Earlier this month, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest played host to a large gathering of members of "Earth First!" (The exclamation point is an official part of the name of this self-proclaimed "movement.") The members came in for the "Round River Rendezvous," and they obtained a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service to set up camp for a week at a site near Cougar.
According to Forest Service officials, approximately 200-300 "Earth First!ers" attended the event, which included workshops on "practical skills like setting up a tree sit, administering first aid at street protests, and keeping activists out of the legal system."
In an Earth First! news release, the ultimate goal of the gathering was explained this way: "The primary purpose of the event is to create a unique training and networking opportunity for environmentalists unwilling to compromise on the rapidly-diminishing health of the planet ... a coalition of grassroots environmental groups recently declared the area [Gifford Pinchot] one of America's Ten Most Endangered Forests. When legal forms of forest protection run out, direct action by citizens is expected."
That last sentence is most telling. Leaders of Earth First! are saying flatly that if court decisions and other legal actions don't go their way, they'll resort to some type of extra-legal action.
In other words, they'll use the courts and other avenues as long as it serves their beliefs, but the moment the courts disagree with their particular views, all bets are off. They'll respect the law only as long as the law agrees with their point of view.
Of course, that is absurd. Individuals, or groups of individuals, cannot decide when they will support the rule of law and when they won't. That approach leads to anarchy.
Earth First! members need to consider how they would like it if the tables were turned: What if a logging company planning to take trees from an area Earth First! wants to protect stated that it would obey the courts -- as long as the courts said its logging plans were OK. What if the company's managers went on to say that if the court told them they could not log in a certain area, they would turn to "direct action" to harvest the trees.
Earth First! members would naturally be outraged at the attitude. Well, guess what: It's no different for Earth First! The group needs to follow the laws of the land or face the consequences. No one appointed Earth First! to decide for all of us what is right and what is wrong, and to proclaim what will be allowed and what won't be allowed.
We have systems set up to handle environmental disputes, and those systems need to be respected. We don't need Earth First! or anyone else trying to get around the process.
Judging by the arrogant tone of its press release, members of the Earth First! movement in particular need to realize that. If they don't or won't, they're not welcome around here.
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