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Praise God...Hold on: Treesitters Might Be Coming Down

Editor's Note:  Bumped from the FanPosts - clearly, Avinash and Ken Crawford are more on top of tree-sitter-related happenings today than we are - ragnarok

Edit 2:  Apparently, one of the tree-sitters is down.  From the Chron :

The tree-sitter was taken down by two arborists who were part of a crew hired by the university to remove wooden platforms, pulley systems and other infrastructure that the protesters have built high above the ground as part of their effort to keep the university from cutting down trees to make way for an athletic training center.

Other protesters said they knew the woman taken out of a tree at 4:30 p.m. only as "Millipede." Doug Buckwald, director of a group called Save the Oaks, said she was "an experienced tree-sitter" but did not know how long she had been in the branches.

The two arborists were in a cherry-picker that banged into the trunk of the tree where the woman was perched, Buckwald said. "She screamed, and they grabbed her," he said.

As many as a dozen tree-sitters were still in the branches, 12 hours after the crew of arborists guarded by about 40 UC police officers showed up to start removing the activists' gear.

University spokesman Dan Mogulof said one of the arborists had been trying to wrap duct tape around a rope when the tree-sitter bit him on the arm. The other aborist wrestled her into the cherry picker and took her to the ground, where she was arrested, he said.

From the Daily Cal :

The tree-sit that has been going on for more than 18 months in the oak grove near Memorial Stadium may have reached its end now that UCPD officers are attempting to take the sitters out.

In the latest of several developments, an arborist harnessed on the end of a crane was mobilized onto one of the trees. There, he attempted to cut down a structure in the tree when a tree-sitter began hitting him with a plastic bottle. The arborist was pulled out of the tree by the crane, but since then he has continued to cut other structures.

Estimated to be eight to 12 in number, none of the sitters have been removed from the trees, but arborists have cut down several of their supplies and structures. Two cherry pickers carrying police officers are also on the site. The officers have cut some of the structures and ropes that the sitters use to travel between the trees.

About 100 onlookers watching the scene from Piedmont Avenue, while several tree-sit supporters on the ground are yelling to people in passing cars.

At least 20 UCPD officers in hard hats are currently at the scene. Beginning at approximately 6 a.m., they erected a third barrier around the oak grove that blocks pedestrians from using the sidewalk on the west side of Piedmont.

 

Unfortunately, now I'm getting conflicted reports.

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.

Police 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 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.

Hat-tip to Ken for following the story from the start, and some dude at the Bear Insider who was eating a fish taco and spit it out when he saw he couldn't walk on Piedmont (that last person's story is specious and may only exist in the corner of my mind).

Be nice. You can find the original CGB team at WriteForCalifornia.com.

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