Author Archives: WIRT

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About WIRT

The WIRT collective is part of an international, grassroots network of groups and individuals who take direct action to confront the root causes of climate change and to promote local, community-based solutions to the climate crisis.

Climate Justice Forum: Brent Rowley & Ellie Smith 3-12-12

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On the Monday, March 12, Climate Justice Forum hosted by Wild Idaho Rising Tide between 7:30 and 9:00 pm PDT on KRFP Radio Free Moscow, we will feature Brent Rowley of Northern Rockies Rising Tide talking about regional activism against the tar sands as well as Moscow-visiting Australian activist Ellie Smith speaking about coal extraction in her country and Appalachian mountain top removal opposed by Mountain Justice.  Hear about other regional dirty energy projects and resistance, too, at 92.5 FM or online!

Media Release: More Charges Brought Against Tar Sands “Megaload” Protesters in Moscow, Idaho

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As some of the last five of over 70 massive parts of an Alberta tar sands upgrader plant rumbled through the small, quiet, college town of Moscow, Idaho, at about 11 pm on Sunday, March 4, four protesters linked arms and sat down in the middle of Washington Street to stop three of these “megaloads” weighing 200,000 to 415,000 pounds and measuring 150 to 200 feet long.  Police arrested Cass Davis and Jim Prall for resisting and obstructing officers and dragged Jeanne McHale and Pat Monger to the sidewalk, as another 40 protesters voiced their opposition to expanding tar sands mining operations.  Again on Tuesday, March 6, when the final two similarly huge shipments crossed this 22,000-person city, demonstrators pounded drums, chanted slogans, played music, and engaged in street theater.  Helen Yost tossed a cardboard protest sign at the rear of the last megaload and air-kicked the transports and their police escorts out of town, resulting in misdemeanor charges for throwing an object at a moving highway vehicle and attempted battery of a peace officer.

All three accused protesters are pleading not guilty based on the necessity of their actions induced by their moral obligation to directly confront the causes of climate change that are currently killing millions of people, plants, and animals around the globe.  For their statements, please listen to Cass Davis and Jim Prall on Flashpoints and Helen Yost on KRFP Radio Free Moscow.  Other articles, photos, and videos of numerous megaload passages and protests are available on the Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT) facebook page and website. Continue reading →

As Eco-Terrorism Wanes, Governments Still Target Activist Groups Seen as Threat

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…The police chief in Moscow, Idaho, said in an interview that he discussed with FBI agents the repeated protests aimed at blocking the shipment of equipment ExxonMobil and other firms are using to extract heavy crude in Canada’s oil sands.

Some say the broad definition of domestic terrorism the FBI uses contributes to the number of investigations.  According to its 2002-05 terrorism report, “A terrorist incident is a violent act or an act dangerous to human life, in violation of the criminal laws of the United States, or of any state, to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

As a result, any act aimed to intimidate an individual or corporation that has a political or social goal qualifies…

Read more: As Eco-Terrorism Wanes, Governments Still Target Activist Groups Seen as Threat

(By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)

Senate Deadlocks on Amending Gas Drilling Measure, Lieutenant Governor Casts Tie-Breaker

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The debate over local control when it comes to Idaho’s burgeoning gas exploration made its way to the floor of the Idaho Senate Friday morning.

What started as a series of speeches promoting the benefits of oil and gas exploration evolved into a robust debate of how much input Idaho cities and counties should have in determining where, or even if, oil and gas wells should be allowed.

“I want the oil and gas industry to succeed and move forward, but I also have grave reservations about this bill,” said Rupert Republican Sen. Dean Cameron, referring to House Bill 464, which would give ultimate authority on permits for oil and gas drilling to the state, trumping local oversight. “I have received a good deal of correspondence from our counties that are expressing their concerns.”

Read more: Senate Deadlocks on Amending Gas Drilling Measure, Lieutenant Governor Casts Tie-Breaker

(By George Prentice, Boise Weekly)

Yost Charged with Two Misdemeanors for Throwing Cardboard Sign at Rear of 415,000-Pound Megaload, Air-Kicking in Direction of Officer

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On Thursday, March 8, Moscow City Police Lieutenant Paul Kwiatkowski served two misdemeanor charges to Helen Yost for “throwing…a two-by-three-foot sign…at a vehicle traveling on a highway” and for “willfully attempt[ing] to kick…a peace officer…while he was walking away” at the final megaload protest in Moscow, Idaho, on Tuesday, March 6.  Listen to between 14:56 and 6:35 of the Thursday, March 8, Evening Report, Sign Throwing Charge, on KRFP Radio Free Moscow for an interview and discussion of Yost Charged with Two Misdemeanors for Throwing Cardboard Sign at Rear of 415,000-Pound Megaload, Air-Kicking in Direction of Officer.

