SURCO Logging, Inc. Interview
Q&A with two Eugene Anti-Logging activists
Aurora Varela
Aurora Varela is studying environmental studies as a University of Oregon student, and is a resident of Lorax Manner- a student co-op which invests time into the anti-logging movement through student protest and a restricted house use of paper materials. She has attended a number of Cascadia Forest Defense meetings.
Q: So I’m curious, just to what extent does the paper limitation in the house extend?
A: There isn’t really a set limitation- it’s up to each individual. I personally have set for myself some pretty strict limits. Did you know that washable, reusable cloth “toilet paper” is a thing? You do now. I also haven’t ever been one to buy paper for school. When I was younger I opted for recycled paper notebooks, but it was expensive. The transition to computer and tablet note-taking today has helped.
Q: What do you think about the Cascadia Forest Defenders? Do you support their sometimes considered radical cause?
A: Absolutely! Ive attended a few of the meetings, and the shared passion between everyone in attendance is so great- it’s really admirable. I’ve yet to attend a tree-sit, but I hope, and of course don’t hope too, that the opportunity presents itself soon. To be a part of something like that must be really great.
Q: What upsets you the most about today’s logging practices?
A: Clearcutting. It’s when logging companies take out massive areas of forestry, but then say that good, “natural” reasons back it as they attempt to regrow the area only to clear it again once it’s back. They say that the process occurs naturally, and it does, but in every couple of centuries, not decades. Trees not only provide oxygen and all of that, but also provide a backbone for some really awesome ecosystems. It’s a shame that they have to suffer through it all. It makes me sad.
______________________________
Jason Gonzales
Jason Gonzales has been an active Cascadia Forest Defender for 8 years now. He attended his first tree-sit in 2009 and was arrested, along with 26 others, during the 2011 Elliott Forest blockade. He lives humbly in Dexter, Oregon outside of Eugene.
Q: The Elliott Forest Blockade gained a lot of attention. You were there- what was the experience like?
A: Parts of me would do it again, because standing up for something you believe in for days on end feels really great, but other parts wouldn’t, it was really quite emotionally draining and too many were physically hurt. In the end, the clearcut went through as planned, but the experience was so uniting. I have a deep love for every person I shared those moments with.
Q: Wow, physically hurt?
A: Ha, yeah. The media didn’t go into the physical attacks. Bulldozers and heavy machinery drew really close to some of the [tree] sitters and caused two of them to fall, resulting in some pretty awful injuries. It was a crazy dangerous environment for us. Shame the peaceful end was the one to suffer it.
Q: What do you think the persistence of those trying to clear the land signifies?
A: That money was involved. And there was. A chunk of it benefitted the state’s public school system. Another chunk, well, benefitted people’s wallets. We knew they would’t quit until the land was clear, money unfortunately works like that.