In 2004, after the Down East Round River Rendezvous on Donnell Pond, about a hundred Earth First!ers greeted Governor Baldacci at his house to protest plans to build a liquified natural gas facility. After a long campaign, those plans were defeated, for now. Since then, Maine EF! has been fighting the largest development proposal in Maine’s history by the notorious timber/real estate giant, Plum Creek.  However, the corporate plunder of our unique bioregion and culture, does not stop with Plum Creek.  Maine EF! has also networked with community groups that are defending their land and communities from private water extraction, toxic waste incineration, and industrial wind-energy development.  Now we’re inviting y’all back up to the North Woods for some more fun around the campfire, exploring the bioregion, and movement building. This year’s RRR will be held in the heart of the Maine North Woods!

By hosting the 2010 RRR, we hope to have the opportunity to show people what our forests have become, but also to create a vision of what we will have if the earth-destroying corporations are evicted and the land is allowed to heal.  We hope to use our four primary campaigns, which are focused on wind, water, waste, and woods (the 4W’s), to make broader connections and coalitions with folks working throughout the North Woods Bioregion and the continent.  These connections will hopefully jump-start discussions around wilderness movement-building, re-wilding damaged lands, and effective strategies for eco-defense.  These themes are deeply connected to the struggle to maintain the traditional, rural culture of Maine.  The 2010 RRR will  feature a corporate-ass kicking action, lots of hootin’ and hollerin’ around the campfire, and plenty of opportunities to explore the flora, fauna, and the beauty and the devastation of the North Woods! In fact, this just might be the place to spend the rest of the Summer…We hope to have a wide variety of campaigns that folks can plug into throughout Maine.

Why Earth First!?  And what is the “Round River Rendezvous”?:

Are you sick of the other environmental organizations selling out? Sick of environmentalists who don’t follow through with their words? Well, then Earth First! is the movement for you! Earth First! is a movement based around the idea that there is a need for non-compromising action in defense of Mother Earth! The Earth First! movement is centered around biocentrism and deep ecology, the beliefs that all of life has intrinsic value and all living systems are interconnected. Earth First! isn’t your typical environmental organization.For starters, it’s not even an organization; it’s an international movement. Unlike other large environmental groups we put our beliefs into action and we don’t get bogged down with bureaucracy!

The Earth First! Round River Rendezvous is a week long gathering for anyone interested in or involved in the Earth First! movement (except for cops or other members of law enforcement). Annually, this week-long gathering is held in a bioregion that is threatened with ecological devastation. And this year, the Maine North Woods is hosting the gathering. During the week folks set up a primitive camp and attend or give workshops on a wide variety of topics (see below), get to know one another, listen to music and other performances or share their own, brainstorm, network, organize on wilderness defense and relax and get to know why we love this place.

But don’t think that we’re a bunch of boring fanatics that just like to sit around and theorize about “movement strategy.”  We also like to have a lot of fun! including, but not limited to, rowdy games, contra dancing, music, bonfires, etc. There will be lots of great opportunities for anyone to share music, poetry, circus acts, theatre, whatever you got with the group.  There will be scheduled performances by movement musicians, as well as a reviving of the Warrior Poet’s Society. There will be a contra dance night as well.  There will be loads of great music, performances (of all kinds, and I do mean ALL KINDS!) and poetry–so don’t miss out! Make sure to bring something to share or just come with an open mind. It is sure to be some rowdy good fun.  We also hope to have some local home brew for sampling, and want to encourage anybody to bring some homebrew of their own.  Maine EF! has connections with a lot of local, organic farmers, and we will be providing some food from the region and hope other people can bring some of theirs (Hey Everglades EF!, bring some mangoes!).

We encourage anyone coming to engage in primitive camping, treading as lightly as possible on the ecosystems that we will be inhabiting. We also ask that people come as self-sufficient as possible. Town and amenities are typically a distance away – so come with everything you will need for the week.  The week will end with a direct action that is most strategic and relevant to our ongoing campaigns at the time. You can learn more about this action at the Rendezvous.   For security reasons, the specific details will be figured out by the local organizers, and others will be plugged in accordingly.

Some Things to Consider:

Given the situation of Maine’s forests, there is a good chance that the Rendezvous will be held on privately owned land. We have several sites picked out, and are waiting to decide the specific location based on the most strategic place to be this summer. If it is on private land, we will utilize state-managed campsites which are open to the public. The large, corporate land-owners have kept their foot-hold in Maine by allowing “public access” on “their” land.  Therefore, camping is legal, as long as fires are contained in the existing fire rings.

