Florida: 17 arrests at Earth First! protest at Barley Barber Swamp
On Saturday, January 10 of this year, seventeen Earth First! activists
were arrested for entering the Barley Barber Swamp to demand the
protection of Florida old growth ecosystems.
The Barley Barber Swamp
is one of the few remaining old growth cypress swamps in the
Southeast. Several of the bald cypress trees in Barley Barber are over
a thousand years old. They are the oldest in Florida and the entire
Southeast region. Barley Barber Swamp is being killed by the massive
3750 megaWatt Martin County power plant that hovers over it and the
seventeen mile cooling pond that surrounds it. Following a five day
standoff, six activists entered the swamp through a public waterway
and chained themselves to trees. Eleven other activists were swept up
by the police in a frivolous attempt to quell the protest.
Currently,
Everglades Earth First! is confronted with the immediate need to raise
$18,000 to bail these courageous activists out of Martin County jail.
Direct action is a community effort that goes well beyond the risk of
arrest. It requires broad support from those who wish to see
grassroots efforts succeed. We hope to go to the jail on Monday with
the funds to bail all seventeen activists out. We know times are tough
but if everyone pitches in we can ensure that these folks don’t sit in
jail for the next thirty days. Can you contribute to this effort? Just
click on the “Donate” paypal link or make out a check to Everglades
Earth First and send it to: 822 N C Street, Lake Worth, FL 33460
Another form of support that we would like to ask for is that those
concerned call FPL and demand that they drop all charges against the
Barley Barber 17 and that they reopen the Barley Barber Swamp to
scientific and public scrutiny. Any funding raised beyond bail will go
towards the legal battle that we will carry out to fundamentally
change the status of Barley Barber and to ensure its protection and
public access much like the battles over Fisheating Creek in the Early
90’s.http://www.evergladesearthfirst.org/
— Posted to http://forestpolicyresearch.com via gmail to posterous and
also to forestpolicyresearch@yahoogroups.com
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