Direct Actions to Defend Knowland Park Against Fencing and Development Begin in Oakland

from Defendknowlandpark.org

On Friday, August 7th, after discussion amongst participants, Defend Knowland Park took its first direct action against the fencing construction in hopes that people would do the same on a regular basis.

People assembled in the Oakland highlands to continue the direct action campaign against the East Bay Zoological Society’s “California Trail” project that would expand the Oakland Zoo above the ridgeline into the undeveloped 400- acre region known as Huchiun to Ohlone people, commonly referred to as Knowland Park. The “California Trail” project outlines a 56-acre public land grab for private development. This open space land will be removed from public access and transformed into a “conservation” theme park under the management of the East Bay Zoological Society (EBZS), a private nonprofit contracted with the City of Oakland to manage the Oakland Zoo. Financial donors include the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation (Bechtel made the A-Bomb.) and the Clorox Company Foundation (who will be sponsoring a planned campground within the site to be named the “Clorox Outdoor Over-night Experience”). The “California Trail” exhibit’s website has a virtual tour that depicts Zoo visitors as upper-middle class white people, confirming that the plans are neo-colonial and gentrifying. Knowland Park (part of the Ohlone tribe’s Territory called Huchiun) is a 500-acre wild open space in the Oakland hills of California. It was deeded to the City by the State in the 1970′s under the condition that it would always remain a public park but now the Oakland Zoo is trying to expand onto the park, fencing in a large portion of the area and will cut down dozens of trees, some of which are old growth Oaks. The western highlands and northern slopes are currently a home to rare native plant communities, thriving but threatened wildlife, and a critical migratory corridor for coyotes, mountain lions and bobcats. The park is also home to threatened species of animals such as the Alameda Whipsnake and The Great Horned Owl.

A small number of people gathered at the Snowdown Ave. entrance and walked around scouting the new fencing while being observed from a distance by Zoo security.

They found that the fencing, concrete, and building equipment was being stored below the proposed development in the Zoo parking lot North West of the Veterinary Hospital. (depicted in the image below as the green mark on the “Knowland Park Defence Map”.)

Later as they were forming their collective action strategy for their affinity group of 3 built a creative blockade of the fencing by piling wood on the fencing pole in an artistic manner looking something like a Mourning Dove resting. We would like everyone to feel empowered to take a low risk and effective action like this. We feel that there was only a security presence because our action was announced but even in the even that security increases the land that they would have to cover would make surveillance very expensive and ineffective.

Affirming the low security, Over the weekend Defend Knowland Park received an anonymous communication with pictures that construction flagging and markings were removed to prevent electric lines from being buried.

Defend Knowland Park supports the autonomy of affinity groups to act within an anti-oppression framework and non-violence direct action and if any actions take place outside of these principals they are not associated with Defend Knowland Park. For example, We strongly discourage tactics like tree spiking that could endanger workers.

Here are some concrete ideas and instructions for resistance from the Earth First Direct Action Manual 1st Edition.

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