Activist turns his attention to saving hospital

Darryl Cherney stands in a hollowed-out redwood tree near his home outside Garberville wearing a T-shirt that says "Treehugger."

It's an appropriate setting for the New York native and former Earth First activist who for nearly two decades was at the center of one of the great environmental battles of our time.

The war was waged between those who sought to protect redwoods, particularly old-growth trees, from the felling ax of Pacific Lumber Co., which then was owned by a Texas financier.

In perhaps the seminal event of that era, Cherney in 1990 was injured when a bomb exploded in a car he and Judi Bari drove through Oakland on their way to recruit more volunteers.

The bombing brought the cause of saving redwoods to an international audience, and made Cherney something of a celebrity.

"It was a brilliant campaign," Cherney recalled. "It involved 20 different environmental groups, thousands of people and made headlines all over the world."

Every day for nearly two decades, he said, he awoke each morning with one thought in mind: "How could I make Charles Hurwitz's life miserable?"

That was then.

With Pacific Lumber no more and the forest's new owners promising a new era of environmentally friendly logging practices, the heated battles of the past are slowly beginning to fade in memory, forcing Cherney and an untold number of activists to move on.

Cherney's attention to the cause began to wane after a federal jury in 2002 awarded $4.4 million in damages. The jury determined that he and Bari, who died of breast cancer in 1997, were falsely accused of being responsible for the bombing of their own car.

Today, Cherney's passion is trying to save a community hospital near his home. The former radical was appointed as a board member of the Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District in 2007.

His activism today takes the form of acerbic letters to the editor challenging those who disagree with his views on the hospital's future.

"I love the redwoods, but I don't want that hospital to go," Cherney said. "I'm 52 years old. If I get sick, I need someplace to go."

The concept of environmentalism also has gone mainstream. Green living is now a marketable idea, and presidential candidates openly advocate for more sustainable energy solutions.

"I think the radicals are the Nobel laureates. They're out there telling us how much danger we are in," Cherney said.

Asked if he missed the battles of old, Cherney replied, "Hell, no."

-- Derek J. Moore