walbran valley reunion 2011

2011-08-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

Cantilever blockade, August 91. With the donated van with a log over a cliff with a platform and a protester hanging from the end. The story goes that when the loggers first saw this, they went back to their vehicles and came back holding three cards with 10-10-10 written on them, similar to how judges score in gymnastics events. Thanks to Brent for the photo.

2011-07-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

Poster from '93 trying to get people involved in the forest blockades. Thanks to max

2011-05-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

Frog.
A tiny bright green frog
ringed by a collar of
golden light, sits peacefully
on the forest floor, ferns
move slightly in the soft
current of air, succulent
plumes shimmer, silver
droplets sprinkle down.
The frog lands on the ferns
delicate surface, stem bends
acting as a tense spring-board
for the frogs next mighty
leap.

Poem by Max Sloan, written in the Walbran Valley August 91. Photo of a Pacific Tree Frog.Thanks Max, wishing you could of made the Reunion.

2011-05-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

Trail Building Crew in the Walbran, Spring 92.
Can recognize a few faces and the faithful blue van. Thanks to Brett for the photo.

2011-05-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

Reading of the injunction on the bridge Walbran 91. Thanks to brett for the photo

2011-04-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

August 91, lots of police with hefty video cameras, it would be great to get some of the footage. We made a 'Freedom of Information Request' about a year ago for all the RCMP evidence for the three summers in the valley, havent heard anything back yet. thanks to Brett for the picture

2011-02-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Looking up into the canopy of a Sitka spruce, the upper branches covered in a fringe of Licorice Ferns, lichens and mosses. Perfect nesting spots for the endangered Marbled Murrelet, only found in old growth coastal rainforest. Thanks to Rob for the photo

2011-02-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

Large Sitka spruce in the Walbran Valley. The Carmanah, the next valley north has the tallest tree in Canada, a spruce measuring over 311 feet (95 meters) high. There are lots over 250 feet in the Walbran. Thanks to rob for the photo

2011-02-05T12:56:00.000-08:00

Looking up the Walbran Creek from the bridge, towards where the west Walbran creek joins. Thanks to Rob for the photo

2011-02-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

'Stop Clear cuts' carved into the bridge across the Walbran creek, looking a bit weathered after almost twenty years of some of the wettest weather in the world. The coastal rain forest gets over 12 feet of rainfall annually. Thanks to Rob for the photo

2010-12-08T21:38:00.000-08:00

Getting close to the mouth of the Walbran after about a two day hike from the bridge. You can see on the massive Cedar log across the creek some drift wood left there by the winter floods that show how high the water gets, that has to be over 25 feet. Not sure how many people have made this hike, beautiful canyon, big trees, and sculpted rocks. August 1999. photo peter

2010-12-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

Check out this Walbran related blog.
http://theraydiantlabyrinth.blogspot.com/2010/07/walbran-valley-chapter-7-part-1.html

2010-12-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

Picture of the first arrest, Faith Macfarlane getting arrested for contempt of court for blockading access into the Walbran Valley. On the 24th july 1991. That could be the date to have a reunion this coming summer, 24th July 2011. Anyone have any opinions on this, a time to camp out and sing a few songs or.....

2010-04-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

A few kilometres downstream from Anderson is Foetus lake, a difficult place to hike too but beautiful. again there trees around there are huge. We made it there one summer, the lake was filled with lily pads and the air with dragon flies. Thanks to philip hoen for the photo

2010-04-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

An ariel view of Anderson Lake, the spruce and cedar trees there are so huge it makes the lake look small. There is also extensive flood plains around the lake which has caused problems for people camping. The haddon main line was heading towards this before it was stopped. Thanks to philip hoen for the photo.

