Earth First! - IWW Local #1 was the unofficial name of the Humboldt-Mendocino County General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), cofounded by Judi Bari, Darryl Cherney, as well as a handful of timber workers and Earth First! activists. It was short-lived (approximately five years, from November 1989 - late 1994, but very active in Redwood Summer, Redwood Summer 2, and the Albion Uprising. It was an example of green syndicalism in praxis.
This archive includes a collection of many of the writings of its members and allies (other than Judi Bari, who has her own separate, distinct archive section) and Darryl Cherney's hundreds of songs and song lyrics (which may be added later).
Please note: the inclusion of an author in these archives does not necessarily indicate that they were ever members of Local #1 (nor were they necessarily either Earth First!ers or IWW members generally, for that matter). The writings featured here are included due to their relevance to Local #1, and no political alignment is implied where it doesn't exist.
Index (ordered chronologically):
- Early 1980s: L-P Union Busting and Chemical Warfare
- 1985-88: MAXXAM's on the Horizon
- 1987: The Cloverdale Mill Tree Spiking
- 1988: The IWW and Earth First!, Long Lost "Relatives" Reunite
- 1989: Local #1's Early Organizing
- 1989: The Georgia-Pacific Fort Bragg Mill PCB Spill
- 1990: Redwood Summer
- 1991: Redwood Summer 2
- 1992: Albion Uprising
- 1993-94: Strategic Debates
- 1997: Headwaters Campaign
* * *
Early 1980s: L-P Union Busting and Chemical Warfare
- Don’t Spray My Job - By an unemployed forest worker, Hard Times, Volume 2, #3, October 1982.
- Worker Health and Safety, Woods Workers Warning - By Daniel Faulk, Hard Times, February 1983.
- Mill Workers Exposed - By Daniel Faulk, Hard Times, February 1983.
- IWA Demands Safe Jobs and Clean Water - By Tim Skaggs, Business Agent, IWA Local 3-98, reprinted in Hard Times, February 1983.
- Log Export History: Mill Jobs Exported - By Edie Butler, Hard Times, Vol. 3, #1, February 1983.
- Loggers Defend the Environment - By Ron Guenther, Mendocino Commentary, November 15, 1984 and Country Activist, June 1985.
- In Our Opinion (on Louisiana-Pacific's aerial spraying of 2,4-D) - By Barry Vogel, Mills Matheson and David Drell, Mendocino Commentary, February 21, 1985.
- Korbel Poisoning: Fallacies - By Daniel A. Faulk, Country Activist, March 1985.
- “Sprayed Loggers” Tom Fales, Arlene Rial, Frank Fales, Wayne Thorstrom, Rick Rial, and Rod Cudney - interviewed by Beth Bosk, New Settler, Issue #3, April 1985.
- Coastal Waves: An occasional column by Ron Guenther - By Ron Guenther, Mendocino Commentary, April 18, 1985, and Country Activist, May 1985.
- L-P Boycott to begin with Picket Line - By staff, Mendocino Commentary, April 18, 1985.
- Identifying the Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Part 1 - By Tom Wodetzki, Anderson Valley Advertiser, April 24, 1985.
- Identifying the Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Part 2 - By Tom Wodetzki, Anderson Valley Advertiser, May 1, 1985.
- The Greening of Mendocino - By Bob Martel, Country Activist, May 1985
- On the Garlon Trail: A Visit to L-P Spray Site Reveals Total Forest Devastation, Ineffective Chemicals, Minimal Watershed Protection - By I.M. Green, Anderson Valley Advertiser, June 5, 1985.
- Greens, Loggers, and Woodworkers Blast Louisiana-Pacific’s “Good Neighbor Policy” - By Don Morris, Earth First! Journal, Samhain (Nov. 1), 1985.
Return to Index
* * *
1985-87: MAXXAM's on the Horizon
The venerable Pacific Lumber Company had existed for nearly a century, therefore Maxxam’s raid of Pacific Lumber was a bombshell to Humboldt County. Workers and environmentalists alike revered Pacific Lumber for their reputation for sustainable forestry and better-than-average working conditions. Cecil’s article, however, shows that even pre-Maxxam Pacific Lumber’s reputation was little more than veneer, though by comparison to Maxxam, it seemed utopian. The paternalistic company had fooled the workers into thinking management was their ally—an illusion that was brutally shattered when management sold them out to Maxxam. Likewise, Pacific Lumber’s selective cutting, while certainly less damaging than clear-cut logging, was hardly sustainable. Already, PALCO had been mortgaging their future thus making themselves ripe for Maxxam’s takeover. Without a union to protect them, this left the workers—as well as the old growth redwood stands—high and dry.
