Union Mills, Rutherford County, NC- Activists from all over the southeast
physically stopped the destruction of the southern Appalachian forests this
morning in a nonviolent action, completely shutting down Willamette's newly
opened chip mill. The entrance of the mill was blockaded with 5 protesters
chained together and 4 others have occupied the crane and dropped a 25'
banner reading, "Willamette Destroys Rivers, Forests, and Jobs," while
dangling 30 feet in the air. Katuah Earth First! and EarthCulture have been
warning Willamette for years that such action would take place if the
corporation did not increase its use of recycled materials and stop logging
our National Forests. The activists remained in place for nearly seven
hours and were pryed from their positions around 12:30 PM.
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"Our southern Appalachian forests are some of the most biodiverse
ecosystems in North America, but we're destroying them for junk mail,
toilet paper, and grocery bags," says EarthCulture's Rick Spencer. "Over
100 forest-dwelling species are driven to extinction every single day and
paper plates aren't worth it. We must reduce our consumption of all wood
products and use recycled and agricultural residue products like wheat and
rice straw when paper is necessary."
Contact: Rick Spencer, EarthCulture, 336-685-7012 or
Cathie Berrey, Katuah Earth First!, 828-285-031
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