Backus, MN: Water Protectors Blockade Line 3 Pipe-yard

pic via Giniw Collective

cross-posted from the Giniw Collective

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 28, 2020
Contact: giniw@protonmail.com

Water Protector Ascends Tripod Blockading Enbridge Line 3 Pipe-yard

(Backus, MN) Monday morning, a water protector bravely ascended a tripod high in the air blockading an Enbridge pipe-yard, as dozens of supporters held space below.

Since giving the final green light on November 30th for Enbridge to bulldoze through Minnesota’s watersheds for its tar sands expansion project, the Walz administration has met a series of escalating direct actions with complete silence. Actions have ranged from mass arrest, prayer walks to proposed river drilling sites, tree sits, and locking to heavy equipment.

On December 19th, a Line 3 construction worker was killed at an Enbridge worksite. After an hours-long halt, work resumed.

Before ascending into the air in front of a tar sands pipe-yard, Emma Harrison said, “I’m part of the Line 3 resistance movement because this pipeline embodies everything I believe is wrong with the world. Profits for a few are being privileged over the well-being of all communities near and far, present and future. Stopping Line 3 is a tangible way to fight for the world I want to live in.”

Live updates and photos can be found on Giniw Collective’s Facebook page.

Water Protectors Ascend Trees to Block Enbridge From Drilling Line 3 Tar Sands Under Mississippi River

photo via Ginew Collective

cross-posted from the Ginew Collective

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: giniw@protonmail.com
December 4th, 2020
Palisade, MN – Two water protectors began tree sits in the forest set to be logged for the drill pad of Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline at the Missisippi River. These sits are direct blockades to the attempt by Enbridge to drill Line 3 under the Mississippi River.
On Monday, Democrat Governor Tim Walz’ administration approved the final permits for Enbridge’s Line 3, a nearly 1M barrel per day tar sands pipeline transporting oil from Alberta for distribution to foreign market.
Tribal nations and local groups are seeking an injunction to stay construction while pending lawsuits are considered and the massive health risks building Line 3 poses during the COVID-19 pandemic – their request will be heard today at Minnesota Public Utility Commission. As of December 2nd, Minnesota is number one in the United States for number of COVID-19 cases per day. Enbridge has established multiple worksites along the Line 3 route with temporary housing facilities for its workers.
From their platform in the air, Willow said, “As I look out over the Mississippi River, the central artery of life on the Northern half of Turtle Island, I am comfortable in the certainty that we’re on the right side of history following the biological imperative encoded in our very DNA — to cherish life.”
Liam DelMain, 22, of Minneapolis, said, “Water is not invincible. That’s why I am here. Because Line 3 is a threat to the waters I hold dear, and that we all rely on. This pipeline project is violence. It is violence on the water, and on the people. It is a project that disregards the treaty rights of indigenous people, accepts the inevitable toxic spills into waterways, and greatly heightens the death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic in local communities. I am here, putting my body on the line, because I have been left with no other choices.”

Two Water Protectors Lock Down to Enbridge Line 3 Excavators Blocking Active Construction

cross-posted from the Ginew Collective

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: giniw@protonmail.com
November 18, 2020

Two Water Protectors Lock Down to Enbridge Line 3 Excavators Blocking Active Construction

(Two Inlets, MN) This morning, two water protectors locked their bodies through the treads of excavators working on a pump station for Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline, as dozens of others rallied in support.

Last week, Democratic Governor Tim Walz’ administration approved the last major permits needed by Enbridge, a Canadian multi-national seeking to build the Line 3 expansion project to carry Alberta tar sands to the shore of Lake Superior. The administration approved sending up to 1M barrels of tar sands per day through 212 water bodies and 818 wetlands in Anishinaabe treaty territory of northern Minnesota.

On Monday, the 12 of 17 members of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Environmental Justice Advisory Group resigned, calling the permit approvals a continuation of Minnesota’s “war on black and brown people”. George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier this year.

When asked why they would take such a risk to their safety and freedom, Betsy Foy, 20, (St. Paul), said, “I grew up in Nebraska hearing about the devastation the Keystone pipeline would cause, so when I moved to Minnesota and learned about Line 3, I felt called to take action. Even if I can’t stop something on my own, it’s vital to have many people in the movement standing in solidarity.”

