Tree Sitters Delay Final Chop

Protestors sit in a redwood tree in Berkeley, California.

Photo: AP Photo / Jeff Chiu

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Tree sitters at the University of California, Berkeley have been living on high since late 2006.

Their goal was to save a grove of trees from being chopped down by the university to make way for a $124 million athletic center, according to the New York Times.

But Friday, a California appeals court sided with the university, and the school started chopping down more than 40 trees, according to the LA Times. Two trees were spared: one mature redwood, which will be relocated, and the tree sitters' home--albeit, it's been trimmed and the only remaining branches are the ones supporting the protesters.

School officials believed the two parties had come to an agreement over the weekend, which according to the NYT would have the protesters descend from their tree house in exchange for an increase in UC Berkeley's tree replacement program. The San Francisco Chronicle reported last year that the University had promised to plant two saplings and one mature tree for each one that's removed.

But negotiations have broken down, and university officials have cut off food and water deliveries to the protesters.

Now, workers are preparing to remove the remaining protesters. Their solar-powered tree perch will be dismantled, and they'll be brought down.

The school will bring in independent archaeologists to examine the site for artifacts before construction begins.

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