Packing up the Forest Rescue Station this weekend was hard for all of us. Spending so much time together within such a breathtaking area made it exponentially difficult to leave. But there was one saving grace. This was also our family weekend. While half our crew packed up, the other half provided climb trainings, hikes, and ecology talks for kids.

Watching the children play in the forest and participate in discussions about the local ecology was a strong reminder that our work is not just about Bush and his forest policies. It's not just about the trees. It's about giving the gift of a healthy environment to future generations. The Forest Rescue Station might fade from their memories, but these forests will not.

Check back for the Family Weekend video.

Everything is calm at the Greenpeace Forest Rescue Station in the Siskiyous as we continue our educational and outreach activities at Unit 6-2 of the Kelsey-Whisky timber sale. Last night our merry forest crimes unit kept vigil over the fading light of spring and through the shortest night of the year.

Now summer is here, and logging season is in full swing. Whole groves of towering old-growth trees and the delicate ecosystems they support are falling to the saws of greed and power. I don't blame the good folks who work in the woods. I am hearing the cable yarders now, singing "its a beautiful day" over their two-way frequency as they work in the sun. They are just people, doing their jobs, as are the BLM rangers and law enforcement officers for whose vehicles we watch and listen all day and night. No, the real adversaries in this struggle are those who stand to profit big in the short term by the sale of old-growth logs, with no regard for the long-term, the future; no commitment to or concern for the communities that depend on the forest, human or otherwise.
The folks who live in these woods know the drill.

It's an old story, boom and bust. They have jobs for a while, the boss makes a lot of money, then the trees are gone. Desertification sets in. The landscape changes; the climate changes. The local economy fails and families are left to struggle for survival. This isn't the way old logging used to be. This is something different. Mechanized, with hydraulics and helicopters. This deforestation moves quickly and leaves devastation in its wake.

Yesterday I took a much needed break from my duties at the communications tent and walked down to the East Fork of Kelsey Creek. It was only the second time I have ventured down through Unit 6-2 this month. It didn't take long for me to lose the path and find myself scrambling down the steep slope holding onto rhododendrons and young Douglas fir trees for support, passing huge trees marked with flagging to indicate the presence of nesting threatened Red Tree Voles. I reached the bottom and bathed in the crystal clear, cold
water, then sat looking at the forest all around me.

Places like these are the source of life. They are the womb of clean air and clean water. So many people live so disconnected from the source, they don't even think about it. But what is the source of water? The tap? The utility company? The tank? The reservoir? Go deeper.

The source of life-giving water is the spring, deep and protected in the cool forest. Filtered by the rocks, the roots. When the trees are all cut down, and the ground exposed to the blistering sun through the thinning atmosphere, and the soil loosened from the roots that hold and allowed to slide into the stream, choking fish, what have we lost? What we are losing is more than mere beauty. It is more than endangered species, and majestic old growth trees furry with green usnea. It is more than sustainable forest communities. We are losing life itself. We are losing the source.

I sat and looked at the profound power of the place I am in and cried. If this place is logged, this forest taken, will you know what you have lost? Please come here and see for yourself. Feel for yourself. Go to any old-growth timber sale unit, anywhere, and sit by the stream. Think about how it will be when the forest is gone. And do something to help stop this unconscionable taking of life.

Khaos

Hi, I'm Abbie. An arborist from New Zealand. My partner Owen and I were travelling the west coast of the United States when we stumbled upon Greenpeace's Forest Rescue Station in Southern Oregon. This was not an excursion that was within our travel itinerary, yet we have found that now we've become so immersed in the cause, that we have no desire to leave.

A few weeks ago, we drove up to Grants Pass from California to buy treeboats (a tree climbers hammock) from New Tribe, a tree climbing gear store in the area. Our plan was to visit the National Parks and see bears.

The lovely women at New Tribe gave us directions to the treesit area, but didn't mention that it was a Greenpeace project.

Driving up the hill we had no idea what sort of welcome we would receive, but everyone at the Rescue Station made us feel at home, and we were overwhelmed with their warmth and generosity.