Almost simultaneously, Darryl Cherney (who had just recently relocated to Humboldt County from the east coast), Larry Evans, Greg King, and others formed an Earth First! chapter in Southern Humboldt County and immediately began organizing various actions in protest of this takeover, particularly direct actions in the woods (including over a half-dozen tree-sits) and media actions. Meanwhile, the non-profit Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) in Garberville played David to Maxxam’s Goliath on the legal battlefield and mounted a legal campaign against Maxxam’s frequent violation of existing timber regulations. Less than two years after Maxxam’s takeover, Larry Evans, Greg King and others identified and mapped the Headwaters grove which became one of the central parts of the campaign against Maxxam.
- Company Town Threatened - By Ruthanne Cecil, Country Activist, November 1985.
- In Solidarity with P-L Workers - By the Humboldt County Greens, Country Activist, November 1985.
- Heritage in the Balance: 500+ Pacific Lumbers Against the MAXXAM Takeover - Advertisement featured in the Eureka Times-Standard, Sunday, November 17, 1985.
- Maxxam: Ultimate Land Rapers - By staff, Country Activist, June 1986.
- Rainforest Day - By Darryl Cherney, Country Activist, October 1986.
- Trespass into Paradise - By Greg King, Country Activist, December 1986.
- Earth First! to Protest Maxxam Timber Policies - Earth First! Press Release, Mendocino Commentary, December 4, 1986.
- Save The Loggers League (PDF file) - compiled by Darryl Cherney, et. al., Winter 1986/87.
- Earth First! Emerging - By Darryl Cherney, Mendocino Commentary, January 22, 1987 & Country Activist, February 1987.
- Earth First! Protests to Maxxam Shareholders - Earth First! Press Release, Mendocino Commentary, April 2, 1987.
- Timber Barons Challenged by Mass Mailing - Mendocino Commentary, April 2, 1987.
- National Protest Targeting Maxxam Cutting of Redwoods - Mendocino Commentary, May 21, 1987.
- Dave Ziegler: One of 40-100 Protesters at the Maxxam Log Deck in Fortuna - Interviewed by Beth Bosk, New Settler Interview, Issue #21, June 1987.
- (Untitled Earth First! Press Release - June 1987) - By Greg King, Mendocino Commentary, June 4, 1987.
- Earth First! Protests Maxxam Redwood Logging from California to New York City - By Mokai, et. al., Earth First! Journal, Litha (June 21), 1987.
- Tactical Thoughts on the Maxxam Protests - By Socratrees (Darryl Cherney), Earth First! Journal, Litha (June 21), 1987.
- Tame the Savage Timber Beast - By Bob Martel, Country Activist, September 1987.
- Maxxam Sues Protestors; Sally Bell - By Darryl Cherney, Country Activist, August 1987 and Earth First! Journal, Mabon (September 23), 1987.
- Liquidating the Last Redwood Wilderness - By Greg King, Earth First! Journal, August 1, 1987.
- Earth First! Plans Direct Action at CDF Office - Mendocino Commentary, August 27, 1987.
- Live From 150 Feet High - Greg King Interviewed by Socratrees (Darryl Cherney), Country Activist, September 1987.
- Redwood Tree Climbers - By Greg King, Earth First! Journal, Mabon (Sept. 23), 1987.
- Tree Perching, Part 1: Greg King - Interviewed by Crawdad Nelson, New Settler, Issue #24 September 1987.
- Tree Perching, Part 2: Jane Cope; Her Story - Interviewed by Beth Bosk, New Settler, Issue #26, November 1987.
- Tree Perching, Part 3: Tree Climber Dan Collings; His Story - Interviewed by Crawdad Nelson, New Settler, Issue #26 November 1987.
- Tarzan and Jane Swing Through Redwoods Again - By Mokai, Earth First! Journal, Samhain (November 1), 1987.
- Rubber Stamp War - By Darryl Cherney, Country Activist, December 1987.
- Guerilla Tree Planters Invade Maxxam Clearcut - Mendocino Commentary, March 17, 1988.
- New Battles in the Maxxam Campaign - By Greg King and Berberis Nervose – Earth First! Journal, Eostar (March 21), 1988.
- Guerrillas Plant Redwoods - By Berberis Nervose, Earth First! Journal, Beltane (May 1) 1988.
