KTVU: UC Isolating Remaining Tree-Sitters To One Tree

BERKELEY, Calif. -- The tree-cutting resumed at UC Berkeley’s oak grove Saturday morning and continued through most of the day, leaving one lone tree to stand in the middle of what use to be a grove of 70 trees.

As promised the university is taking down everything around the tree-sitters to isolate and try and force them down -- 42 of the 70 trees that originally lived in the grove are set to be cut.  Each time a tree was felled protestors moaned, cried and sang. Perched high in the top-most branches of the tallest remaining tree, there are four die-hard tree-sitters. Their supporters say they're tired, hungry and thirsty because the university has begun rationing food and water. “They have a limited amount of water they have one liter of water that is shared between the four of them and so Monday morning they're telling us that they'll re-evaluate this process," said Morningstar Gali, a tree-sitter supporter.  On Friday, the U.C. Berkeley, armed with a court ruling in its favor, notified the tree-sitters that the 21-month protest would have to end and construction of a controversial new athletic facility would have to begin.

The university has agreed to plant a mature tree and two saplings for every tree that is removed. But critics say this grove is an ancient native american burial ground and shouldn't be disturbed. "There were two burial sites found here two shell-mound sites with 19 ancestral remains, those remains were taken to UC Berkeley. This was documented by UC Berkeley's own anthropology department," said Gali.

Late Saturday afternoon officers from the U.C. Berkeley Police Department loaded into a cherry-picker and went up to the tree-sitters to negotiate.The four men sent down a list of three demands. "They have offered to come down if three conditions are met: no further trees are cut down in this grove; no earth is overturned in this grove; and that UC works with this community to replant that grove and leave it as an open space forever," said Ayr, a tree-sitter supporter.  But university spokesman Dan Mogulof said that at least two of those demands are unreasonable. Though police may allow a small group to cross the barbed wire fences and perform a brief ceremony at the site.

Supporters of the tree-sitters plan to hold a ceremony at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The tree clearing will continue through Monday.  Neither the university nor the tree-sitters will say what they'll do if there is an attempt to forcibly remove the four remaining men. Both sides say it would be tragic if anyone gets hurt.  Workers hired by U.C. Berkeley began cutting down trees at the south end of the grove at about 8:30 Friday morning. By mid-day they had also removed lower branches from the single tree where protestors are perched. Still the tree-sitters aren't convinced it's time to come down. "We're hoping they will negotiate to a peaceful ending so the grove is safe," said “Huck,” a tree-sitter. But university spokesman Dan Mogulof says that after losing a million dollars a month during this protest the time for negotiation is over.

"The university has been extremely patient over the course of the last 20 months knowing that what it needs to do is build a facility that is safe and suitable for 400 student athletes who are crammed into the western stands,” said Mogulof. “And I think it's understandable that people are relieved that we're finally at the point where we can begin the construction process."  By 3 p.m. there was an almost constant roar of chain saws, and within hours there was a huge, chanting crowd of protestors. Among those on the ground were several people who have lived in the trees. "I'm absolutely astonished that the actions of the university have not resulted in the death of a tree-sitter so far but I'm absolutely terrified that that is going to happen," said Amanda "Dumpster Muffin" Tierney, a former tree-sitter.  At least five people were arrested late Friday afternoon, for blocking traffic, including a prominent spokesman for the protestors named “Ayr.:”

But some of those on the ground held signs supporting the decision to fell the trees and said it's time for the tree-sit to end.  "I can tell you that a lot of people that were born and raised in Berkeley are really fed up with this stuff, and we're glad that this is happening," said Colin Elbasani, UC Berkeley and spokesperson for "Students Against Hippies in Trees."  Two groups are still suing Cal over the planned athletic center. And they say even if the trees are brought down they will continue to fight building a stadium that they say will be a nuisance and quite possibly dangerous because of its proximity to the Hayward fault. "The trees themselves are a small part of the legal issues and we will continue to pursue those issues," said Mike Kelly of the Panoramic Hill Neighborhood Association.