Lakotas and Idahoans Forming Human Roadblocks

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Debra White Plume: “If you don’t see the importance of the Lakotas and the Idahoans forming human roadblocks against tar sands contracted trucks in this nation’s heartland, know that those people are putting their lives on the line for this nation’s water and food security.  With all the folks freaking out over foreign terrorists poisoning our food and water supplies in this country, the real threat to our nation’s homeland security is a threat to the water supplies of this nation’s heartland, which produces the bulk of the food you eat throughout the year.”

Megaload Protesters Get in Their Final Shots

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Helen Yost, of Wild Idaho Rising Tide, holds her sign protesting the megaloads’ use of U.S. Highway 95 through Moscow (The Lewiston Tribune/David Johnson photo).

Last of the big rigs moves through the mean streets of Moscow

MOSCOW – Helen Yost, the fiery spokeswoman for the activist group Wild Idaho Rising Tide, said she absolutely had to have the last word.

So, as the last Imperial Oil megaload exited this Latah County town late Tuesday night en route to the Kearl Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada, Yost broke ranks from about 45 demonstrators standing on the sidewalk and dashed into the street.

“I was swarmed by cops, but they didn’t touch me,” Yost said, recalling how she threw a protest sign and struck the back end of the final behemoth load. “I quickly retreated back, but I had made my statement. I hit the megaload.” Continue reading →

Flashpoints Interview of Cass Davis and Jim Prall

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On Wednesday evening, March 7, two of the four valiant activists who risked arrest or were jailed by police on Sunday, March 4, for peacefully blocking megaload parts of an Alberta tar sands upgrader plant moving through Moscow, Idaho, talked with Flashpoints host Dennis Bernstein.  Listen to the first 17:52 minutes of this radio program as Cass Davis and Jim Prall describe tar sands devastation, political corruption, Idaho’s megaload dilemma, Wild Idaho Rising Tide’s anti-megaload campaign, and protesters’ civil disobedience on KPFA Free Speech Radio in Berkeley.

Good Riddance, ExxonMobil! 3-6-12

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The last two of nearly 80 scheduled oversized loads moving from the Port of Lewiston to Alberta, Canada, made their way north on U.S. Highway 95 and through the City of Moscow on March 6. An activist organization once again took to the streets to protest the Kearl Oil Sands project. Wild Idaho Rising Tide has held protests against the shipments more than 40 times since the first oversized loads traveled the route in July.

(By Big Country News Connection, Photos courtesy of Zachary Johnson, selected from 21 facebook pictures at Final (?) Moscow Tar Sands Megaload Protest – 6 March 2012)

In a final act of defiance, a participant in the March 6 Moscow demonstration tossed a protest sign that hit the back of the last ExxonMobil/Imperial Oil megaload on Highway 95, which quoted the Port of Lewiston’s TIGER grant application, “If one oil company is successful with this alternate transportation route, many other companies will follow their lead” (Zachary Johnson photo).

(By Zachary Johnson, selected photos from among 21 pictures available on facebook at Final (?) Moscow Tar Sands Megaload Protest – 6 March 2012)

Megaloads Head North on 95; Foes Claim Victory

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As 45 protesters escort two oversized shipments through Moscow, Kooskia-area couple celebrate

Megaload opponents claimed a win Tuesday as the last two Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil oversized shipments left Lewiston and headed through Moscow on U.S. Highway 95.

About 45 protesters, and nearly as many law enforcement officers, ushered the megaloads through Moscow without incident Tuesday night. [Editor’s note: Moscow police issued two misdemeanors on Thursday for two protester incidents.]

Ordinary citizens of Idaho and Montana have successfully challenged an attempt to turn U.S. Highway 12 into a permanent high-and-wide-transport corridor, Borg Hendrickson wrote in an email Tuesday. “Is this outcome a victory for the Davids of the world, the ‘little’ people? Absolutely. Is the battle over? Probably not.”

Hendrickson and her husband, Linwood Laughy of the Kooskia area, spearheaded an effort to block megaloads on U.S. 12, which is adjacent to their home along the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River. Continue reading →