MAY-hem

It's the end of May, which means gearing up for a summer of action in the woods and on the streets! This week we have you booked with workshops and one sweet party. Come on down and join the fun!

MAY 30th, Wednesday
Starting this Wednesday, 11 a.m., join us at the Lorax on 1648 Alder for our weekly climb training. It's time to get the skills you need for all of those beautiful trees and pesky flag poles that you've been thinking about scaling. After you learn how to tie those knots, find out how you can plug in to CFD actions...

JUNE 1st, Friday

This Friday, our weekly meeting moves outside for the season: 4 pm at the park on 17th and Charnelton. Bring your lemonade, your sunscreen, and your slingshot planner. Time to get organized!

Then, Friday night, and this Friday only, head to the Lorax for an evening of stories and workshops from the Earth First! Roadshow. The Roadshow folks have been traveling Cascadia to promote the upcoming Earth First! Cascadia Regional Rendezvous, and Eugene is one of their last stops. Don't miss out, 6 pm. Free/donation.

JUNE 2nd, Saturday
The Roadshow is also co-sponsoring a Strategic Action Planning Workshop with the Survival Center's "Mayhem Action Toolkit." Come learn how to plan a direct action with your activist group or small, dedicated, bad ass group of friends. Saturday Noon at the Survival Center (Erb Memorial Union) on the UO campus.

Whew! You've been climbing trees and getting organized all week. Time to party! Rumor has it, Cascadia Forest Defenders know how to get down, and when Northwest Ecosystem Survey Team is in town, the dance floor gets pretty rowdy. This Saturday night, 9:00 p.m., come out to the Bike Church Warehouse on 299 Garfield (a short bike ride from the Whiteaker) for an evening of live music, food, drink, and marshmallow roasting. Featuring: Eleven Eyes, Inner Limits, and the Alder Street All Stars.

"Inner Limits is the best band in Eugene," says Cascadia Forest Defender "Doo-wop."

Door donation $5-$15 dollars, depending on how much chili you plan on eating. As always, Forest Defenders hate to turn folks away at the door, but we're certainly more likely to give you a discount if you bring a few friends.

House party!

This Friday, May 18th, some friends of ours are throwing us a house party! Come on down to "the Gnarly Barn," on 8th and Van Buren, for a wild dance party to benefit Cascadia Forest Defenders. We've been busy throwing up banners in front of the state capitol and camping in the trees, and we could certainly use some more funds for gear, food, and legal defense. Come with a friend, some dancin' shoes, and three dollars donation for the door. Admission free if you bring a non-perishable food item for our pantry.

Occupy the Flagpole!

Salem, Oregon: At 7:45 AM on Thursday, May 10^th a member of the Cascadia Forest Defenders climbed the flagpole in front of the State Capitol, demanding that Governor Kitzhaber and the State Land Board decouple public school funding from state forest management. The activist hung a large banner reading “Schools vs. Trees? We want both!”

While Governor Kitzhaber claims that increased clear cutting in the Elliott State Forest is necessary to maintain funding for public schools, less than one percent of Oregon public school funding comes from logging on state lands. In April, Governor Kitzhaber admitted that revenue collected from certain state lands—called the Common School Fund-- was a “drop in the bucket” for our starving public school system. Cascadia Forest Defenders say: Stop clear-cutting ancient forests for “a drop in the bucket”!

“The two things I care about most in my state are schools and forests, and now I know that Kitzhaber has compromised both.” says Eugene teaching assistant Erin Grady. “We're here because we think that Kitzhaber is pitting our schools against our forests, and we don't think that's fair to either.”

In 2011 Kitzhaber and the State Land Board approved a plan that nearly doubles the annual clearcut in the Elliott State Forest. The Land Board claims that logging on state lands must increase to maintain the Common School Fund, which distributes profits from some state logging and mining operations to public schools.

Yet, Oregon's timber elite have dodged millions of dollars in taxes since Kitzhaber got rid of the timber harvest privilege tax in 1999. The Oregon Department of Revenue estimates that Oregon loses $70 million in tax revenues per year since Kitzhaber passed Oregon House Bill 3575. That's nearly ten times what the state gets annually from clear cutting the Elliott State Forest.

In 2011, 48.8 million dollars were distributed to schools from the Common School Fund, a negligible contribution to Oregon's 2011 school budget of nearly 6 billion. 

 

Cascadia Forest Defenders want good schools for Oregon's children and vibrant, intact ecosystems. We believe that education should not be funded by clear-cuts. There are no schools on a dead planet!

Earth First! Cascadia Bioregional Rendezvous

Join Earth First!ers in Cascadia, the land of the rushing rivers, giant trees, and thriving biodiversity, for a gathering of those building the biocentric resistance movement. Gain skills in woods stealth, action planning and organization, communication, and more in a beautiful, remote, and threatened location.

Invite your friends, get ready to be in the woods, and save the date for June 20 – 25th in the woods of Cascadia.

For more information about the event, contact info and rideshare checkout: http://cascadia2012.com/
or check it out on Fakebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/287371561352395/

Stay tuned for the Earth First! Roadshow coming to a town near you.