By Otter G’Zell – Country Activist, June 1987; reprinted from the Mendocino Country
As everybody in Northern California must know by now, the conflict of interests between logging companies and residents has recently been escalated into a potentially deadly battle with the recent episode of tree spiking along the Cameron Road out of Elk, which resulted in severe injuries to a worker at Louisiana-Pacific’s Coverdale sawmill on May 8, when the band saw on the headrig shattered upon contact with an 11” timber nail. 23-year-old mill worker George Alexander was struck in the face by a 15 ft. long piece of the demolished saw, which split his jaw bone, knocked out several teeth, and cut two jugular veins. Though George has now been released from UC Med Center to convalesce at home, he will still need extensive plastic surgery.
Two other spiked trees from the same logging operation have also turned up at the Cloverdale mill, but as yet no further accidents have occurred.
Massacre
One eight-year resident of Greenwood Ridge told Mendocino Country: “Like a lot of people I hate to see LP come in and buy out Masonite, who used to own the land all around this area. Masonite was pretty careful about their logging. It was well planned out. But L-P has just done a massacre on Cameron Road. Many people were upset with cutting where they’d come here for a peaceful and scenic place to live. People are very peaceful around here; there have been no group actions, no demonstrations, no protests. We used to feel we could talk to Masonite, but L-P seems like a big corporate giant, completely unresponsive. Now there’s a constant stream of logging trucks along Greenwood Road.
It’s 18 miles between highway 1 and 128, and it’s a narrow curvy road. It’s really scary, especially at tourist season, since the beach at Elk is now a state park. I’m concerned about tourists in RV’s meeting some of those long logging trucks taking a wide curve...”
Mark Hughes, who lives on Carmeron Road, said: “We’re really shocked. I’ve lived here 17 years and never seen anything like it. I drive down the road and hardly recognize it. I can see clear to Covelo through the clear cuts and skid roads. Loggers usually leave a buffer stand along the roads, but here there are just stumps. They’re taking out anything over six inches, leaving nothing but straggly little twigs. Here you buy this beautiful scenic property, surrounded by trees, and all of a sudden you find you’re living in the middle of a wasteland.
“But as for spiking, we think that’s a terrible thing, as bad as the clear cutting. That’s not the right way to go about it”
“DV,” who describes himself as “a long-time mountain man,” reminded Mendocino Country that logging employees themselves spiked hundreds of trees in 1940 during the union wars. Those trees are still out there somewhere, and many other trees contain overgrown foreign objects: old nails, fencing, insulators, etc. He said that “CDF is currently taking out a grove of spiked trees in the North Fork of the Eel River, right above Soda Creek, just off the county road.
They started cutting two weeks ago. They know it’s been spiked and they’re taking it out (regardless). Where are they going to mill those trees? CDF, Deukmejian—they ought to be sued for violating their oath of office to protect the environment! They’re destroying the land! Spiking is an act of individual response, and it’s up to each and every individual to live with their conscience of the consequences brought by their actions and the place they have come to. They’re taking their spirit and laying it on the line, because nothing else works.”
Loony Operation
Don Morris, an Earth First!er from Willits, told Mendocino Country that “the object of spiking would be to prevent trees from being cut. You’d notify the logging operation, mill and media, or there’d be no point to it. Spiking is not done just flippantly. If people have trouble with a timber sale, they should first go through legal processes. Earth First! does not advocate tree spiking; that’s an individual decision. In fact, speculation is that these trees were spiked on the deck at the site…LP cut right up to the road, and a whole lot of people there are really mad.
This is obviously not an Earth First! operation; we’d recommend approaching the Board of Forestry, suing LP…This is a loony operation. Earth First! goes overboard on security, safety, making sure people know of dangers. Spikers [are supposed to] paint a white “S” on trees with a spray can.
No Deterrent to Logging
So what has been the response of LP to this episode, and how will they deal with the threat of spiking in the future? Glennys Simmons told Mendocino Country: “We thought long and hard about revealing this spiking incident. We decided it would be in our best interests to go public, to deter others. We’re concerned about the safety of our employees.
We waited until all the data were in before reporting, to see if evidence indicated intentional vandalism. The Sherriff thought we should go public. We’re offering a $20,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of whoever committed this crime. This is punishable by up to three years imprisonment, and three more years will be added if Barry Keene’s SB 1641 passes; this was just amended May 18.”
Mendocino Country asked Glennys how LP would have handled the threat of spiking if they had received warnings. She replied: “We’d have gone over the trees with metal detectors to remove the spikes, after cutting them down anyway. This is no deterrent to logging.” But what about non-metallic spikes, such as ceramic, which are reportedly being used to avoid metal detection? After a short silence, Glennys said, “We’d be in a world of hurt. Some-body could get seriously hurt. We’d still log the area. That’s not going to deter us from logging, which is the whole idea behind spiking.”
And what sawyers would cut trees they know may be spiked, and what mill workers would stand by and watch them go through the saws, knowing that at any time the saw may shatter on an undetectable ceramic spike, sending lethal pieces of jagged metal flying about the room? Is LP really responsive to public concerns? Could public posting of planned timber harvests open dialogue and defuse lethal frustrations? How far are desperate individuals willing to go when they feel they are fighting for their homeland? What alternative responses are available to residents of harvest areas? If warnings are received, can they ethically be ignored? These questions remain unanswered, but if you want to discuss such issues with LP, call Glennys Simmons…