Apparently, Pacific Lumber missed the boat to refile the "Bonanza" THP in Nanning Creek, home of "Spooner" and the Nanning Creek Treesit village. Pacific Lumber was required to file an extension on THP#1-05-097 by mid-March 2008 in order to continue their attempts to log the Ancient Grove(the first of two CDF allowed extensions). To our surprise, PL failed to file the extension, saving Nanning Creek for at least the next 5-8 years. 
The Nanning Creek Treesit began November 2005. "Spooner", one of the largest coast redwoods ever defended, was discovered by an activist named "Jungle". "Jungle" is still missing, and friends and family would appreciate any information in regards to his whereabouts. Many of us are worried there may be foul play involved with his disappearance.
"Spooner" was named by "Amy", the first to climb the 297 foot tall giant. After climbing hundreds of feet to reach "Sprout"(one of "Spooner's" branches or reiterations), "Amy" "Spooned" with "Spooner" on the very first night, without the safety or comfort of a platform or "dream catcher", hence the name "Spooner". As the action continued, other large old growth trees in Nanning Creek were added to the village, both to protect activists and above all, to keep the trees verticle.Over the past 3 years, countless activists have put their hearts and souls into helping continue the collective cause. Nanning Creek was raided by PL just last September, weeks before logging operations were allowed due to the Marbled Murrelett's protective nesting season restrictions.
Activists were quick to respond, and despite PL's attempts to block forest defenders from reestablishing the Nanning Creek action, the Earth Warriors prevailed and "Spooner" continues to stand. We could not have accomplished this victory without the help and patience of dedicated sitters, the bravery of experienced setters, and most importantly the generosity and support of the community at our most needed time.
Nanning Creek has seen quite a diverse crew. Many who have sat and set were experienced from prior Humboldt actions, lifelong forest activists, the bravest of the brave. Many sitters were from international locations, such as Canada and Puerto Rico, just to name a few. Over the past three years, thousands of dollars have been donated locally and from across the nation and around the world to perpetuate this action, primarily from direct contact to the spoonerdirect.org site from multiple and repeat donors and philanthropists. This is appreciated far beyond what words can express.
Due to the dissolution of the greater NCEF! movement, Nanning Creek was virtually an independent action, contrary to what is implied on the NCEF! Media site. My opinion is that this allowed for greater diversity and less inhibition towards individuality, less hierarchy, and more freedom to create as opposed to destroy. This also allowed for important alliances to form, such as between Fern Gully Treesit and Mattole Wildlands Defense, forming Humboldt Forest Defense. One common theme that all activists shared was their beliefs regarding non-violence. Without this shared goal of peace, PL may have been forced to remove us in order to protect equipment, roads, etc.
Nanning Creek sitters cared a lot about one particular tree, "Spooner", the largest of the grove. As well as the freedoms that sitters enjoyed from not having the complexities of answering to an office bound pencil pusher in town, "Spooner" was the magical force that brought real and active activists together, to recognize the common goal of saving the Ancient grove. "Spooner" kept us honest, and held us together as a group just as "Spooner" held us safely hundreds of feet above the ground.A lot of Nanning's defenders experienced dreams of "Spooner" asking for help, even before hearing about the action. Those who stayed long enough developed a remarkable and almost obsessive relationship with the tree, one that can never be explained by science or words. Forest defenders in Nanning have a deep place in their hearts for "Spooner". No one ever left the tree unless the tree was safe. I believe that this connection to a 2000+ year old ancient being that so many shared saved "Spooner", and the rest of the grove. I, along with many others, feel that "Spooner" asked us all to help keep up the fight, and to treat this risk that we took seriously.
And we all did. We all answered the call for help together in solidarity. We all stood together against great odds. Not many treesits have worked like this in the past. Sadly, some actions fell to internal conflicts and lack of community interest. Some were even abandoned by their supposed defenders, which is truly no one's fault. Usually the first people to complain about an action are those who are doing the least work, or have the least involvement in the day to day aspects of sustaining a safe and sustainable action.
There were and are multiple affinity groups who kept the action going, and this could not have been accomplished without the continuous cycle of new (learning) visitors and returning (teaching) defenders. Nanning Creek has taught an incredible amount of activists how to build and sustain a treesit, a starting point for forest activism across the continent and hopefully around the world. Caring is sharing, and it is everyone's hope that this experience will sprout new actions needed desperately right now, around the entire planet.
Our deepest thanks and eternal gratitude for those who sat through freezing storms, braved dangerous winds, and sat non-violently through flying squirrel attacks. To the donors and local contributers who saw past Shunka's NCEF! Media scam, and made sure that the much needed funding made it to where it was really needed, to the treesitters in the woods. Also, to those who supported the action by hiking food in and garbage out, rain or shine, this could not have happened without you. There is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears on that trail leading to Nanning Creek, home of "Spooner".
Most thanks of all to those who passed their wisdom of non-violence and the necessity of keeping it safe, and those who took their gifts seriously. We are grateful that we all made it here to this day, alive, well and accident free.
SPOONER STANDS! SPOONER WILL CONTINUE TO STAND!
BLESSINGS TO ALL WARRIORS OF THE EARTH! THIS IS PROOF THAT REAL ACTIONS WORK. YOU TRULY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD. NO MATTER HOW FAR GONE YOU MAY THINK THE PLANET AND SOCIETY HAS STRAYED PAST THE TIPPING POINT, THE LIGHT WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL. YOU ONLY NEED TO RECOGNIZE YOUR PLACE IN THIS WORLD, THAT YOU ARE NEEDED, AND THAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE. DON'T LET THE DARK DISCOURAGE YOU. NEVER, EVER GIVE UP YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS, MAGIC AND/OR SPIRIT WILL HELP YOU BECAUSE THE EARTH NEEDS YOU, THE PLANET NEEDS YOUR HELP RIGHT NOW MORE THAN EVER.
