PRO-HARVEST RALLY

On January 17, 1998, over 1,000 loggers, truckers, foresters, and local community members rallied in Orr, Minnesota in support of the Little Alfie timber sale.

Over a year before, Tony Vukelich, owner of the Cusson Camp Company, had successfully bid to harvest approximately 6,000 trees from the Superior National Forest site. It was then that Earth First! demonstrators chained themselves to his logging equipment, forcing Vukelich to remove it. The preservationists contended that the Forest Service had produced an inadequate Environmental Impact Statement. The Agency agreed to redo the study-only to find another appeal alleging further EIS misgivings. That appeal, filed by Minneapolis/St. Paul-based Earth Protectors, Inc. (on behalf of Earth First! and the Superior Wilderness Action Network) and the on-site protestors, delayed the sale and brought the issue to boil with local community leaders.

Orr Mayor Dave Glowaski, City Administrator Dave Dill, and local businessman Ernie Lund spearheaded the pro-timber rally by building a coalition of concerned citizens, state legislators, loggers, and the forest industry. News releases were sent to the Associated Contract Loggers of Minnesota, the Michigan/Wisconsin Timber Producers Association, area paper companies, and other wood-using companies, in addition to the local press. The group planned to have fully loaded logging trucks line U.S. 53 and then hold a rally inside of the local American Legion Hall. Loudspeakers were set up outside of the Hall to accommodate the overflow. The rally was set to run from 12:00 Noon to 3:00 PM.

The trucks started arriving at around 9:00 AM, and by noon they lined U.S. 53 for two and a half miles in and out of town. Pink flagging (the official symbol of the protest) adorned the trucks, while banners containing messages of support streamed alongside their loads. Volunteers co-ordinated the shuttle vans that transported the loggers into Orr and the epicenter of activity. The crowd huddled outside of Patten's Cafe until word rang out through the loudspeaker that the rally was about to begin.

Members of the logging and forestry community jammed the Legion Hall to its 350-person capacity, while 700 other supporters hoisted banners and signs outside. State Senator Doug Johnson served as the Master of Ceremonies and introduced a panel of legislators who each spoke out for the cause. Citizens were also allowed to sign up and speak their minds. For over two hours, a procession of loggers, foresters, community leaders, labor leaders, and concerned family members addressed the crowd. The crowd mostly supported the Forest Service forest management practices, denounced "land worship," decried the abuses of the timber sale appeals process, and encouraged the community to stand by its values.

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