Faced with provocative acts by environmentalist, a group of B.C. loggers has taken anger management courses to help them deal with future confrontations
This story first appeared in Logging and Sawmilling Journal
By Rick Crosby
A handful of B.C. loggers may have taken a small, but important first step towards dealing with conflict in the woods by adopting a new non-confrontational approach to protesters.
This new attitude stems from a court ruling earlier this year when five loggers working for International Forests Ltd. were given a year on probation for their role in a September 1999 attack on an environmentalist camp in the Elaho Valley. Those charged included faller Leroy Zohner, along with a grapple-yarder operator, a blaster, and two mechanics. All were required to take an anger-management course.
Things started to get our of control about noon on that September day, after approximately 90 loggers and some Interfor supervisors arrived in the Elaho Valley.
"It happened at the most northern part of Tree Farm Licence 39 where the roads were being built," explains Keith Rush, division manager for Interfor in Squamish. "They wanted to go up there in a peaceful act of solidarity to show the environmentalists that more people were being affected by the blockades than just two guys on the road crew."
Zohner, one of the loggers charged with mischief, has lived and worked in Squamish for 16 years. When the loggers went up to the Elaho, he explains, they had no plans to push the environmentalists out or say anything to them. Then they saw a protester 75 feet up a tree. "We just more or less told him to head on out," says Zohner.
The protest camp was on the south side of the Lava Creek Bridge, a half-mile from the tree sitter.
"After we finished going up and seeing the guy in the tree, everyone headed down and told the huggers to leave," Zohner continues.
There was a confrontation and a camera got thrown off a bridge. A couple of tents and sleeping bags and some camping gear were also thrown on a fire, along with boxes of potatoes and vegetables.
"There was a little bit of a dog pile at one point," says Zohner. "A woman had a camera on her. I kind of got in there late to see what was going on, but she charged me with assault. They had taken the camera off her." Darrell Wong, president of IWA-Canada Local 2171, confirms there was a lot of pressure building up on loggers working in the Elaho Valley even before the confrontation.
"Every time they went to work somebody was trying to stop them," Wong says. "I think people need to put themselves in the same position of somebody stopping them from making a living day after day after day. I think that the frustrations just got to an extreme. While we?re not condoning it, we?re certainly understanding it."
What happened in the Elaho could affect Interfor?s international lumber markets if it is used as a propaganda tool by the environmental groups. If that happens though, it could be based on misunderstandings about what is going on now in B.C. forest management in general and ? in particular ? the steps taken to involve all parties in developing a forest management approach for the area that includes the Elaho.
The efforts going into managing B.C.?s land base are a lot more comprehensive than the often dated shots of clearcuts seen in the media. In 1995 and 1996 there was a very extensive land use planning process involving different stakeholders. The Lower Mainland Protected Area Strategy, which involved input form Interfor, chambers of commerce and mainstream environmental groups, was developed to lay the basis for the Lower Mainland Protected Area Strategy. As part of this strategy, areas will be zoned for high intensive forestry and less intensive forestry.
"At the end of the day there?s going to be zoning for how the working forest is to be used," Interfor?s Rush says.
But even this consultative process has not ended the friction.
"The Western Canada Wilderness committee has come out saying if there aren?t going to be more parks, then they?re not interested in being involved in the conversation," says Rush. This could mean more confrontation in the woods ? and a need for a way to deal with it.
Easton-Snelgrove Inc., a firm that offers counselling and training for organizations and individuals facing change, was asked to offer courses to the five loggers in response to a request by the courts. The purpose of non-confrontational training is to help understand what people go through in reaction to an environment that?s upsetting and to look at their choices.
Often the issue is about dealing with extremely provocative situations ? which the loggers, as well as the protesters, are facing.
"Loggers are no different than anyone else," says Toby Snelgorve of Easton-Snelgrove Inc. "One of the problems is the loggers are being portrayed as a bunch of angry reactive thugs. This is very upsetting because it paints a very powerful stereotype, which I think is not reflective of the big picture here."
It?s important to realize that there are options in tough situations.
"Sometimes people make choices where all there is is battle and the options are very narrow," says Snelgrove.
Loggers working in the Elaho Valley are facing some pretty tough issues and options, as it doesn?t appear the protesters are going away.
In the non-confrontational training, the loggers look at the real issues. What are they going to be facing in the future? When are they going to get their "buttons pushed," where they end up reacting rather than choosing? The goal is to ensure people are clear about their values, understand the options, and when they do act, they do so from a rational, grounded place.
But when someone can?t pay their bills at the end of the month and may even be faced with losing their house, it?s hard not to be angry. Unfortunately anytime anger is used as a resolution, the situation tends to get worse.
"When you act it out, when you violate a person?s space physically and psychologically, all you?re really doing is setting a climate fore retaliation," Snelgrove says. "In the situation with the protesters, clearly they?ve been very intent on sabotaging logging because they believe it?s bad and wrong and they want to change the practices."
Snelgrove says the challenge for the loggers is that the protesters have chosen a strategy which essentially in many ways is violating the loggers.
"And it?s not just about trees, it?s about personal space," he says, talking about some of the incidents the logger have experienced.
Human excrement has be left on the seats of equipment and sprayed in the driver?s area.
"I mean that?s dirty pool," Snelgrove says. "That?s being cruel and violating anyone?s decency in terms of their private space. It?s very hard not to want to retaliate."
Conflict management teaches people to be thoughtful, to be clear, to be rational, to understand values and to have a planned approach. "That?s the intent here," Snelgrove says.
For the loggers, adding insult to injury were the stories told in court. Leroy Zohner was astounded by what he heard. "Guys striking guys on the heads with steel objects and all that. That was all lies," he says.
Zohner was charged with mischief for throwing stuff on a fire, but he maintains his innocence.
Of the four loggers who were charged with mischief, three of them said they weren?t even in the spot where the offences were supposed to have been committed.
"It was kind of a raw deal for us," Zohner says. "It turned out to be pretty bad. We got a year?s suspended sentence and it was actually a bad deal. We took it hard."
Sometimes it?s tough to be a logger amid the turmoil in the forest. Loggers don?t want to be doing anything wrong and it?s hard when they walk down the main street of their home towns and people don?t like them. This on top of the fact that a logger can get killed on the job any day of the week. For example, Zohner?s job of falling tree?s is one of the most dangerous jobs going ? in any industry. Loggers such as Zohner want to stay focused on their work, do their job safely and simply make it home to their families every night. It?s hard to do this when you?re being yelled at or someone is standing in front of you with a sign in your face.
"There are a lot of guys on this crew that haven?t been able to work much," Zohner says. "They might only get six, seven or eight months of work a year. They don?t want to be going home when they could be working."
The protesting has particularly affected loggers who have been working in Tree Farm Licence 38 for 20 or 30 years. They can?t get another job.
"It was really hard for them," Zohner says. "On the logging end of things the guys are frustrated."
But Zohner believes the non-confrontational approach has done some good.
"You tell a logger what to do when he?s trying to do his job and he?s going to get mad and get down off his machine and tell you to take a hike," he says. "So I think these courses are a big time bonus."
The education seems to be working ? at least for the loggers.
"All of last year, we never got in trouble and the guys just turned around and walked away," Zohner says.
When Zohner started working in the woods 16 years ago, things looked really good. Now, he?s not so sure about the future. Parks have been created and people still aren?t satisfied.
"It doesn?t look like they?re going to stop now, and what do I think?" Zohner asks. "It?s really shaky. I wouldn?t go out and get a loan in this day and age. You don?t know what?s going on here. The wood is there but anything can happen."
