Redwood Summer

Redwood Summer was a three-month movement in 1990 of environmental activism aimed at protecting old-growth redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees from logging by northern California timber companies and was part of the Timber Wars of the 1990s. Organized in 1990 by Earth First! and the Industrial Workers of the World, it was led by Judi Bari.[1][2] A protest associated with Redwood Summer took place in June 1990 at the Louisiana Pacific export dock in Samoa, California. Before the protests officially started, the campaign gained international attention on May 24, 1990 when the campaign leader, Judi Bari, and a fellow activist, Darryl Cherney, were involved in a pipe bomb explosion that critically injured them while they were driving through Oakland, California. The explosion led to the FBI accusing Bari of manufacturing and transporting bombs.[3] Due to the FBI not being able to adequately support their claims, she was eventually found innocent.[4] The movement was also known to use many controversial techniques to disrupt the logging companies including tree spiking, symbolic protests, and disarming machinery.[1] Though the protests were supposed to remain non-violent, many critics argue that Earth First! is a radical group and the techniques used in the protests are debated.[5]

  1. ^ a b Pickett, Karen (Summer 1990). "Redwood Summer". Earth Island Journal. 5 (3) – via EBSCOhost.
  2. ^ Bishop, Katherine (June 21, 1990). "Police Arrest 44 in Redwood Protest". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  3. ^ "Earth First! protests the destruction of Redwood Forests (Redwood Summer), United States, 1990 | Global Nonviolent Action Database". nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  4. ^ Smith, Gar (Autumn 2002). "Singing Under Oath". Earth Island Journal. 17 (3): 35. ISSN 1041-0406 – via EBSCOhost.
  5. ^ "Earth First's Fight to Save the Redwoods | Environment & Society Portal". www.environmentandsociety.org. Retrieved April 1, 2019.