After 10 months of occupying in 100-foot high redwood trees, tree sitters at UCSC's Science Hill are ready for students to return for school. The tree sitters say that their presence is more important than ever since the Santa Cruz City Council settled their lawsuit with the University. The settlement gives the City Council's blessing for UCSC to begin the first phase of their construction plan that will eventually destroy 120 acres of forest and add at least 4,500 new students to the area.

Starting on Friday September 6th, U.C. Berkeley's Memorial Oak Grove started being cut down. A single line of trees was left along the road as an aesthetic screen. As of Monday morning, all of the trees that the University plans to cut were down except for a redwood that still has four tree sitters in it. Five people were arrested as they peacefully pleaded with arborists not to destroy the trees. Tree-sitters fought for the trees for 21 months. Some regarded the Memorial Oak Grove as a sacred place to Native American people. The California Native Plant Society CNPS stated that the Memorial Oak Grove was "an important gene bank for the Coast Live Oak." Read More With Photos | UC Berkeley commits 1st hate crime against WWI Veterans | UC Berkeley Begins Destruction of Berkeley Oak Grove and Shell Mound Site

On Thursday August 21st, the University of California cut off branches from trees used by tree-sitters. Limbs were cut off of two or more oak trees in the middle of the grove. The extractors then used a large crane with four people in a basket and cut down two five gallon jugs of water, several bags of food, other gear. They almost succeeded in cutting down one of the platforms but were prevented from doing so by those in the trees.

Eureka, CA-Community residents and forest activists from the redwood region and far beyond Humboldt County in Northern California, were relieved and elated as news spread of an unprecented commitment by Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC) owners of what was Maxxam/PL land to spare the Nanning Creek and Fern Gully ancient groves where tree-sits have been keeping chain saws at bay. The message was delivered directly to tree-sitters and included a commitment to further protect from future cutting all old growth 250 years old or more. More | Audio

Your Local Portland Independent Media Was There In Support of Pitchfork Rebellion and in documenting the opposition to WOPR As one would hope ...there were no problems at this event....it was "all good!" In fact .... it was more than good ...it was informative and fun..... videos coming soon!

On July 22nd, Judge Barbara Miller upheld U.C. Berkeley's plans for an athletic training center in the Memorial Oak Grove. The order will end an injunction that had blocked destruction of the grove. On Wednesday, July 23rd, the Berkeley City Council will likely make its final decision about whether or not to pursue an appeal. Supporters of an appeal plan to meet at the grove at 3:30pm, march to City Hall at 4pm before the 5pm public hearing.

Opponents to I-69 shut down business at a Gohmann Asphalt site for three and half hours on Wednesday, disrupting the normal flow of operations, clogging construction traffic, and costing Gohmann several hours worth of lost profits. Gohmann Asphalt has been awarded a $25 million contract to construct the first 1.77 miles of Interstate 69 north of Evansville, Indiana, a road that will displace 450 families, destroy thousands of acres of farmland, forests, and wetlands, and contribute to the increasing exploitation of the global South through free trade. read more

In the recent week, attempts to bring food and medication to the tree sitters at the Memorial Oak Grove have failed. Three tree sitters negotiated coming down of the tree. One in a desperate need of medical attention.

Indiana June 24- Resistance to I-69 has been rapidly heating up in the past month. While the first protest camp set up was quietly evicted in early May, a tree-sit and occupation created in the path of a proposed onramp later that month lasted five weeks.

During that time, participants also built an elaborate ground camp, while simultaneously carrying on intensive organizing with local families threated by the road, culminating in a community picnic in Oakland City attended jointly by landowners and eco-activists. Exciting demonstrations and solidarity actions happened throughout the month - in Bloomington, Louisville, Maryland, and beyond.

June 20th 7am, Evansville Indiana -- In the early morning hours of June 20th, around 25 police officers from the Indiana State Police (ISP), Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Gibson County Sheriff's office descended on the scene of the anti-I69 tree sit, just south of State Road 68 in southern Gibson County (20 miles north of Evansville). Read More | Previous IMC-US Feature | stopi69.wordpress.com

During summer break, the UCSC tree-sit is on high-alert of a possible attack. In Berkeley this week, police, professional tree climbers, and cherry pickers were used to cut the climb and supply lines of tree-sitters. Similar techniques could be used in Santa Cruz to remove protesters who've been in the trees since November 7, 2007.

On Tuesday June 18th, Judge Barbara Miller upheld a temporary injunction preventing U.C. Berkeley from logging the Memorial Oak Grove. Celebrations broke out among protesters as the news was announced. The University says they will continue taking down tree-sits and it is not clear how long the Oaks will be safe.

On Wednesday, June 18th, a judge will decide whether or not UC Berkeley can go ahead with its construction plans, which include the destruction of the Memorial Oak Grove that is located on campus. If the University can proceed, then work, arrests of tree sitters, and cutting of trees may begin immediately. A candlelight vigil followed by a sleepover is planned for Tuesday evening. The judge's decision will be announced some time between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm on Wednesday, and supporters of the tree sit will gather as early as 9am for direct action, if necessary.

