Handout 9: Pacific Northwest

Figure 1. Forest types, illustrating the fine detail of the Pacific Northwest

Figure 3. Ages and sizes of mature trees in several PNW species

California redwood Pacific yew

Douglas fir Grand fir

Figure 4. Example of a tree-age mosaic created by fires 50, 100, 250, and 300 years ago.

Figure 5. Logging railroad, Grays Harbor, Washington ca. 1890.

Figure 6. How to cut a big tree in the PNW, ca. 1900.

Figure 7. High lead yarding: how to get the log from stump to railroad.

Figure 8. Trucks replace rail ca. 1940.

Fig 9. Timber production 1980-1992.

Figure 10. Change in forest cover, 1972 – 1988.

Figure 11. Marbled murrelet only nests high in old-growth trees.

Figure 12. Pink and coho salmon: two typical old-growth forest species.

Figure 13. Ranges of three spotted owl species.

Figure 14 a. PNW timber production 1980 – 1992.

Figure 14b. PNW timber industry employment 1970-1993.

Earth First philosophy (taken from the Earth First web site 3/5/03)

We see the war against nature intensify year by year. The air that we breathe poisons us. The

very life-support systems of the earth are under daily attack. The ozone shield that protects us is

ripped apart. The climate is starting to go haywire. Grinding, tedious work and consumer culture

dominate our lives; we feel more and more like machines. Vibrant life is replaced by cold

concrete.

direct action, noun

1 : action that seeks to achieve an end directly and by the most immediately effective means, as

boycott or strike.

Date: 1912

Direct Action is the only way

Earth First! means putting life first. Ecology and the teachings of pre-civilized societies tell us that

the earth is one living organism, and that humanity is as much a part of it as any other species.

Conventional 'green' campaigning is not enough to stop the destruction that is happening.

Politicians and companies ignore letters, petitions and public enquiries; they reject overwhelming

evidence because it goes against their interests. Conventional campaigns are all too often

narrow, and are seen as single issues; the scale of change needed is forgotten. While the world

burns, environmentalists debate recycling beer cans.

EF!ers believe that the situation we face is so serious, and the changes demanded by it so

massive that the only solution is for people to take their future in their hands and physically halt

further destruction of nature, while creating a classless ecological society which will transcend the

present one.

Most green groups have a corporate structure based around a central office, often in London. EF!

believes that one of the main causes of ecological destruction is the domination of the majority by

elite groups. For this reason, there are no hierarchies in our movement. EF! has no central office,

no paid workers, no decision-making bodies, and is not even an organization in the normal sense

of the word. EF! is a network of autonomous local groups (around 60 in the UK) who decide for

themselves what campaigns they run and how they run them. Power-seekers take heed and look

elsewhere. Figure 15. Statement of philosophy of Earth First.