Tree sitting explained

Tree sitting is a form of environmentalist civil disobedience in which a protester sits in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down (speculating that loggers will not endanger human lives by cutting an occupied tree). Supporters usually provide the tree sitters with food and other supplies.

About

Tree sitting is a strategy that provides a high level of public attention since it is considered to be very dangerous and requires highly skilled police officers to evict the sitters. Tree sitting is often used as a stalling tactic, to prevent the cutting of trees while lawyers fight in the courts to secure the long-term victories.

Tree-sitting was once a children's pastime. In the early 1930s, when endurance contests raged across the U.S., it became a child's contest for kids to climb into their backyard trees and, serviced by siblings and local businesses, attempt to win prizes for the longest sit.[1]

Extractions

Tree-sitters in trees claimed by Pacific Lumber in Humboldt County have been subject to forced removal by hired extractors. The practice started with a single extractor in the late 1990s but in 2003 Pacific Lumber hired teams of climbers to remove dozens of tree-sitters, particularly in the Freshwater area East of Eureka, California.[2] [3]

Most of the extractions in Northern California are done under the leadership of Eric Schatz of Schatz Tree Service, a well known professional arborist.[4]

In May 2021, RCMP forces in Canada extracted treesitters on Vancouver Island by flying a helicopter dangerously low above the trees and dropping ERT officers in the canopies or down on long lines to forcibly remove those occupying the sits. There was no communication, safety precautions taken, or research done into the stability of the sits prior to the helicopter landing. Until this point in time treesits had been extracted by girth hitching, shooting lines into trees, or waiting for those occupying the trees to come down.

List of tree sits

Some of the more notable tree sittings include:

US

Sweden

Australia

New Zealand (Aotearoa)

UK

Canada

Germany

Ireland

Netherlands

Tree villages

A tree village is an extension of the tree sitting protest, involving several tree houses. The "Fern Gully" in Northern California lasted over 20 years, ending in 2008 with agreement not to fell the stand of old growth redwood trees.[49]

