Warnings rung out from across the bog into the sacred grove of Douglas fir and spruce the night of August 21. "Now is the time to get the women and children out," yelled a threatening voice. "There are eight men coming with baseball bats and the trail has been booby trapped." That was the start of the psychological warfare. The evening's activities escalated into a violent attack of the Otter Wing satellite camp in Idaho's Big Wild.
Drunken timber and road workers armed with guns and other weapons turned their angry propaganda and death threats into a reality by entering and violating the personal space and safety of activists. "Pink bunnies" fled into the darkness of the woods as the mob's flashlights crept up the trail toward camp. Helpless eyes watched the climax of this visit erupt into a blaze of fire where backpacks, clothes, tarps and food went up in smoke. Slashing of sleeping bags and backpacks went unchecked, and other personal gear was carried out by the masked mob under the guise of night. The scene lasted until 6:00 a.m. when the light of day drove away the presence of the intruders. We were then able to see the aftermath of our wrecked camp.
Conveniently for the attacking party, the regular face of law enforcement was no where to be found that night or the next morning. Upon their tardy arrival, Idaho County Sheriff and Forest Service law enforcement officers (LEOs) tried to convince activists to leave for their own safety stating, "There is nothing we, as law enforcement, can do to ensure your well being." They were met with adamant refusals to leave. Though the LEOs insisted they lacked the manpower to "baby-sit" us amid threats of more violence from the rednecks, they somehow managed to find the resources to start a 24 hour, three-day siege with K-9 units, smoke jumpers and snipers in order to cut supplies to the tree sitters. The armed force remained until they bagged two exhausted sitters.
It seemed they would stay as long as it took to apprehend the infamous Sideshow Bob, who thwarted all the Freddies' efforts to maintain authority on the scene. But when they baited a trap to lure Bob out of his tree, he evaporated without a trace into the Idaho wilderness.
The sun has risen and Rio, the friendly logger, stands by our fire sharing our coffee and conversation. Later he takes a break to discuss issues and tells us, "I've been logging for 20 years. I will only be remembered as a good sawyer. You will be remembered for trying to stop the madness." As Rio and his fellow sawyer made their way down the P-line (line for the proposed road), Monkey Boy burst out of the fat trees and free climbed 120 feet up a huge spruce in the center of the proposed road. Monkey let out blood curdling screeches as trees fell around him. The sawyers decided to go home at noon prompted by our suggestions or perhaps in honor of Wild Rockies Day.
As I walk the already clearcut P-line, Malcolm (the excavator operator) and the surveyor stop working to talk with me. "There are problems with this road," Malcolm explains. "That bog is a serious problem." He continues, "Tell your friends to stop taking my survey stakes, not that it will do any good."
Traveling back a week in time, we were on our way to the Forest Service Fire Project open house when we ran into two car loads of backcountry activists sounding the alarm that the P-line is being cut in pristine wilderness at the Otter-Wing timber sale. That night, controlled madness ensued as people scrambled for their gear to get into the woods. Pink flying squirrels were trained to traverse in the dark. Meanwhile at the scene of the crime, just three pink flying squirrels managed to heroically set up three tree sits in a grove of trees marked with death paint.
The following day saw a flood of well trained flying squirrels and bunnies playing cat and mouse with sawyers. At night the tree village was enhanced with many traverse lines and cables to impede the destructive behavior of the Freddies and Shearer Lumber. Another sit was secured further down the P-line, across the huge wet bog. Flying squirrel activity continued into the next day.
Now the battle was to keep the excavator from reaching the village. As bunnies hopped about all around the destructive machine, Malcolm dangerously tossed logs and debris just over their heads. In a desperate attempt to repel the energetic bunnies, he whipped out pepper spray and tried to hit one. After reaching the first tree sitter, Malcolm is forced to retreat.
After a day of silence in the woods when the workers went home early, we were rudely awakened by the cast of familiar Freddies informing of us they were instituting a 300-foot closure. It did not bother them that Idaho Judge Lodge had overturned the closure law, declaring it unconstitutional. Two people were arrested on charges relating to the closure. One was woken up and cuffed without warning while the other protester was given three charges; one of which was placing her body in the road, even though she was 300 feet from the road.
The following day, the Freddies stood guard while the road crew illegally built the road around the first three sitters. Feeling proud of themselves, the Freddies left early and a bunny decided to stand in the path of Malcolm's excavator. For over an hour Malcolm swung logs, dirt and the excavator arm within inches of the brave bunny. Finally, Malcolm pushed him back five feet with the track of the machine and threatened the protester with pepper spray. The next morning the Freddies and company were surprised to find that the sit had moved down the P-line and across the huge wet bog. Freddies began 24-hour security with a canine unit at the base of the sits.
Unfortunately at the time, none of the activists in the field knew that this road building activity was completely illegal. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) had yet to sign off on the project and the Forest Service had yet to accept changes to the sale recommended by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In fact the Forest Service had yet to complete the biological assessment for the south fork of the Clearwater River which is necessary in order for NMFS and USFWS to sign off on Otter-Wing.
Activists took the illegalities to court but the infamous Judge Edward Lodge refused to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO), claiming that an injunction is unnecessary because there is no harm taking place. Unfortunately for the endangered and threatened species in the region, Judge Lodge is also overseeing the Otter-Wing lawsuit. The law suit was filed August 10 in Federal District court.
The Cove Mallard/Otter-Wing campaign is a well rounded, diversified activist front doing extensive timber sale monitoring, stream surveys, incredible public outreach in a hostile area as well as initiating direct action and lawsuits. Through monitoring, the coalition was able to send a package of violations to NMFS and USFWS which altered and delayed the Otter-Wing project about one month. Monitoring caused NMFS to request a field trip to Otter-Wing. The Forest Service did not invite us on this trip with NMFS, USFWS and Shearer Lumber because we didn't have "a contract with the Forest Service."
The Otter-Wing sale is a glaring example of how weak Clinton's proposed road building moratorium actually is. This sale affects over 52,000 acres of pristine roadless area and plans for 48 miles of new roads on very steep slopes. It is adjacent to the Gospel Hump Wilderness and near the Cove/Mallard sales. It is the home of many old-growth trees, pristine streams and rivers and among many other species, steelhead, bull trout, lynx, wolverine, pine martens, and boreal owls. The only species missing from this beautiful ecosystem is the grizzly.
This sale is a violation of the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. So help out in any way you can. We need people to join the resistance in the woods, monitor and outreach. We also need money, food, climbing gear, warm clothing, green rain jackets, wool socks, gloves, boots, AA batteries, Hi-8 tapes and strong spirits. Contact the Cove/Mallard Coalition at POB 8968, Moscow, ID 83843. (208) 882-9755; cove@moscow.com.