Executive Summary

Introduction

Western States Center has documented 102 incidents of harassment against environmentalists and public employees from 1989 through the present. Forty-one of the incidents reported occurred in 1996.

The Western States Center is a nonpartisan research and education institute based in Portland, OR, that monitors key issues and trends in an eight state region of the West. In 1996, we responded to rising reports of violence by launching a project to document harassment of environmentalists and public employees working on natural resource issues. We also provide resources to organizations dealing with this problem.

Report Findings

• The cases of harassment are disturbing, a partial listing includes:

  (7) death threats, (2) threats of rape, (4) assault and battery, (1) arson, (4) mutilation of animals, (10) property damage, (3) tampering with vehicles, (8) threats of violence, and (11) affected employment, (including job loss and contracts refused).

• Six perpetrators were charged with crimes from the cases reported. Five have been convicted. Convictions include assault, criminal trespass, and telephone harassment. Many more incidents are still under investigation.

• Our research shows that there is a significant number of incidents that go unreported. Many people who have been harassed remain silent out of fear of further intimidation or harassment. However, some environmental leaders have come forward with their stories to shed light on the problem.

Case Studies

• "I am going to kill you," a caller told Wayne Weihing (pronounced "wine") in January 1996, the day his letter concerning forest issues was published in the Ketchikan, Alaska newspaper. Weihing, who worked at the local pulp mill for 20 years, had become a leader in a Ketchikan conservation group concerned about pollution near the mill and health of the local forest.

• In November 1996, the brakes went out on Grace Bukowski's car while her teenage daughter was on the freeway. Her daughter managed to safely stop the car and when they got it to the mechanic he informed Bukowski that "your car has been sabotaged." Bukowski had appeared on the front page of the Reno-Gazette Journal for three Sundays prior to the incident in high profile articles discussing controversial environmental issues. l In November 1994, an anti-environmental extremist threatened Ellen Gray with a noose at a meeting of her local County Council in Snohomish Co., Wash. At the same meeting another man warned her that she might be shot by the local militia. Gray was testifying on the importance of clean streams and wildlife habitat.

• In September 1994, Ric Bailey, a prominent local environmentalist, was hung in effigy during an anti-environmental protest in eastern Oregon.

Who is Responsible?

Leaders of this movement have used strong rhetoric to denounce advocacy of clean air and water. Their rhetoric creates a climate of hate in which harassment and intimidation of "enemies" is acceptable. Anti-environmental leader, Ron Arnold, commenting on environmentalism said, "Our goal is to destroy, eradicate the environmental movement... We're dead serious - we're going to destroy them."(Oregonian, December 10, 1991)

Alan Gottlieb, a fund-raiser for the anti-environmental lobby stated, "For us, the environmental movement has become the perfect bogey man," (New York Times, January 1992.) Gottlieb claims to bring in millions of dollars by creating fear and promising revenge against environmentalists. He said, "All I have to do is turn the spigot on and the money just flows." (Eastsideweek, October 24, 1994).

In an attempt to build support for this agenda, anti-environmental leaders travel to troubled resource communities and scapegoat environmentalists as the sole cause of economic difficulties. Leaders never address corporate down-sizing, mechanization or t he export of mill jobs, issues the movement's sponsors wish to avoid.

Anti-environmental extremism inhibits public debate, creates deep divisions in communities, and prevents people from finding solutions to local problems.

What can be done

• Report, investigate, prosecute People targeted by harassment must be supported and encouraged to report attacks and threats against them. Law enforcement and local politicians need to recognize this as a problem, investigate reports, and bring perpetrators to justice.

• A call for civility In the West, religious organizations have tried to heal the violence and rhetoric by offering principles of civility to bring people together to work out economic and environmental concerns. "Civility requires a respect for and an adherence to human rights where no one's right to expression, viewpoint and belief is challenged by harassment intimidation and violence," says John Boonstra of the Washington Association of Churches.