2010-04-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

One of the first kitchens at the blockade just across the bridge and beside the walbran creek. It had to be moved as the creek rose in some heavy summer rain and nearly washed it all away. The organisational structure of the direct action camp was in-powering it was very 'do-it-youself' or ' do-ito-ourselves'. To quote anarchist author Colin Ward " They organise in loosely associated groups which are voluntary, functional, temporary and small. They depend, not on membership cards, votes, a special leadership and a herd of inactive follwers but on small, functional groups which ebb and flow and regroup, according to the task in hand.They are networks, not pyramids". Thanks to phillip hoen for the photo

2010-04-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

Another view of the log over the cliff blockade. If the log had been just a bit longer it would have been out of reach of the police. Thanks to phillip hoen for the photo.

2010-03-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

The remains of the platform after the shit covered tree sitter had escaped, the loggers had cut it into small pieces. Later that year i walked the cut block that he was trying to prevent and we found the stump of a massive Red cedar. We measured it out at over 20' in diameter with about 100 plus rings per foot.

2010-03-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

The infamous tree sit, where as the cops and loggers moved in to remove it with a crane, the sitter stripped naked and from his shit bucket scooped out hand fulls and covered himself in his own shit, taunting the cops to now come get him. As they lowered the platform down, he cut his safety line and holding one end jumped of the platform, 30' from the ground swung over the heads of the police and loggers crashed into the trees and took of running eluding pursuit and living to tell the tale. He was quoted as saying ' I used my own personal mountie deterrent'. This tactic caused a lot of debate, most of it negative, it was an extreme thing to do but I walked the clearcut that this platform tried to stop and in it we found a Cedar stump 21' in diameter, counting the rings we worked out it was close to 1200 years old. September 91.

2010-03-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

'Graple yarder that grapled more than it could graple'
Pencel drawing done by jon in 91. Just a reminder if you click on any of these images they'll get bigger. Thanks to Bee for saving that one and passing it on.

2009-11-16T23:31:00.000-08:00

Road blockade, Walbran valley August 91;
Dont have any information on this one, if anyone has any info on this picture let me know, thanks

2009-09-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

Graffiti on the bridge over the walbran creek. 1991;
The story goes that it was painted at night while an unsuspecting secruity guard walked back and forth on the bridge. The graffitist had to inch out on the lip of the girder unroped thirty feet above the rocks. Its still there just a bit faded. thanks to jason for the picture

2009-08-21T21:35:00.000-07:00

'The Road Stops Here', the 1991 documentry on the Walbran Valley blockade made by Heather Frise and Velcrow Ripper.

2009-07-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

This is'nt the same bloackade from below. Its the first of two cantilever blockades, the most sucessfuly structures we used, they held up logging most of a day. The log is counterweighted by a vw van filled with rocks, donated of course. thanks to mac and to jason millar for the photo

2009-07-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

The cantilevered log blockade, one end is weighted down by an old van put to good use and the other end with a platform and protester suspended over a cliff. Check out the photo above.There are some better photos of this which im trying to track down. Thanks to Jason millar for the photo

2009-06-27T22:56:00.000-07:00

The many blockades over the summers of 91-93 brought those attempting to stop road building and logging and those who made their living working for the corporations. It was a pretty antagonistic relationship, how could it not be, but it was a failure in those years that our two differing worlds couldnt find more things in common. In the summer of '92' Rhada Bhatt a member of the Chipko forest defenders in India visited the Walbran. She commented that we needed a peoples movement and not just an activist movement, that all of us have to be involved in protecting the forest. Thanks to jason millar for the photo.

2009-06-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

A mix of opinions on the bridge beside where the blockade started. And there was also the name of the american environmental group Earth First! and the loggers would add ' we'll log the others later'. A bit more witty than these! Thanks to jason millar for the photo.

2009-06-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

Even in August you could probably die of hypothermia in the rain forest! Amanda, Rolly and Maggie at the relocated camp.

2009-06-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

A few days later and it becomes just another loggging road opening up the forest to the loggers. Not stopping this was a blow to us all but our efforts at saving the Walbran carried on.

2009-06-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

The weather turns rainy and the heavy machinary moves in, the wild forest waits in front of it. The camp now was moved due to police injunctions and regrouped to attempt to block other roads, Haddon main and spur roads that lead to individaul cut blocks. thanks to sylthia and randy cummins.

