Environmental terrorists a growing movement in West
BY DANA HULL
Knight Ridder Newspapers
AUBURN, Calif. - (KRT) - Most San Francisco Bay-area residents know Auburn, Calif. - a quaint Gold Rush town in the Sierra foothills - as a pit stop on the way to Lake Tahoe. Brick buildings from the 1850s dot the streets, and old-timers still gather for coffee at the marble counter of the 109-year-old Auburn Drug Co.
But in the past three months, Auburn has become known for something else: "eco-terrorism."
The Earth Liberation Front - the underground environmental network that has used sabotage, arson and vandalism to attack everything from logging equipment to genetically engineered crops and SUVs - has hit the foothills town and fast-growing nearby communities.
And this time, the radical group's target is sprawl.
In late December, crude incendiary devices were found in three houses under construction at a luxury subdivision in Lincoln, Calif. Graffiti that read "Enjoy the world as is - as long as you can" was found along with buckets filled with gasoline, diesel fuel, wires and kitchen timers.
In January, five more devices were found at a commercial building under construction in Auburn. And last month, a newly built apartment complex in the Amador County hamlet of Sutter Creek was targeted. "We will win," was scrawled in red paint at the site, but a sprinkler system rendered most of the devices useless before they went off.
No one has been injured. But the spate of attacks - and the arrest of four young locals in connection with the arson attempts - has stunned residents, infuriated developers and contractors and intrigued law enforcement officials who have tracked the elusive "elves" for years. Investigators still have not caught the members who burned down a San Diego apartment complex in August 2003, causing $50 million damage.
The ELF has been tough to crack because its members operate in autonomous cells and are savvy about technology, surveillance and forensics. ELF attacks - which have occurred across the country - are often marked by two calling cards: graffiti and politically charged missives claiming responsibility for and explaining the "action."
"It was done in honor of everyone who has felt helpless to sprawl and development, everyone who feels their rural lifestyles are being threatened by these mass-produced designer communities," reads the communique about two of the three arson attempts in the foothills near Sacramento, Calif.
Last month, a tip led FBI agents to Newcastle, Calif., resident Ryan Daniel Lewis, 21. He was indicted Feb. 24 in all three incidents, and was denied bail. Lewis, who lives with his parents on a 17-acre mandarin orange orchard, has pleaded not guilty, and his defense attorney has requested a jury trial.
After Lewis' arrest, pipe bombs were found at the historic Placer County Courthouse in Auburn and a local DMV office. And last week, three other Newcastle residents - Jeremiah Colcleasure, 24, and sisters Eva and Lili Holland, ages 25 and 20 - have also been arrested in connection to the first three attempted arsons.
Joyce Estey, 65, agrees that the foothills are growing too quickly. But she questions why someone would turn to arson and pipe bombs to make their point.
"You feel like you live in a rural area, and something like this doesn't happen here," said Estey, shortly after the news of Lewis's arrest. Estey regularly meets her daughter and grandson at the courthouse. Built in 1894, the majestic three-story building is the crown jewel of Old Town Auburn. But the attempted bombing makes her uneasy.
"Why would they put a bomb in a courthouse that's more than 100 years old?" said Estey. "And doesn't a bomb or a fire pollute the environment?"
Keith Slotter, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Sacramento field office, said the ELF has become more active in Northern California.
"They continue to gain followers," said Slotter. "And sprawl is their primary issue."
Placer County is one of California's fastest-growing counties. It added 75,000 residents from 1990 to 2000, according to the U.S. Census, a 44 percent increase. Many newcomers are Bay-area refugees and retirees who have settled in booming south county communities like Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville, where Hewlett Packard has a facility.
Longtime residents worry that the rapid pace and sheer volume of new construction is ruining the region's quality of life.
"It's Southern California and Silicon Valley all over again, and that's a huge concern," said Dale Smith of Friends of Placer County Communities, a "smart growth" group that has battled Wal-Mart and other mega-stores. "But these bombings are counterproductive. It throws a bad light on people who really do care about their community, and that's unfortunate."
Smith said he was not surprised that 20-somethings were involved.
"I don't quite understand it," he said, "but young people have been prone to do stupid things ever since I was young."
Placer County has always leaned Republican: President Bush won 63 percent of the vote in the November 2004 election, and many town officials and county supervisors have a pro-development reputation. Though some residents have banded together to fight big-box department stores, radical environmental groups are not the norm here.
More than 190 investigations associated with the ELF and its twin, the ALF, or Animal Liberation Front, are under way in FBI field offices across the country. Just last month, FBI Director Robert Mueller warned a Senate committee that environmental extremists are expected to continue attacks on residential and commercial development.
"Builders of all types should be on the lookout," said John Frith of the California Building Industry Association, who said FBI agents have met with developers and contractors. "There's reason to believe that radical environmentalists will continue their efforts, particularly as development occurs in more rural areas."
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