• Building Cooperation, Other community leaders in the West have also tried to build cooperation. "We believe we can have both jobs and a healthy environment," says Don Judge Executive Secretary of the Montana State AFL-CIO. Judge has worked to bring mill workers and environmentalists together and craft agreements that meet the objectives of both parties.

• Creating Jobs In Washington State environmentalists and labor unions teamed up to create the Jobs for the Environment program, which provides family wage jobs in environmental restoration to struggling resource communities.

• Real Solutions The West has real economic and environmental problems that require real solutions. The rhetoric and divisive tactics of the anti-environmental lobby feeds the polarization that stands in the way of productive discourse. Solutions will emerge from the commitment of Westerners to both environmental protection and economic prosperity, and not one at the price of the other.

Dangerous Territory:

The Attack on Citizen Participation and the Environmental Movement

"We have a militia of 10,000 and if we can't beat you at the ballot box we'll beat you with a bullet." That was all the man said to Ellen Gray after she testified at the Snohomish County Council. Just minutes before, another man had shoved a hangman's noose in front of her face and told her "this is a message for you." It is hard to imagine how Ellen Gray's desire for clean air and water could have made her such a target for threats, but in Snohomish County, Wash., anti-environmental extremists have made supporting a clean environment a dangerous position.

Harassment of citizen activists like Ellen Gray is a growing problem. Over the past year, The Western States Center has documented 102 incidents of harassment. Our investigation has uncovered a pattern that includes death threats, assault, arson and telephone harassment against environmentalist and public employees who work on natural resource issues. Research focused on the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming and uncovered previously undocumented cases from a s early as 1989. Of the reported incidents, forty-one occurred in 1996.

The incidents are widespread and disturbing. They include a graphic letter threatening an environmentalist with "gang rape" if he ever came across the letter writer. A botanist was severely beaten outside his home just after his organization began protesting nearby logging operations. A family found their dog beaten to death. In the days following, they received phone calls with gunshots going off in the background and verbal threats all due to their advocacy of environmentalism. Our research suggests t hat a significant number of incidents go unreported. Targets of harassment report that many of their colleagues who have also been harassed remain silent out of fear of further intimidation or violence.

Tensions are growing throughout the West. Dynamic growth in cities like Seattle, Las Vegas, and Boise and changing demographics in rural areas are causing friction. As cities and new suburbs encroach further into farming and rural communities, new people and businesses bring new ideas and different demands on the region's land and natural resources.

Cities, small towns and counties are struggling over land and water use. In many cases the very process of growth management planning has become embattled. Advocates claim it is necessary to prevent urban sprawl and protect farmland; opponents resent limitations on their "property rights," with extremists labeling it a socialist plot.

Amidst this change people have fears about their future and especially how they are going to earn a living in the changing economy. Some have tried to reduce the tension and create community forums where opinions can be shared and solutions can be developed. Others have tried to create a bogey man to blame for their problems.

Finding Scapegoats

An anti-environmental lobby has organized to eliminate existing environmental laws. Their stated goals include: opening all National Parks to mining and oil exploration; logging all remaining ancient forests; and rewriting the Endangered Species Act to allow the California Condor and other species to become extinct. [1]

Leaders of this movement have used strong rhetoric to denounce advocacy of clean air and water. Anti-environmental leader, Ron Arnold, commenting on environmentalism said, "Our goal is to destroy, eradicate the environmental movement... We're dead serious - we're going to destroy them."[2]

Alan Gottlieb ,a fund-raiser for the anti-environmental lobby stated, "For us, the environmental movement has become the perfect bogey man." [3] Gottlieb claims to bring in millions of dollars by creating fear and promising revenge against environmentalist s. He claims, "All I have to do is turn the spigot on and the money just flows."[4]

In an attempt to build support for this agenda, anti-environmental leaders travel to troubled resource communities and scapegoat environmentalists as the sole cause of complex economic difficulties. Leaders never address factors such as corporate down-si zing, mechanization or the export of mill jobs, issues the movement's sponsors wish to avoid.

