Oregon, a state that has been targeted at least 29 times since 1980 by so-called “eco-terrorists,” is now home to the nation’s first organization exclusively dedicated to tracking and eliminating eco-terrorism. The organization, Stop Eco-Violence, was cofounded by a former spokesperson for a building products company, a Portland State University terrorism expert, and a conservative Los Angeles fundraiser, with the support of a Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm that specializes in giving makeovers to industry groups on the rocks. Stop Eco-Violence plans to keep tabs on acts of eco-terrorism and funding sources for eco-terrorists, and to unite police, academics, and victims of eco-terrorist attacks, ranging from loggers to ranchers, from homebuilders to auto dealers. David Barbarash, a spokesperson for the Animal Liberation Front, dismissed the new group, saying ecologically motivated sabotage would end only by “stopping animal torture, stopping the destruction of the environment for profit and greed, and treating all species and all life … with a sense of responsibility.”
