[Fwd: important forest info (fwd)]
savage
From: Red Cloud Thunder <redc...@efn.org>
A plea for the Ancient Forest!
I was snug in my sleeping bag in a hanging hut in the ancient forest
canopy
of the rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. And Just before I was
asleep, I
felt a light, shivery weight on my legs. It was ticklish, the way the
little feet quivered with energy, the creature so high on life, on
curiosity, on the will to survive, as it travels the branches in its
nightly forage for food.
Startled by quivering creature contact I shifted and sat up, the rodent
scampered up the tree a ways, but just a little ways. Realizing I had
been
visited by a Northern Flying Squirrel I smiled and bade it good night
and
again nestled down feeling safer and more comfortable in my treetop bed
knowing the natives felt comfortable approaching me. Then it ran up my
body
and welcomed me face to furry face. I think I'm going to stay a while!
Then briefly and tentatively, a flying squirrel sat on my face.
The next morning I watched a pair of these wing-flapped rodents as they
sat
on our porch checking out us and our food. Our food secured in buckets,
they settled on gnawing on newsprint. They looked at us bravely with
black
eyes that said, "okay, you can stay." There is no question who is a
guest
in whose home here.
Have you ever seen a flying squirrel "fly?" A flying squirrel can leap
from
a tree branch and glide up to 200 feet downwards through the canopy to
another tree. They glide on flaps of skin that unfold between their
forearms and their sides. They can steer themselves left and right as
they
glide, and as they land their flaps come all the way out like parachutes
and they land gently and stealthily on a branch. They can also dive-bomb.
I'm sitting 150 feet up between the massive trunks of two magnificent
old
growth Douglas Fir trees and one old Hemlock. This 96 total acres of
publicly owned, rare, low-elevation, old growth forest is slated to be
clearcut by Zip-O-Sawmills of Eugene, Oregon. This timber sale is above
the North Fork of Fall Creek in the Willamette National Forest. Known as
the Clark timber sale, this popular recreation area has been temporarily
spared from logging due to the ongoing attention, which began last April
when a village of treesitters moved into treehouses that reach heights
of
210 feet into the upper canopy. To this day these forest defenders
continue to speak out in favor of a bill introduced in congress to end
corrupt logging on public lands.
These trees were suppose to be cut down last spring by Zip-O-Sawmills of
Eugene, Oregon, but public attention has caused Zip-O to take a wait and
see approach. This area was once set aside and protected as critical
habitat for the Northern Spotted Owl. The Spotted Owl is an indicator
species, which means it's decline is a reflection of the decline of many
other rare, old growth forest dependent species. Even though the Forest
Service is breaking the law by logging US Fish and Wildlife Service
designated "critical habitat;" even though the Forest Service is
breaking
the law by not surveying for rare and sensitive species; the Forest
Service continues to maintain that Congress has given them the authority
to break to break the laws. Congress says this is necessary in order to
put out the annual yield in board feet that it promises to industry.
Since the Northern Flying Squirrel, prime Spotted Owl food is not
considered "threatened," their habitat is considered expendable by
Congress, though the truth is that the unprotected old growth patches of
this forest are one last sanctuary for these beautiful native aeronauts.
And since a squirrel rarely ranges beyond a 30-acre area, these Fall
Creek
flying squirrels certainly will die. We, their human relations, can
help
them by living with them in the trees. You can help us by sending a
message to your federal representatives, to the Forest Service and to
Zip-O-Sawmills. STOP LOGGING OUR PUBLIC-OWNED FOREST LANDS!
I am not uncomfortable or unhappy here on this dark winter night, on a
hanging cushioned platform with a tarp roof, listening to the radio and
writing by candlelight. I am not cold or hungry, there is nothing I need
that I don't have. I don't have any money, but what would I do with that
up here? When I go to bed and blow out the candles, a flying squirrel
might approach me and run across my face. It might even bust into the
flour bag by my head again. I don't mind, I like the little critters.
