University of Washington Ecoterrorism Incident is Subject of Talk at ISU on Oct. 7

AMES, Iowa — When the ecoterrorist group Earth Liberation Front torched his campus building, horticulture professor John Wott lost more than 30 years of teaching materials. Wott will present a talk at Iowa State University about the impact of the $6 million fire on the scientists and research of the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington, Seattle. The talk, "Ecoterrorism: 'Rising Out of the Ashes' after a University of Washington Tragedy," will be at 4:10 p.m., Monday, Oct. 7, in 118 Horticulture Hall, at Iowa State University. The Earth Liberation Front acknowledged their responsibility for the May 2001 fire that destroyed or displaced the work of more than 50 University of Washington graduate students, faculty and staff. "The Washington incident suggests plant scientists and research facilities on many campuses, including Iowa State, may be targeted by ecoterrorist groups," said William Graves, a professor of horticulture at Iowa State. Wott, who also directs the Washington Park Arboretum, will review the circumstances surrounding the ecoterrorist act and discuss efforts to rebuild the research center. He will present profiles of center scientists and describe how the fire has curtailed their activities. The talk is presented by the Department of Horticulture. It is free and open to the public.