To deliver that message, she chained herself to the apex of a giant tripod erected from felled logs at the base of a freshly cut road on King Island, off the British Columbia coast. She was a warrior in a guerrilla campaign by Greenpeace and other activist groups. Staunch in their idealism, the demonstrators blockaded the road, unfurled banners and fastened themselves to harvesting machinery with U-shaped bicycle locks. They halted the logging for three weeks, but then a contingent of Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrived with wire cutters and climbing gear to cart the protesters away. Canada's rain forest is rich in flora and wildlife, home not only to majestic trees and giant ferns but also the largest population of grizzly bears outside Alaska, as well as the Pacific salmon that return to the clear streams each year to spawn. The forest is the last-known habitat of the rare Kermode, or "spirit" bear, so named by local Indians for its ghostly white fur.

With 50% of the original forest already logged, Greenpeace was determined to slow that harvest through blockades and an international boycott of the products of local forestry companies, from toilet paper to window frames. But British Columbia's government greeted the protests with indignation, pointing out that reduced logging could cost the province thousands of jobs. Premier Glen Clark called on local communities and businesses to resist the activists as "enemies of British Columbia," while Greenpeace accused the provincial leader of inciting violence after pro-logging demonstrators jostled a group of environmentalists and smashed a video camera.

In the end, no middle ground could be found. When snows clear next spring, the loggers will return to King Island, and Greenpeace vows they won't be alone.