Editing David Foreman (section)

== Activism and environmentalist work ==

===The Wilderness Society===

Between 1973 and 1980, he worked for [[The Wilderness Society (United States)|The Wilderness Society]] as Southwest Regional Representative in [[New Mexico]]<ref name=":4" /> and the Director of Wilderness Affairs in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Atkins|first=Stephen E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7yAYAAAAIAAJ|title=Encyclopedia of Modern American Extremists and Extremist Groups|date=2002|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-31502-2|pages=89|language=en}}</ref>

===Earth First!===
{{Main|Earth First!}}
In April 1980, Foreman and friends Howie Wolke, Ron Kezar, Bart Koehler, and [[Mike Roselle]] took a week-long hiking trip in the [[Pinacate Desert]]. It was during this trip that Foreman is believed to have coined the phrase "Earth First!"<ref name=NYTObit/> The movement that subsequently bore that name was inspired, in some part, by the writings of [[Edward Abbey]], author of the novel ''[[The Monkeywrench Gang]]''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2011-04-09|title=Dave Foreman|url=https://www.mountainfilm.org/festival/personalities/dave-foreman|access-date=2020-11-13|website=Mountainfilm|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=1991-03-10|title=Earth Angel: CONFESSIONS OF AN ECO-WARRIOR, By Dave Foreman|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-10-bk-187-story.html|access-date=2020-11-13|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> The group used [[direct action]] tactics,<ref name=APObit>[https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-albuquerque-arizona-tucson-obituaries-74cab2b1474a2e4c6a57443a3f12f59a 'Eco-warrior' and Earth First! co-founder Dave Foreman dies], Associated Press (September 25, 2022).</ref> and in contrast with the cautious lobbying efforts of the established environmental organizations, "[[Sabotage|monkeywrenching]]"—industrial sabotage traditionally associated with labor struggles—would become the chief tactic of the [[Earth First!]] movement in the 1980s.<ref name=":0" /> The ''[[Earth First! Journal]]'', which grew out of the Earth First! newsletter, was edited by Foreman. In its first issue, Foreman set out the organization's goals: "We will not make political compromises. Let the other outfits do that. EARTH FIRST will set forth the pure, hard-line, radical position of those who believe in the Earth first."<ref name=NYTObit/> Some mainstream environmentalists and others accused Foreman of promoting [[eco-terrorism]].<ref name=APObit/>

In 1990, Foreman was one of five people arrested by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] following operation [[THERMCON]], in which FBI agents infiltrated an Arizona Earth First! group, encouraging them to sabotage a powerline feeding a water pumping station.<ref name=":0" /> While Foreman had no direct role in the attempted sabotage, he ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for handing two copies of ''Ecodefense: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching'' to an FBI informant, and received a suspended sentence.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=NYTObit/>

By the late 1980s, Earth First! had split into two ideological factions; Foreman and others adhered to a [[Biocentrism (ethics)|biocentrist]] view characterized by "apocalyptic biodiversity" but were increasingly challenged by a "[[Millenarianism|millenarianist]] [[social justice]] faction"<ref>Martha F. Lee, ''Earth First! Environmental Apocalypse'' (Syracuse University Press, 1995), pp. 146-48.</ref> influenced by the movement's [[Northern California]]-based members, including Roselle (who was based in [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]]) and [[Judi Bari]] (of [[Mendocino County, California|Mendocino County]]).<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/d70ff1994df6621e02c07437338074e2 Founder of Earth First 3/8 Disavows Organization], Associated Press (August 13, 1990).</ref> After less than a decade, Foreman left Earth First!, disillusioned by the changing character of the organization.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hamilton |first1=Geoff |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TKo7uZ3eWFQC |title=Encyclopedia of the Environment in American Literature |last2=Jones |first2=Brian |date=2014-01-10 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0053-6 |pages=123 |language=en}}</ref>  Foreman described himself "a redneck for the environment" and objected to the left-wing, social justice-oriented approach of younger environmental activists who had joined the group.<ref name=NYTObit/> Foreman and his wife, Nancy Morton, publicly split with Earth First! in 1990, writing in a letter at the time that the group had taken on an "overtly counterculture/anti-establishment style"<ref name=NYTObit/> influenced by the group's California wing.<ref name=Smith>Brent L. Smith, ''Terrorism in America: Pipe Bombs and Pipe Dreams'' (1994), p. 127.</ref> Roselle, in turn, denounced Foreman as "an unrepentant right-wing thug."<ref name=Smith/>

===After leaving Earth First!===
After leaving Earth First!, Foreman co-founded the [[Wildlands Network]] in 1991. The group aimed to establish a network of protected wilderness areas across [[North America]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Hanscom|first=Greg|date=1999-04-26|title=Visionaries or dreamers?|url=https://www.hcn.org/issues/153/4946|access-date=2020-11-13|website=High County News|language=en-us}}</ref> In 2003,<ref name=APObit/> Foreman later created a [[think tank]], the [[Rewilding Institute]].<ref name=NYTObit/> The New Mexico-based institute promoted policy proposals for long-term land conservation.<ref name=NYTObit/><ref name=APObit/>

