By Peter Bralver – Earth First! Journal, Samhain / September 22, 1990
It was Redwood Summer in Los Angeles! The first of two planned Redwood Summer protests in Los Angeles, on April 21, was the largest protest L.A. EF! had ever organized, with 100-150 demonstrators participating. It was held at the Pacific Lumber / Maxxam offices, a few blocks from the Westwood Federal Building, scene of a recent protest of FBI tactics used against EF!ers. This is also the location of L.A.’s first high-rises, representing the assault by developers on the mountain oak and chaparral surrounding and separating the seaside desert valleys.
Many of the demonstrators wore spotted owl and coyote masks, some played ceremonial drums, and guitarists sang EF! songs in a protest that was at once a small monument to the environmentally oriented peace movement and the beat generation of the 50s and 60s. Three women and two men chained themselves to a door at the front of the building, closing one entry way. One of the locked protesters sat half-naked, covered copiously in maple syrup representing sap, the blood of the trees.
The police were hardly to be seen. It was clear they preferred not to arrest us. Left behind after the protest were the images of three logos on many banners: Earth First!’s shining fist, the Wobbly globe and stars, and Seeds of Peace’s budding fruiting symbol. Wilderness, Peace, the Rights of Labor to what it creates; it was another festive cry for Life before the corporate tombs.