FOX NEWS
FBI: Eco-Terrorism Remains No. 1 Domestic Terror Threat
Monday, March 31, 2008
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,343768,00.html

For nearly seven years, the nation has turned its terror focus on Al
Qaeda and the hunt for Usama bin Laden. But there is a domestic terror
threat that federal officials still consider priority No. 1 ­
eco-terrorism.

The torching of luxury homes in the swank Seattle suburb of
Woodinville earlier this month served as a reminder that the
decades-long war with militant environmentalists on American soil has
not ended.

"It remains what we would probably consider the No. 1 domestic
terrorism threat, because they have successfully continued to conduct
different types of attacks in and around the country," said FBI
Special Agent Richard Kolko.

The FBI defines eco-terrorism "as the use or threatened use of
violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by
an environmentally oriented, subnational group for
environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the
target, often of a symbolic nature."

For years, officials have battled against members of shadowy groups
such as the Earth Liberation Front and its brother-in-arms, the Animal
Liberation Front. Law enforcement has made strides prosecuting cells,
but it's been unable to end the arsons that have plagued developments
encroaching on rural lands in the West.

FBI estimates place damages from these attacks at well over $100
million. So far, no one has been killed.

It's a problem that's unlikely to go away.

"Every time a fire breaks out and somebody takes a spray can and
writes 'ELF' or 'ALF' on there, then everybody gets all excited that
'Oh this movement has started back up,'" said Bob Holland, a retired
arson investigator. "The movement never really left."

Fighting for Nature

The Earth Liberation Front rose to infamy in the late 1990s for a
series of arsons in the Pacific Northwest targeting industries, such
as logging, that the eco-terrorists perceived as a threat to nature.

"Generally speaking, the Earth Liberation folks are motivated by a
deep kind of affective connection to nature that many of them would
characterize as spiritual or religious," said Bron Taylor, a professor
of religion and nature at the University of Florida. "They believe
that the human species is perpetrating a war on nature and that those
who are connected to nature and belong to it have a right to defend
themselves."

Members who carry out attacks in the name of nature tend to be of
college age and well educated, and typically have an out-of-town
recruiter who lures them into the act of crime, said Ron Arnold, the
executive vice president of the Center for the Defense of Free
Enterprise.

There are exceptions to the rule, Kolko said. Some members are in
their 30s, 40s and 50s.

These eco-terrorists often operate alone or in small groups, making
them extremely difficult to penetrate. They target structures they
feel are infringing on nature, leaving low-tech detonators that allow
the fires to start after they've left.

In 2006, a nine-year federal sting dubbed "Operation Backfire" was
able to dissolve a cell responsible for 20 acts of arson in five
Western states over five years.

That cell, dubbed "The Family," caused more than $40 million in damage
and included attacks on a meat company in Eugene, Ore., a ski resort
in Vail, Colo., and the torching of SUVs in Oregon.

The latest Family member convicted, Briana Waters, was found guilty of
arson on March 6 in Tacoma, Wash., for her role as a lookout in a 2001
fire that destroyed the Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle,
causing more than $2 million in damages.

"It's a leaderless ideology that can exist for a long time," said
Holland, who worked on Operation Backfire. "You take out a cell like
we did in Backfire ­ that doesn't stop like-minded individuals around
the country from perpetuating the ideology of the ELF and ALF
movement."

Elves in the Night

The perpetrators of the March 3 fires on the Seattle Street of Dreams
left their mark, investigators said, with signs that read, "ELF" and
"McMansions in RCDs r not green," a reference to rural cluster
developments or residential subdivisions, along with an estimated $7
million in damages.

The homes had been built near the headwaters of Bear Creek, which is
home to endangered chinook salmon. Opponents of the development had
questioned whether the luxury homes could pollute the creek and an
aquifer that is a source of drinking water, and whether enough was
done to protect nearby wetlands.

In the past, ELF members have used everything from milk jugs to
electrical ignition devices to set their blazes, Holland said.

Officials for the fire earlier this month said no explosive devices
were found amid the remains of the houses. The Building Industry
Association of Washington and the FBI were offering a $100,000 reward
for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those
responsible.

Finding the culprit in eco-terrorism often requires someone within the
organization turning against his or her fellow elves.

"In Operation Backfire, we saw a sophistication that we've never seen
in any type of a radical organization, and frankly, if somebody hadn't
turned, we wouldn't have enjoyed the success we've had with that,"
Holland said.

Trying to predict where or when they'll strike next becomes a guessing
game, experts said.

"You don't know what's the hot topic in the minds of the potential
perpetrators today ­ you can look on the Web and find out all kinds of
things," Arnold said, noting that "it's very difficult to generalize
because there are so many threads in the tapestry of environmentally
inspired crimes."

The FBI currently has 180 ongoing eco-terror investigations and over
the last several years has tied them to some 1,800 criminal acts,
Kolko said.

Despite the gains law enforcement has made, it just takes one person
to reignite the movement, Holland said.

"There's no way to know or gauge how many people are actually
sympathetic to that ideology and will continue to perpetuate it
through acts of arson and other violence," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report