Damnation Spring

Dodging mudslides and protesters, Colleen ferries Enid to the clinic to have a contraceptive intrauterine device fitted. While they are there, the nurse inquires after Alsea, who is still not sitting up by herself. Afterwards, the two sisters squabble: Marla told Enid that Colleen saw her that day at the make-out point. It is unclear whether she mentioned Daniel. Enid is angry at Colleen for not telling her what her daughter was up to.

Wyatt leads Chub into the undergrowth to spy on Eugene. Eugene, with the help of the Sanderson boy, is the one poaching redwood burls. Wyatt warns Chub not to tell anyone, or he will “kill” him.

Rich finds one of Daniel’s signature pinwheel mints in Colleen’s glove box. That night he finds her up late, working on a list of names and addresses at the kitchen table.

In a bid to placate Rich, Colleen has stopped buying eggs from Joanna. Joanna is left desperate by the lack of business and turns up at Colleen’s needing help. It turns out that Joanna’s husband Jed has been fired from his job, in the wake of the newspaper article. He is away now searching for work elsewhere. Colleen drives her into town, where she can barter some eggs for cash and cinnamon rolls for her kids. Outside the store, the now heavily pregnant Joanna spots Eugene spraying weed killer with the Sanderson kid. They exchange heated words and the Sanderson boy sprays Joanna and her youngest child with the herbicide, before threatening her with worse.

After taking Joanna home, Colleen seeks out Daniel. She hands him fresh samples of filtered tap water. He has yet to test her previous ones. She also hands him the list she was working on: every birth she has assisted in the last six years during which something unusual happened. She says those families might be willing to sign Daniel’s petition.

A day after the spraying, Colleen is still ill and suffering nosebleeds. Eugene drops by the house and treats the incident like a joke. He also warns Colleen she needs to remember which side she’s on. Though sympathetic to his wife, Rich says Eugene might have a point.

Lark and Rich go fishing. Eugene screeches up in his truck and disturbs their peace: He has just found out from Merle that Rich bought the 24-7 Ridge. He is bowled over by Rich’s audacity. He reminds his brother-in-law to speak out at the public hearing so he can harvest his purchase—and of course offer Eugene work when he does.

Eugene wakes the Gundersens in the middle of the night, yelling at them to come see something. He drags them out and up to the top of the 24-7 Ridge. From there, Rich and his family see a totally rearranged landscape: Part of the lower Damnation Grove hillside has collapsed under the weight of earth-movers, bringing down some of the precious redwoods with it. But it is no accident: Eugene and a gang of Sanderson goons have vandalized the company’s property, staging a mudslide to bring down a number of giant trees and blaming it on environmentalists. The timber is damaged, but some can be salvaged. Rich sees immediately it is a ruse from Merle to force the forestry board’s hand: Loggers must be allowed back into the Grove to clear up the damage. Colleen is sickened by Eugene’s behavior. Eugene spits vitriol at her and suggests Rich is “hen-pecked,” subject to his wife’s control.

The destruction of the Grove will have knock-on effects for the Gundersens. The landscape has changed and mud could well wash into their creek, silting it up or bringing in fresh pollutants. Colleen is furious at Rich and wants him to stop sitting on the fence over the escalating conflict.