Earth First! records, 1981-1989

Earth First! (1980-) was a radical environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded on April 4, 1980, by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron Kezar. Motivated by a call to action during the U.S. Forest Service’s second “Roadless Area Review and Evaluation” (RARE II) and inspired by conservation thinkers such as E.O. Wilson, the founders envisioned a revolutionary environmental effort focused on preserving vast wilderness areas. Their rallying cry was “No compromise in defense of Mother Earth.”

In its early years (1980–1986), Earth First! combined theatrical stunts with bold wilderness preservation proposals that pushed far beyond the boundaries of mainstream environmentalism. These ideas were shared in their publication, Earth First! The Radical Environmental Journal. By 1987, the group became increasingly associated with direct action tactics to halt logging, dam-building, and other developments deemed harmful to ecosystems. This shift in focus, coupled with a growing embrace of deep ecology, sparked internal tensions. Many early leaders departed by 1990 and later founded Wild Earth magazine and the Wildlands Project. From the 1990s onward, Earth First! adopted anarchist principles, moved away from formal leadership, and evolved into a decentralized movement. Its influence led to the formation of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) in 1992, a more militant offshoot. Active in over 19 countries, Earth First! promoted biocentric values and employed disruptive protest methods to defend threatened wildlands and ecosystems.