Dear friends of the forests, I'm writing to you from my concrete jail cell - a long way from the mists and moss of the ancient forests I have been imprisoned for trying to protect. British Columbia (B.C.) Supreme Court Justice Glen Parrett has sentenced me to a year in prison without parole. My crime - I stepped out on a logging road in B.C.'s Elaho Valley to stop the logging trucks of International Forest Products (Interfor).

A solid year is a big whack out of a 72-year-old great grandmother's remaining years, but I accepted that possibility the morning I stood on the road to try to protect some of the last intact temperate rainforests on the planet.

At 72, some people think I'm too old to risk a jail sentence like I've just received, but I tell them the temperate rainforests are a lot more fragile than I am -- and at much greater risk. These coastal Canadian forests are among the most rare and most endangered forests on earth. I am proud to do what I can to protect them.

We need a revolution in our forests. In B.C. "tree farm" licences are still given out to the largest, most ruinous of corporations. This is a public forest and we must have a say in its future.

We can start with Interfor. Not only does Interfor get it all, aside from a mere pittance they grudgingly pay the government for the right to liquidate our ancient forests, but taxpayers have to pay for cleaning up the mess Interfor leaves behind in the forests and the salmon streams. And to add absolute insult to absolute injury, citizens also have to pay for the lengthy mass trials Interfor initiates against protesters but which are speedily taken over by the government, which in turn results in lengthy incarcerations, also paid for by the taxpayers. What a sweet deal for Interfor! They must howl with laughter all the way to the bank.

We - communities and people - can manage our own forests. There are many models to choose from; we have examples from other countries, models that respect the forests, that treat nature with respect instead of contempt.

The eco-systems on this continent are extremely fragile. And so is democracy. If we really want these twin wonders, these incredible gifts that make life worth living, then we must fight for these over and over again. If we don't, the alternatives are complete corporate rule and a trashed, logging-induced desert of a continent to leave to our grandchildren.

People around the world can support our struggle. These forests are a global treasure and a legacy to the planet. Please help protect them.

I don't want to be in jail. I want to be home with my family. But I'm prepared to spend a year of my remaining life in jail for the "crime" of defending these ancient forests from the corporate clearcutters.

Please, will you spend ten minutes of your time to help as well? Write to the Premier of B.C. and the CEO of Interfor. Ask them to protect Canada's remaining temperate rainforests from the ravages of industrial logging. Ask them for real change in B.C. forest practices and a moratorium on logging these last intact valleys. Oh - and please ask them to stop criminalizing people trying to stop the destruction.

For the forests,
Betty

72 year-old Betty Krawczyk, inmate number 03793924, currently resides at the Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women.

Listen to Betty's message from jail: download MP3 or listen to Real Audio (requires plug-in).

TAKE ACTION NOW.
Send a message to the Premier of British Columbia and the CEO of Interfor.

Click here to send a Greenpeace E-card to a friend about the assault in Canada's ancient forest.

READ MORE : Interfor assaults peaceful environmentalists [An ADOBE document.]
READ MORE: Greenpeace Briefing - International Forest Products [An ADOBE document.]