Terrorizing the environmental movement

Rep. Scott McInnis of the GOP wants leading green groups to denounce eco-terror, though they're already on record against it. Is he using Sept. 11 to crack down on groups he disagrees with?

By Paul Tolme

Nov. 26, 2001 | DENVER -- The clock is ticking for some of the nation's largest environmental groups, who have been asked by Republican congressmen to "publicly disavow" acts of "eco-terrorism" by Dec. 1.

Most environmental leaders have blasted the request as a "witch hunt" and a publicity stunt by U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., the self-styled czar of the war against eco-terror, and most say they will ignore the coming deadline. But McInnis' maneuver has caused something of a split in the environmental community, with some leaders acceding to the Republican's demand and publicly denouncing eco-terrorists.

McInnis' request, made in a letter signed by six other Republicans, raises questions about the extent to which, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, legitimate political activity will come in for new scrutiny as the nation fights its war against terror. It's also worth noting that at a time when deadly anthrax attacks targeting Democrats and the media are looking more and more like the work of domestic terrorists, there's been no GOP hue and cry for conservative groups -- even ones that have condoned violence (including anthrax threats) against abortion providers and government officials -- to denounce terror.

Mostly, the response from environmentalists has been outrage. "I'm troubled by the fact there is a certain witch-hunt aspect to this," said Buck Parker, executive director of Earthjustice, an environmental law group. "They have no reason to think that environmental groups would support terrorism." Parker asked whether McInnis and his colleagues would send letters to antiabortion groups such as the National Right to Life Committee and other conservative organizations demanding they also denounce terrorism and murder inflicted by pro-life fanatics and anti-government extremists such as Timothy McVeigh.

McInnis' letter, dated Oct. 30, went to the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Earthjustice, League of Conservation Voters, World Wildlife Fund, National Wildlife Federation and the National Resources Defense Council. Authored by McInnis, chairman of a House subcommittee investigating acts of arson and monkey-wrenching that have caused $43 million in damage over the past two decades, the letter was signed by GOP House colleagues James Hansen of Utah, John Peterson of Pennsylvania, Bob Schaffer of Colorado, Greg Walden of Oregon, J.D. Hayworth of Arizona and George Nethercutt Jr. of Washington.

"As our Nation begins the recovery and healing process following the tragedy of Sept. 11, we believe it is critical for Americans of every background and political stripe to disavow terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," the letter said. "Americans simply cannot tolerate, either overtly or through silence, the use of violence and terror as an instrument of promoting social and political change."

The congressmen added that while eco-saboteurs' acts have not risen to the level of the World Trade Center attack, they are "no less deplorable."

Leading environmentalists insist they have never overtly or silently tolerated acts of property destruction, and call the letter "McCarthyesque."

"We have been denouncing eco-terrorism since before Scott Mcinnis knew it even existed," said Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope, who noted his group has offered rewards for the capture of eco-saboteurs.

"The real tragedy is that, as the country tries to pull together, a number of politicians are already in the process of breaking that trust," said John Passacantando, executive director of Greenpeace USA, which urges peaceful protest and civil disobedience. "They are trying to stick it to environmentalists in the name of patriotism."

The letter gave the environmental groups until Dec. 1 to respond. Some of the environmental organizations said they had received a similar letter days earlier from the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank.

Greenpeace and Sierra Club returned curt responses saying they have always denounced eco-terrorism. Passacantando wrote that elected officials should get to work rooting out terrorists and protecting the nation from anthrax rather than wasting taxpayer dollars to harass environmentalists. Parker of Earthjustice said he did not want to dignify the letter with a reply.

But not all environmental groups were offended.

In letters published in the New York Times and sent to the congressmen, the National Wildlife Federation criticized the use of property destruction to push environmental objectives. Spokesman Phil Kavits said eco-saboteurs are a threat to the entire environmental movement.

"It's something we did feel we needed to respond to," Kavits said of the McInnis letter. "We thought this was an opportunity to unequivocally state that the use of violence or destruction of property is not an appropriate means of realizing environmental objectives."

Next page: And what if groups don't respond?