Case Studies in Harassment

Among those threatened is Wayne Weihing (pronounced "wine") of Ketchikan, Alaska. Weihing, who had worked for 20 years at the local pulp mill and served as union president, was now a leader in a Ketchikan conservation group. In January 1996, on the day Weihing's letter to the editor on forest issues was published, someone called him up and said, "I am going to kill you." Ketchikan had seen its share of turmoil. In 1995, a young man was murdered during a fight outside a bar. Witnesses reported that his drunken assailant was "looking for an environmentalist" to assault.[5] Although it was a random act, Ketchikan environmentalists said that the murder made them very wary.

Throughout 1996, Ketchikan was embroiled in a heated debate over the future of its aging pulp mill, owned by Louisiana-Pacific. The mill had been cited for pollution violations and the company said it would only invest in cleaning up its operation if granted an extension of its logging subsidies. A mill closure would cost hundreds of layoffs and as tensions escalated environmentalists were blamed for the crisis. Other incidents of harassment followed Weihing's. Activists had their car windows smashed out and a woman was physically threatened at a local restaurant.

At an April 1996 meeting to discuss the future of the Green River Basin in Wyoming a man claimed that he and his friends, "can and want to shoot an environmentalist and put him out of his misery."

In November 1996, the brakes went out on Grace Bukowski's car while her teenage daughter was driving on the freeway. Her daughter managed to stop the car without injury. When they got the vehicle to a garage, the mechanic informed Bukowski that her car, "had been sabotaged." A corrosive agent had been poured into the brake fluid causing the brake lines to disintegrate. A well known citizen activist in Nevada, Bukowski had appeared on the front page of the Reno-Gazette Journal for three Sundays prior to the incident in high profile articles discussing controversial environmental issues.

Ellen Gray found herself at the center of a controversy over sensitive environmental areas in her county. In November 1994, Snohomish County, Wash. was wrestling with a growing population and increasing pollution in its lakes and streams. In addition to receiving death threats Gray (see above), an officer with the Pilchuck Audubon Society, and other environmentalists had been labeled "eco-nazis" guilty of "taxpayer rape," by a local anti-environmental group.[6]

In September of 1994, environmentalist Ric Bailey was hung in effigy in Joseph, Ore. during a protest against environmental activity. About 50 protesters hung effigies of Bailey and another prominent environmentalist at the center of town and then posed for pictures with their families in front of the scene.

In the spring of 1993, Sherilyn Wells received an anonymous call from a man who told her "you better look out for highway snipers." Wells had recently announced her bid for Whatcom County Council in Washington State and was a well known environmentalist. Angry and threatening calls were nothing new to Wells, who had seen the nasty side of the so called "property rights" movement. She had faced hostile crowds at public forums and had her headlight smashed after a community meeting where she was speaking in favor of growth management.

Harassment of Public Employees

Like conservationists, public employees in the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and other land management agencies are being attacked and threatened. These employees are hired by the public and asked to carry out enforcement of rules and regulations that may be controversial. In the past few years government workers have been caught in a firestorm that often leaves them and their families burned by the political fallout. In 1995, the office of Guy Pence, a Forest Service Ranger in Nevada, was blown up by a pipe bomb. Later, his vehicle was bombed while parked beside his house. In 1996 a rancher in Eastern Oregon warned the Forest Service that anyone who came on his grazing allotment would be shot.

Fanning the Flames

Back in February 1984, Cushman warned people in New York's Upper Delaware Valley that their land would be seized and businesses forced to close if Congress declared the area as Wild and Scenic. "The Park Service wants to get rid of you," Cushman shouted to valley residents. Shortly afterward Parks Service vehicles were vandalized with swastikas and slashed tires. Cushman's activities have earned him the nickname "Rent-a-riot." It is a moniker used by Cushman and his friends to promote his organizing abilities. [7]

In 1994, during the discussion over creating an international park in northwestern Washington, Cushman went on a barnstorming tour of the area warning that "extreme preservationists" were going to "takeover the North Cascades National Park... and million s of acres of adjacent private land." [8] An environmentalist who attended Cushman's meetings said when he spoke out in favor of the international park the members of the audience shouted "let's hang him!" and "string him up!" The environmentalist said he h as had his life threatened only at meetings where Cushman was speaking.

