author: Cascadia Forest Defenders
e-mail:
forestdefenders@tao.ca
July 2, 2003
Womyn Forest Defenders Announce
Occupation of the Straw Devil Timber Sale
Willamette National Forest - Oregon
To friends and foes, comrades and comrades to be, to all who love the earth and all who exploit it: A message from the Eco-Feminist Front...
Every morning we wake up, the day is ours to create. Today we begin to create through action a world where womyn and all who were socialized as womyn no longer bear the weight of a history of rape on our minds, bodies, earth and livelihood; a history of unheard cries, a history of terror, a history of corsets and clearcuts, manufactured food and breasts, white picket fences and white corporate lies.
Today we announce the beginning of an all-womyn's action, occupation and tree-sit in defense of public land sold off to private industry. All-womyn occupied structures have been built to protect Unit 6 of the Straw Devil timber sale where Starfire Lumber (Engel Investors, Inc.) and Basco Logging in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service will attempt to demolish this endangered ecosystem beginning in mid-July.
The Womyn's Action works in conjunction with other defenders of Straw Devil in the Willamette National Forest. Together, this forest will stand for generations of owls, red tree voles, dragonflies, elk, salamanders, bears and more.
In addition to defending the last 2% of native old growth forest that still stands in Oregon, the Womyn's Action is dedicated to building a community that is intolerant of all forms of oppression. We work to build a space of mutual learning and growth - a space where we can conquer not only the demons of capitalism, patriarchy and indifference that surround us but also the demons of oppression, self-loathing and fear that reside within us.
The Womyn's Action is a safe space where womyn can come and gain skills and perspectives; a safe place to clear our heads after a lifetime of being taught not to trust ourselves.
It is our belief that the oppression of womyn and the destruction of the earth comes from the same unsustainable need to dominate and control. The same ones who wish to take away our autonomy wish to take away the last of the wild beauty on earth.
We cannot stop the humyns' race toward extinction without taking back our freedom of choice. We cannot as womyn achieve liberation while the earth is still in chains. We need oxygen to survive, we need clean water to survive, we need the forest to survive. We need to be able to walk around alone at night, we need our homes to be free of violence; we need a life where rape, molestation, and assault are not the norm. None of these things will exist without the others. Womyns' struggle and the earths' struggle are the same.
Today should be the last day lived in fear, breathing carcinogenic air and wondering when the next time we will be fondled on a public bus or we'll be held down against our will by someone we love. With your help and support it can be!
We invite womyn of all situations and backgrounds to come to Straw Devil for an hour, a day, a month, a lifetime - and take back what they never had a right to sell. We will take our last breath in defense of our bodies, the earth, and each other.
In love, solidarity and strength,
The Womyns Action
For more information on this action and background on forest defense please contact:
Cascadia Forest Defenders
PO Box 11122; Eugene, OR 97440
541-684-8977
 forestdefenders@tao.ca
www.forestdefenders.org
www.cascadiasummer.org
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homepage: 
phone: 541-684-8977
address: PO Box 11122; Eugene, OR 97440
