Biden’s Bureau Of Land Management Nominee Was Connected To Tree Spiking. What Does That Mean?

Republicans, including Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, are pressuring the Biden Administration to withdraw their nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on grounds of her being connected to tree spiking.

“Tracy Stone-Manning collaborated with eco-terrorists,” Barrasso said in a statement to The Washington Times on Friday. “She worked with extreme environmental activists who spiked trees, threatening the lives and livelihoods of loggers. While she was given immunity from prosecution to testify against her companions in court, her actions were disgraceful.”

Stone-Manning was exposed for having ties to environmental extremists who practice tree spiking, a potentially deadly form of protest against deforestation. In 1989, she sent a letter to federal officials in 1989 that said “a lot of people could get hurt” if logging continued in Idaho’s Clearwater National Forest, according to The Associated Press. She warned that some of the trees had spikes inserted into them, a practice known as “tree-spiking.”

Tree spiking involves inserting metal or ceramic rods into tree trunks to prevent them from being cut down. The impact from a saw can make the saw explode, sending sharp metal flying. The practice can be deadly and lead to severe injuries.

Stone-Manning was granted immunity in the case and never faced charges in exchange for testifying against two of her friends, according to the report. She admitted to mailing the letter and said it was sent to prevent people from getting hurt. (RELATED: Friday Evening Dispatch: Biden Nominee Connected To ‘Eco-Terrorism’ Case)

Tracy Stone-Manning, President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management, faced some tough questions during a two hour confirmation hearing on Tuesday. https://t.co/UfvRhlQbtR

— CPR News (@CPRNews) June 8, 2021

In May of 1987, 23-year-old George Alexander was working in a lumber mill in Cloverdale, California when a log that had a tree spike inserted into it hit the saw he was working with, according to a Washington Post report from the time. The saw exploded. Half of the saw tore through Alexander’s safety helmet and face shield – his jaw was split in half, his teeth were shattered, and his face was slashed between his eyes and chin.

Patrick Tobin, an official with the Canadian Ministry of Forests, said that tree spiking is “pretty destructive,” according to the Canadian outlet OH&S News.

“The guys on the ground who are working with the chainsaws around these trees, there’s the possibility that striking a hard object like a spike could cause the chain to fly off and do some damage to them,” Tobin said. He added that employees working in processing mills are also in danger.

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