People, climate and communities over profit!
Capitalist timber investors grow profits, not forests.
we’re rising up and speaking out; our forests must be managed for the health of our communities & climate, not wall street profits.
Who will own the forest?
Thank you so much for taking part in the Forests Over Profits mobilization to counter the Wall Street capitalists’ Who Will Own the Forest conference. From a five hour rally to civil disobedience to our own conference, you all showed up in such a good way – thank you! The turnout and excitement about the movement to stop the financialization of forestry is so inspiring.
The Forests Over Profits mobilization brought together so many amazing people – the speakers, musicians, organizers, participants – and we plan on building these relationships in future actions and campaigns. The Forests Over Profits mobilization wasn’t a culmination–it’s just the beginning.
It’s time for the grassroots forest & climate movement to fight extractive industrial logging and make fundamental changes to the ways forests are managed and “owned”. That entails a lot of different work – creating community forest projects, fighting the corporate capture of our political system by big polluters, stopping false solutions like biomass & carbon offsets, returning land to indigenous communities, and so much more. We hope you’ll be part of carrying forward this work beyond the Forests Over Profits mobilization and into communities across the PNW. Below are several immediate ways to take action and get involved, but there will be more to come, so stay tuned!
We want to hear your feedback and ideas about the Forests Over Profits mobilization; you can fill out this feedback form. Below is a recap of the actions and events that took place during the mobilization, along with resources and information from speakers & presenters during Forests over Profits. Check back soon for more info, resources, and ways to take action and get involved!
In solidarity,
The Forests Over Profits team!
forests Over profits mobilization recap
So much happened that we wanted to share a quick recap of all the actions & events that took place in protest of the Who Will Own the Forest conference:
In the days leading up to the Who Will Own the Forest conference, activists used huge light projections along Interstate 5 to shine a light (literally!) on the outrage of Wall Street investors destroying forests, communities, and the climate.
Tuesday 9/26
Activists blocked the entrances to the opening reception of WWOTF for over an hour and hung a banner on the front of the WFC Discovery Museum that read “Land Back: You Will Never Own the Forest”
Weds 9/27
In the morning, activists blocked the entrance gate to the WWOTF conference hall with banners and chanting, and then forced conference attendees to walk a gauntlet of chanting and banners calling out their financialization of nature and clearcutting of forests.
In the afternoon: hundreds rallied for five hours at the Who Will Own the Forest conference, forcing the conference to move their lunch indoors to hide from the rally. There were powerful speakers & songs, banners & art, theatrical performances, and a firetruck, and people blocked the road leading to the World Forestry Center. Separately, activists hung a banner reading “Timber Money is Blood Money” over Highway 26 during afternoon rush hour.
In the evening, activists paraded with banners and chanting around the Who Will Own the Forest conference during the evening garden reception. Allegedly, the reception was disrupted by loud chanting and some conference attendees, along with all the appetizers, were doused in sawdust as a reminder that they can’t hide from the destructive impacts of corporate clear-cutting or community resistance.
Thursday 9/28
More than 100 people participated in the Forests Over Profits conference to learn about real transformative solutions to the climate emergency, industrial logging, and colonial land grabbing. From a Green New Deal for PNW Forests, ecological & community forestry, to Land Back and confronting the colonial roots of resource extraction and land appropriation, we learned about the fundamental systems change required and approaches to forest management that support ecosystems, empower communities, and grow climate resilience.
join the movement!
It’s time to put forests, climate, and communities over profits! Reach out via email to contact@forestsoverprofits.org to get involved!
Forest Over Profits is grateful for the support of the Climate Emergency Fund.