We've been here for over two weeks now, helping with the finishing touches on the platform, hanging banners in the trees, greeting visitors, cooking, washing up, and climb training. Owen was also lucky enough to see his first bear!

This adventure has unveiled a tragedy. The Kelsey-Whisky is only one timber sale area of many. There are 50 within the Klamath-Siskiyou, and 188 in the Pacific Northwest. All of the sales will have devastating effects on the local ecology. To see the trees, the creeks, and the wildlife that depends on these ancient forests, under threat is an experience few of us should have to endure. That's why we've decided to be a part of this campaign.

We're honored to have had this opportunity to help.

Abbie
Volunteer
New Zealand

My first night back at the Forest Rescue Station. It'd been a while, so I chose to spend it up in Blue, the old growth douglas fir tree that plays host to the spacious treesit. When I went to sleep the sky was clear and the stars were amazing; it was a perfect Southern Oregon night.

Sleeping up in a tree platform is always a wonderful experience, the tree was slowly swaying back and forth, it was like being rocked in a cradle. The creatures of the night were performing their usual symphony, the rain drops tapping out rhythms from the sky.

When I walked out of the forest and onto the road I discovered that it hadn't rained at all on the ground, in fact it was totally dry. Then I realized that the night before, water from what was actually just thick fog had been condensing on the needles of the trees and eventually started to fall as rain.

Its amazing how old growth forests can create their own weather; it was more than a microclimate, it was a pico-climate. It was Blue.

by frank

As part of the Greenpeace IT team, I spend most of my days in an office working with electronics, computers or some other anti-luddite activity. Recently I had a chance to break out from the mold and spend the night in 80 feet up a 500-year-old douglas fir.

Having not climbed 90 feet up a tree before, I was a bit scared. The sky was pitch black, and I couldn't see a thing except for the light emanating from headlamps up above. I could hear gentle voices as well, coaching me up the rope. Soon, I was one of them. Making this douglas fir my temporary home.

Not only did the evening cure me from my fear of heights, but it also made me realize how much our old-growth forests need to be saved. Our forests are our refuge. The place where we go to feel connected once again to nature and to each other. Desecrating our forests is short-sighted and is stealing from future generations.

Federal land management agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) should not be selling off the public lands of our great nation. It should preserve them. The BLM should not be attempting to make Greenpeace leave the Kelsey-Whisky timber sale area, it should be praising Greenpeace for recognizing the gravity of the situation.

Jacob Appelbaum
Greenpeace

PHOTO: self-portrait by Jacob Appelbaum.

This morning we all woke up early to do chores and start our day of giving hikes, talks about the surrounding area, and to continue raising awareness about the threats to old-growth trees in the Klamath-Siskiyou.

Several volunteers have joined us over the weekend, and we're excited to have such a great group of people believing that our ancient forests must be protected.

You can help too. Send an email to Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, asking him to stop the Kelsey-Whisky timber sale from moving forward.

It has been an interesting past few days here at the FRS. On Thursday we were given an eviction by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to vacate our own public lands. They gave us 48 hours to leave or else we would have to deal with the legal repercussions.

We'd already had Solstice Celebration planned, and didn't want to cancel it, but we did spread the word that the next morning, we could be facing BLM officials. We were grateful for the 40 people who arrived to stand in solidarity with Greenpeace. We have recieved so much support from the community that we have decided to fullfill our obligation which is to provide support for their efforts to protect these last remaining ancient forest that surround us.

Today we awaited the arrival of the BLM which did drive by at one point to see if we were packing up and going home. But business was as usual here at the Forest Rescue Station, with hikes, natural history talks, and climb training filling the day.

Stay tuned as we continue to defend our forest and our freedoms.

Ginger Cassady
Greenpeace

I came to the Forest Rescue Station after the Earth First! Rendezvous last weekend to lend a hand. After school let out for the summer I decided to dedicate a month toward this cause since the practice of public forest destruction is so prevalent
and monstrous.

The public is not even addressed before our lands are sold and destroyed,
and there is no regard for the other life forms that require these ecosystems to live. I think the public should be more aware of this abuse and exploitation of their land, and that decision makers should realize that we should respect those with whom we share this planet.