Return to Index
* * *
1987: The Cloverdale Mill Tree Spiking
As of May 1987, the tactic known as “Tree Spiking”—popularized (but not invented) by Earth First! was already controversial. When Cloverdale L-P millworker George Alexander was nearly killed by a bandsaw that had hit a spike in a sawlog, L-P seized the opportunity to discredit Earth First!, even though this tree-spiking incident was clearly not the work of Earth First! or even Earth First! sympathizers. Alexander was not supportive of being used as a propaganda tool by the corporate timber industry (he would later consent to being interviewed by Judi Bari), but the corporate media propaganda did its damage and undermined the coalition building being carried out by Earth First! in northwestern California as early as 1987. It was this incident that touched off the debate about the tactic, and it was this incident that ultimately led to the renunciation of tree spiking in northwestern California.
- Earth First! Didn’t Do It - By Bruce Anderson, Anderson Valley Advertiser, May 20, 1987.
- Why Were Trees Spiked? - By Otter G’Zell, Country Activist, June 1987; reprinted from the Mendocino Country.
- Kenneth O. Smith and Walter Smith: Gyppo Partners, Pacific Coast Timber Harvesting - Interviewed by Beth Bosk, New Settler Interview, Issue #21, June 1987.
- Tree Spiking - By “Nagasaki Johnson”, Earth First! Journal, Litha (June 21), 1987.
- Earth First! Responds to Timber Industry Propaganda Assault - North Coast EF! Press Release, Country Activist, July 1987.
Return to Index
* * *
1988: The IWW and Earth First!, Long Lost "Relatives" Reunite
In many ways, Earth First! is a "cousin", several generations removed, of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
Earth Fisrt! cofounder, Dave Foreman, was directly inspired by the Wobblies (among other sources) for the cultural foundations of Earth First!, but nobody can be entirely certain when IWW members first started discussing Earth First! (for better or worse) among themselves privately.
IWW member, Franklin Rosemont, alluded to ongoing dialog between himself and various Earth Firs!ers, including Roger Featherstone and Dave Foreman, but these wer mostly informal conversations.
In the May 1988 issue of the Industrial Worker, the IWW publically reached out to Earth First! in dramatic fashion. The following articles appeared there, as well as subsequent issues. A great many of them were written by Franklin Rosemont (most of them under various pseudonyms), who edited that publication at the time and went on to revitalize Charles Kerr press with his wife, Penelope Rosemont.
- Tree-Spiking and the Press - A Letter from Barbara Hansen to the Industrial Worker, February 1988
- Fellow Workers, Meet Earth First!: An Open Letter to Wobblies Everywhere - By x322339 (Franklin Rosemont), Industrial Worker, May 1988.
- Earth First!ers, Meet the IWW: Notes on Wobbly Environmentalism - By x322339 (Franklin Rosemont), Industrial Worker, May 1988.
- Spotted Owls and Jobless Workers - By Barbara Hansen, Industrial Worker, May 1988.
- Workers and Wilderness - By Franklin Rosemont, Industrial Worker, May 1988.
- Common Ground - By Randall Restless of Montana Earth First!, Industrial Worker, May 1988.
- Earth First! & the IWW: An Interview with Roger Featherstone - By Franklin Rosemont, Industrial Worker, May 1988, from an interview Conducted March 31, 1988.
- Subvert the Dominant Paradigm! - By Lobo x99 (Franklin Rosemont), Industrial Worker, May 1988.
- Earth First! vs. the Rumor Mongers - By Lobo x99 (Franklin Rosemont), Industrial Worker, September 1988.
Return to Index
* * *
1989: Local #1's Early Organizing
According to legend, Utah Phillips recounted on one or more occasions that Judi Bari announced a workshop (in the “Earth First! Journal”) on the IWW to be held at the conference described in the article below not knowing that the IWW still existed in 1988 (as it does now). Several IWW members connected with Earth First! (including Utah Phillips) then contacted Judi Bari and informed her that the IWW was still functioning and they’d be interested in assisting in the workshop. Judi Bari accepted.
Darryl Cherney recalls this history differently. Prior to the joint IWW – Earth First! issue of the Industrial Worker, Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney both recognized the cultural similarities between the IWW and Earth First!, and when Cherney came across the May 1988 issue of the Industrial Worker, he showed it to Judi. Judi then contacted the IWW and that was followed by the events described below.
According to Gary Cox, A musician friend of Utah Phillips, Dakota Sid Clifford, soon to join the IWW himself, brought him to this conference. After the workshop, at Gary Cox’s urging, Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney joined the IWW (Billy Don Robinson initiated them) despite some initial trepidation about the IWW’s ability to organize timber workers. Little did anyone expect that these initial efforts would be far more successful than imagined.
- Wobs Conduct IWW Workshop at Environmental Conference - Author Unknown, Industrial Worker, October 1988.
- Wobblies & Environmentalists Take on Tree Nazis ... and Win! - by Lisa Loving, Industrial Worker, December 1988; reprinted from the Portland Alliance.