Mira Grinsfelder, 24, (St. Paul), said, “Having grown up on occupied Anishinaabe and Dakota land, I feel a responsibility to defend that land and the rights of the people who have a relationship to it. If the US government won’t defend Anishinaabe treaty rights, we will. If the Minnesota government won’t protect the water, we will.”

Cops raid protest camp in Capitol Forest, lone man in canopy continues to block logging

Cross-posted from the Chameleon Blockade

For Immediate Release: 

Contacts: Chameleon Blockade, (360) 209 6426, chameleonblockade@protonmail.com

Ian Frederick, (360) 474 2387

Nathan McKay, mckayresources@protonmail.com

Cops raid protest camp in Capitol Forest, lone man in canopy continues to block logging

Capitol State Forest, WA – Early Wednesday afternoon, a convoy of trucks from at least four different law enforcement agencies parked on a logging road for an unannounced raid on a camp of forest protection activists, sweeping the camp away and leaving one man in the forest canopy tied to a contraption that continues to impede work on the controversial “Chameleon” timber sale. The officers came from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington State Patrol, the state Fish and Game Department, and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the agency which planned and sold the timber sale and manages all of the Capitol State Forest. Law enforcement temporarily closed the roads to through traffic while they cleared the activists from the camp.

Alex Johnson, 29, a teacher from Olympia, was on the ground making coffee when the cops arrived. “There were just so many of them,” he said. “It seems like a lot of force to bring to deal with two unarmed civilians eating lunch.”

The two activists were briefly detained before being allowed to walk away while the officers attempted to negotiate with the remaining “tree-sitter” who continued to block the logging road. The DNR law enforcement eventually brought in spotlights and a generator and began to prepare for an extended siege of the tree-sit, which Mr. Johnson predicted would last a long time.

“I think these cops underestimate John’s commitment and endurance,” he said. “He thought hard about this before doing it, and he’s prepared to stay for quite a while. He’s one of the most stubborn guys I’ve ever met, and I tried to tell the cops that but I don’t think it’s sunk in for them yet.”

Johnson was referring to his friend in the canopy, John “Tree’Angelo” Barksdale. Mr. Barksdale, 34, an outdoor educator from Tumwater, has watched with dismay over the past several years as the DNR has systematically clear-cut most of its remaining old-growth stands. An avid hiker, he’s seen many of his favorite local trails turned to moonscapes.

“Unit 1 of Chameleon is some of the most intact forest, the best habitat left across one hundred thousand acres,” Barksdale said. “If we want all this to actually be a forest and not just an oversized tree plantation, we need to save at least something. We can’t clear-cut all of it.”

Barksdale has used years of climbing experience to erect a unique “dunk-tank” platform atop an old-growth douglas-fir tree, tied to an abandoned Ford Explorer parked across the proposed logging road. If the car moves, his platform drops. It’s about one hundred feet down to the steep slopes of the forest below. Barksdale claims to have plenty of food and water and says he is prepared to wait out the DNR indefinitely.

“I’ve always wanted to tree-sit,” he says. “I love trees. I love camping. I can work remotely out here and attend Zoom meetings from right here on the platform. It’s super dreamy up here, and I’m trying to save these trees. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing.”

The protest camp, which was started ten days ago by a few friends of Mr. Barksdale, quickly picked up support from local hunters, fishermen and ATV users concerned about the health of the forest. Protectors of the Salish Sea, an indigenous water advocacy group, held space with songs and prayers at the blockade on Saturday. Multiple community groups across Thurston County have come out in support of the blockade and are calling for the cancellation of the timber sale.

“Governor Inslee claims to be the ‘climate Governor’, and even ran for President of the United States on a platform based on tackling climate change, yet he continues to allow the Department of Natural Resources to clearcut our state’s forests despite their potential to mitigate the climate crisis,” said Nathan McKay, a landscape architect from Lacey, Washington. “If Inslee was really a climate leader, he would call off this timber sale, and protect our forests for their carbon sequestration and storage potential.”

A rally is planned for today, Thursday, October 8, at 3pm at the gate of the logging road leading into the timber sale. Community members are invited to witness the siege and see the ancient trees in the proposed clearcut.