This is why I came to support Greenpeace this summer.

Eric Wozniak

This morning is day 8 of my stay at the forest rescue station.
Tomorrow, I have to catch a flight home, and I'm both sad to be leaving and happy about taking a real shower.

I've had an amazing time, meeting so many people from all over the world as well as from Oregon. I've learned so much about the local struggles to save these forests that have been taking place here in Oregon for so many years. I've heard stories about dedication, creativity and mistakes as well. Also, I've learned so much about tree climbing techniques and creating tree sits.

My time here in the forest has been everything from poetic to comedic, from spending time in an incredible ancient forest and seeing the sheer intelligence of the trees to having good times around the camp fire.

I wish I could stay through the next few days and offer my support, but I have to get back to my everyday life and job.

This morning is hot. Its a drastic change from the first few days I was here when we needed layers of clothes to stay warm. Yesterday and today has been so hot I haven't even wanted to wear a shirt.

Having spent almost 3 days up in the tree, I feel at times like I'm swaying when I'm standing on the ground, but it's been great to get to know our tree so closely.

This is a test of our new mobile blogging system.You can expect future updates to the blog in real time now. Thanks goes out to the spectacular IT team here at Greenpeace.

Save our Forests!
Jacob Appelbaum

We met with the Bureau of Land Management this morning, and they have asked us to leave our location in the Zane Grey roadless area of Klamath Siskiyou region of Southern Oregon.

The Forest Rescue station is also within the proposed Kelsey Whiskey timber sale area. The Kelsey-Whiskey is of particular importance because it is surrounded by more than 46,000 acres of roadless area, filled with old-growth trees. In addition, over 90% of the public comments sent to the BLM about this sale were opposed to it, yet the sale is still moving ahead.

They've asked us to leave the area within 48 hours.

The action that we did yesterday was to highlight the destruction on public lands and to show the American people the result of Bureau of Land Management timber sales. Which is essentially clearcuts for the public, and profits for the timber industry.

The Soukow timber sale area that we blockaded yesterday is currently in three phases. One is cut, another is cut but with logs remaining to be removed, and another is standing ancient forests that will be cut. Kelsey Whiskey, where the Forest Rescue Station is located, stands to see the same fate unless the proposed timber sale is cancelled.

On Monday, June 16, 2004, we met with the Bureau of Land Management to talk about the Forest Rescue Station and the permit we applied for. That day, they gave us a two week extension to allow time for the permit to process. The permit pertains only to the area of where the Rescue Station is, which is at the edge of the proposed Kelsey Whiskey Timber sale.

In the permit guideline we were not suppose to block roads or build more structures at this site of the Rescue Station, which is located in the Zane Grey Roadless area.

They said in local media that we have betrayed their trust by doing the action yesterday, but we feel they have been betraying the American public by cutting down our last remaining old-growth forests.

Today the BLM is coming up to the Rescue Station to discuss the situation.

Stay tuned as the story unravels.

Ginger Cassady
Greenpeace

Just got back from visiting the Forest Rescue Station. The station is wonderful, welcoming and very well organized. The folks up there are working hard to make sure everyone is well fed and comfortable. Through rain and shine, there are daily hikes led by local people who are knowledgeable about both the forest ecology and logging threats. Nothing could be more striking than to see which trees will be chosen to be spared, and which will become part of the logging industry machine.

What concerns me most about logging is its impacts on the soil. Trees help retain soil, and up here the vast majority of trees slated to be cut are on steep slopes. One can only imagine the mudslides, erosion, river silt and negative impacts on the plants and animals once the soil is disturbed by a massive logging project.

I was very fortunate to be taken on a hike with Joe and Jay, two people who dedicate their lives to saving these forests. We went to an area south of the Forest Rescue Station in the Siskiyou National Forest. There I saw the beautiful and endangered Port Orford Cedar trees. Tall majestic trees, with silvery bark and aromatic needles. Most of the Port Orford Cedar trees are either growing right on the edge of the stream or within eight feet of it. One tree’s roots were lodged in the side of the stream keeping the soil intact and providing a home for plants and animals that thrive in the water/land interface.

