For Immediate Release -
Contact: Northcoast Earth First! (707) 268-5163; Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (510) 548-3113; Tree-sitter Turtle, cell phone in tree: (707) 834-2348
Humboldt county, California--The day before the 5th anniversary of the death of David Gypsy Chain, killed Sept.17, 1998 when an angry logger felled a tree on him, Earth First! forest defenders arrived at dawn as Pacific Lumber workers entered the logging plan that activists hope to preserve as a memorial to the slain activist. Activists are sitting in a grove of giant redwood trees in the plan, including one tree close to the site where Gypsy was killed which has been occupied for over five years.
The logging plan (Timber Harvest Plan HUM 01-382) is in the Grizzly Creek watershed, nearly adjacent to Grizzly Creek Redwood State Park on the Van Duzen River. PL loggers shut down the operation in late morning, due to the presence of activists in the woods. The plan is known to contain ancient redwoods.
There is a proposal to annex the forest area where David Chain was killed to the nearby Grizzly Creek State Park system to preserve the site and to protect critical habitat areas for the endangered marbled murrelet.
September 17 will be commemorated at the memorial site (on Highway 36, just south of Eureka) by friends and colleagues of David Chain who travelled to Humboldt county from as far away as Texas, where Gypsy grew up. A candlelight vigil will take place at the memorial site at dawn. A forest action camp is in progress at the State Park, offering trainings for activists in non-violence, media work and forest defense strategies.
