Just Received This from a Local Pagan ListServ:
Earth First!:: :: Appalachia Rising - July 3-10
EF! Round River Rendezvous 2006
Some of the planned workshops are: stealth and evasion, edible and
medicinal plant walks, fighting Plan Puebla Panama, deep ecology, I-69
superhighway, hunt sabbing, sexism in the movement, earth-based
spirituality, state repression and prisoner support, primitive living
skills and a history of resistance in Appalachia.
In 1994, ya'll helped us take over the Watts Bar nuclear power plant
construction site. In 2000, ya'll came back, and we occupied Al Gore's
presidential campaign office in his home state. Well, it's 2006, and
we're starting to get a little lonely down here in the mountains, so we
thought we'd throw all of you fine folks a little party. That's right:
Kat'ah Earth First! (KEF!) is hosting the 26th annual Round River
Rendezvous (RRR).
For those of you not familiar with the area, the Kat'ah bioregion is
located in the heart of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Not only
are these some of the oldest mountains in the world, they are also home
to one of the most biologically diverse temperate forests on our
planet. Everything from bobcats and bears to copperheads and flying
squirrels live out their lives under a diverse canopy of oaks, tulip
poplars, sourwoods, hemlocks and big-leaf magnolias. Running through
every holler and valley are cool, clear streams that are filled with
salamanders, crawdads and trout. If that's not enough for you, Kat?ah
also holds some of the largest, most pristine wilderness areas on the
East Coast.
Many of the folks who inhabit these mountains have lived here for
generations and maintain a close connection to the land. They still
depend on wild foods such as ramps, chicken of the woods, blackberries
and wild game to supplement their diets. And there is still many an
old-timer who heads out each Fall to dig ginseng, goldenseal and other
medicinal roots. But not everything is peachy in Kat'ah these days.
Just when you think you've found paradise, someone's gotta shit on your
doorstep.
The forests, having nearly recovered from intensive logging during the
1800s and early 1900s, were met with a new threat in the '90s:
chipmills. These voracious consumers of trees have popped up all over
southern Appalachia like scabies at a Rainbow Gathering, greatly
intensifying the rate at which our southeastern forests are being
logged. This new wave of industrial logging has been met with stiff
resistance and direct action by KEF!.
However, one of the worst threats to the area goes beyond clearcuts.
The corporations and their lackeys have begun to blast the entire tops
off of our mountains to get their greedy hands on the thin seams of
coal beneath the surface. Through this process, known as mountaintop
removal (MTR), we have seen hundreds of square miles of our lush
mountains blasted into flattened moonscapes?the biological equivalent
of a parking lot. On top of this, more than 1,000 miles of our
life-giving streams have been buried by mining "overburden" (i.e., the
remnants of a mountaintop after blasting), not to mention the miles of
stream rendered uninhabitable by toxic mine runoff. To put it bluntly,
MTR is the "final solution" for the mountains we call home. Trees can
grow back, mountains cannot.
With Smoky Mountain National Park ranking second only to Los Angeles in
smog levels on some Summer days, air pollution is clearly a major
threat to the Kat?ah bioregion (thanks Tennessee Valley Authority!).
And the government wants to build two roads in and near the park. The
first one, the North Shore Road, is a proposed 34-mile incursion into
the park, the largest roadless area in the East. This road would
endanger more than 100 mountain streams and open up one of our finest
wilderness areas to cars and their accompanying pollution. To add
insult to injury, a couple of politicians from Georgia have proposed
the new Interstate 3, which would run from Savannah, Georgia, to
Knoxville, Tennessee. One of the main justifications for this highway
is the almighty need to facilitate tourism in the area. Not only does
the proposed route flank the park's southern border and ruin a prime
stretch of the Appalachian Trail, it would also require blasting
several mountains and displacing a number of mountain communities.