On our hike, we found a Port Orford Cedar that had survived a fire hundreds of years ago -- a true testament to the forest’s ability to thrive after fires, without any help or hindrance from people.

These ancient forests do have great resilience, but with so little left and escalating threats, their ability to rebound is being dangerously undermined.

Calling out an SOS . . .

Pam Wellner
Forest Campaigner

The other day I took Dang, a photographer, on a hike to Kelsey Creek, one of the most magical, mossy, wonderlands around. On our way down to the creek, Dang and I noticed pink flagging around a large, ancient tree.

In timber sale areas it is common to see flags of various colors wrapped around trees. Each colored flag means something specific, from marking boundaries of a timber sale unit, to marking a survey area of some kind. These are normally put in place by the logging bureaucracy.

But this one was different. The flag read: "Red Tree Vole Nest- 5/16/03." This nest was found by a group of citizen surveyors, the Northwest Ecosystem Survey Team (NEST), concerned that the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) aren't doing their best to protect endangered and sensitive species. Their suspicions are often correct.

Groups like NEST were formed all over the Northwest by forest activists, including treesitters, to "flag" endangered species habitat, a job that used to be required of the USFS and the BLM.

The story goes like this. The Northwest Forest Plan (NFP), passed in 1994, mandated the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to survey for rare and sensitive species and manage to protect them. This year, however, the two provisions that at least afforded some protection for endangered and sensitive species were cut from the NFP, leaving species like the red tree vole susceptible to the whims of the USFS and BLM.

Even though groups like NEST have been formed for years, it is now critical for citizens to survey these areas, because the USFS and the BLM no longer have to.

That is why we're here.
To protect not only the trees, but all the other critters here, from tiny bugs and rare lichens, to unique and diverse plant species, red tree voles, bears,
mountain lions, . . .

Come and see for yourself and help us protect this forest.

Hey everybody. John C. Reilly here. I just got back from Oregon and I want to thank everybody I met up there for being so generous and kind to me. I also wanted to use this blog to encourage everyone who reads this to head up to Oregon and check out the forest rescue station.

Even if you have never done this sort of thing before (I hadn't) it is so beautiful up there you will want to stay and help save that sacred place. The people were all really friendly and positive and smart. What better way to spend this beautiful summer than in one of our last remaining stands of ancient forests.

If not now, when?
If not you, who?

Time is not on our side.

Let your voice be heard. And don't forget to VOTE this fall. Much love and strength to everyone all over the world who is standing up for our forests, our peace and our planet,

John C. Reilly

Yesterday we had a meeting with the directors of the Medford Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), which manages approximately 800,000 acres in the Medford area of the Klamath-Siskiyou. There were five of us speaking for the trees: three from Greenpeace, a local forest ecologist/activist and a representative from KS Wild. KS Wild works regionally to protect ancient forests and has been remarkably effective at stopping timber sales through litigation. Many times, however, because of the power of the BLM, the debate turns into a numbers game of how many trees a sale should be limited to, instead of whether the sale should be stopped altogether.

We didn't know what to expect from the meeting, as I'm sure they didn't either. But the fact of the matter is that the rescue station is in a BLM proposed timber sale area, the "Kelsey-Whisky." The Kelsey-Whiskey is of particular importance because it is surrounded by more than 46,000 acres of roadless area, filled with old-growth trees. In addition, over 90% of the public comments sent to the BLM about this sale were opposed to it, yet the sale is moving ahead. This is what we went to talk about.

In discussing the sale during the meeting, one BLM representative admitted that it is within their power to stop the sale, but explained they had no intentions of doing so. Each BLM office has a yearly quota they are expected to fulfill, with the Medford office having a quota of 13 million board feet. We quickly pointed out that these quotas are not legally required in the Northwest Forest Plan, and are reflective of a timber industry wish list. There was no response.

We hope the Forest Rescue Station will help us protect Kelsey-Whiskey and serve as a stage for protecting ancient forests on all our public lands. Throughout the meeting, we remained firm that old-growth logging needs to stop, and we could do that with the support of the BLM -- or not.