2009-06-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Picture of part of the camp with the stump of the big snag. Our dream that 'the road stops here' was on the ground. The story goes that the evening before an unidentified man arrived in the camp with a pickup truck with 46 cases of beer in the back and said that this is a 'donation to the cause'. In a camp where stress was high and the weather hot, a large part of the protesters precided to get a bit drunk and stay up late. Early that morning the police and loggers turned up and caught the camp off guard and hung over. Thanks to sylthia and randy cummins for the photo

2009-06-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

The end of 'Glad lake main', late July 1991, various tree sits where put up in the forest in the background that slowed road building. Thanks to sylthia and randy cummins for the photo.

2009-06-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

Bill, Jeff, Rolly, where is he now! This is before he acquired his other alias. thanks to sylthia and randy cummins for photo.

2009-06-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

The second tree sit that was back in the forest from the one at the end of the road, near the temporary shelter 'the bender'. Note the handy white bucket close to hand. thanks to sylthia and randy cummins for the photo.

2009-06-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

View across bridge to the snag at the end of the road and then the bottom picture is it cut and the loggers falling trees for the road. thanks to sylthia and randy cummins for the photo.

2009-06-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

26th july 1991;
"This was the day of our first protest and we were just watching when the nice r.c.m.p man said to me 'youve got 10 seconds to get your fucking ass out of here or youll fucking well be under arrest'. " thanks to sylthia and randy cummins. Does anyone know the names of any of these people from this picture, the guy in the red jacket was some kind of baliff and would serve injunctions, i remember his nickname 'the weasel'. the guy with the blue jacket and beard i think is Greg!

2009-06-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

August 5th 1991
Protest camp on road by the bridge. " First aid tent (orange tarp) stuck just far enougth out so that they could almost get by. Slowed their big machine down and then it was no more mr nice guy and it it was ripped down to the ground". thanks to sylthia and randy cummins.

2009-06-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

The Road Stops Here!
Photo taken by Jon from the 'snag' platform that blocked the road after it crossed the Walbran creek, end of july 1991,thanks to syltha cummins

First days

2009-03-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

First days of the blockade, late july! 1991. before the road block was slowly pushed further and further backwards. Velcrow Ripper with camera filming, Faith Macfarland sitting, she was later one of the first people to be arrested in the blockades.The white vehicle to the left is an immoblie Fletcher Challange logging truck.

christine

2008-11-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

After growing up in Vancouver, then spending five years in England, I found that my activist leanings led me here, to the west coast of Vancouver Island. I was led to something I'd never heard of: temperate rainforest. Here were immense western red cedars as old as 1500 years, possibly even 2000 years, upon which the moss appeared to grow as thick as the walls of some castles I’d seen. My fellow Canadians were clearcutting the trees for a New Zealand corporation.
Hiking past waterfalls on the Walbran River, I gaped at creamy Salvador Daliesque canyon walls reflected in jade-green water. Beyond a campsite dubbed Giggling Spruce, a landlocked lake supported its own exclusive species of trout. Some of the cedars were natural works of art themselves. With their gargantuan candelabra crowns, they looked like multi-headed elephants, every trunk raised.
As scientists searched for endangered marbled murrelets and activists gave tree-climbing workshops, I began to feel at home in the rainforest. Addictions to junk food and certain television shows fell away. Poems about roots and bugs seemed to write themselves. An unmistakable sensation of time slowing down permeated my blood, and a week went by without use of a mirror. Being a temporary inhabitant of an ecosystem that took ten thousand years to evolve stretched and calmed my mind.
The creation of this blog is a mind-boggling, heart-expandingly generous act.
SAVE THE WALBRAN.
Christine Lowther (Raggy)

November 14, 2008 11:58 PM

2008-10-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

Journal entry Walbran Valley, 1991. Pt 1

2008-10-24T22:24:00.000-07:00

Traveling along these logging roads the bumpy rock surface and the dust can make the journey almost intolerable. Outside the cramped van through the smudged windows the sight of the huge clear cuts of industrial forestry would hold my gaze, the trees, rocks, soil everything overturned as if it had been plowed and beaten. Then the van would turn a curve and views open up of whole valleys, every tree gone, in recent clearcuts the colour a reddish brown which fades into grey. Looking around the hills are 'mohawked' with only patches of forest left standing, small fragments amongst the landslides and burn piles .The pure scale of the destruction would keep my attention fixed outside, only when I become tired and closed my eyes against the rumble of rocks on tires would I feel the jarring of the road.

