BERKELEY: People’s Park Tree-Sit Ends With Holiday Reprieve

Berkeley Daily Planet ^ | 12/23/8 | Richard Brenneman

[SmithL]

Berkeley’s latest tree-sit ended the same day it began last week when campus police signed a Christmas truce that spares—for the moment—two acacias in People’s Park.

Zachary RunningWolf, the same arboreal ascender who began the lengthy occupation of the oak grove at Memorial Stadium on Dec. 2, 2006, was the lone occupant of one of the People’s Park acacias, which share space with a children’s playground. The grove tree-sit ended Sept. 9, the same day the last of the trees there was leveled by a chainsaw-wielding contract crew.

RunningWolf’s ascent at People’s Park on Dec. 18 came after campus officials cut down one tree south of the park’s stage area and posted a notice that they planned to ax the other two to the east.

According to the plastic-shielded notice placed on a fence surrounding the playground, one of the shoots of the acacia at the park’s western end had collapsed Dec. 2, and the remainder of the tree was then taken down.

“Two other acacia trees at the east end of the park … have been identified as potential hazards by UC Berkeley and consulting arborists,” the notice declared. “They are structurally weak and subject to failure and collapse, and are planned to be removed in the near future.”

After RunningWolf ascended the branches Thursday and a preliminary effort failed to dislodge him, negotiations began, and by mid-afternoon, UC Police Capt. Guillermo Beckford had signed a statement which was passed up to RunningWolf.

“This is written notification that if you will voluntarily come down from the Acacia tree that you are in presently, that the university will NOT remove these two trees during the holidays,” read the statement that opened “Dear Zachary.”

“If the stadium treesit was the longest urban treesit, this was the shortest,” said RunningWolf Thursday afternoon.

Both campus and city police were on hand when he descended, but Capt. Beckford had promised no arrest would be made, so RunningWolf was free to accept the accolades of supporters, who included Dumpster Muffin and other veterans of the stadium grove action.

The protesters plan to consult with their own tree experts to see if the acacias really are diseased.

“I was up in the trees and I didn’t see any sign of disease,” RunningWolf said, adding, “I suspect they really just want to cut whatever they can in the park. But this isn’t on fraternity row. This is People’s Park.”

[SmithL]

A special holiday harvest in the People's Republic of Berkeley.

[Vision]

Shoot the guy and cut down the tree. /s

[domenad]

Can anyone look at the absolute paralysis in Berkeley over such a minor, piddling issue, and not understand that this is the same type of incontinent impotence that all leftists plan for government?

[zarodinu]

I lived in Ithaca NY and this crap was going on outside my window where they were trying to build a parking lot and chop some trees. For once Cornell didn’t cave in, and the trees were chopped down, but alot of money had to be donated to environmental causes to let the tree huggers save face.

[nufsed]

Why waste the ammo? Just cut down the tree with him in it.

[Clioman]

I love the smell of chainsaws early in the morning. It smells like...firewood.

[kaehurowing]

Why do you have to get the guy out of the tree before you cut it down?

[Vision]

My way you get to play with guns...but yours brings the possibility of a satisfying thud as hippie hits ground.

Choices like these make me mist up with American pride.

[Vision]

My way you get to play with guns...but yours brings the possibility of a satisfying thud as hippie hits ground.

Choices like these make me mist up with American pride.

[ETL]

Two excerpts from June 2008...

"At least one tree sitter on Tuesday began throwing bags of human waste on the approaching arborists."
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/news/print.asp?id=25637

________________________________________________________________

BERKELEY, Calif. (KCBS) -- One woman was arrested Tuesday as authorities removed some of the structures that have housed tree sitting protesters in an oak grove UC Berkeley wants to cut down to make way for a $125 million athletic facility.

The protester was taken into custody after she reportedly bit one of the workers removing her supplies, according to police. Officers cordoned off part of Piedmont Avenue near Memorial Grove and brought in arborists to remove the platforms and gear the tree sitters have used to maintain their perches since December 2006. A university official had earlier said the tree sitters themselves would not be removed yet.

“One of the things we’re most concerned about is safety and security, of our police officers and the people in the trees. That’s the reason we’re not forcibly removing people from the trees today,” said Dan Mogulof, a spokesman for UC Berkeley.

Tuesday was not the first time the university has removed scaffolding built by the protesters, but removing the people has proven more difficult. One witness told KCBS reporter Tim Ryan at the scene that some of the tree sitters threw urine they had collected in buckets at the police and arborists to discourage them from climbing.
http://www.kcbs.com/In-Berkeley--Down-from-the-Trees/2427277

[nufsed]

I like the approach which says, you do what you have to do and so do we. We’re cutting down the tree as we have the right or authority to do and we recommend you don’t get in the way; but we’ll do it either way. Would have saved years at the other site.

[LukeL]

I wonder if these people have actually ever been in a real forest.

[In veno, veritas]

Couldn't they just cut the bark around the tree and cause the tree to die? It takes time, but at least you don't have to deal with the hippies.

[WesA]

people’s park looks more like hobo’s park

[reagan_fanatic]

They should have tossed bars of soap at him.

[SmithL]

See, there are several ways to harvest the fruits & nuts from Berkeley famous groves.