June 3rd, 2008 — Tre Arrow accepted a plea bargain at the Federal Courthouse this morning. Here's his message to everyone: A warm blessing to you all - i thank you for your support and for being here today. Some may look at this non-cooperation plea agreement as a victory. Some may see it as a defeat. It's really neither! It's simply another step in this journey as i walk my path of conscience. You see, it's never been about me. From before the days of the ledge-sit, right thru 'til today, this has been and will always be about the commitment to leave our Earth Mother in a healthier, more beautiful state then when i arrived... Read More | trearrow.org | Background: Cascadia Loves Tre Arrow: Outpouring of Support in Court Today

In the waning hours of Sunday May 18th, dedicated community members in resistance to I-69 set up a defensive encampment high in the trees above the farmland that INDOT [the Indiana Department of Transportation] and Mitch Daniels [Indiana Governor] consider the future site of the NAFTA Superhighway. Police immediately arrived to harass the treesitters and their supporters, but withdrew without making any arrests. They are now claiming that they will leave the treesit alone, and that road construction is not expected to reach that site in the near future.

Clearing for the first 1.77 miles of I-69, the NAFTA Superhighway, in Southern Indiana began in mid-March. If completed, the highway will stretch over 1700 miles from the Canadian border crossing of Port Huron, Michigan to the Mexican border crossing of Laredo/Brownsville, Texas. In Indiana alone, 450 families stand to be dislocated and nearly 10,000 acres of forests and farms are slated for destruction. The road is widely unpopular, with 94% of public comments to the INDOT opposed to the new terrain route. Concerned residents have vowed to never let them build this road. Press Release | coverage on WFHB Community Radio (Bloomington, IN) | Root Force report | stopi69.wordpress.com

On February 11th, lawyers representing Jennifer Charles requested that the University of California's lawsuit attempting to stifle her free speech be dismissed. Charles, a UC Santa Cruz alumnus, has been acting as the media contact for tree sitters at UCSC protesting the University's plan to destroy 120 acres of forest. The tree sitters have been protecting groves of redwoods since November 7th, when hundreds of people rallied in opposition to the increased University construction.

Today two activists were arrested at a rally protesting NW Natural's investment in new Liquefied Natural Gas(LNG) related pipelines. Activists converged on the NWNasty office with banners and dozens of trees to demand an end to clear-cuts for over 600 miles of proposed pipelines for new fossil fuel development.

... Piling dozens of trees on NW Natural's downtown office entryway, activists with Stumptown Earth First! and Cascadia Rising Tide, aim to send a message to the LNG-invested gas company: "There's nothing Green about Clear-cuts, No new pipelines." Read More | Related: February 6 Rally in Salem: NO LNG in Oregon!

Cave Junction, Oregon - Friends and neighbors with homes and businesses near Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property will rally at BLM headquarters, 3040 Biddle Road in Medford, on Tuesday January 8th at 11:00AM, come rain, snow or shine! The peaceful rally will address numerous issues and concerns that directly affect the economy, environmental health and quality of residents’ lives through-out the region. A bus load of residents from the Illinois Valley will arrive just before 11:00 am.

Opposition to the BLM’s Western Oregon Planning Revision (WOPR) process for 2.5 million acres of public forestland statewide has galvanized a huge and diverse alliance. Rally organizer and Illinois Valley resident Dorothea Hover-Kramer said, “At countless meetings, when we ask how many people live adjacent to or near BLM lands, all the hands in the room go up!” Hover-Kramer adds, “There are many new faces: vineyard owners, farmers, river and back-country outfitters, horse enthusiasts, restaurant owners, teachers, scientists and retirees, to name a few.”

November 20th: UC Berkeley has completed the construction of a second barbed-wire fence around the Memorial Oak Grove, costing $80,000, enclosing approximately ten tree-sitters inside, and can fine or arrest anyone acting "in concert" with the tree-sitters. It appears that UC Berkeley has halted plans to forcefully remove the tree-sitters and UC is hoping a "starve-out" strategy will force them down by isolating them from ground support, depriving them of sleep, food, and water.

Early in the morning of Wednesday, November 7th, activists opposed to UC Santa Cruz's Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) launched a tree-sit in redwoods near Science Hill. UCSC plans to develop the occupied site into a new Biomedical Sciences Facility.

One person was arrested by UC police early in the morning. Police surrounded the site, where at least 4 activists were 50 feet up redwood trees. A scheduled rally and march that began at 11am drew hundreds of supporters to the site. A tense standoff with police commenced, as supporters attempted to get close enough to the trees to send up supplies. Police pepper sprayed the crowd and at least four people were arrested.

The Biomedical Sciences facility would be the first project under the University's plan to develop 120 acres of forest in order to accommodate 4,500 new students. The Biomedical Sciences building will have no allotted classroom space, despite student complaints about overcrowded class sizes. But it will have room for live animal experimentation, which includes such practices as food/air deprivation, infection, and non-anesthetized surgery, according to campus guidelines. Read More

overview: A Story-Line of November 7th and Supplies Wish-List | update: Police Attempt to Infiltrate Tree-sit | related: Students at Fresno City College fight for free speech