Cushman is a nationally known leader in the anti-environmental lobby dubbed by its followers as the "wise use" movement. Founded by Ron Arnold, this coalition of industry and activist groups was created to eliminate environmental protections. Ron Arnold has left few questions about his goals. In an interview on 60 Minutes in 1993, Arnold said he wanted to use the sword of political power against environmentalists to "kill the bastards." [9]

In response to charges that their rhetoric fosters a climate tolerant of violence, in 1993 leaders of the anti-environmental lobby issued the "Reno Declaration of Nonviolence." The document call upon member groups to "unconditionally reject and denounce the use of weapons or personal violence against our opponents." [10] Observers of the movement are skeptical about the declaration's intent and impact. "Anti-environmental organizers come into communities and offer up environmentalists as scapegoats while they propose easy answers for complex problems," says Eric Ward Associate Director of the NW Coalition Against Malicious Harassment. "Their rhetoric is irresponsible and it creates a climate where civility and democracy are threatened."

The rhetoric of nonviolence has yet to filter down to anti-environmental activists at the local level. Ric Bailey was hung in effigy in Joseph, Ore. during a protest over Federal logging and grazing policies. The protest and hangings took place in the s mall eastern Oregon town on the day before a large anti-environmental conference featuring Ron Arnold. The threat to hang citizen activist Ellen Gray came from Darryl Lord, a leader in the Snohomish County, Wash. anti-environmental Property Rights Alliance. [11] In another case, Howard James, a member of an off-road vehicle association in the Midwest, was recently convicted of telephone harassment. James targeted two environmentalists with threatening and obscene phone calls. He warned them that they were being watched and should purchase home owner's insurance - implying violence to come.

Shutting Down Democracy

An Oregon woman was told by a truck driver that he was going to run her off the road because she had a pro-environmental bumper sticker on her car. Environmentalists in Oregon and Washington have found the lug nuts loosened on their cars. In Washington t he problem was not discovered until the car was on the highway. The driver managed to pull the car over and avoid an accident. Shortly after the incident a note was placed on his windshield warning him to "watch his lugs."

Harassment has also been aimed at the pocketbook of many environmentalists. Wayne Weihing was warned by his boss he would not be able to find work in Ketchikan, Alaska, due to his activism. A carpenter in Montana reported losing his job remodeling a local business because of pressure on the business owner by an anti-environmental group. Opponents of a Montana clean water initiative tried to threaten Gary Buchanan's job security as an investment advisor for his volunteer efforts supporting the initiative . An Oregon environmentalist seeking work at a local fast food restaurant was told "we don't hire troublemakers."

The intent of intimidation and harassment is to silence opponents and cause them to withdraw from their civic activities. Environmentalists have experienced this on a spectrum ranging from troubling to extreme. "Tons of people dropped out of the process, " reported Nancy Uhlhorn of Somers, Mont. In early 1996, she and other local residents were trying to create a neighborhood land use plan to articulate the community's concerns about schools, roads and business development. Members of a local "property rights" group also attended the monthly meetings and tried to disrupt the process by spreading rumors and innuendo about "communists" supporting the neighborhood plan. "To say their actions were discourteous is putting it mildly," said Uhlhorn. She continued, "their goal was to stop the process by any means necessary."

Disruptions of public meetings is a common low-grade form of intimidation. The goal of the disrupters in this case is not simply to exercise their right of free speech but to stifle citizen participation. Our research shows that in many cases people who are harassed scale back their activism or entirely withdraw from civic life. In addition, neighbors and friends who witness such harassment of environmentalists often withdraw from public participation themselves.

