Tree Spiking

Tree spiking, or Tree pinning (English ) is a type of sabotage, (usually ceramic) are hammered into the trunk of a tree at the bars of metal or other material to prevent precipitation. A chain saw blade which meets such a rod breaks, causing the felling of the tree more difficult and thus uneconomical. The rods can woodsman hurt, the practice is therefore also associated with eco-terrorism.

In the U.S.

The Tree spiking has a long history, individual incidents of this nature can be traced back to the late 1800s, although it was not widely known until the 1980s. Dave Forman, co-founder of Earth First! , This practice made ​​famous in his book Ecodefense and he took the view that they should be part of the arsenal of any dedicated environmental activists.

In 1987, the sawmill employee George Alexander was seriously injured when the band saw operated by him was destroyed by a prepared tree in California.

Tree spiking was declared in 1988 to an offense that is pursued under U.S. federal law. (United States Code 1864)

1990 called for the Earth First! Leader Judi Bari activists in Northern California and Southern Oregon on the tree spiking as a tactic in Redwood Summer to abandon a campaign of nonviolent resistance against the precipitations in the Redwood Empire in 1990.

Tree spiking in literature and film

In the novel, The blockade of the author Derek Hansen in 1998, the protagonist, an employee can be in a forestry operation, Baumspiking perform to discredit anti- deforestation activists.

In the film Severed - Forest of the Dead the woodcutter Eric tried to saw a tree trunk that has been manipulated by an anti- deforestation activists. He injured himself with his chain saw, through the wound enters a growth accelerator preparation secret researchers in his blood and he turns into a zombie.

In the X-Files - The Files episode The Cocoon (English Darkness Falls Episode 1X19 ) are accused of two environmentalists, tree spiking in state forests of Washington to have committed.