Lastly, as if KEF! didn't have our hands full enough with the US Forest
Service's timber sales, these assholes now want to privatize several
thousand acres of our national forests. The Southeast is getting hit
particularly hard by this program, which is being billed as a way to
fund rural schools. KEF! plans to fight this new privatization program
tooth and nail. Well, that's the lowdown on what's happening here in
Kat'ah. We hope you can come on down for the RRR and help us raise some
hell!
The Nitty Gritty
What to Expect at This Year's RRR
KEF! has got a jam-packed week of workshops, skillshares, hiking,
swimming and howlin' around the campfire in store for you. This year's
RRR will be held in the coal-bearing mountains that straddle the
Kentucky-Virginia border. That's right, we'll be camping in King Coal's
backyard. We figured you gotta stay close to your enemy. Don't worry
though, we're not going to make you camp in an abandoned strip mine.
There is still plenty of beautiful, untouched wilderness in these
parts.
That said, KEF! is really hoping to use this RRR to turn up the heat on
the coal companies tearing apart our mountains.
Mine-site tours are being planned so that you can see firsthand what
King Coal is doing to our land. We'll be having lots of locals stopping
by to tell their stories of the terror they live with under the wrath
of coal companies, as well as sharing stories of their resistance to
coal mining. KEF! is also hoping to keep the momentum going on new
projects that were started at this year's EF! Organizers' Conference.
Folks from Latin America, as well as other parts of the world, will be
present to continue to foster the international network of EF!ers. If
you know any international ecological activists who would be interested
in attending, throw a fundraiser and get them over here. KEF! is also
in need of funds to make sure that this international component of EF!
gatherings continues.
This RRR will include the second meeting of the EF! Climate Caucus,
which was born in the swamps of south Florida in February. For those of
you interested in organizing a kick-ass direct-action campaign against
climate change, this is the place to be.
Of course, there will be the usual milieu of workshops this Summer.
While we're not going to promise you anything as controversial (or
interactive) as the 2000 Fight Club, we do have quite a few engaging
presentations for you. Some of the planned workshops are: stealth and
evasion, edible and medicinal plant walks, fighting Plan Puebla Panama,
deep ecology, I-69 superhighway, hunt sabbing, sexism in the movement,
state repression and prisoner support, primitive living skills and a
history of resistance in Appalachia. If you are interested in doing a
workshop, please get in touch with us.
You can expect plenty of fun and games too, including bioregional
competitions, an EF! raffle, the Warrior Poets Society's "Night to
Howl," a square dance and the annual EF! rally with rockin' musicians,
fiery speakers and a whole lot of fun.
We are also planning to have childcare and activities for kids, so
bring your youngens. But please keep in mind that the RRR is not the
place for dogs, so leave them at home.
What to Bring
* An open mind
* Food (there may not be a communal kitchen)
* Cooking gear
* Cups, plates, bowls, silverware
* Sweatshirt or jacket
* Rain gear
* Camping gear
* Some sort of personal water purification system (iodine tablets,
filter, etc.)
* Insect repellent, if that's your thing (though please keep in mind
that any toxins you bring will end up in our ecosystem)
* Non-detergent soap
* An affinity group (if you have one) 'cuz KEF! is planning some fun
for ya'll!
Special Note
The organizers of this year's RRR are trying to make the gathering a
safe space. We want to create a space as free from oppression as
possible, where everybody feels comfortable. To make this happen,
sexist remarks or behavior will not be tolerated. The same goes for
incidences of racism, homophobia, transphobia and sexual assault.
Basically, while you're enjoying life in beautiful southern Appalachia,
please keep in mind how your behavior could have an impact on others.
There will be a conflict resolution team on hand to deal with these
issues and others. They will be identified at each morning circle.
For more information, directions or to make a donation, contact Katuah
EF!, POB 1485, Asheville, NC 28802; (866) 411-8016 |
katuaef@wildmail.com | katuahearthfirst.org.
http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/rrr/index.php?tpl=1
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