Just after noon on Thursday, September 17, Headwaters forest defender David Nathan Chain, known to his friends as "Gypsy," lost his life when a tree cut by a Pacific Lumber (PL) logger crushed him to death.

Gypsy and eight other Earth First!ers had ventured into an active timber harvest zone in the Grizzly Creek area of the Headwaters forest complex to explore possible violations of California╣s Forest Practice Rules, bring the violations to the logger╣s attention, and to get the California Department of Forestry to come inspect the site. On the 17th and the previous day, a small group of people had been engaging the loggers on-site in dialogue in an attempt to slow the cutting. PL had not amended its logging plan to reflect the road building it was conducting next to marbled murrelet habitat. The day following Chain╣s death, the California Department of Forestry (CDF) did inspect the site and found that two violations had occurred.

After the tree that crushed Gypsy fell, the small group of people in his affinity group scrambled out of the brush where they had taken cover, yelling at the logger that he could have killed them. One of the group started frantically calling out for Gypsy, "Where╣s Gypsy? He was right behind me. I can╣t find him. Gypsy!" When the logger who cut the tree found Gypsy, he fell to his knees and prayed. Gypsy╣s friends prayed and cried near where he lay while one of them ran to a phone about a mile and a half away.

Pacific Lumber immediately issued a statement calling the death a "tragic accident," claiming the loggers were not aware of the protesters╣ presence and citing its "best in the industry" safety record. PL also claimed Chain was hit by a "domino tree," a second tree downed by the tree cut by the logger. These claims had nothing to do with the truth but were issued before any details emerged.

The fact that the loggers were indeed aware of the protesters╣ presence was corroborated by a videotape recorded less than an hour before Chain was killed. It contains threats and admonitions by the logger to "Get the fuck out of here or there╣s going to be a tree coming your way!"

The logger and his fellow workers in the woods were fully aware of ongoing protests in the area, as activists from the same affinity group had been at the site the previous day, talking with them at length. In addition, there was an active tree sit in the area.

Pacific Lumber╣s disingenuous claim that the loggers didn╣t know they were endangering anyone was followed by comments suggesting that it╣s time to stop these protests, that organizers are putting young recruits in harm╣s way, etc. These media feeds culminated in what looks to be the first volley in a "blame the victims" smear campaign: a press packet containing two pages of the Direct Action Manual describing "cat and mouse" woods actions. PL president John Campbell commented in an accompanying press release that, "If you read the rules... it╣s just a game. Only the people who work in the forest and their families are supposed to be hurt," seeming to suffer a memory lapse about just who had died.

A vigil and blockade quickly evolved at the site with people locking down to a junked car to block the access road the next morning. People locked to equipment at the ridgetop where Gypsy was killed, and an altar was set up in the middle of the road near the entrance. Had this blockade not been in place, PL crews arriving for work the morning after the incident would have hauled out the trees, rendering an investigation of the site impossible. After several days, PL finally stated it was closing the area until the Sheriffs Department╣s investigation is done. Clearly, the Humboldt County Sheriff╣s Department, the law enforcement agency currently under litigation for swabbing pepper spray into the eyes of Earth First! activists, is not the fair and impartial agency to conduct an investigation.

It is not clear what PL╣s policy is for workers encountering protesters in the woods, but this is certainly not the first time loggers have acted menacingly toward protesters. The Humboldt Sheriff╣s Department also has a long record of nonenforcement and non-investigation of incidents of violence, harassment and threats of violence when the targets are associated with Earth First! or Headwaters defense. The backdrop for Gypsy╣s death is the tolerance and encouragement of animosity and violence toward Earth First!

Whether or not the logger, prior to the killing, had fully come to terms with the fact that he could be responsible for taking someone╣s life, it is clear he directly threatened to fall trees in the direction of protesters and then followed through. On the videotape, he can be heard screaming, "Oh fuck! I wish I had my fuckin╣ pistol! I╣m guess I╣m gonna just start packin╣ that motherfucker in here." Earlier, one of the affinity group heard him shouting, "Better wear a hard hat because this one╣s coming for you." Scores of organizations and individuals have rallied around a call for an independent investigation in the wake of this killing, including Action for Community and Ecology in the Rainforests of Central America, the Action Resource Center in Los Angeles, the Sierra Club and 100 signers on a letter circulated by the Environmental Protection Information Center.

Humboldt attorney Steve Schectman is preparing to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Gypsy╣s family after meeting with them when they traveled to California from Texas a week after the incident. Chain╣s mother, stepfather, two sisters, two aunts and two close friends stayed in California several days, attending memorials in Berkeley, Arcata, and Garberville and visiting the site in the forest where Gypsy was killed.

Early in the morning of October 7, 42 members of several law enforcement agencies descended on the Grizzly Creek site to break up the blockade. They forcibly removed those at the site, and moved up the hill to where several activists were attached to a loader. They proceeded to douse two young women who were locked to equipment with pepper spray, pouring the caustic substance directly into their eyes from their gloved hands. These two women, once taken to jail, were denied medical attention for more than 24 hours. The following morning, a group of 30 people returned to the site and set up a road blockade consisting of nine people linked together across the road. To intimidate those taking part in the blockade into unlocking, sheriff╣s deputies singled out one woman and subjected her to three applications of pepper spray, using her pain as a warning to the others. Commitment remains high to securing the site until an independent investigation can be completed and until the issues of illegal logging are resolved.

To become involved, join the call for an independent investigation. Call or write Janet Reno, Attorney General, Department of Justice, 5111 Main Justice Building, 10th St. and Constitutional Ave., NW, Washington DC 20530. Also contact Dan Lundgren, California Attorney General, 1300 I St., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-9555. Emphasize that the pattern of violent treatment and endangerment of nonviolent protesters should be investigated, as well as David Chain╣s death.

Please help us continue to defend Headwaters forest and our fellow activists. Watch for dates in the pepper spray trial in November or December. Call Northcoast Earth First!, POB 28, Arcata, CA 95518; (510) 835-6303.