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| Two Activists Arrested for Protesting Logging Near Freshwater Tree-sits For Immediate Release - Contact: Remedy 845-3553 (Cell Phone) 476-6381 (Pager) On Tuesday morning two activists were arrested while protesting illegal logging by Maxxam/Pacific Lumber near the tree-sits in the Freshwater Creek watershed. At 8:30 am logging equipment was moved into a unit of a Timber Harvest Plan (THP) where 5 active tree-sits are located. The loggers felled three large Douglas Firs approximately 100 ft. away from two of those tree-sits. Within an hour, activists, concerned residents, and Humboldt County Sheriffs were all on the scene. Activists presented law enforcement with a copy of a stay issued by Judge John Golden, ordering that PL's logging must cease until a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) is resolved. The Sheriffs disregarded the court order while logging operations continued only ten yards away. A woman who went by the name Abstract was placed under arrest while non-violently protesting the logging. One Freshwater Creek resident who videotaped the incident, said he felt the officers were handling the woman inappropriately and that she was crying and complaining of pain during the incident. He said "I think that one of the officers kneed her in the face. It's wrong for the cops to defend the corporation that is breaking the court order and arrest the people who are trying to protect our resources." Later, another protester was arrested for allegedly interfering with a police officer. Onlookers said that the protester was not trespassing or interfering in any way. The Freshwater Creek watershed has been heavily logged throughout the past 20 years and less than 5% of its original forest remains. Freshwater Creek was the subject of one of the most extensive watershed studies ever done in California, which concluded that the watershed is severely impaired and that all logging should cease and desist immediately. Pacific Lumber has ignored the analysis and has continued to clear-cut residual old growth forests on steep and unstable slopes while disregarding the concerns of residents. Since August the number of active tree-sits in the Freshwater Creek area has grown from two to more than a dozen, and forest defenders vowed to maintain and increase their resistance to Maxxam/PL's onslaught against the forests. "Endangering tree-sitters by logging near them, and then arresting non-violent protesters who come to bear witness will just feed public outrage at Pacific Lumber and their destructive logging practices", said one Greenwood Heights tree-sitter. We will not rest until these trees are saved. ###  << Back to Press Release Archive | Latest Press Release | Newsroom | | 
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