FBI investigates front end loader in Humboldt

The treesitter was questioned because the sit is within sight of where the loader was damaged. He should have been the only witness. The sitter was also reported to be laughing at the loggers when the damage was discovered.
This action doesn't fit within the normal scope of EF, so i don't know what to think. However, if that sitter saw something, he should at least try to annonomously tip about what happened. Otherwise, he may seem like he doesn't want to tell.
What do you know?

Property destruction doesn't fit within the normal scope of Earth First!! What about the Mattole when EF dug up logging roads, destroyed downed timber, blocked culverts, and stuck broken down cars in ditches? What do you call that Iago?

A character can't argue with the author.

The above posting from "shakespeare" is highly inaccurate. For one thing "EF" was not and still is not resposible for the mattole campaign. Ever heard of the Mattole Forest Defenders? Saying that we stuck broken down cars in ditches is oversimplifying things quite a bit. People risked their physical safety by locking themselves to vehicles that were parked sideways across logging roads to prevent major environmental destruction. The so far shallow responses to this article are ridiculous and un-educated.

EF is the same thing as the Mattole Forest Defenders, as a visit to the Mattole Defense web site makes clear. For instance, here is an excerpt from a posting on that site:

Well Folks, that about says it all for NCEF! / Mattole Forest Defense. We hope to see YOU soon!
Email us! ncef [at] humboldt1.com

Nice try, "beet".

So Beet states property damage with intent of environmental protection is acceptible for the Mattole Defense. But the fact that the "protection measures" failed leads me to ask, where is the major environmental destuction in the Mattole as a result of last years harvest activity?
A worrisome message that beet is saying, is that the loader could have been damaged by environmental protesters, pehaps the very same as those from the Mattole, and the damage would be justified due to the overall goal. why then the initial denial by EF of any involvement? What kind of movement would deny their own actions?

for that matter, this could be an insurance scam. who's to say that it wasn't the company who owns the loader trying to label it on the protesters. afterall it was reported that the company had tried to smoke out the sitters by burning a slash pile adjacent to the sitter in that thp. the article is also misleading as it wasn't arson, but was reported on kmud that dirt was put into the engine which caused the siezure to occur in the motor. motor break all the time. who's to say it was even so called sabotage and not just poor maintance.

So if it was a company job, the treesitter (who was in earshot) should have heard the machinery being tampered with and told the authorities so. There was dirt and debris placed inside the vehicle to damage the loader. It was not a simple mechanical break down.
The gate that protects the landing where the loader was located was also covered in tree limbs and woody debris in an attempt to block enterance to the landing the day before the loader incident. The blockade didn't work.
I will not imply that any group is responsible. But the folks sitting in the trees must know something that will shed some light on the matter.

bill and lago are obviously employed by Maxxam/PL. They can be ranked among the many people are paid to discredit environmental activists here in humboldt. what position do you hold the company? most likely a desk job that gives you plenty of time to surf the internet. The Mattole Forest Defenders are not part of North Coast EF! There was a time when the Mattole campaign was a joint effort between the groups however those days are gone. Mattole Forest Defenders are not out in Freshwater wasting their time with your ugly equipment. We are much more concerned with the upcoming wave of logging in the Mattole that threatens to fragment and wipe out the largest unprotected stand of old-growth douglas-fir forest in California. Two years ago, Mark Anthony (P.L.'s resource manager) stated that he would like to see the company make the transition from old-growth and second- growth to only second-growth in the next three years. P.L. has logged most of what was left of their old-growth redwood, we can' tstand by and let them destroy one of the last intact old-growth forests left on the planet.

Actually I do not work for Pacific Lumber or Maxxam. And why are you intent on changing the topic? What I find interesting is how upset people like Beet get when people express different views than their own. It is as if they view the Internet as a tool that only they can use. Beet, you seem to spend a bit of time surfing the net as well. What desk job do you have?

The destruction of ancient forests is the important issue at hand. Those who do not respect the earth like to ignore the facts and pretend that the issue is about direct action tactics.

well since the slapp's have scared away the cult of non-violence, seems as if it's timey to take up the wrench more and more. a list of these eco rapists home addresses have been compiled. hehehehe

We have a long-standing policy of "no property destruction" here in Humboldt Co., CA.
No one who is sitting in a tree is going to be stupid enough to go to the ground to mess with machinery and then hop right back up in a tree right next to it.
And no one on the ground, who is truly involved, is going to mess with machinery.
This was either done by (a)a federal disruptor, (b)some angry, non-tree-sit related, person who does not have a "no property destruction" code, or (c)the company, or employee, as an insurance scam.
I know for a fact that the core crew of forest defenders did not and would not mess with their machinery; it's counter-productive, brings in lots of heat, and could cause injury, so we don't go there, period.
The SLAPP suit has not changed our dedication and commitment to non-violence and no-property-destruction.
Potholes in roads can hardly be called "property destruction." They are non-violent tactics designed to slow down the insane pace of corporate industrial logging, and cannot be compared to clearcuts, landslides, chemical burning agents and herbicides.
And cars that people were locked down to, in the middle of the road, caused no damage to anyone's property, and, in fact, were the sites of yet another case of the Humboldt Co. Sheriff's Dept. using torture techniques to try to get people to unlock, which again failed and the cops ended up cutting them out in the end anyway, which they could have done without torturing the non-violent protestors in the first place.
One piece of heavy machinery was vandalized in the Mattole, in 2001, by some infiltrators, and one activist was nearly framed for the vandalism when one of the infiltrators gave a stolen pencil from the heavy machinery to the activist, which was found in his pocket upon arrest the next day. The owner of the heavy machinery was outraged(another reason that we don't do property destruction), and spent the whole next day "hunting" the activists, violently "arresting" two of them. One of them had one of the planted pencils in his pocket, and was nearly framed for the vandalism. Most likely, the activist's good reputation for being dedicated to non-violencte and no property destruction saved him in the end, since he is a high-profile activist, and local people in Humboldt Co. must have KNOWN that he would not have done such a thing, and the charges were dropped.
The point of all this is to say that we serious and dedicated forest defenders here in Humboldt Co. are completely committed to non-violence and no property destruction, and to point out that property destruction is a common tactic used by those who wish to discredit our local movement and burn bridges that we are constantly trying to build.
Rest assured that we are not changing our tactics, and that we will forever maintain our commitment to non-violence and no property destruction.
Peace and sustainability,
Shining Light

Craig Anthony. His name is Craig Anthony.
And Freshwater is a second grwoth forest, and has been long before Craig was born. Kinda loose with the facts there Beet. But that shouldn't matter much to you.

Do you really think that Craig Anthoney was only reffering to Freshwater when he stated that it was Pacific Lumbers intention to essentially get rid of their old-growth forests. When he said he would like to see PLs' old-growth gone by the end of this year he was referring to all of PL land, not just Freshwater. That includes the hundreds of acres of magnificent old-growth redwood forests that they have destroyed this winter. It also includes approximately 1000 of old-growth douglas -fir logged in the Mattole watershed the past two years and the 2000 acres of old-growth forest there that they have not yet cut. P.L. has filed plans to log over 400 acres of what is left of the intact old-growth forests in the Mattole. Doubtlessly they will file more plans if this procees continues.