From shutting down community meetings to assault, threats or job loss, harassment has taken a toll on individuals and communities. While many towns are mired down with problems of harassment, some have found ways to work towards solutions to disputes over resources and the environment.

Solutions and Civility

"We believe we can have both jobs and a healthy environment," says Don Judge Executive Secretary of the Montana State AFL-CIO. Judge has worked to bring mill workers and environmentalists together and craft agreements that meet the objectives of both par ties. In the early 1990s Montana timber unions and environmental groups met in to draft a compromise that would secure a clean and healthy environment and a preserve family wage jobs for mill workers.

The result of this work was the Lolo and Kootenai Accords. The Accords would have guaranteed adequate timber supply for local mills from the Lolo and Kootenai National Forests in Montana while at the same time protecting more public lands in the state than previous wilderness proposals. The Accords faced strong opposition from anti-environmentalists threatened by cooperation between resource workers and environmentalists. Although the Accords were never enacted, they serve as a powerful example of the potential for achieving solutions that achieve economic prosperity and environmental protection.

In 1992, Washington environmentalists and labor unions held a series of meetings designed to work out their differences over environmental and economic policy. One result was the Jobs for the Environment program approved by the Washington legislature in 1993. The program provides family wage jobs in economically stressed timber and fishing communities. Its activities include streambed and fish habitat restoration. Following this victory, the parties involved in the process formed the Institute for Washington's Future, which promotes environmentally sound economic development.

Economic dislocation is a real problem with complex origins, but rather than working toward community based solutions, the anti-environmental lobby has offered divisive rhetoric and fear. "I believe that a community can work out its problems if given the chance," explained Wayne Weihing. "In Ketchikan it got so ugly that good and thoughtful people just refused to get involved," said Weihing. Weihing has recently been working with Alaska's Catholic Church to hold community forums on Ketchikan's problems.

The West has real economic and environmental problems that require real solutions. Unfortunately, the rhetoric and divisive tactics of the anti-environmental lobby feeds the polarization that stands in the way of productive discourse. Solutions will emerge from the commitment of Westerners to both environmental protection and economic prosperity, and not one at the price of the other.

People targeted by harassment must be supported and encouraged to report attacks and threats against them to police and organizations like the Western States Center that document these incidents. Law enforcement and local politicians need to recognize this as a problem, investigate reports, and bring perpetrators to justice.

Notes

1. Alan Gottlieb, Ed., The Wise Use Agenda: The Citizen's Policy Guide to Environmental Resource Issues. (Bellevue, WA: The Free Enterprise Press, 1989) pp. 5-18.
2. Katherine Long, "Man's out to end ecology movement," Oregonian, 10 December 1991.
3. Timothy Egan, "125 groups put their anti-environmental eggs in one basket to fight 'the perfect bogeyman,'" New York Times, January 1992.
4. Jim Halpin and Paul de Armond, "The Merchant of Fear," Eastsideweek, (Bellevue, WA), 8 October 1994.
5. Tom Miller, "Testimony focuses on fight," Ketchikan Daily News, 30-31 March 1996.
6. David Helvarg, "Open Hostilities," National Parks, September/October 1996, p. 37.
7. "Too Close to Home," New Yorker, 25 July 1995, p. 29
8. American Land Rights Association, "Fax Alert," 23 March 1994.
9. CBS, "Clean Air, Clean Water, Dirty Politics," from "60 Minutes" broadcast, June 1993.
10. "The Reno Declaration of Nonviolence," was introduced in July 1993 at the Wise Use Leadership Conference International in Reno, Nevada.
11. Diane Brooks, "Threats replace debate at hearing," Seattle Times, 15 November 1994.

