Cove/Mallard Area of the Nez Perce National Forest, Blockade Attacked
8/20/97
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Headline: Cove/Mallard Area of the Nez Perce National
Forest, Blockade Attacked
Source: The Cove/Mallard Coalition
PO Box 8968
Moscow, ID 83843
(208)882-9755
cove@moscow.com
Date: 8/20/97
Forest Service propaganda is starting to have its
intended effect, as attacks against Cove/Mallard
activists increase. We have met their violence with non-
violence, and will continue to do so. As protesters face
the fear and hatred created by the timber industry and
fanned by the Forest Service, they need your support more
than ever. Read on to the end to find out how you can
help defend Cove/Mallard.
COVE/MALLARD BLOCKADE ATTACKED
Unknown Assailants Set Fire, Hurl Explosive
Third Attack on Protesters in Three Days
The non-violent blockade of the Jack Creek Timber Sale
was assaulted late Monday night. Unidentified assailants
used gasoline to set afire barricades made of logging
debris, and threw at least one small explosive device at
the protesters' camp. No injuries were reported, and the
attackers were allowed to leave without confrontation.
This is the third attack on Cove/Mallard protesters in as
many days. On Saturday, a citizen surveying the Noble
Timber Sale was surrounded by employees of Shearer
Lumber, the private company which is logging the
Cove/Mallard area of the Nez Perce National Forest. He
was threatened, shoved, and struck in the back before
being forced to leave the area.
On Monday, a participant in a protest at the Noble Timber
Sale was kicked in the back by an employee of Shearer
Lumber. Agent Steve Didier, a law enforcement officer
for the US Forest Service who was present at the scene,
refused to take action, even when the victim attempted to
file charges for assault.
"This violence is a direct result of a Forest Service
propaganda campaign," charges activist Greg Mullen of
Moscow, ID. "Although the Cove/Mallard campaign has a
perfect record of non-violence, Ihor Mesczerak
consistently attacks us as 'terrorists'. Yet when
violence is used against us, the Forest Service refuses
to act."
"This sort of violence is part of a deliberate campaign
to stifle dissent," continues a Boise man who witnessed
Monday night's attack. "Shearer Lumber hires workers
from out of state who don't know what's going on here.
The Forest Service tells them we're violent terrorists
who will stop at nothing to steal their jobs, and law
enforcement refuses to investigate the violence that
results. We don't blame the workers- we blame the
federal agencies and timber industry who cynically
manipulate the workers to further their own violent
ends."
Over the last five years, the Forest Service has refused
to take action when protesters have been threatened,
harassed, held at gunpoint, or targeted with gunfire.
The Idaho County Sheriff's Department successfully
prosecuted a Shearer employee for severely beating a
Cove/Mallard protester in 1993, but he received a shorter
sentence than many citizens have received for engaging in
peaceful protests.
It is believed that Monday night's assailants were
employees of Shearer Lumber. The attack was caught on
videotape, which will be provided to the Forest Service.
It is unknown if the Forest Service will take any action.
Citizens have been occupying the Jack Creek timber sale
since July 4th, hoping to prevent one of nine proposed
timber sales in central Idaho's Cove/Mallard wildlands.
The Cove/Mallard timber sales have been marked with
controversy since they were first proposed. Located on
the Nez Perce National Forest, they would carve 145 miles
of roads into a pristine roadless area, in order to log
thousands of truckloads of timber. Forest Service Chief
Michael Dombeck has refused to respond to evidence that
the sales are breaking the law.
***WHAT YOU CAN DO***
1) Forward this message far and wide. If you know anyone
who might be interested, or should be interested, let
them know.
2) Write, fax, or call Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck,
USDA Forest Service, POB 96090, Washington, D.C. 20090-
6090, phone: (202)205-1661; FAX: (202)205-1765. Ask him
why sales in crucial unroaded, wildland habitat are still
being offered on the Nez Perce National Forest.
3) Again, please COME TO COVE/MALLARD!!! Learn about the
ecology, background and politics of Cove/Mallard, explore
the wonders of one of the few truly wild areas we have
left, and become part of the struggle to save the Last
Big Wild! There are many roles to be filled, from
gathering campfire wood and carrying water, to conducting
wildlife and stream surveys, to physically placing your
body in the way of the destruction in the American
tradition of Thoreau, Anthony, and King. All skills are
needed; all skills can be taught. Come for a weekend or
come for the summer, but come to Cove/Mallard, find out
what it's all about, and take a stand for something
that's truly worth defending.