Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Flathead Valley, Montana, U.S. - The non-profit environmental group, Citizens for a Better Flathead, has joined developers and their allies to offer a cash reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals responsible for a campaign anti-sprawl vandalism. A group calling itself Americans Stopping Sprawling Development (ASSD) has taken credit for a rash of incidents, involving the removal of surveyor stakes and graffiti, that is estimated to have cost developers as much as $20,000 so far.

A three-page anti-capitalist manifesto was left behind by the vandals after the first incident, which took place on May 17th. The document calls urban sprawl, “one of the greatest issues facing our society,” and promised more actions against it.

Citizens for a Better Flathead pledged $100 towards the reward fund. A representative at the Sierra Club’s Missoula office also disavowed the action.