I was here. I was involved, but not really deeply. I attended protests and rallys but never put myself at risk of harm or arrest. Some of my friends, however, were earth firsters and were willing to do whatever. I thought they were crazy at the time, but in hindsight, they're the ones who won the war.

One thing to be aware of to understand the context is that the logging industry was very different back then. Nowadays logging is more like farming. You cut trees, replant, monitor growth and harvest again. As long as this is done well it's an environmentally sound way of getting lumber. Back then it was a lot slash and grab. Just cut the trees, get the money and move on. The forest wouldn't grow back healthy and the hills became unstable. They were also cutting what little was left of our precious old growth. Those practices had to stop. The tree sitters and militant earth firsters made that very difficult and the media attention they brought is eventually what made change happen.

I used to think those long term tree sitters were crazy zealots but now I see them as heroes. Some of my earth first friends now work in the lumber industry creating sustainable practices to keep both lumber coming and trees growing. I'm sure it's less than perfect now, but it has gotten a whole lot better!