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I remember reading about Julia’s tree-sit in Bay Area free weeklies back when she was up there. I remember thinking she must be crazy to put her life on the line like that. It would be nearly 20 years before I visited the coast redwood forests of California and felt an indescribable peace and connection to them that led me to this book. I have great admiration for Julia and disgust for Pacific Lumber. I know it’s a very complicated situation and I can understand arguments on both sides. I’m lucky enough to not have been born into a situation where I was reliant on logging as a means of simple survival. That is a luxury that the people in these small towns up in Humboldt don’t have so I empathize with them. They are only trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. The business practices of Pacific Lumber and how they take full advantage of their workers and destroy the environment and ecological integrity of these old-growth forests is reprehensible. Unlike other reviewers, I found Julia’s writing flowed well and she wove in the details of what clear cutting has done to these unique lands and communities. She highlights the devastating effects on the people of Stanford who lost their homes to mudslides that were a direct result of Pacific Lumber clear cutting the hillsides above their community. This is a story of a huge corporation walking all over the little guy, lining the pockets of their executives and enriching their political allies, a story as old as time and repeated ad nauseam. The difference here is that the old-growth coast redwoods are literally the lungs of the earth, an essential element in the survival of the human race on this planet. That Julia managed to force Pacific Lumber to protect Luna is a great success, even if it’s mostly symbolic. The fact that a vandal nearly destroyed Luna just months after Julia came down out of the tree is a sad epilogue and goes to show that there is a large percentage of humanity for whom nothing is sacred. All we can do is follow Julia’s example and do what we can as individuals to preserve what remains of these ancient coast redwood forests and hope it’s enough. Nearly 25 years after this book was written it is even more relevant now. If you’ve never visited an old-growth coast redwood forest it’s something every single person should do in their lifetime. After you visit these trees you’ll understand Julia much better.
