It is not enough to oppose the construction of new dams. It is time to free our shackled rivers and tear down Hetch Hetchy, Glen Canyon, New Melones, Tellico and other concrete monstrosities.

While many environmental groups are members of the American political establishment and essentially adopt the anthropocentric (human-centered) world view of industrial civilization, we say the ideas and manifestations of industrial civilization are anti-Earth, anti-woman, and anti-liberty. We are developing a new biocentric paradigm based on the intrinsic value of all natural things: Deep Ecology. Earth First! believes in wilderness for its own sake.

Lobbying, lawsuits, letter writing and research papers are important and necessary. But they are not enough. Earth First!ers also use confrontation, guerrilla theater, direct action and civil disobedience to fight for wild places and life processes. And while we do not condone or condemn monkeywrenching, ecotage, or other forms of property destruction, we do present a forum for the exchange of ideas on creative opposition to the juggernaut of "progress," including ideas about monkeywrenching.

To avoid co-option, we feel it is necessary to avoid the corporate organizational structure so readily embraced by many environmental groups. Earth First! is a movement, not an organization. Our structure is non-hierarchical. We have no highly-paid "professional staff" or formal leadership. To put it simply, the earth must come first.