Police Invade Stafford, California

The roadblocks were up. A state of emergency had been declared and the National Guard was on alert. Police reinforcements had been brought in from hundreds of miles away. Was it a red attack? Was it aliens invading from outer space? No, on Sunday, September 14, 8,000 nonviolent protesters were watching rainbows in the 75 degree weather at the largest protest in the history of the American forest preservation movement. Last year a massive civil disobedience resulted in 1,033 peaceful arrests; but this year the police said, things were going to be nasty.

Headwaters Forest in Humboldt County is the last wild, intact redwood ecosystem left on Earth. Since the hostile takeover by Charles Hurwitz's Maxxam Corporation of Pacific Lumber in 1985, ancient trees have been falling at three times the previous rate, so that Hurwitz can pay off the debt he incurred in acquiring Pacific Lumber.

The Treasury Department will take Hurwitz to court this week regarding his role in the $1.6 billion failure of the United Savings Association of Texas, the fifth-largest S&L failure in U.S. history. The U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision has filed 13 claims in administrative court, charging Hurwitz with violations of federal regulations and "unsafe and unsound practices." The trees, however, continue to fall; and in Humboldt County, the justice system works overtime to defend Hurwitz's interests.

The police took a new tactic this year: stop the protesters and rally goers before they could become rally goers or protesters. (A quick review: the First Amendment reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Humboldt County obviously isn't Congress.)

Early on the morning of the rally, police closed Fisher Road in Carlotta, the access road to Headwaters, which meant organizers had to quickly find another location for the already arriving forest defenders. They chose a march through Stafford, to a mud-caked site where a massive landslide had destroyed seven homes. On January 1, 1997, Stafford was ravaged by a huge mudslide which originated in a Pacific Lumber Company clearcut.

The police then moved in to close all the exits from U.S. Hwy. 101 to Stafford. Dozens quickly lined up across the exits in full riot gear. The march was to go under the freeway to the site of the Stafford slide. Humboldt County sheriffs then formed a line and threatened anyone who tried to cross the line with attacking a peace officer--a felony.

Over 400 police officers from California Highway Patrol, sheriff's deputies, and city police came from as far away as the San Francisco area joined in the denial of First Amendment rights to those trying to attend the Headwaters Rally. Officials said the Office of Emergency Services, which coordinates a mutual aid pact for law enforcement, will pay for the hundreds of police officers.

Organizers and rally attendees presented a check for $10,000 to residents of Stafford to help in the recovery and rebuilding efforts that have stalled months after Pacific Lumber began negotiations to purchase the land and homes destroyed by the Stafford slide. Demonstrators symbolically piled sandbags around a home in anticipation of a wet winter.

There were no rally-related arrests this year. Organizers said they didn't want to risk felony arrests. (What if the people on the way to Selma had stopped because things were going to get nasty?) Thousands of people came, many for the purpose of putting their bodies on the line and risking arrest. It's unfortunate that the "organizers" were coerced into succumbing to the pressures of the police; the ease with which they were intimidated will probably have a major impact on the numbers of people who go next year. There were 88 arrests on Monday September 15, and on September 17. A base camp has been established to continue resisting the cutting of the redwoods. There are also legal avenues still being pursued. To get involved contact call EPIC at 707-923-2931 or the Mendocino Environmental Center at 707-468-1660.

Author's note: even though the governor's office and the Humboldt County sheriff's office weren't very helpful when we were researching this article, the various groups working on this issue, except for the Mendocino Environmental Center, weren't very helpful either. Maybe if we had been AP or UPI or Turner Broadcasting or Rupert Murdoch, or GE (NBC) or Westinghouse (CBS) or Disney (ABC)--you know, those corporations that are part of the Military-Industrial-Media complex whose dominance we are trying to end. Counter media unfortunately gets very little respect--even from those who have been disenfranchised by the mainstream media. It's an abusive situation, yet social-justice-environmental groups keep coming back for more. Soon we hope they learn to use and support genuine alternatives and help us make our own media. It's the only way we'll ever get the truth out.

Stump Talk is put together every other week by a few ecofreaks. If you want to help out, contact NW Forest Action Group 206.632.1656, e-mail can@scn.org.