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David Nathan ''"Gypsy"'' Chain (June 17, 1974 – September 17, 1998) was an
environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. In its recognition of humanity a ...
. He was killed by a falling tree in suspicious circumstances during a protest in California Redwood Forests against the
Pacific Lumber Company The Pacific Lumber Company, officially abbreviated PALCO, and also commonly known as PL, was one of California's major logging and sawmill operations, located 28 miles (45 km) south of Eureka and 244 miles (393 km) north of San Francisc ...
.


Background

Chain was a member of the
Earth First! Earth First! is a radical environmentalism, radical Environmental movement, environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron K ...
environmental advocacy group and was engaged in a campaign of
tree sitting Tree sitting is a form of environmentalist civil disobedience in which a protester sits in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down (speculating that loggers will not endanger human lives by c ...
in order to stop what they considered was
illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...
, in breach of California Forest Practices Act, in the
Headwaters Forest The Headwaters Forest Reserve is a group of old growth coast redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens'') groves in the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion near Humboldt Bay of the U.S. state of California. Comprising about , it is managed by th ...
, north of
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, near Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park. Headwaters was the largest private holding of
old-growth An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...
forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
in the world. Following a
hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (law), company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast t ...
of Pacific Lumber Co., the Murphy family (the largest minority stock holders at the time) and countless previous stockholders, mostly company employees, were relieved of their stock by
Charles Hurwitz Charles Edwin Hurwitz (born 1940) is an American businessman and financier known for his role in the 1980s savings and loan crisis, and his takeover of Pacific Lumber Company, a logging company active in Humboldt County, California. His other ho ...
and his Maxxam, Inc. corporation of Texas. Between a desire to turn a higher profit and the need to start paying off the debt incurred from acquiring the company, Hurwitz's Maxxam replaced the
sustainable growth Sustainable development is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General Assembly (1987)''Report of th ...
policy of the previous owner-managers with one of
clearcutting Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with Shelterwood cutting, shelterwood and Seed tree, seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters t ...
. The new practices led to the so-called
Redwood Summer Redwood Summer was a three-month movement in 1990 of Environmentalism, environmental activism aimed at protecting Old-growth forest, old-growth Sequoia sempervirens, redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens'') trees from logging by northern California timb ...
campaign by environmentalists, and ultimately forced the 140-year-old company to declare bankruptcy. Many residents of the area made their living through logging. On the one hand, some members of the community in the nearby mill town of
Fortuna Fortuna (, equivalent to the Greek mythology, Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Religion in ancient Rome, Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular thr ...
strongly resented the presence of activists from other areas, as these were not aware of the potential economic impacts of logging stoppages. On the other hand, environmental activists like Chain believed that clearcutting was not sustainable and highlighted that the choice of jobs or the environment was a fallacy.


Circumstances of his death

According to Humboldt County Sheriff Department, Chain was struck by a falling tree while trying to stop logging. He was killed instantly and died of massive head trauma. In response to his death, a Pacific Lumber Co. spokesperson said their logging crew did not see anybody in the area and were unaware of Chain's presence. Earth First! said that the loggers had been deliberately felling huge trees, in a perpendicular manner rather than downhill, in the protesters' direction. One of the protesters also noted that the tree fellers were fully aware that they were there, as the activists had been ''"yelling at them, walking towards them, telling them 'Don't fell this tree'"''. On a videotape supplied by Earth First!, Arlington Earl Ammons, the 52-year-old logger responsible for falling the tree that caused Chain's death can be heard shouting expletives and threatening the protesters. Based on the local sheriff's probe, Humboldt County
district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
Terry Farmer decided not to press charges, concluding Ammons had not knowingly aimed a tree at any of the protesters.


Civil suit and settlement

Following the reticence of the district attorney to file criminal charges, Chain's mother started a civil suit against Ammons, Pacific Lumber and its parent company, Maxxam, alleging they were reckless and responsible for the death of her son. A
wrongful death Wrongful death is a type of legal claim or cause of action against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as authorized by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are ...
settlement was reached three days before trial was scheduled to commence. Its financial terms remain undisclosed but other parts were made public, as a reminder of the tragedy, the that struck Chain will remain where it fell, and a prevented any nearby logging. A memorial was also erected.


Consequences

Soon after Chain's death, it was revealed that the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection had charged Pacific Lumber with at least 250 violations of the California Forest Practice Act between 1995 and 1997. These violations continued to accumulate in 1998, and in November of that year, Pacific Lumber became the first company ever to lose its logging license in California. As a condition of reinstating their license, Pacific Lumber agreed to the creation of the
Headwaters Forest Reserve The Headwaters Forest Reserve is a group of old growth Sequoia sempervirens, coast redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens'') groves in the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion near Humboldt Bay (United States), Humboldt Bay of the U.S. state o ...
. It received $380 million of public funds in return for the purchase. A
Habitat Conservation Plan A Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) is a required part of an application for an Incidental Take Permit, a permit issued under the United States Endangered Species Act of 1973, Endangered Species Act (ESA) to private entities undertaking projects that ...
(HCP) was also developed and approved to allow limited logging on the remaining of Pacific Lumber Company timberland.An LAO Report, Opportunities and Challenges for the State-The Headwaters Forest
Legislative Analyst Office of the state of California.


Memorial scholarship

A memorial scholarship for high school seniors and first-year university students has been set up in Chain's name. It is intended to support students with a demonstrated passion in environmental conservation.


In popular culture

Local Humboldt County based songwriters Karrie Jesse Manzanita Wallace & Juli Palmer wrote a song for him titled "A Chainsaw For A Gun (For Gypsy)" (c)1998 Singer-songwriter
David Rovics David Stefan Rovics ( ; born April 10, 1967) is an American indie singer/songwriter. His music concerns both topical subjects such as the 2003 Iraq war, anti-globalization, anarchism, and social justice issues, and also labor history. R ...
dedicated a song to him, title
The Death of David Chain
Seattle singer/songwriter Jim Page also wrote a song about David Chain entitled "Gypsy". Writer John Burnside wrote a poem called "Earth" in memory of David Chain.


See also

*
Judi Bari Judith Beatrice Bari (November 7, 1949 – March 2, 1997) was an American environmentalist, feminist, and labor leader, primarily active in Northern California after moving to the state in the mid-1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, she was the pri ...
*
Earth First! Earth First! is a radical environmentalism, radical Environmental movement, environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron K ...


References


External links


David Gypsy Chain Memorial Scholarship
*

Tribute to David Chain website by his mother, Cindy Allsbrooks. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chain, David Deaths by person in California September 1998 in the United States 1998 in California Pacific Lumber Company Protest-related deaths