Little Alfie : Hot Battle in the Cold North

by Big Woods Earth First!

Big Wood Earth First! celebrated the New Year by intensifying our campaign to defend our national forests. A road blockade erected on January 1, 1998, halted the start of logging operations in Little Alfie, a stand of old red and white pines in Minnesota's Superior National Forest that borders the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Over a dozen Minnesotans, joined by concerned EF!ers from Wisconsin, camped out for over a week in the infamous freezing Midwest winter. The blockade gained instantaneous triumph not only in the media and the hearts of Minnesotans, but also through a January 21 ruling by a federal judge to halt logging at Little Alfie until he hears a case that seeks to permanently stop the cut. This is the second year a blockade stopped logging in Little Alfie!

The main tools in our campaign have not been lockboxes or tripods, but links built with loggers, environmentalists and activists-both urban and rural. We invited all concerned parties (including the freddies) to come to our campfire and chat over coffee; those chats lead to the realization that we all share the desire for sustainable foresting practices in our North Woods. The blockade was successful only because it was accompanied by press conferences and rallies in Minneapolis, tours of Little Alfie (for those who couldn't risk arrest), lawsuits and the dedication of life-long environmentalists across the state.

Big Woods Earth First! started the Little Alfie campaign in December 1996 when activists camped in the road for 12 days to prevent logging in the illegal timber sale . Last winter, the blockade ended when the Forest Service admitted that it failed to perform an environmental impact statement (EIS) on Little Alfie and pulled the sale. The blockade forced the Forest Service to reexamine its mismanagement of forests across all of Minnesota. All 500 timber sales were examined, and over 38 sales were immediately suspended! This summer, the Forest Service announced the completion of an EIS and despite all appeals (surprise, surprise!) ruled that Little Alfie should be logged. Immediately Earth First!ers began planning a state-wide forest campaign.

We opened the Action Resource Center in Minneapolis, a community center dedicated to supporting and promoting nonviolent direct action . The Action Resource Center, along with the collectively run Seward Cafe, became urban hubs for the Little Alfie campaign. Through the Center, we coordinated a tour of the Little Alfie site. We rented vans to go from the Twin Cities to Little Alfie, and were surprised when around a hundred people showed up! We talked with loggers and folks from the neighboring towns. Apparently last year's blockade is still reminisced about. Later we announced our four demands:

1) permanent protection of Little Alfie;

2) economic security for all timber workers by creating safe, good paying, sustainable jobs in the restoration of our forests;

3) zero cut on all public lands;

4) regeneration, not liquidation, of the Great Lake forests.

As a newer Earth First! group, we redefined the forestry debate in Minnesota. (Imagine our surprise when this summer Big Woods Earth First! was invited to sit at the table with the timber industry and the Department of Natural Resources to increase state-wide public participation regarding forest policies.) Working with allies like the Industrial Workers of the World and the Superior Wilderness Action Network enabled us to drive home the message that it's no longer about environmentalists versus loggers; it's about creating an economically and environmentally sustainable bioregion.

The battle's not over and we are always looking for donations of winter camping gear, climbing equipment and kick-ass activists who want to brave the wild, wild winters here in Minnesota. If you are in the area and want to join us, please call us at the Big Woods Earth First! Hotline at (612) 362-3387. For more information about our new Action Resource Center call (612) 825-4745.