Alaskan Loggers Confront Greenpeace During Community
Meeting
Town Meeting Goes From
Outburst and Arrest to Frank Discussion
CRAIG, Alaska – A town meeting held by Greenpeace in Craig,
Alaska got off to a rocky start last night, as police had to come
in and arrest one of the attendees following an angry outburst. The
police led the unidentified logger out of the Craig Community
Center while he yelled out, “It’s my way or the (expletive)
highway.” After the arrest, however, the crowd of more than 100
people, including native Alaskans, loggers, fishermen and U.S.
Forest Service employees, sat down together for the first time to
engage in a frank discussion with Greenpeace about logging in
Southeast Alaska and the environmental group’s work in the
region.
“I’d like to apologize on behalf of all Southeast Alaskan
loggers,” said one logger in attendance. “We don’t carry his views,
we’re here to listen.”ÝÝGreenpeace activists then opened the
meeting by stating that they were on a fact-finding mission and
that they wanted to clear up the misconception that they are
against all logging and want to close down jobs in Southeast
Alaska.
“We want to hear your concerns and make informed decisions about
our future work here to protect the Tongass ” said Jeremy Paster,
Greenpeace Forest Campaigner. “But we have to be clear that the
Tongass is a national forest that belongs to Alaskans and all
Americans, and Greenpeace is against industrial clearcutting of old
growth forest, which damages the ecosystem.”
Many in the crowd however took issue with Greenpeace’s stance
againstÝclearcutting, claiming that clearcutting is necessary to
revive a dying economy in Southeast Alaska. In addition some people
questioned the amount of forest destruction in the area and the
percentage of the Tongass that would be at risk if it is no longer
protected by the Roadless Rule.
Arriving in early August, the Greenpeace ship M.V. Esperanza has
been travelling throughout Southeast Alaska, working with local
communities to document and stop the destruction of the Tongass,
part of the largest coastal temperate rainforest in North America,
as part of its “Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms,” ship
tour.
Since arriving in Southeast Alaska, Greenpeace has met some
hostility, particularly in the towns of Ketchikan and Craig.
ÝEarlier reports indicated that the U.S. Forest Service and local
authorities had been behind heavy-handed tactics to block the tour.
Those tactics included warning local residents not to do business
with the international environmental group, telling port
authorities to deny the Esperanza docking space, and sending armed
guards from the Department of Homeland Security to follow the
group.
“Southeast Alaska has been exploited across the board by various
industries, and the Bush Administration is now attempting to
exploit our forests at an unprecedented rate,” continued Paster.
“These town meetings allow us to interface with the local
communities about how to protect our ancient forests while
sustaining a healthy economy.”