- Earth First! Meets the Wobblies - By Crawdad Nelson, Anderson Valley Advertiser, December 7, 1988.
- Northwest Wobs Call for Support to Keep L-P Mill Open - By Darryl Cherney, Industrial Worker, March 1989.
- An interview: Wobbly Bill Robinson - By Crawdad Nelson, Anderson Valley Advertiser, May 23, 1990.
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* * *
1989: The Georgia-Pacific Fort Bragg Mill PCB Spill
Timber workers in Mendocino and Humboldt Counties had already been subjected to aerial herbicide spraying, toxic chemicals in the mills, and union busting by Louisiana-Pacific and Georgia-Pacific, and residents of both counties had fought long and hard against all of these atrocities. The IWA and Don Nelson had originally fought on the side of the workers and environmental activists in most of these struggles. When the PCB spill happened in the Fort Bragg mill, however, Don Nelson at first ignored it, and then took G-P management’s side in the struggle further advancing in to the abyss of class collaborationism. The workers’ were left to fight this battle on their own.
This incident might have been forgotten and the workers abandoned had Ron Atkinson not known Anna Marie Stenberg, and Stenberg had not been married to Mike Koepf at the time. Koepf wrote the following detailed expose of the incident and helped spark the community of Fort Bragg to fight back when G-P—in a moment of haste, sloppiness, or panic—tried to hide the poisoning of their workers and almost poisoned the entire coastal community.
- At the Mouth of the Hog - By Mike Koepf, Anderson Valley Advertiser, March 15, 1989.
- Letter from OSHA - Sent as a letter to the Anderson Valley Advertiser, by Treva Vandenbosch, March 22, 1989
- Look Them in the Eyes: Health Department Cover-Up - By Mike Koepf, Anderson Valley Advertiser, April 4, 1989.
- No One Has Jurisdiction: Fort Bragg City Council Hears Angry Citizens Denounce Georgia-Pacific’s PCB Spill and Cover-Up - By Bruce Anderson, Anderson Valley Advertiser, April 12, 1989.
- Notice is Served on G-P’s PCB Spill - By Karl Sigurd Leipnik, Anderson Valley Advertiser, May 10, 1989.
- Fort Bragg Mill Workers Want Change - By Mike Koepf, Anderson Valley Advertiser, June 21, 1989.
- GP Workers Want Change: Federal Mediation in Fort Bragg - By Crawdad Nelson, Anderson Valley Advertiser, July 26, 1989.
- Becoming a Non-Person in a Company Town - By Bruce Anderson, Anderson Valley Advertiser, July 26, 1989.
- Workers Of Mendoland Unite! - By Roanne Withers, Anderson Valley Advertiser, July 26, 1989.
- Damage Control - By Michael Koepf, Mendocino Commentary, Nov. 16, 1989.
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* * *
Summer 1990: Redwood Summer
- Environmentalism and Labor: Bridging the Gap - Speech given by Gene Lawhorn at the Public Interest and Environmental Law Conference (ELAW) in Eugene Oregon, March 4, 1990.
- Labor and Ecology - By Chris Clarke, Ecology Center Newsletter [Terrain], September 1990.
- Enviro-Unionists - A Speech by Jess Grant; transcribed by Brian Wiles-Heap from video, Industrial Worker, November 1990.
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* * *
1991: Redwood Summer 2
- Solutions to the Timber Wars - By Darryl Cherney, Anderson Valley Advertiser, June 26, 1991.
- Redwood Summer II Report - By Gary Sargent, Industrial Worker, November 1991.
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* * *
1992: Albion Uprising
- Breaking Ranks - By Ernie Pardini, Anderson Valley Advertiser, July 1992; Reprinted in the Industrial Worker, November 1992.
- An Open Letter to Loggers - By Ernie Pardini, Anderson Valley Advertiser, August 12, 1992.
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* * *
1993-94: Strategic Debates
- The Limits of Environmentalism Without Class: Lessons from the Ancient Forest Struggle of the Pacific Northwest - By John Bellamy Foster, Monthly Review Press: Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, 1993.
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* * *
1997: Headwaters Campaign
- Corporate America Has a Lot to Answer For - A speech given by Jim Hard, director of SEIU Local 1000, AFL-CIO at the Headwaters Rally September 14, 1997.
- Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport - Dan Fortson Interviews Dave Chism and Bob Cramer, The Public Outlaw Show on November 27, 1997, KMUD 91.1 FM Southern Humboldt County, 88.3 FM Northern Humboldt County, and 88.9 FM Mendocino County.
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Last Updated - December 17, 2025.