 | |
| Abbreviation | EF! |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | Dave Foreman Mike Roselle Howie Wolke Bart Koehler |
| Focus | Environmental protection |
| Location |
|
| Origins | Southwestern United States |
| Method | Direct action, Eco-sabotage |
| Website | earthfirstjournal |
Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group[1] that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron Kezar.[2][3][4] Today there are Earth First groups around the world including ones in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Inspired by several environmental writings, including Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Aldo Leopold's land ethic, and Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang, a small group of environmental activists composed of Dave Foreman, ex-Yippie Mike Roselle, Wyoming Wilderness Society representatives Bart Koehler and Howie Wolke, and Bureau of Land Management employee Ron Kezar, united to form Earth First. While traveling in Foreman's VW bus from the El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve in northern Mexico to Albuquerque, New Mexico, the group pledged, "No compromise in defense of Mother Earth!".
The co-founders of the group were called to action during the second "Roadless Area Review and Evaluation" (RARE II) by the U.S. Forest Service, which they considered a sell-out by mainstream environmental advocates. The activists envisioned a revolutionary movement, with the goal to set aside multi-million-acre ecological preserves all across the United States. Their ideas drew upon the concepts of conservation biology, which had been developing for over twenty years by notable scientists like E. O. Wilson; however, mainstream environmental groups were slow to embrace the new science. These events and ideologies coalesced after a grueling hike, as the men were headed toward Albuquerque. After "Foreman called out 'Earth First!', Roselle drew a clenched fist logo, passed it up to the front of the van, and there was Earth First!".[5]
- ^ Federal Bureau of Investigation - Congressional Testimony Archived October 2, 2002, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lerner, Michael A. (1990-04-15). "The FBI vs. the Monkeywrenchers: The Eco-Guerrillas of Earth First! Say They're Saving the Planet, The Government Calls Them Criminal Saboteurs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
- ^ "Radical Environmentalists: Who Are These People And What Are They Doing Here?". zachbardon.com.
- ^ "Introducing Earth First!". Environment & Society Portal. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-07-02.
- ^ Wolke, Howie, Earth First! A Founder’s Story, Lowbagger.org