And as comfortable and happy as I am in their home, I know there are
plenty of other places I could go on this earth and survive. Not so for
the flying squirrels. If we leave their treetop homes, their homes are
coming down. Our departure would leave the squirrels at the mercy of
the
U.S. Forest Service and Zip-O-Sawmill trying to make a quick buck.
And the trees would fall. And the squirrels would fly from tree to tree,
and tree after tree would fall and still they would flee, until nothing
was left but the few sparsely separated trees marked orange in spray
paint
around their trunks, the diseased trees, the dead snags, the "not
suitable
for timber harvest" rejects. But these would be few and far between,
further than a flying squirrel can fly. And there's nowhere to go,
nothing
to eat in the air or on the ground and there are giant industrial
machines
turning and churning all around. The flying squirrels have nowhere to
fly,
and so they die. How could we possibly leave these trees, knowing the
flying squirrels and their plight?
People tell me I'm wasting my time, to get a "real job," to live in the
"real world." But what could be more real than the wind and the rain,
the
sway of a big ancient tree. The mountains in the distance, the red
clouded
sunset, the hoot of an owl or a growl in the night, the fluttery,
fidgety
feeling of furry little feet on my face and in the flour?
By Khaos
Take Action:
1) Please call, write or e-mail your Government representatives and ask
them to stop the corrupt logging program that "manages" our public
lands,
support the National Forest protection Act.
2) Call Zip-O-Sawmills (541-343-7758) and tell them: Don't cut the Clark
Timber Sale!
3) Call, write or e-mail the Forest Service and tell them to shut down
the
Clark Timber Sale! Willamette National Forest: (541-465-6521) 211 E.
7th
ave. Eugene, OR 97440 solson/r6pnw_wi...@fs.fed.us
Chief of the Forest Service Mike Dombeck: wo/c...@fs.fed.us
4) Come live in the trees with us! or send us financial support:
Cascadia
Forest Defenders! PO Box 11122, Eugene, OR 97440 www.ecoecho.org
541-484-2997
Forest Life by Monkey
One issue that I feel is very central to the Fall Creek treesit is the
issue of anarchism. Anarchy is something that doesn't get mentioned
much
when they write about us in the newspapers. There's a few reasons for
this:
1)because it only indirectly pertains to saving trees, 2)because it is
too
complex an issue to reduce into sound bites, and, 3)because the
mainstream
press probably doesn't understand that we are making anarchy work.
So instead of waiting for journalism to come to figure out why its good
to
"smash the state," I'm going to say a few things about anarchy in the
forest. Anarchism is the belief that society can be rearranged in such a
way that authority and coercion no longer exist, or are minimalized. We
need to lessen authority and coercion in order to live fulfilling,
healthy lives.
One thing that sets many anarchists apart from other revolutionaries is
the
belief that the revolution is not a grand apocalyptic moment that we
must
wait for. The revolution exists in every moment of our lives. When I
get up
in the morning and spend my day deliberately doing things that please
me,
when I strive to live instead of merely existing, that is the revolution
happening.
Because revolution exists in the present, not in some mythic possible
future,
it is crucial that anarchists establish autonomous communities and start
figuring out how to live on our own terms now. Fall Creek is such a
place.
The tree village has no leaders, no bosses. No one is in charge,
calling
the shots everything we construct (treesits, road blockades) goes up as
a
result of the collective effort of many people. No one person has more
of
a say about what we should do than anyone else. Instead we all throw in
our input, building on each other's ideas, making sure that everyone
present agrees with decisions we make.(In case you were wondering we
don't
actually go through formal consensus process. Things in the woods are
way too chaotic for that; and besides this is Red Cloud Thunder, not a
Save the Redwoods Campaign!)
Having lived in the forest for a decent amount of time, I would like to
say
that our little anarchist community is a wonderful thing. Years ago I
started exposing myself to anarchist ideas and, at the time, my main
thoughts on the subject were, "Sounds great, but would it (anarchy)
actually work in the real world." Now, having lived in a tree without
authority or coercion, I feel I can safely say, "Yes, anarchy does
work!"
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