Other things to keep in mind when planning your trip to the great north woods are: Weather:  June in Northern Maine can be either hot and sunny, raining, or snowing (less likely due to the whole climate change thing).  Come prepared for cold nights and rainy weather.  Also, it is a common saying around here that our state bird should be the Black Fly.  June-July is the nice time of year when black flies and mosquitoes are both thriving, along with deer ticks which can carry Lyme disease.  We also have poison ivy, so if you are allergic come prepared! Long sleeves, long pants, tall socks, and closed shoes are the best protection from bugs or poison ivy.

We are inviting a wide variety of folks from a wide variety of backgrounds to this year’s RRR, so we ask people to leave oppressive and elitist attitudes at home.  We are attempting to make this space open and welcoming to all types of earth activists…so talk to someone you don’t know–let’s help our movement grow! We will not tolerate oppressive or elitist behavior! There will be spaces for alcohol and partying, and there will be spaces conducive to sobriety and quietude.  It is expected that these spaces and policies will be respected.  In short, don’t be a jerk!

There will also be safe spaces for child-care, and we could use help creating and maintaining that space.  There will be on-site medics with herbal medicine knowledge and training, as well as spaces to go for health and healing.  If you have any particular skills that would help with any of these things, contact us.

Police or other law enforcement agencies sometimes like to stop in and see what we are up to or try to shut down the whole camp all together.  It is usually not a big deal, but please be aware of these possibilities.  There will be delegated members of the camp responsible for communicating with law enforcement interactions. There will also be folks working security throughout the gathering to keep any unwelcome people out of the gathering.  As is usual at the RRR, we will be constantly signing up volunteers to help with camp security, childcare, conflict mediation, and other tasks to keep the camp functioning.

((( DIRECTIONS HERE )))

What to Bring:

• Donation: $25 (or whatever you can afford).  No one will be turned away, but there are costs associated with organizing these events.  The money we raise will go on to next years OC and RRR committees.Please donate more if you can afford it- $25 isn’t much for a week-long conference.
• Warm Clothing and Rain Gear
• Camping gear: tent, sleeping bag, ground pad (if you don’t have a tent, you should at least bring a mosquito net and a tarp)
• Food and Water:  It always helps take weight off of the camp infrastructure if people come as self-sufficient as possible-especially if you have any special dietary needs
• Cooking Gear
• Eating utensils, plate, bowl, etc.
• Water purification device
• No Dogs:  we understand that some people can’t leave home without them, if you come with a dog, take responsibility for them or they will be on the menu.  Dogs in the wilderness risk injury, and can be very disruptive to the local ecosystem
• Sun Protection
• Bug resistant clothing and bug repellant (if you need to), but remember, any toxic chemicals you bring in will remain in our ecosystem.
• A Spirit of Resistance to ecosystem destruction and a Willingness to participate in the event.  We hope to have a lot of people from local communities at this event and we want to foster a respectful environment for people to network with new people.
• Musical instruments, poetry to read, or whatever other performance art you would like to share
• Hiking gear (shoes, water bottle, etc.)
• Games: the rowdier, the better
• Workshop ideas:  bring your own skills to share or let others know about your bioregion and the threats to it, especially your campaigns around Woods, Waste, Wind and Water
• Proposals for next year’s Rendezvous and Organizers Conference:  If you have an active EF! group or want to start one, think about making a pitch to host the 2011 RRR in your neck of the woods.

Workshops and trainings:

We are organizing a plethora of workshops, discussions, trainings, and presentations revolving around all of the local campaigns we are working on.  Some of the workshop themes will include the fight against water privatization and community control of water, industrial wind power, bio-mass and waste issues, and Plum Creek. We are trying to connect with groups who are working on these issues in other places as well. We will also have a series of direct-action and skills trainings. Other planned workshops include permaculture for EF!ers, war tax  resistance, survival skills, being a full-time activist for the long haul, over-population, climate change, preparing road-kill, and self-defense. This is just an idea of what will be available at this year’s RRR, but a schedule will be posted to the website as we figure it out.  Please contact us to sign up to give a workshop.

Contact us:

For more information about the RRR, including directions and workshop schedule, visit our website at maine.earth-first.net.  You can email us at maine(a)earth-first.net or via THIS contact form.  You can also call 207-469-2552 for directions.