Thirteen Goddesses Take Over Threatened Forest

Tree-sits are up while Pacific Lumber thumbs nose at court order

Thirteen women have ascended into thirteen threatened ancient redwood and Douglas fir trees for thirteen days in protest of MAXXAM/Pacific Lumber's liquidation logging and its ongoing corporate crimes, as well. The women, who range in age from 18 to 35, are putting their bodies between the chainsaws and some of the last old growth trees, the logging of which is approved by the California Department of Forestry. Many of these tree-sits are visible and audible from Greenwood Heights Rd. in Freshwater, Humboldt County, California, an area currently being subjected to 500 acres of clearcuts a year.

The thirteen women, members of the gender which have been healers throughout the ages, have taken to the treetops in the midst of ongoing illegal logging conducted by MAXXAM/Pacific Lumber. The company was ordered by Judge John Golden in Humboldt County Court to halt timber operations on August 29, 2002. That order was repeated and clarified by the Judge on September 19, yet the company continues to log one million board feet per day. The order stems from a suit filed by EPIC, the Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers that claims that a Habitat Conservation Plan and Sustained Yield Plan, which allow the killing of endangered species and unsustainable logging, were tendered illegally as part of the 1999 Headwaters Forest Act by both the both the federal and state governments.

Dozens of citizens have been arrested and jailed for attempting to hand the court order to loggers on the ground at the ongoing lumber operations. MAXXAM/Pacific Lumber has over 250 approved timber plans. The thirteen women add to a growing number of tree sits popping up to defend the last three percent of California's ancient trees. Three of the new tree-sits are within shouting distance of Remedy and Wren, who have been occupying two ancient redwoods for six and four months, respectively, without touching the ground. Veteran Earth First! organizer Darryl Cherney is glad to see the women taking over and fresh faces coming emerging in a scandal and war-torn world. "The stock market is down, but tree-sits are up," he said.

The thirteen tree-sits were chosen in number to correlate with the thirteen moons of the year and with intention to reconnect humanity with the natural cycles, according to the sitters, "The dominant culture's abusive history of both women and the natural world stem from the same cause: the divorce of humans from nature," said Remedy who just celebrated her sixth month in an ancient redwood without coming down. A rally that drew 150 people this Monday, including famed tree-sitter, Julia Butterfly Hill, honored that effort.

"It's an amazing moment to realize that not only do we need these trees for survival, but they need us for survival, " said Bee from her redwood perch in Freshwater. Satya, sitting in another nearby redwood proclaimed, "Let the truth be known. Face it, embrace it. We can not put a price on the fundamentals of life." Added Freewater, "We make a stand together to protect all living creatures as we are one."

"Six thousand years of patriarchy have severely hindered women in our role as healers and mothers," Remedy continued. "We take this stand in defense of ancient trees to reclaim our rightful place and to end the continuing abuse of the feminine, whether characterized by domestic violence or the bulldozing of Mother Earth,. In fact, just yesterday a gunshot was fired up in the air just below us. Despite ongoing intimidation on a global scale, the women are rising up in order to restore harmony in a culture out of balance. We've got Goddess power and we're not afraid to use it."

The thirteen new tree-sitters consist of: 1) Prana in "Marvelous," a redwood in Freshwater; 2) Freewater in "Stream, a redwood in Freshwater; " 3) Mystique in "Mesmerize, a redwood in Freshwater; " 4) Abstract in "Embracia, a redwood in Freshwater; 5) Singing Water in "Open," a redwood in Freshwater; 6) Heartsong in "Jezebel," a redwood in Freshwater; 7) Bee in "God's Children," a redwood in Freshwater; 8) Satya in "Yesota," a redwood in Freshwater; 9) Anna Purna in"Boomer," a Doug fir in Freshwater; and 10-13) Crescent, Cedar, Bast, and Kira in "Aradia", "Lichen," "The Garden Tree" and "Manna" a 4-redwood tree village consisting of connecting ropes, large platforms and even a growing aerial food garden, in the Van Duzen Watershed near Carlotta.