From 1996 to 1998, he served on the [[Sierra Club]]'s board of directors, but departed after the organization rejected his proposed policy on restrictive immigration.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|last=Cagle|first=Susie|date=2019-08-16|title='Bees, not refugees': the environmentalist roots of anti-immigrant bigotry|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/15/anti|access-date=2020-11-13|issn=0261-3077|quote=The deep ecologist Dave Foreman was a co-founder of the radical wilderness collective Earth First! before the group forced him and his increasingly anti-immigration ideology out. By the late 90s, the anti-immigration issue reached a fever pitch within the US environmental movement. The Sierra Club had grown exponentially in the preceding decades, and “population control” had been part of its core platform. A nearly decade-long power struggle ensued for control over America’s pre-eminent conservation group, as new members attempted to move away from the overpopulation argument, while longtime Sierrans and those in Tanton’s circle pushed the group to maintain immigration control as a core tenet.}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

=== Controversy===
In a 1986 interview, Foreman said the United States should not provide aid for the [[1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia|Ethiopia famine and hunger crisis]], but rather, "let nature seek its own balance." He later clarified his position, stating, "I have serious doubts and nagging questions about conventional 'humanitarian' foreign aid responses to the increasing problem of famine in the Third World. That is what I was trying to get at in my comments on famine in Ethiopia. In my oft-quoted remark about famine in Ethiopia, however, I failed to clearly make this point. Indeed, I implied through my sloppy, off-the-cuff remark that famine was purely a biological question of too many people and too few resources, completely unrelated to social organization, economic exploitation, or international relations. I also implied that the best possible social response was for us to do nothing, offer no assistance of any kind, and to just let the hungry starve. I very much regret the way I phrased these comments. Standing by themselves, out of context, they sound truly cold hearted."<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last1=Chase |first1=Steven|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vJXlQB4SzCwC&dq=%22I+have+serious+doubts+and+nagging+questions+about+conventional+%27humanitarian%27+foreign+aid+responses+to+the+increasing+problem+of+famine+in+the+Third+World.+That+is+what+I+was+trying+to+get+at+in+my+comments+on+famine+in+Ethiopia.+In+my+oft-quoted+remark+about+famine+in+Ethiopia%2C+however%2C+I+failed+to+clearly+make+this+point.+Indeed%2C+I+implied+through+my+sloppy%2C+off-the-cuff+remark+that+famine+was+purely+a+biological+question+of+too+many+people+and+too+few+resources%2C+completely+unrelated+to+social+organization%2C+economic+exploitation%2C+or+international+relations.+I+also+implied+that+the+best+possible+social+response+was+for+us+to+do+nothing%2C+offer+no+assistance+of+any+kind%2C+and+to+just+let+the+hungry+starve.+I+very+much+regret+the+way+I+phrased+these+comments.+Standing+by+themselves%2C+out+of+context%2C+they+sound+truly+cold+hearted.%22&pg=PA109|title=Defending the Earth: A Dialogue Between Murray Bookchin and Dave Foreman|date=1991 |publisher=South End Press |isbn=0-89608-382-9 |pages=109 |language=en}}</ref>

Foreman was criticized for his [[anti-immigration]] statements, such as when he said, “letting the USA be an overflow valve for problems in Latin America is not solving a thing. It’s just putting more pressure on the resources we have in the USA." He later sought to clarify his statements by saying, "While I still believe that massive and unlimited immigration into any country is a serious problem, I do not support beefing up the Border Patrol and the other agencies that try to keep Latin Americans out of this country. I do not think that this is a realistic or ethical response to the underlying problem." He went on to say, "While I agree that the population question can be approached in narrow, racist, and fascistic ways, I strenuously reject the idea that any and all ecologically-grounded concerns about [[human overpopulation]] are racist and fascist. Is it racist and fascist, for example, to propose making birth control methods and devices, including the French [[abortion pill]] and sterilization, freely available to any woman or man in the world who desires them?" <ref name=":5" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Postrel|first=Virginia|date=1998-05-05|title=Surprise! The Green Left Is Nativist|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-may-05-me-46419-story.html|access-date=2020-11-13|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Cagle|first=Susie|title=Anti-immigration white supremacy has deep roots in the environmental movement|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/08/anti-immigration-white-supremacy-has-deep-roots-in-the-environmental-movement/|access-date=2020-11-13|website=Mother Jones|language=en-US}}</ref>

Some of the goals of the Wildlands Network have been characterized as "lofty scientific ideals" since it could take 100 years to realize some outcomes. Its founders, including Foreman, replied that they "did not want to compete with existing conservation groups. They wanted to create a framework those groups could work within and a clearinghouse for information and science."<ref name=":2" />