Blockade Halts Hauling at Fiddler Timber Sale

Hauling was halted this morning at the Fiddler timber sale after a blockade was placed on Eight Dollar Road at the boundary of the area closure issued this week by the Bureau of Land Management. The first logging truck arrived before 3:30 am, encountering an installation that included a person hanging in a 'bi-pod' approximately twenty-five feet above the center of the road. Two poles supporting the person in the platform angled outward from a Volvo sedan set sideways across the road. A cable lead downward from the top of the poles through the sunroof of the vehicle, providing a point of tension that could not be disturbed without endangering the suspended activist.

The man in the pod identified himself as "Erif" (fire spelled backwards) and sent down a statement that said "The reason why I'm up here is so people see people standing up in non-violent, no-compromise direct action against the timber industry."

Beneath the pod a banner read 'THESE FORESTS NEED FIRE, NOT THE REMOVAL OF OLD GROWTH'. By daybreak at least four logging trucks sat idle in front of the blockade and the area was taped off as a crime scene. Around 35 supporters cheered on the dangling activist from the police line. By 8:30 am the police brought in a cherry picker and Erif climbed down voluntarily. His action stopped log hauling for nearly five hours. An arbitrary arrest was made before dawn when police took a man into custody who was sitting nearby playing a drum. The drum was confiscated as evidence.

This is the latest action is a sustained campaign of civil disobedience that is drawing national attention to the issue of post fire logging. The majority of Americans are opposed to the continued logging of native and old growth forests on public lands, yet the US Forest Service continues to undermine the process of public participation while catering to the demands of the timber industry. A Temporary Restraining Order before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals could shut down all logging in the Biscuit fire area as soon as today, and a case underway in another court is seeking a Preliminary Injunction to do the same. Meanwhile, loggers are being allowed to fell trees at a frantic pace before federal courts can rule on the legality of this project.

For ongoing coverage please visit the Rogue Valley Independent Media Center, at www.rogueimc.org.

For background information or to get more information about this multi-faceted campaign, visit www.cascadiarising.org and www.siskiyou.org.

Posted by Oso at March 24, 2005 10:13 AM | Category(s): Biscuit Fire Campaign