Earth First!
Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron Kezar. Today there are Earth First! groups around the world including in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Inspired by several environmental writings, including Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring", Aldo Leopold's land ethic, and Edward Abbey's "The Monkey Wrench Gang", a small group of environmental activists composed of Dave Foreman, ex-Yippie Mike Roselle, Wyoming Wilderness Society representatives Bart Koehler and Howie Wolke, and Bureau of Land Management employee Ron Kezar, united to form Earth First!. While traveling in Foreman's VW bus from the El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve in northern Mexico to Albuquerque, New Mexico, the group pledged, "No compromise in defense of Mother Earth!".

The co-founders of the group were called to action during the second "Roadless Area Review and Evaluation" (RARE II) by the U.S. Forest Service, which they considered a sell-out by mainstream environmental advocates. The activists envisioned a revolutionary movement, with the goal to set aside multi-million-acre ecological preserves all across the United States. Their ideas drew upon the concepts of conservation biology, which had been developing for over twenty years by notable scientists like E. O. Wilson; however, mainstream environmental groups were slow to embrace the new science. These events and ideologies coalesced after a grueling hike, as the men were headed toward Albuquerque. After "Foreman called out 'Earth First!', Roselle drew a clenched fist logo, passed it up to the front of the van, and there was Earth First!".
Q3772574
radical
Concept
Q8189417
environmental advocacy group
Concept
Q858847
Southwestern United States
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Dave Foreman
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Mike Roselle
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Australia
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Q31
Belgium
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Q16
Canada
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Q213
Czech Republic
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Q142
France
LOC
Q183
Germany
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Q668
India
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Q27
Ireland
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Q38
Italy
LOC
Q96
Mexico
LOC
Q55
Netherlands
LOC
Q1033
Nigeria
LOC
Q664
New Zealand
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Q928
Philippines
LOC
Q36
Poland
LOC
Q214
Slovakia
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Q29
Spain
LOC
Q145
United Kingdom
LOC
Q30
United States
LOC
Q100948
Rachel Carson
PER
Q591623
Silent Spring
MEDIA
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Aldo Leopold
PER
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land ethic
UNK
Q937610
Edward Abbey
PER
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The Monkey Wrench Gang
MEDIA
Q5233747
Dave Foreman
PER
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Yippie
ORG
Q6848624
Mike Roselle
PER
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Wilderness Society
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Bureau of Land Management
PER
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El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve
Concept
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Albuquerque, New Mexico
LOC
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Mother Earth
MEDIA
None
Roadless Area Review and Evaluation
UNK
Q1891156
U.S. Forest Service
ORG
Q211029
E. O. Wilson
PER
Q1277639
Earth First!
ORG
Q1277639
Earth First!
ORG
Q1277639
Earth First!
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Q1277639
Earth First!
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Q1277639
Earth First!
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1980-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1980
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founded by
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inspired by
inspired by
founded by
notable work
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notable work
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