27/07/2005 — Less than
six months ago, the world mourned the loss
of Sister Dorothy Stang – a lifelong advocate
for the disempowered in the Amazon. She was
assassinated by two gunmen in Brazil for her
efforts to protect our ancient forests. Now,
activists are trying to cope with the passing
of another heroine of the environmental movement
– but this time the tragedy struck in our
own backyard.
On July 23, Joan Norman was killed in a car
crash in Oregon at the age of 72. Joan was
arrested over 100 times in her life for acts
of civil disobedience. Her final arrest was
in March of this year during a protest at
the site of the largest Forest Service timber
sale in modern history:
"They came and removed me from the bridge
I was blocking by carrying me in my chair
to the edge of the sheriff's vehicle. They
put me down there and thought I would stay
put. Then the officers went off to arrest
someone else. I got up and moved my chair
back to my space - my sovereign space. An
officer yelled, ‘Hey you’re not supposed to
do that! Get back over where I put you.’ I
just laughed. People have been trying to get
me to be where they put me all my life. I
have a right to stand up against evil and
I will."
What Joan calls evil, the Forest Service
calls the “Biscuit Logging Project.” This
project allows enough ancient trees to be
logged to fill 74,000 log trucks lined up
for over 600 miles. This is the first time
that logging of this magnitude has occurred
in old-growth forest reserves since the creation
of the Northwest Forest Plan back in 1994.
Since the first day of logging, a coalition
of environmental groups and local activists
have been on the scene, peacefully protesting.
After multiple blockades and more than 50
arrests, neither side is showing signs of
giving up the fight.
Take action!
Environmentalists have challenged the legality
of the Forest Service’s plan to log on almost
20,000 acres of protected land. Demand that
the Forest Service immediately halt its logging
practices until a court has rendered its decision.
Take action and support the activists on the
ground.
Post a Message
Joan is survived by four children: Susan,
Timothy, Terry and Annie, her friend and companion
Bob Youdan, four grandchildren, one great-grandchild,
nieces, nephews and her extended environmental
activist family.
If you would like to share your own experiences
with Joan or would like to offer messages
of condolences to those that must carry on
without her, please visit our discussion center.