Stay tuned.

Bill Richardson
Campaigns Director
Greenpeace

After several months of preparation, yesterday we launched the Forest Rescue Station in the Klamath-Siskiyou region in Southern Oregon. We had a press conference announcing our goals, which ended up all over the 6:00 news. It was truly wonderful to see people from all over the world working together to help raise awareness about the region, giving climb trainings, hikes, and information about our work here. What we didn’t expect was the United States Forest Service to announce a decision to move ahead with the largest timber sale area on public lands since WWII.

It could have been a coincidence that on the very same day we launched the Rescue Station this decision came down, but there has been speculation that our presence put the ruling on the fast track. Over 23,000 comments were submitted on the "Biscuit" timber sale, located in the Siskiyou National Forest, and out of those, 95% were against the logging project.

The Bush Administration, the Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
has once again betrayed the overwhelming majority of people who asked that
both the Biscuit and Kelsey-Whiskey timber sales be stopped. Due to its ecological diversity, the entire Klamath-Siskiyou region is of international significance, and should be protected. Despite the USFS decision, we will ensure that the wishes of the local communities, and the American public are being heard, as it is our land, not the land of the commercial timber industry.

Read our statement about the Biscuit timber sale decision.

My involvement with Greenpeace began a few months ago as a producer and communications spokesperson for an activist film festival in Hollywood called the "Artivist Film Festival." Working closely with the Greenpeace team on our Earth Day Environmental forum, I became immersed in the Endangered Forest, Endangered Freedoms Campaign.

After the Festival, I let people know that I was free to help out with the campaign and would be happy to plug into any role. Three weeks later, I
got a call that the position they needed was camp cook. I told them sure - whatever you need, I'll be there . . . so here I am.

The Forest Rescue Station is open to anyone that wants to come and learn, volunteer, ask questions, or even debate the issues. In just the last week we've had flyfisherman, locals, local enforcement officers, BLM officials, media, media and more media. We are on the front page of every paper in every part of the state and this is just the beginning.

Each of us plays an integral role in keeping the Forest Rescue Station running. Holding the torch like the Statue of Liberty. Great change is at hand. It's about the forests but it's also about so much more. It's about doing the right thing. It's about justice. It's about liberty. And we need you. Grandmothers, parents, children - come to the Forest Rescue Station this summer. Everyone is invited. We need you to help save our old growth forests.

I first came to the Siskiyou in 1972. I had dropped out of high school and moved onto a communal farm near the small town of Takilma. Back then I knew little about the United States Forest Service (USFS) or the more than two hundred million acres of public lands they managed. I had assumed, like most Americans, that they, the forests, were protected from abuse and held in trust for future generations.

In 1982 I returned to meet with local activists about two very large roads that the USFS had proposed to build through the wildest remaining areas on the West Coast of the U.S. mainland. This region contained the largest remaining tracts of old growth forests and was dissected by almost a dozen free running rivers. The roads were to be used to haul logs to the booming lumber mills that had been built to process the trees that were coming off the National Forest. These two proposed roads, the Bald Mountain Road and the Gasquet-Orleanes Road in the Siskiyous were considered the most serious threats to the landmark Wilderness Act, passed in 1964 to create a national wilderness preservation system for lands held in the public trust. If built, they would sever the northern and southern ends of the Siskiyou and open up hundreds of timber sales in the very heart of the last best place to experience large expanses of untouched Ancient Forests.

In 1982, Oregon and Northern California were a hostile place for conservationists to work. There were very few environmental groups operating here, and the larger groups had only a handful of members south of Eugene, or north of Arcata. And while for wilderness activists, the region had global significance as the most diverse conifer forest on Earth, locally very few were aware of its existence, let alone the risks it was facing due to these two proposed roads.

Today we are facing the same threats, if you get into the nitty gritty, some of the names of changed, some are still the same. What hasn't changed is the game of logging. The rhetoric of our federal government has been their greatest ally, keeping the debate about logging going, while they continue to remove our trees, not one by one, but acre by acre, or timber sale by timber sale.