Posted on 03/06/2003 10:10:50 AM PST by farmfriend
PL tells Freshwater tree-sitters to get out
By James Tressler The Times-Standard
FRESHWATER -- Pacific Lumber Co. sent climbers up ancient redwood trees here Wednesday to deliver a message personally to tree-sitting activists.
The message: It's time to come down.
At least 18 activists sitting in PL-owned trees in the Freshwater area were served notice of a hearing scheduled Friday in Humboldt County Superior Court.
The timber company is seeking a temporary restraining order which, if approved by Judge Dale Reinholtsen Friday, would order all of the tree-sitters to stay off the company's property. It also would order the activists not to interfere with the company's logging operations.
If the judge issues the restraining order Friday, the activists would have 24 hours to come down after being served the restraining order. Otherwise PL would send the climbers back up the trees to arrest them.
PL sued the activists last September, alleging that tree-sitting and other demonstration activities have caused economic damage to the company. That lawsuit has yet to be heard in court.
"Our desire would be that these kids come down out of the trees for their own safety and for everyone else's," said Jim Branham, Pacific Lumber's director of government relations. "It's a dangerous activity, and really the best alternative would be for them to voluntarily come down."
This week PL also posted signs on the trees advising the tree-sitters they are trespassing on private property, to leave, and not return unless they had written permission from the company.
At least 30 other activists and Freshwater residents watched from the ground Wednesday as PL's two climbers went up each tree to deliver the notices. Many of them tried to talk one of the PL climbers, Eric Schatz, out of doing his job.
"Don't do it, Eric -- think of the forests," one of them said as Schatz started up another tree. Other supporters played drums, sang songs and chanted encouragement to the activists high above in the trees.
A couple of Sheriff's Department deputies were on the scene, but no arrests were made.
The crackdown on the tree-sitters comes on the heels of a decision last week by the North Coast Water Quality Control Board, which granted PL permits to log on the disputed land in the Freshwater area. Critics petitioned the board to slow PL's rate of cut, a cause backed by some leading scientists.
The tree-sitters have been protesting what they characterize as destructive logging practices, which they believe destroyed ancient redwood trees, caused erosion and damaged watersheds. Some have been in the trees for months.
The activists have called PL's lawsuit against them a so-called "SLAPP suit," or strategic lawsuit against public participation.
Branham called that characterization "nonsense."
"We're trying to protect our private property rights," he said. "And trying to stop individuals from engaging in illegal activity. It has nothing to do with their right to express themselves legally."
Other tree-sitters are also demonstrating on PL-owned timber land in Grizzly Creek and the Mattole. Now that the company is cracking down on the Freshwater tree-sitters, it's likely that the other sitters can expect similar visits from PL climbers sometime soon.
"We're not doing that at this time, but it's certainly a reasonable expectation that it will happen in the future," Branham said.
Meanwhile, an activist known as Remedy, who has been in a 1,200-year-old redwood tree for nearly a year, said she has no intention of coming down.
"I'm here to defend this tree," Remedy said from her cell phone. "If (PL) is willing to take into consideration the health of the forest, the health of our community and the other property owners, then we'd see all protests on their land come to an end."
The hearing on PL's restraining order is set for Friday at 10:30 a.m. in courtroom No. 1 at the county courthouse.
Besides, wouldn't it be more satisfying to the protesters' urge for martyrdom if they died along with their precious plantlife?
I know Mark is going to be pissed at me for saying this, but I love the stories we hear every now and again when one of them falls.
I'm all for cutting the trees out from underneath them. Unfortunately, the resulting law suits...and jury awards...
I believe they tried that recently. I don't remember how it turned out. I think the guy attempted to plea bargain from the tree. He said he would come down if they promised not to prosecute.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.