"Hands Off Our Trees!"

Wildfires in Alaska are common. In one recent year alone, Alaskan forests had 3,000 fires. Dangerously near the town of Cooper Landing sat 4,000 acres of dead spruce trees.

Although the trees posed a fire hazard, the townspeople adamantly opposed the Forest Service's plan to cut them down. For six years the battle raged on--until 1989 when the Forest Service's personnel took SDIC training.

Just months later, the trees were cut down by the Forest Service together with citizen volunteers of Cooper Landing.

When the job was done, the Forest Service and locals gathered for a celebration.

Said one citizen of the change in the Forest Service:

"Before, it was bureaucratic, negative stuff. But as the program started, I felt we had a real influence. It boosted my self-esteem that people wanted to hear what I had to say."