On Saturday, January 10, seventeen Earth First! activists were arrested fo
r entering the Barley Barber Swamp to demand the protection of Florida old growth ecosystems. The Barley Barber Swamp is one of the few remaining old growth cypress swamps in the Southeast. Several of the bald cypress trees in Barley Barber are over a thousand years old. They are the oldest in Florida and the entire Southeast region.
(click here to see a short video clip of Barley Barber and the 1100 year old bald cypress: )
Barley Barber Swamp is being killed by the massive 3750 megaWatt MartinCounty power plant that hovers over it and the seventeen mile cooling pond that surrounds it.
Following a five day standoff, six activists entered the swamp through a public waterway and chained themselves to trees. Eleven other activists
were swept up by the police in a frivolous attempt to quell the
protest. Currently, Everglades Earth First! is confronted with the immediate need to raise
$18,000 to bail these courageous activists out of Martin County jail.
Direct action is a community effort that goes well beyond the risk of
arrest. It requires broad support from those who wish to see grassroots
efforts succeed. We hope to go to the jail on Monday with the funds to bail
all seventeen activists out. We know times are tough but if everyone
pitches in we can ensure that these folks don’t sit in jail for the next
thirty days. Can you contribute to this effort? Just go to our website at
www.evergladesearthfirst.org/ and click on the “Donate” paypal link
on the left hand side of the page or make out a check to Everglades Earth
First and send it to 822 N C Street, Lake Worth, FL 33460
(Click here to a video on the standoff on the mainstream news
Seventeen Arrested at Barley Barber Swamp Stand-Off
Saturday January 10, 2009 – Indiantown Florida
Seventeen Earth First! activists were arrested this afternoon in an effort
to re-open Barley Barber swamp for public use and immediate scientific
monitoring. Expressing great concern for the impact Florida Power and Light
has had on this landmark property, activists engaged in civil disobedience
to assert the need for immediate independent scientific monitoring of the
oldest bald cypress trees in Florida. The group has made multiple requests
of FPL to re-open the swamp and address the deteriorating condition of the
area they promised to preserve.
Six of the activists entered the area of the Barley Barber swamp where the
old boardwalk still stands awaiting visitors. They refused to leave their
positions in the swamp without an official commitment from FPL to end their
contamination and draining of area wetlands. Others were arrested during a
support rally on adjacent property.
“I do not want to be arrested, but I will take the risk in order to raise
awareness about the slow death that is occurring in the Barley Barber
Swamp,” said Stevie Lowe a Palm Beach County resident who is now in custody
for trespassing into the closed swamp. “When FPL took ownership of this
landmark they promised to preserve the old growth. They have not. They have
expanded their power plant facility which has drained the swamp of its water
and is causing it to die.”
Noting the expansion of FPL power plants in the region, another arrested
activist Ben Korn stated; “FPL has placed the two largest fossil fuel power
plants in the entire country between Lake Okeechobee and the Loxahatchee
River. They have not provided full environmental impact statements for
either facility which drain water from the aquifer and release mercury
contaminants. In seeing the harm done to Barley Barber, we reiterate our
concern for the impact the West County Energy Center will have on the
Loxahatchee River Basin and the greater Everglades.”
Activist Russ McSpadden further added that “FPL must be held accountable. If
the elected officials and state agencies assigned to protect our wetlands
will not do their job, then we must do everything in our power to help save
these precious areas. Our actions are already bearing fruit. FPL has now
promised to reopen the swamp in 2010. We intend to hold them to their word
and push for an early opening for scientific monitoring and will continue
our fight against the West County Energy Center.”
Members of the group will be outside Martin County Jail this evening for
press comments.
