The Kids in the woodsby Sara JacobelliOn September 15, I was just about the thousandth person arrested (out of 1,033) at the Headwaters protest in the small lumber town of Carlotta, in Northern California, at a rally attended by 6,000 people. This was the largest number of civil disobedience arrests in an environmental action in the United States to date. Every conceivable facet of humanity was represented, from the nose-ringers to the financial district types; families, old-line activists, aging hippies, politically correct yuppies.I was in good company: singer Bonnie Raitt, renegade publisher Bruce Anderson, former US Congressman Dan Hamburg, former punk star Jello Biafra, a Buddhist priest, several rabbis, a retired Los Angeles police officer, and kids as young as eleven years old were among those who crossed the line and got arrested for trespassing on Pacific Lumber property. So many people got arrested, the police ran out of those nifty disposable plastic handcuffs. And it was for a good cause, perhaps the best. To stop the cutting of one of the last stands of old growth redwoods, ancient trees that can never be replaced. There are more than the trees at stake, for this fragile ecosystem is the habitat of the spotted owl, marbled murrelet, coho salmon and other threatened wildlife. Though I do have concern for the displaced timber workers, and I am a strong supporter of labor and unions, I don't think that should be a conflict here. Pacific Lumber managed these forests under a sustained yield program for many generations. The hard and fast clear cutting only began after the crazy "mergers and acquisitions" junk bond mania of the 1980s. The family-owned company was bought out by Charles Hurwitz---a Texas tycoon---and all hell broke loose. The loss of timber jobs is due to irresponsible forestry practices, not environmental activism. Hurwitz did a swindle to the tune of 1.6 billion---Pacific Lumber's corporate parent Maxxam's share of the failure of United Savings Association of Texas in 1988, part of the whole savings and loan scandal. US taxpayers have already absorbed the cost of this and other failed S and L's for a pricey $500 billion. There have been negotiations for a possible "Debt for Nature" swap. In other words, let Charly off the hook, if he'll give the Big Trees to the taxpayers as a preserve or a park. It's a good idea, except Hurwitz and company are only considering a 4700 acre grove, not the whole 60,000 acres. Besides, I can't help but wonder why the guy isn't threatened with having to go to prison. I just saw a welfare mom in a Mendocino County courtroom being handed a pretty harsh jail term for working as a waitress while collecting AFDC. Shouldn't Hurwitz be going to the can? And shouldn't the crazed guy driving a logging truck who purposely hit Sequoia (a middle-aged woman protester wearing an owl suit) go to jail? A police officer witnessed that event, and did nothing. A WEEK AFTER the huge Carlotta protest, I went to the nearby Earth First! base camp, then got to hike back to the woods and meet the tree-sitters and their support teams. The idea is to literally prevent the cutting of an individual tree by keeping someone up in the tree. We had to hike late at night without flashlights, quick and quiet, for there is always the threat of arrest for trespassing on Pacific Lumber land. Despite the seriousness of our mission, there was a feeling of hiding in the forest, playing with your friends, catch me if you can. The woods gang is mostly young, roughly between 16 and 26--and dedicated, idealistic and hopeful, as perhaps only the really young can be. Using mountain climbing equipment, they climb up on ropes, then sit on 2 by 4 platforms, 70 feet up in the air, their gear hung over the sides in sacks. Their support teams, called "affinity groups," sneak in to bring them food and supplies. Other activists are chaining themselves to gates, some are encasing their arms in cement, locked down to barrels, blockading the logging anyway they can. I'll never forget them, those kids in the woods, dressed in camo, silent as elves, with forest names: Air, Anarchy, Nuthatch, Birch, Three, Just, Banana Slug, Coho, Carver, Sin, Pistachio. No matter how many times they get arrested, no matter what happens, even as the big trees are cut down right in front of their eyes, they don't give up. They've been manhandled by the cops and harassed by some of the loggers and townspeople, but they keep fighting. The Humboldt County Sheriff's Department is starting to charge the woods action people with some pretty serious crimes, such as felony conspiracy. In this law and order era of "three strikes you're out," that can be scary. While the rest of us are safely writing letters and articles, signing petitions, sending donations, attending benefits and rallies, think about them sometimes. They're putting their lives on the line. They're putting their bodies on the line. 96% of the old growth redwoods are already gone. It's a real battle to save the last 60,000 acres left. Sometimes I wonder if there's any hope, in this shopping mall, condo, Disneyland, Toys R Us, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, MacDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell world we're living in. But then there's the Kids in the Woods.
SAVE HEADWATERS FOREST! ALL 60,000 ACRES!
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