Radical Environmentalists Take Aim at Suburbia

Cottrell, 23, has denied being an ELF member.

"I'm not an environmental activist," Cottrell said in an interview at the San Bernardino Central Detention Center. "I'm just environmentally aware. I support some illegal actions for environmental causes basically because writing letters doesn't work. Who are you going to write a letter to? Arnold Schwarzenegger, who owns six Hummers, or George Bush, who comes from the oil industry?"

When he found out he was being investigated by the FBI, Cottrell contemplated fleeing but decided to stay put. He pleaded not guilty in March to nine counts of arson and conspiracy, and faces as much as 35 years in prison if convicted. The trial is scheduled for October.

"If you just run, nothing happens. This way, more attention gets drawn to the problems with the government and their environmental policy," Cottrell said. "Of course, if I get 30 years, I'll think, damn, why didn't I run?"

In one of the most recent prosecutions, a federal jury acquitted Connor Cash, 22, of arson and terrorism charges last month. He had been charged with damaging five homes under construction on Long Island, N.Y. Two admitted ELF members pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in connection with that incident.

In March, Canadian authorities arrested Tre Arrow on shoplifting charges in Victoria, B.C. Arrow is wanted by the FBI in connection with the 2001 bombings of several logging and cement trucks in Oregon. He has been on the run since being indicted in 2002 and is seeking refugee status in Canada to avoid extradition to the United States.

In January, three Virginia teenagers pleaded guilty to vandalizing fast-food restaurants and damaging construction equipment in 2002 on behalf of ELF. Authorities say they unraveled another ELF plot when they arrested four teenagers in February planning to vandalize SUVs near Richmond.

No one has died as a result of any action claimed by ELF, but authorities are concerned that someone will be injured or killed. "Their goal is to try to maintain this Robin Hood mystique about them. They're not Robin Hood. They are very destructive, and it's just a matter of time before someone dies as a result of their acts," said Rep. Scott McInnis (R-Colo.). McInnis represented the Vail area when a 1998 fire at a ski resort there caused $12 million in damage. ELF has claimed responsibility for the fire. The case remains unsolved.

And when large-scale arson attacks make the nightly news, the general public tends to lump all the environmentalists together instead of separating the mainstream groups from the radicals, McInnis said. "This only hurts the message that legitimate environmental groups are trying to put forward."