a practical resistance
movement. We have to show the enemy that we are serious about
defending what is sacred. Together we have teeth and claws to match
our dreams." - ELF communique
"I support large scale actions that really hit these businesses where
it matters to them: the bank account. To me, the real criminals are
the folks at Vail who do not see the destruction they're perpetuating
on the environment." - Craig Rosenbraugh