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The Passing of a "No Nonsense" Environmentalist
Joan Norman Dies at 72
July 27, 2005
Joan Norman sits on the Green Bridge leading to a timber sale. Joan refused to leave her chair and was arrested shortly after this photo was taken.
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On July 23, Joan Norman was killed in a car crash in Oregon at the
age of 72. Joan was arrested over 100 times in her life for acts
of civil disobedience. Her final arrest was in March of this year
during a protest at the site of the largest Forest Service timber sale
in modern history:
What Joan calls evil, the Forest Service calls the “Biscuit Logging Project.” This project allows enough ancient trees to be logged to fill 74,000 log trucks lined up for over 600 miles. This is the first time that logging of this magnitude has occurred in old-growth forest reserves since the creation of the Northwest Forest Plan back in 1994.
Since the first day of logging, a coalition of environmental groups and local activists have been on the scene, peacefully protesting. After multiple blockades and more than 50 arrests, neither side is showing signs of giving up the fight.
Take action!
Environmentalists have challenged the legality of the Forest Service’s plan to log on almost 20,000 acres of protected land. Demand that the Forest Service immediately halt its logging practices until a court has rendered its decision. Take action and support the activists on the ground.
Post a Message
Joan is survived by four children: Susan, Timothy, Terry and Annie, her friend and companion Bob Youdan, four grandchildren, one great-grandchild, nieces, nephews and her extended environmental activist family.
If you would like to share your own experiences with Joan or would like to offer messages of condolences to those that must carry on without her, please visit our discussion center.
"They came and removed me from the
bridge I was blocking by carrying me in my chair to the edge of the
sheriff's vehicle. They put me down there and thought I would stay put.
Then the officers went off to arrest someone else. I got up and moved
my chair back to my space - my sovereign space. An officer yelled, ‘Hey
you’re not supposed to do that! Get back over where I put you.’ I just
laughed. People have been trying to get me to be where they put me all
my life. I have a right to stand up against evil and I will."
What Joan calls evil, the Forest Service calls the “Biscuit Logging Project.” This project allows enough ancient trees to be logged to fill 74,000 log trucks lined up for over 600 miles. This is the first time that logging of this magnitude has occurred in old-growth forest reserves since the creation of the Northwest Forest Plan back in 1994.
Since the first day of logging, a coalition of environmental groups and local activists have been on the scene, peacefully protesting. After multiple blockades and more than 50 arrests, neither side is showing signs of giving up the fight.
Take action!
Environmentalists have challenged the legality of the Forest Service’s plan to log on almost 20,000 acres of protected land. Demand that the Forest Service immediately halt its logging practices until a court has rendered its decision. Take action and support the activists on the ground.
Post a Message
Joan is survived by four children: Susan, Timothy, Terry and Annie, her friend and companion Bob Youdan, four grandchildren, one great-grandchild, nieces, nephews and her extended environmental activist family.
If you would like to share your own experiences with Joan or would like to offer messages of condolences to those that must carry on without her, please visit our discussion center.
