Ecoterrorists have destroyed millions of dollars of research at other universities, and the same thing could happen at Iowa State, said a University of Washington professor who experienced the terrorism first-hand.

May 21, 2001, was a “rude awakening” for John Wott, professor of urban horticulture at the University of Washington in Seattle. Wott, director of the Washington Park Arboretum, spoke to nearly 100 students and faculty about impacts of ecoterrorism Monday afternoon.

“We woke up to find that a five-gallon can of gasoline with three devices had been exploded in the building, and within an hour or two it was gone,” he said.

The destroyed building was home to offices and research facilities dedicated to sustainable horticulture, wetland ecology, conservation, and urban forestry. The blaze destroyed thousands of documents and notes, research facilities and plant samples.

“We were doing really great things,” Wott said. “We were saving plants. We were reintroducing them into the environment. We were saving wetlands.”

Wott said attacks like the one at the Center for Urban Horticulture are becoming more common.

He said researchers in genetics and related fields have to become more cautious. Public misconceptions about genetically modified plants are partially to blame for acts of ecoterrorism, he said.

“It’s not easy to set your hearts and minds into a planning mood when everything of yours has been destroyed,” Wott said. The group plans to rebuild.

The Center had never experienced protesting before, Wott said, but the greenhouse had been broken into once in the past.

The culprits left a note that they had destroyed genetically engineered poplars, but they had actually destroyed a number of plants, he said.

“The [Earth Liberation Front] is an organization that is dedicated to the destruction of any kind of studies … that they feel are genetically manipulative of plants,” Wott said. “They are proud of themselves … that they have never killed a person or an animal.”

Rob Dietz, junior in environmental science and president of Student Environmental Council, said he came to the lecture because he is interested in environmental issues and the ecoterrorism aspect of the seminar sparked his interest even more.

“It was disturbing to learn how much damage ecoterrorist organizations can do,” Dietz said. He called ELF and similar organizations a black mark on environmentalists.

Wott said ELF is responsible for $750 million to $1 billion in damage. He said there is now physical evidence that other groups, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have donated money to ELF.

Wott said the Center’s public outreach programs involve almost 35,000 people each year. The destroyed building also contained an herbarium and a horticulture library containing more than 14,000 volumes.