Deb over at Invisible Voices sent a link to a wonderful photography project by Christopher LaMarca called “Forest Defenders.”

LaMarca says:.

I have been photographing these activists and loggers since the summer of 2003. My connection to this project revolves around the passion and endless work that consumes these people who live in the back-country for months at a time; and who are willing to sacrifice their comforts’ to stand up for their beliefs.

Although these activists are often seen as radicals or eco-terrorists, little has been documented about their activities outside of these stereotypes. These stunning landscapes will continue to be decimated due to political pressure and lack of education, these are some of last truly wild places left in America.

The photographs are stunning. Please take a look at some of the people that are being labeled “eco-terrorists.”

Check out this oped in The L.A. Times by Caroline Paul, whose brother Jonathan is one of the defendants who faces “terrorism enhancement” penalties for environmentally-motivated property crimes: in this case, an arson against a horse slaughtering plant. An interesting sidenote is that Caroline was a San Francisco firefighter for 13 years.

Here’s an excerpt:

How much safer do we feel now that ELF/ALF members, who have never hurt or intended to hurt a single human being, might be confined to a maximum-security prison? Could it really be true that the most powerful country in the world feels “coerced” by a bunch of bunny huggers? Is the confident “I am the decider” leader of this nation being bullied by vegans? Or is it possible that the government just wants to crow about convicting another “terrorist” while the main one is still at large?

A lot has been written about the radicalization that led to Bin Laden’s hatred of the U.S. Let me tell you a bit about the conversion of one member of the group that the FBI now considers the “No. 1 domestic terrorist threat.” When my brother was 15, he shot a bird out of a tree with a .22-caliber rifle. It fell to the ground, wings spread, gasping for air. He killed it with a rock. Then he vowed he would never knowingly harm an animal again.