By Judy Nichols – North Coast News, July 19, 1990
Redwood Summer protesters gathering in Fort Bragg on July 21 will meet on Georgia-Pacific property at the north end of town despite the company’s statements that the area is off-limits.
And organizers say they have eliminated two stops from their march—the California Department of Forestry office and the Skunk Train depot—in order to focus on the Georgia Pacific corporate offices.
Meanwhile, the Community Solidarity Coalition has announced plans for a parade and rally the same day to kick off opposition to the Forests Forever initiative on the November ballot, but say they will avoid the demonstrations planned by Earth First!
“We want people who have an urge to do something to have a place to do it,” said Don Nelson, union representative of the millworkers at the Georgia-Pacific mill. “They can come to our rally and perform in front of the camera if they want to present a positive image.”
Reacting to the plans for opposing demonstrations, Fort Bragg Police Chief Tom Bickell raised his call for 80 outside officers to 200, and predicted there will be more arrests than the 44 at the group’s June protest in Samoa.
Protesters plan to set up at the old Holmes Lumberyard at 10 a.m., hear music at 11 and speakers at noon. At 1:30 they will march to G-P’s corporate headquarters, where they will hear more speakers.
Organizer Anna Marie Stenberg said the two intermediate stops were eliminated because of the competing demonstrations.
“We needed to tighten up because of the yellow ribbon group, and we wanted to stay focused on our theme, which is to stop the liquidation of the forests—sustained forests equals sustained jobs.”
Dave Odgers, spokesman for Georgia-Pacific, said the company was never asked for permission to use the Holmes lumber-yard site, and would have denied permission if they had been asked.
“We do not wish the property to be used in that manner, and local law enforcement stands behind our desire to protect our property rights,” Odgers said, but declined to say if trespassers would be arrested. “We want to be careful not to say anything that would inflame the situation. Officers will use their good judgment in handling the situation.”
Stenberg said the protest was moved from the gates of the Georgia-Pacific mill because the 2,000 protestors predicted for the event could have clogged the main artery of town and blocked the nearby fire and police departments, causing a dangerous situation if there were a fire, medical, or other emergency.
“The City Council and the Chamber of Commerce agree that it’s the safest site and say we are acting in the best interests of the community,” Stenberg said.
Stenberg declined to reaffirm the previous crowd estimates, but said chartered buses and caravans are planned to bring in supporters.
“A large contingent is coming from the Earth First! rendezvous in Montana,” she said.
She said there will be arrests.
“The Redwood Summer was a call for nonviolent civil disobedience,” she said. “There will be civil disobedience. But as to how many individuals will participate, I can’t tell you. If I discussed it with them, that would be conspiring, which is a felony.”
Odgers said that, because the protest is being held on a Saturday, there will be “very few, if any, logging trucks” going into the mill.
“We just hope things go as peacefully as possible,” he said.
In a prepared release, Lowell Ambrosini, general manager of Fort Bragg operations for Georgia Pacific, and Ted Deer, the company’s resource manager for Fort Bragg Timberlands, urged workers to “keep cool.”
“We believe that one of (Earth First!’s) real goals is to provoke a reaction from individuals or companies in the timber industry in front of the national media,” the release states.
It says the company is working with local authorities to protect its property and employees, and working with the industry to deal with the media.
“We will be expressing our view that honest human labor in partnership with nature helps meet America’s needs for shelter and countless other forest products.”
It asks employees to avoid confrontations with demonstrators.
“If you encounter any protest activity, we urge you to remember Earth First!’s own rally cry: ‘The whole world is watching.’ Leave your tensions at home and keep cool.
“Let our message be that we can proved for America’s forest products needs and still have healthy, productive forests.”
The Solidarity Coalition parade will start at 11 a.m. at the comer of Harold and Pine streets, by the Fort Bragg Senior Center and travel to Green Memorial Field, where the rally starts at 12:30.
Claudia Frago, who is organizing the parade, said Paul Bunyan and Babe, the Blue Ox, will lead the parade, and there will be trucks with a family theme. There will not be any loaded logging trucks, she said.
Nelson said the rally will be similar to the June 16 picnic, with music and speakers, including a small landowner, workers, and small business owners.
He and organizer Maribelle Anderson said the rally is planned, not to incite violence but to prevent it.
“We want people to join our nonviolent rally,” Anderson said. “We don’t believe in confrontation.”
”We see it as a positive way to get through July 21st,” she said. “We want people to stay calm, keep cool heads and stay away from Earth First!”
She urged local businesses closed because of the Redwood Summer protests to hang yellow wreaths in their windows and come to the Solidarity rally.