Chelsea Gerlach, 30, joined the radical-environmental movement as a teenager. (AP / The Register-Guard, Kevin Clark)

Chelsea Gerlach, who joined the radical-environmental movement as a teenager, was sentenced today in Oregon to nine years in prison for her prominent role in torching a Vail ski lodge in 1998 and five other so-called "eco-terror" attacks.

Gerlach, 30, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, destruction of an energy facility and 23 counts of arson after being identified by an informant as a major player in a six-year reign of attacks on government, business and research facilities.

The Denver Post received an e-mail Friday night from Gerlach's sister, Shasta Kearns Moore, that included a statement from Gerlach.

"It's becoming increasingly clear that the continued exploitation of the Earth is causing drastic consequences - global warming, toxic pollution, mass extinction," she said in the e-mail. "Fundamental changes are needed in our society to achieve peace and sustainability. We all need to take personal responsibility for healing our relationship with the land and with each other."

As a member of a small clandestine group that called itself "The Family," Gerlach and others helped cell leader Bill Rodgers in October 1998 haul fuel up Vail ski area. There, under the cloak of darkness, he torched the stately Two Elk Lodge and several other buildings and lifts, causing an estimated $24 million in damage.

While the others abandoned the endeavor, Gerlach - who used the pseudonym "Country Girl" - waited for Rodgers to hike off the mountain and then drove him down to a public library in Denver, where the pair sent an e-mail communiqué warning that the fires were in protest of Vail's controversial Category III terrain expansion into the habitat of endangered Canadian lynx.

"Putting profits before Colorado's wildlife will not be tolerated," the communiqué stated. "This action is just a warning. We will be back if this greedy corporation continues to trespass into wild and unroaded areas."

Additionally, she confessed to participating in arsons in Oregon at the Childers Meat Co., a Boise Cascade Corp. facility, a Eugene police substation and the Jefferson Poplar Farm. She also helped to topple a high-voltage power-line tower in Oregon.

Gerlach could have faced 35 years to life in prison, but prosecutors recommended to U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken that she serve only 10 years, after she cooperated with the investigation that ultimately netted 10 participants of The Family.

As part of the e-mail sent to The Post, Gerlach's family said: "Chelsea is a very special person and we know that she will use her time in prison to the betterment of those around her."

Gerlach joined the radical-environmental movement when she was 16, after her father gave her a copy of the EarthFirst! Journal and soon allowed her to join a summer-long gathering of activists in Idaho, where she was arrested for blockading a road, according to federal prosecutors.

There, she met and became enraptured by Rodgers, a soft-spoken anarchy-bookstore owner from Prescott, Ariz., who adopted the moniker "Avalon" and who is accused of leading The Family's efforts.

The group communicated through a shared e-mail account - never sending the e-mails, but instead leaving them in a "drafts" folder - and gathered periodically to plot their attacks in what members called "Book Club" meetings.

Gerlach had an on-and-off romantic relationship with another conspirator, Stanislas Meyerhoff, 29, who played roles in several of the attacks, including the Vail fires. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison earlier this week.

Rodgers committed suicide in a Tucson jail days after his arrest.

Gerlach participated in the group's activities as recently as 2002 and supported herself primarily by selling marijuana and ecstasy, according to prosecutors.

The ring was broken up only after one member, Jake Ferguson, was caught on some unspecified charge and, in exchange for leniency, agreed to wear a hidden microphone to gain incriminating statements from the others.

After her arrest in Portland in December 2005, Gerlach led authorities to sites where she and boyfriend Darren Thurston - another participant in the ring - had buried several weapons. Investigators also found false identifications and believe the pair were preparing to flee to Canada.

Gerlach has declined interview requests pending her sentencing, but in July, she told the Eugene federal court: "I would like to first apologize to everyone who has been hurt by my actions. It was not my intention to hurt anyone or to invoke fear. I'm sorry my actions had that effect.

"These actions were motivated by a deep sense of despair and anger at the deteriorating state of the global environment and the escalating inequities within society," she continued. "But I realized years ago, this was not an effective or appropriate way to effect positive change. I now know that it is better to act from love than from anger, better to create than destroy and better to plant gardens than to burn down buildings."

Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com.