LOVE AND PEACE ALWAYS,
FROM THE TREES.
JEFF MUSKRAT
JEFF MUSKRAT
spooner@spoonerdirect.org
PS. Spooner has introduced the most amazing and beautiful people into my life and has brought me so many life changing revelations and lessons. For that alone, I am eternally inspired and grateful to help protect a 297 foot tall Sequoia Sempervirens with an eviction notice named Spooner. I would do it all again, even if it only bought a few years of time for an Ancient one.
We must respect our elders.
You really can learn a lot from a tree.
PS. Spooner has introduced the most amazing and beautiful people into my life and has brought me so many life changing revelations and lessons. For that alone, I am eternally inspired and grateful to help protect a 297 foot tall Sequoia Sempervirens with an eviction notice named Spooner. I would do it all again, even if it only bought a few years of time for an Ancient one.
We must respect our elders.
You really can learn a lot from a tree.
7 comments:
I was very happy to hear the news about the "Bonanza" logging plan not being extended. Tree-sitting is like any other action, sometimes it has the desired effect other times it doesn't. More often than not they have a combination of desirable and undesirable effects.
The plundering of Nanning Creek's ancient redwoods is a tragedy but at least these magnificent and important trees remain.
I hope this means that the tree-sitters can come down relatively soon once the Marbled Murrelet (highly endangered) nesting season starts and logging is prohibited. Once the human presence in the canopy is gone, the chances of survival for Murrelet chicks will greatly increase.
Myself and a close friend came across "Spooner" directly after the "Bonaza" logging plan had been filed and before the tree-sit was built. We were awestruck by this amazingly huge tree. I am glad that this tree will remain for future generations of humans to behold and, hopefully, for future generations of Marbled Murrelets to breed in.
The remaining ancient Redwoods are a small fraction of what existed before industrial logging took hold. We can get all the wood we need without cutting any more of these giant ancient trees.
Here is a proposed situation, JD#86:
PL has filed for bankruptcy. This creates an issue for debt collectors and suits against PL.
If the company is disolved, so is any claim against PL(maybe not against MAXXAM), including penalties and fines against PL for violating Marbled Murrelet nesting season.
Why should PL care about breaking the law if they are no longer culpable in the future? Mendocino Redwood Company would not inherit PL's culpability either.
Even if PL keeps the company, would the fines outweigh the harvest yields?
So, are the trees really safe in Nanning, now, or even in the near future?
I don't know what the fines are but if you expand upon that line of thinking it brings up more questions.
Why don't they just go around logging every oldgrowth tree on their land without permission from the government?
Why aren't there tree-sitters in oldgrowth groves where logging has not been approved?
Why doesn't PL just go and cut the rest of the Old-growth trees in Nanning Creek that don't have tree-sitters in them whenever they feel like it?
One more question, why didn't PL cut the trees down during murrelet nesting season last year when the tree-sits weren't occupied ?
There is no "media scam;" this is more of the slanderous/libelous nature of the so-called "Humboldt Forest Defense Association," especially Jeff Muskrat. I still consider myself an Earth First!er, and the NCEF! Media office still produces a lot of media and support for both the Fern Gully and Nanning Creek tree-villages. Such immature behaviour is one of the main reasons people are turned off to our local movement, and continuing the public slander/libel campaign against me only shows the divisive nature of some of the people associated with the "Humboldt Forest Defense Association" (what a corporate-sounding name).
I'm sure you'll moderate this out, just know that you're losing support by posting lies about me, because a lot of people know that I've been involved for years and continue to support truly non-violent activists and campaigns. I leave your link on the website for the trees themselves, and I hope Spooner does get saved.
I'm still for the forest, and against the backstabbing, dishonest behaviour of many of the people in the local "movement."
Shunka wrote: "...and the NCEF! Media office still produces a lot of media and support for both the Fern Gully and Nanning Creek tree-villages."
I must ask, how much is "a lot", and is there any current or even recent media endeavors to justify your claims or for your existance as the unofficial NCEF spokesperson?
Shunka also wrote: "I leave your link on the website for the trees themselves, and I hope Spooner does get saved."
Well Shunka, if you were in the loop, you may have been aware that Spooner and Nanning Creek is saved. This is actually old news.
Also, you needed to post other peoples actions to promote the existance of your questionable website. You need us, but history shows that we never needed you. There was never any symbiotic relationship between you and the trees. You took and took, but never gave.
Wait a minute, I forgot, your paid the pager bill for the past few years...and that's about it. Thank you Shunka, we couldn't have done it without you:)(sarcastically)
I truly hope you find your place in this world...
Your redwoods are our redwoods. How is that the timber worker and his company had spread and perpetuated such huge lies that they could play the role of the creator spirit and treat such Cathederals and her sacred places as sewers to do what they want - to annihilate beauty. I know your anguish for such evil thoughts and this stench of grab and take. We've had similar minds here in West Australia trying to destroy beauty, cutting our forests for charcoal and woodchips. It is such a sad thing to watch forest red tail and white tail black cockatoos arcing around the remains of their hollows when the logging contractors have done their deed. Don't give up your struggle. We need people like you there to look after our world, it belongs to us all. It doesn't belong to those who would rape and destroy it - that much is clear. Go well, Tim McCabe
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