Taylor Ranch & Santa Fe Ski Area Direct Action Update

by John Horning

Thirteen people were arrested on Monday, November 17, for protesting logging on the privately owned Taylor Ranch near the southern Colorado community of San Luis. Two women locked themselves to the axles of a forty ton loaded logging truck, risking injury or death. The activists are committed to non-violent direct action to protest one of the largest logging operations in the United States. Police removed the protesters attached to the truck with carbide saws and metal cutters, while other non-violent protesters encountered police brutality in the form of pain compliance holds.

Opposition from the local farming and ranching community is focused on the significant erosion and sedimentation that is resulting from the massive 210 million board foot sale. The community is concerned that clear cutting on steep slopes will harm their traditional lifestyle by filling their acequias with sediment. Protests to the ongoing logging have resulted in dozens of arrests over the past year, including two Forest Guardians employees.

One woman arrested during a week long protest at the Santa Fe ski area for locking her neck to a Diesel Cat at the site of the parking lot expansion has a court date set for December 2, in Albuquerque. The 10 acre parking lot was clearcut by La Compania Ocho, the logging firm that is presently logging the La Manga timber sale in the Carson National Forest. Expansion of the Santa Fe ski area has been opposed for many years by a wide variety of community groups including Tesuque Pueblo, Ski Area Containment Coalition, Forest Guardians, New Mexico Direct Action, and the Santa Fe City Council.