UPDATE: Three earth defenders have been taken into custody for this morning action at the Seneca Biomass burner in Eugene, Oregon. We will need funds to assist with bail and legal defense.

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EUGENE, OR Scores of activists with Cascadia Forest Defenders and Earth First! converged on the Seneca Jones biomass plant this morning to protest the company privatization of public lands in the Elliott State Forest and ongoing pollution in West Eugene. Several people locked themselves to equipment at the plant, halting a conveyor belt and blocking a dump where biomass is loaded into the incinerator, while dozens of protesters rallied outside the gates. A banner was dropped off of a tower reading: "Seneca Jones: Privatizing the coast range, polluting West Eugene." After police extracted the blockaders, three were taken to Lane County Jail and are facing several charges, including misdemeanor criminal mischief and felony burglary.

The activists brought attention to Seneca Jones Timber role in privatizing the Elliott State Forest. This month Seneca closed on their purchase of 788 acres in the Elliott, called East Hakki Ridge. Co owner of Seneca Kathy Jones recently expressed the company intention to clearcut East Hakki and replace it with Douglas fir plantation.

Cascadia Forest Defender Richard Haley commented, "However Kathy Jones paints it, her company is a bad neighbor everywhere it operates. Here in Eugene, Seneca pollutes. In the Elliott, Seneca clearcuts and puts up trespassing signs in pristine, never before logged forest. East Hakki is no longer a place where locals can go hunt, fish, hike, camp or watch birds. Now it is corporate property."

Coos Bay citizen science group Coast Range Forest Watch documented Marbled Murrelet nesting behavior in East Hakki Ridge in May. The bird is federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits actions that injure or kill threatened species including destruction of habitat. A month after Marbled Murrelets were found in East Hakki, conservation law organizations filed to sue Seneca Jones in the event of logging in the timber sale. Murrelets were also found in two timber sales purchased by timber company Roseburg Forest Products. Another parcel is up for sale this fall, and the State Land Board is considering privatizing the entire forest.

Despite Seneca claim of being sustainable, the biomass plant failed its first EPA air pollution test in 2011 but still requested more state funds to offset its production costs. In spite of its high impact on local air quality, Seneca receives 10 million dollars in tax credits from the state of Oregon under the Business Energy Tax Credit Program.

"The plant has had a bad reputation in this community since its opening fake Audemars Piguet uk," said West Eugene resident Matthew Hawks. "It marketing itself as a solution in my neighborhood http://www.speedroc.com/replica-breitling-navitimer-world.html, but is actually harming the environment around us, especially the air we breathe."

The plant, which only employs 11 people, releases an estimated 17,900 pounds of air toxins into West Eugene Neighborhoods annually Mens and Ladies Replica Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow Watches For Sale, in addition to the 73 http://www.speedroc.com/replica-breitling-avenger.html,000 pounds released each year from the mill itself. There are three schools within three miles of the Seneca biomass facility.

"While clearcutting and privatization in the Elliott State Forest is done in the name of public schools, this irresponsible company is taking millions of public dollars and impacting the health and safety of school children in their own neighborhood. It feels really twisted replica d&g watches," said Cascadia Forest Defender Cordelia Finley.

The Eugene based Cascadia Forest Defenders carried out this action with activists from across the continent following an annual Earth First! camp out in the woods of Southern Oregon, called the Earth First! Round River Rendezvous. The precise directions to the camp will be posted on this site a week before the Rondy starts. The nearest major town to the Rondy site is Cave Junction, Oregon. Please check out the rideshare board and get your car pools together now.

Two updates from our organizing committees

The kitchen will again be organized by our friends at Seeds of Peace with some changes. Seeds will cook hearty delicious meals for breakfast and dinner, but not lunch. All people coming to the rendezvous will be responsible for their own lunch and snacks. Folks should also know to bring a coffee cup and their own utensils. This will leave our head chefs free to participate in the goings on throughout the day. For the unfortunate people who are not alerted by the website or their friends that they need to bring some food, Seeds will pack some tupperware containers so that they can grab extra food the night before to save for lunch. With their extra free time, Seeds of Peace will be hosting a small series of workshops on camp logistics and cooking for multitudes. We hope to still be welcoming, fill people bellies, and also create more space to think about food, self sufficiency, and what it means to live in wild places.