Appendix A Selected Incidents of Harassment and Violence Against Environmentalists

Alaska:

1. Environmentalist told "I am going to kill you" by anonymous caller.
2. Vehicle window smashed while activist was videotaping a smokestack plume.
3. Activist threatened at local restaurant.
4. Doctor's office threatened with boycott because his employees were environmental activists.

1. Hate mail sent to environmentalists filled with racist and anti-gay epithets, one letter ending with the wish that the family would have their house burned to the ground.
2. Signature gatherer threatened with "tar and feathers" by local militia leader.
3. County official refused to grant permits to environmentalist.
4. Signature gatherer shoved to the ground in an attempt by assailant to steal her petitions.
5. Local environmentalists' house and files burglarized.

1. Journalist assaulted after writing articles in opposition to proposed county incinerator.
2. Investment broker targeted for harassment at work for his volunteer efforts on state clean water initiative.
3. Carpenter refused contracts due to his environmentalism.
4. Activist's home exterior vandalized with anti-environmental slogans.
5. Activist forced out of volunteer organization because of her environmental activities.

1. Prominent citizen activist has her brakes tampered with on her car. The brakes fail when daughter is driving car on the freeway.
2. Man refused service at local restaurant because of his environmental activity.

1. Cars driving by family's home shooting guns in the air. Windshield smashed on family car.
2. Environmentalist received death threat over the phone.
3. Two environmentalists hung in effigy.
4. Series of threatening and harassing phone calls calling woman "a spotted owl loving bitch."
5. Woman warned she is going to be "run off the road" because of a pro-environmental bumper sticker.
6. Local environmentalist told at job interview that "we don't hire troublemakers."
7. Hate mail sent to environmentalist filled with anti-gay epithets and threats of physical violence.
8. Local businesses refused to sell building supplies to environmentalist raising building costs by hundreds of dollars.
9. Lug nuts loosened on activist's car.

1. Animal entrails spread on vehicle, mailbox blown up, animal carcasses with threatening note left on porch.
2. Death threat given over the phone, activist warned he was on a "hit list."

1. Environmentalist told by "property rights" advocate that he better wear a bullet proof vest next time he attended a public meeting.
2. Lug nuts loosened on environmentalist's car. Note later left on windshield warning him to "watch his lugs."
3. Gang rape threatened in graphic letter.
4. Environmentalist threatened with a noose and told, "this is a message for you."
5. Environmentalist running for county office told by anonymous caller to, "look out for highway snipers."
6. Dead spotted owl left on front porch.
7. Armed militia member marches back and forth in front of environmentalist's home.
8. Public schools threatened with levy failure if they allow a citizens' group to hold a meeting discussing environmental issues on school grounds.
9. Signature gatherer spit on.
10. Vehicle headlights smashed outside public meeting after car owner testified in favor of a growth management plan.
11. Signature gatherer chased and threatened by two men.

1. Man warned at public meeting that he and his friends, "can and want to shoot an environmentalist and put him out of his misery."
2. Mining company files Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit against environmentalist. Locations withheld to protect anonymity:
3. Botanist severely beaten outside his home.
4. Activist threatened with rape if she continues her environmental work.
5. After string of harassing incidents, environmentalist's home burns in arson fire.
6. Woman threatened at her home by neighbor after she raised environmental issues at a public forum on a proposed development.
7. County official received threatening calls at home letting her know she is being watched. Shortly after these calls her car is pursued on rural road by unidentified individuals.
8. Rancher working with environmentalists is refused service at local business.
9. Environmentalists who proposed a limit to off-road vehicles in a nearby National Forest have a poster with their a picture of home, names and address put up around town encouraging people to "visit" them.
10. County official orders investigation of an environmentalist's home and property for code violations after she publicizes the official's failure to get proper logging permits.
11. Activist receives messages on her home machine using "ZOG," a term used by neo-Nazi skinheads to signify a global "Jewish conspiracy." The calls became more threatening after she brought attention to the environmental consequences of a proposed development.
12. Family dog beaten to death; days later phone calls to the family with gunshots and laughter in the background.