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Clayoquot Sound Article First Contributions
Opposition to the MacMillan Bloedel Corporation logging in the Clayoquot Sound was expressed in several peaceful protests and blockades of logging roads ranging from 1980-1994. The largest event occurred in the summer of 1994, when over 800 protestors were arrested and many put on trial. Protestors included local residents of the Sound, the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations and Ahousaht First Nation bands, and environmentalist groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Clayoquot Sound.

Clayoquot Blockades & Protests
The first opposition to logging companies in the Sound occurred in 1984, when members of Friends of the Clayoquot Sound and First Nations groups set up blockades on logging roads leading to Meares Island. The island was spiritually important to the First Nations and was a large source of drinking water for the area.

Environmental groups like Friends of the Clayoquot Sound and the First Nations tribes were concerned with the logging companies’ approach to resource management. The First Nations did not completely oppose all logging in the Sound; in fact they acknowledged that their people had depended on the land’s resources for centuries. Rather, they opposed the fact that the companies were pursuing short-term profit by extracting resources at maximum efficiency, with little interference from the British Columbia government.

When Macmillan-Bloedel workers arrived at Meares Island in 1984, they were greeted by a bigger blockade that included members of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribe, local environmentalist groups, and other supporters of their cause. Animosity continued between these groups throughout the 1980s due to each side’s respective injunctions, which were in contradiction with one another over the use of the land.

In 1992, Friends of the Clayoquot Sound again set up a blockade, but the most significant protests occurred in the summer of 1993. The introduction of the Clayoquot Sound Land Use Plan sparked outrage among environmentalists and the Nuu-chah-nulth people alike. Environmentalist groups debated the amount and type of land that had been divided, but the First Nations, who composed almost the entire population of the Sound, were concerned that the plan did not consider their spatial, environmental, or economic practices.

During that summer, nearly 11,000 people came to Clayoquot Sound to take part in the protests. Activists eventually gained the support of major organizations such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Every day for three months, protesters would gather and blockade a remote logging road, preventing vehicles carrying workers from reaching their sites. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police would then read a court injunction and carry or drag protesters into a bus, which would transport them to the police station in Ucluelet to be charged and released. By the end of the summer, the sheer number of people that had been arrested made it one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canadian history.

Many residents of Tofino and Ucluelet worked in the logging industry, and felt that the 1993 protests threatened their livelihood. In response, they organized a counter-protest called the “Ucluelet Rendezvous ’93.” More than 5,000 people came to support the workers and logging community, culminating in 200 liters of human excrement being poured near the environmentalists’ information site. Loggers stated that they did not want to wipe out the forests, but that carrying on the industry was economically important for future generations.

Team comments

 * This looks really good! I especially like your transition from my section into yours, its very smooth.  And your section flows very nicely, like a story.  Nice work! --FrankRBIV (talk) 20:18, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

Hey I just read your post and really liked it. The only part I found to be a little confusing was your last paragraph, the information how they protested was very interesting but a little added information on the groups could make it less confusing. Great Work! --Ashleypiv (talk) 01:16, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Hey Maggie, I liked the information in there! I only have a couple suggestions: You write, "When Macmillan-Bloedel workers arrived at Meares Island in 1984, they encountered a bigger blockade that included members of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribe, local environmental groups, and other supporters of their cause." I think you should add something in about whose cause they are supporting. Supporters of the environmental sustainability cause or something.

Also you say "In 1992, Friends of the Clayoquot Sound set up another blockade, but the most significant protests occurred in the summer of 1993." I don't think it's especially important to mention that they set up another blockade, just to say that more important things took place in the summer of 1993. It could probably just be cut!

Nice work!--Aliarayan (talk) 03:22, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Hey Maggie, you did a really good job with your part! And I think you especially did a good job posing the points of view of both environmentalists and loggers alike. The only tiny part that I would change/reword is the sentence in the initial paragraph "The island was spiritually important to First Nations communities because it was the main source of drinking water for the area." I would either expand on why the main source of drinking water was spiritually important or reword it so that the spirituality of the people is not connected to the main source of drinking water. Not really a huge deal, but you might wanna consider that!

Once again other than that, good job! --Fziza (talk) 17:25, 10 April 2012 (UTC)