Often a banner that says trees are spiked is already enough of a deterrent! Even easier!
this post was submitted on 07 May 2026
148 points (95.7% liked)
Flippanarchy
2434 readers
425 users here now
Flippant Anarchism. A lighter take on social criticism with the aim of agitation.
Post humorous takes on capitalism and the states which prop it up. Memes, shitposting, screenshots of humorous good takes, discussions making fun of some reactionary online, it all works.
This community is anarchist-flavored. Reactionary takes won't be tolerated.
Don't take yourselves too seriously. Serious posts go to !anarchism@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Rules
-
If you post images with text, endeavour to provide the alt-text
-
If the image is a crosspost from an OP, Provide the source.
-
Absolutely no right-wing jokes. This includes "Anarcho"-Capitalist concepts.
-
Absolutely no redfash jokes. This includes anything that props up the capitalist ruling classes pretending to be communists.
-
No bigotry whatsoever. See instance rules.
-
This is an anarchist comm. You don't have to be an anarchist to post, but you should at least understand what anarchism actually is. We're not here to educate you.
-
No shaming people for being anti-electoralism. This should be obvious from the above point but apparently we need to make it obvious to the turbolibs who can't control themselves. You have the rest of lemmy to moralize.
Join the matrix room for some real-time discussion.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
For anyone else not sure what they're looking at...
Tree Spiking
Tree spiking can be an extremely effective method of deterring timber sales, and seems to be growing more and more popular. Mill operators are quite wary of accepting timber that may be contaminated with hidden metal objects, — saws are expensive, and a “spiked” log can literally bring operations to a screeching halt, at least until a new blade can be put into service. The Forest Service and timber industry are very nervous about spiking — when they or the media raise the subject of monkeywrenching, this is the form most commonly discussed. Agency and industry officials are loath, however, to raise the subject. Indeed, the Forest Service (FS) often fails to publicize incidents of spiking, on the theory that the less the practice is publicized, the less likely it is to spread. When the Freddies (FS officials) do publicly acknowledge that a spiking has occurred, they often make a considerable effort to find the perpetrators, even to the point of offering substantial cash rewards. (No modern-day tree spiker has been caught, however.)
The act could have been done 10-20 years prior so…
Never too late
The second best day, is today 😊
So in other words, this should not be reposted ever anywhere
Thanks.
For a moment, I wonder if it was a method to eliminate vampire trees.
The real explanation is actually much better.
I've seen a video showing what happens when a band saw hits a spike.
Don't be near that, you will be sliced and diced
Don't forget the supply chain and logistical support required to keep people able to..lets call it "Living their best lives"..
Lets just say that when people are going to be "Living their best lives" in the woods, often for weeks and months at a time, they don't have time to work for money, they don't have ready access to grocery stores or free stores. They need resources in terms of food, camping supplies, medical supply, boots, rain gear, and recreation and mental health. They also need rotation in that you really don't want people "Living their best lives" indefinitely, you're friends need time away from the work. No matter what they claim, they need time NOT "Living their best lives" to be most effective at "Living their best lives".
This means you need a multiple crews of 3-4 individuals that can rotate through 1-3 week intervals of "Living their best lives". Don't try and sustain campaigns "just for the sake of it". Most of the work of "Living their best lives" isn't actually out there in the woods "Living their best lives", its the support network required to those small groups sustained.
There is a great book about "Living their best lives" called The Last Stand, which goes into some loose detail about the timber wars of the 1980's. It doesn't cover the gory bits, but if you got a chance to visit the Emerald Triangle in the late 90's, some of this work was still ongoing (even though it never made it to the news), and many of the surviving old timers were still around to be learned from.
The Last Stand is a common title. Do you mean The Last Stand: The War Between Wall Street and Main Street over California's Ancient Redwoods by David Harris?
The Last Stand: The War Between Wall Street and Main Street over California’s Ancient Redwoods
yeah thats the one. I've got a copy laying around here some where.
Do you think the cops or courts are gonna be fooled by your euphemisms? Just talk normally.
Just talk normally.
Me, upvoting both of y'all's comments
I think its supposed to create deniability.
It does not.
Is this a joke I'm not deep enough in to understand
Nah, not satire. I just wanted to share this here.
oh, I didn't see the link. I was just like, why is there a guide on spiking a tree
Makes trees hard to cut down, makes the timber hard to process. Protects forests from capitalist exploitation.
oh, ok
Some trees don't survive that tho
It’s possible you could introduce infection or pests sure but the only part of a tree that “really matters” is the membrane between the bark and the wood inside. As long as the bark is intact all the way around the tree it should be ok. The spike itself would likely not be the issue if the tree died but some contamination introduced by it. Trees grow around things, including metal things all the time
Logging is more fatal...
That's true, but problem is, if they suspect this and use a metal detector and log 100 other trees instead and then 20 die extra because of the nail, then this backfired.
If it's a specific tree you want to safe tho, it's not a problem, because it would die either way. You'd just give it a chance.
You can use non-metallic substances also, so that metal detectors don't pick them up.
Spiking also won't save the tree. The idea is that it will still be chopped down, but the device in its body will destroy expensive mill equipment.
Some loggers don't