In the late 1980’s the Pacific Northwest was deeply divided in what was often referred to as the Spotted Owl Wars. Rural logging communities were fighting to protect their often multi-generational way of life. And urban environmentalists were fighting to stop logging of all old growth timber and the practice of clear cutting.

The divisions were deep, passionate and mostly unyielding.

Working with Dan Taylor, the curator of The Mendocino County Museum, our intent was to focus on the lunch bucket crew and leave out the politics of who decided how and how much to cut. Through personal portraits and oral histories from the Sierra Nevadas, Mt Shasta and redwood coast regions, we hoped to help bridge some of the divide.

In 2004 I traveled through the same northern California regions again to make portraits, record stories and discover what had changed in that fifteen year period. An exhibition of the older and new work was scheduled to be shown in 2005. Due to management and scheduling shifts at the museum the exhibit was cancelled. The entire body of work had not been exhibited until now.

This exhibit is relevant today because we are again living in a time of deep divisions, and I believe in the power of stories that reflect our shared humanity to help bridge those divides.

“Loggers are very concerned about the woods and environment. We make our living there and love the woods and timber in such a deep way that I doubt I could ever describe it to you or to anyone.

It’s a feeling I get when in the woods that can only be described as close to a deep religious experience. I feel so close to my creator when in the woods and the very life of the timber seems to indwell my peace and presence.

Sometimes I feel a part of the woods and sometimes an intruder, but still it’s almost like greeting an old friend.”