On this night the clearcuts were thankfully hidden as we drove in the dark and my thoughts were occupied by what unknowns lay ahead of me. Earlier I had been shaken awoke at my campsite. What I had volunteered and spent an afternoon training for was turning into practice, I was going to be a tree sitter. To place myself up high in the forest canopy to block the road builders and the loggers and to activly become a defender of the forest. As I had blearily stuffed my sleeping bag in to my pack, shivering from nerves and the chill of the early morning, my friends still asleep around me.

The darkness around the car became slightly brighter and we slowed as the headlights picked out a large steel gate blocking the road. There was movement and a figure dressed thickly in rain gear shone a flash light towards us, a logging company security guard whose lonely job out here was to guard this gate and the machinery behind it. Beyond him maybe four hundred feet away the road abruptly stopped and the wild unlogged forest began.

At the sight of the gate we are already low in the passenger seats out of view, our driver kept the lights on high and as the guard came forward having to shield his eyes from the glare, we opened the door and crouching low closed it behind us and crept into the large ditch a few feet away. Once there we could hear the guard and our driver talking and we carefully started working our way along the ditch past the car, then the gate and further along we got back up onto the road. We walked as fast as we could towards the forest, to my relief there was no shout or challenge from behind. My backpack swung uncomfortably as I struggled with the weight of a weeks worth of food my friend leading the way carried my climbing gear.

With just the light of our headlamps the dark front of the forest loomed up and one second we were in the open scrapyard of the clearcut and next we stepped into the peace of the forest, hanging mosses brushed my face and the soft soil cushioned our footsteps.

Our guide here was the fluorescent surveyors tape which marked out the path for the logging road. This was handy as you can easily get lost bushwhacking and at night it becomes ridiculously easy to get disorientated. After what seemed to me quite awhile we stopped in the darkness and shining our flashlights up into the branches between three large trees we could see way up there the straight lines of the ropes and caught in the middle was the dark rectangle of the platform.

Protesters had been using tree sitting in the Walbran for about 2 months. The logging corporations with the law behind them had trashed legal protests and blockades of roads. So climbing and sitting in trees prevented them from being cut and stopped or delayed the building of roads. At first the platform was attached directly to the tree but after loggers started climbing up and being verbally and physically abusive. The tactic was changed to where a platform was suspended between various trees, protecting the sitter a bit and it also increased the area that couldn't be cut. From these and other efforts Fletcher Challenge and Macmillan Bloedel was running four weeks behind.
Standing at the base of the tree it all felt so hurried as I fumbled to put on my climbing harness, we were still vulnerable, and needed to be off the ground quick. A small line was tied to the back of my harness and I started climbing, after a jump to start there were evenly spaced branches all the way. With just the light from my head lamp giving me a radius within a foot of my face I wasn't slowed by any awareness of the height I was gaining. When I got to the ropes that were tied off to the tree I clipped the carabiner on my harness on to one of them locked it and pushed out along a branch and walked off the end. I didn't feel the height again in the darkness I could have been five feet off the ground instead of eighty or more.
The ropes sagged as my full weight left the tree and I slid downward to the mid-point of the rope and then had to pull hand over hand uphill to get to the platform. The closer I got the steeper the gradient on the rope, to a point that I started to struggle, my arms burned tension gripped my shoulders my legs kicked in the air. My body started to doubt what it had been talked into, I could feel the word 'can't' float into my mind, I was gonna say it. I lunged and grasped at the platform, grabbing something solid which I pulled myself towards and climbed on.

2008-09-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

looking west towards the ocean, walbran
valley, 91

original flyer from june 91