Tree houses

In the United Kingdom tree houses have sometimes been occupied for a year or longer. One treehouse, BattleStar Galactica at the Manchester International Airport, held 12 people.[50] Such tree houses often have lock-on points for protesters to chain themselves to during evictions. Such tree houses have been used at Newbury bypass, Crystal Palace[51] and Epsom.[52]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Chapot. Hank. Tree-Sitting, Since 1930. The Berkeley Daily Planet. 26 June 2008. 2008-09-06. 2008-10-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20081004081806/http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-06-26/article/30396?headline=Tree-Sitting-Since-1930. live.
  2. Web site: Tree-Sitters Forcibly Removed . Gurnon . Emily . March 18, 2003 . Los Angeles Times . April 3, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200502010347/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-mar-18-me-tree18-story.html . May 2, 2020.
  3. Web site: Tree Sitter Coming Down . December 10, 1999 . CBS News . April 3, 2021 . August 1, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220801081236/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tree-sitter-coming-down/ . live .
  4. News: Walters. Heidi. Eric Schatz: Tree-trimmer? Monster? Gentleman? Fall guy?. 13 December 2011. North Coast Journal. 20 April 2006. 23 May 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100523061129/http://www.northcoastjournal.com/042006/cover0420.html. live.
  5. Web site: The Battle of Waller Creek . University of Texas at Austin . Architecture Department . 20 September 2022 . 20 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220920174129/https://soa.utexas.edu/work/battle-waller-creek . live .
  6. News: Rising Above the Environmental Debate . Fountain, Henry . The New York Times . June 18, 2006 . February 23, 2017 . July 1, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170701103735/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/weekinreview/18basic.html?_r=0 . live .
  7. Web site: Logging protesters say they won't give up . Freeman . Ross . March 6, 1995 . High Country News . April 3, 2021 . August 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200813205154/https://www.hcn.org/issues/30/857 . live .
  8. Web site: A new fight for old growth . Portlandtribune.com . 2009-11-09 . 2006-02-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060226225415/http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=18908 . live .
  9. Web site: Identity of Tree Sitter Killed in Fall a Mystery . White . Dan . https://web.archive.org/web/20040217020216/http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2002/October/11/local/stories/01local.htm . February 17, 2004 . . October 11, 2002.
  10. News: Trott . Ashley . 19 June 2008 . Tree-Sitters' Supplies Removed From Oaks by University-Hired Arborists . . . Independent Berkeley Students Publishing Company, Inc. . 13 December 2011 . 14 April 2013 . https://archive.today/20130414145943/http://archive.dailycal.org/article/101931/tree-sitters_supplies_removed_from_oaks_by_univers . live .
  11. News: Taylor . Matthew . Reader Report: Grandmothers Break Oak Grove Siege . The Berkeley Daily Planet . 27 November 2007 . 13 December 2011 . 6 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120406174724/http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2007-11-27/article/28556?status=3 . live .
  12. News: Bulwa. Demian. Tree-sitters act to save oaks at stadium site. 13 December 2011. San Francisco Chronicle. 4 December 2006. 7 July 2012. https://archive.today/20120707211411/http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-12-04/bay-area/17324020_1_third-tree-berkeley-law-balancing-act. live.
  13. Web site: Earth First! Humboldt . Efhumboldt.org . 2009-11-09 . 2009-08-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090802182538/http://efhumboldt.org/ . live .
  14. Web site: West Virginia Tree Sitters Halt Mountaintop Removal Blasting. 30 January 2012. 2010-12-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20101228063342/http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2009/2009-08-28-091.html. live.
  15. Web site: Treesit stopping blasts in West Virginia . Demotix . 30 January 2012 . 2 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150102025312/http://www.demotix.com/news/treesit-stopping-blasts-west-virginia . live .
  16. Web site: Suggs. Charles. Treesitters descend, threatened with chainsaw, $50,000 bail. Climate Ground Zero. 30 January 2012. 4 September 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090904162410/http://climategroundzero.net/2009/08/pettry-chainsaw/. live.
  17. Web site: Guttata. Clem. Tree Sit Halts the Blasting on Coal River Mountain (YES, AGAIN). West Virginia Blue. 30 January 2012. 8 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130608072735/http://www.wvablue.com/diary/5490/tree-sit-halts-the-blasting-on-coal-river-mountain-yes-again. live.
  18. Web site: Lannom . Andrea . Marfork Coal Co. Granted Permanent Injunction . WBOY Channel 12 . 30 January 2012 . dead . https://archive.today/20120701103334/http://66.118.80.206/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=101446 . 1 July 2012 .
  19. Web site: MARFORK COAL COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:10-cv-00069 DAVID AARON SMITH, et al., Defendant. In The United States District Court For The Southern District Of West Virginia Beckley Division. 30 January 2012. 14 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140514025152/http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/west-virginia/wvsdce/5:2010cv00069/64422/44/0.pdf. live.
  20. Web site: Moore . Catherine . 'Tree-sitters' take up residence to fight strip mining . The Register Herald . 30 July 2011 . 30 January 2012 . 17 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120117073950/http://www.register-herald.com/local/x1452096081/-Tree-sitters-take-up-residence-to-fight-strip-mining . live .
  21. Web site: Associated Press. Marfork Coal sues tree-sitters over state protest. The Charleston Gazette. 15 September 2011 . 30 January 2012. 22 November 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111122183603/http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201109152136. live.
  22. News: Dhillon. Matt. April 16, 2021. Last Tree-sitters Removed from Path of Mountain Valley Pipeline. The Appalachian Voice. September 15, 2021. September 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210915045144/https://appvoices.org/2021/04/16/tree-sitters-removed-mvp/. live.
  23. News: Hammack. Laurence. May 5, 2021. Pipeline opponents sentenced to spend day in jail for each day in tree-sit protest. The Roanoke Times. September 15, 2021. September 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210915045127/https://roanoke.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/pipeline-opponents-sentenced-to-spend-day-in-jail-for-each-day-in-tree-sit-protest/article_e946e87e-adbe-11eb-8380-bb77cccf83c9.html. live.
  24. Web site: Madsen Descends After Two Years in Mariah . Madsen . Nate . October 1, 2000 . Trees Foundation . April 3, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100504010048/http://www.treesfoundation.org/publications/article-49 . May 4, 2010.
  25. News: Yang . Maya . 2023-02-04 . 'Cop City' protester Manuel Terán shot at least 13 times by police – autopsy . en-GB . The Guardian . live . 2023-02-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230218154729/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/03/cop-city-protester-manuel-teran-shot-13-times-autopsy . 2023-02-18 . 0261-3077.
  26. Abstract in English of Daniel Helldén, Demokratin utmanas: almstriden och det politiska etablissemanget. Stockholm Studies in Politics. Stockholm. 2005. 2 June 2014. 9 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181209140227/http://su.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:197665. live.
  27. Web site: McIntyre . Iain . 2020-11-04 . Environmental Blockading in Australia and Around the World - Timeline 1974-1997 . 2024-04-06 . The Commons Social Change Library . en-AU.
  28. Web site: Daintree Blockade, Cape Tribulation to Bloomfield . 2022-09-20 . www.daintreeblockade.com.au . 2022-09-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172411/https://www.daintreeblockade.com.au/daintree-blockade-1983-blockade.html . live .
  29. Web site: Commons Librarian . 2023-12-22 . Campaigns that Changed Tasmania . 2024-04-06 . The Commons Social Change Library . en-AU.
  30. Web site: Perth Independent Media Centre . Perth.indymedia.org . 2009-09-10 . 2009-11-09 . 2011-07-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110726180937/http://perth.indymedia.org/?action=default&featureview=89 . live .
  31. Web site: 2011 . Still Wild Still Threatened – Styx Valley . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111227090546/http://www.stillwildstillthreatened.org/styx/styx-valley . 2011-12-27 . 2011-10-21.
  32. Web site: 2011 . Styx Valley Global Rescue Station . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20040803010908/http://weblog.greenpeace.org/tasmania/ . 2004-08-03 . 2004-07-24 . Greenpeace.
  33. Web site: Perth Independent Media Centre . Perth.indymedia.org . 2009-11-09 . 2011-07-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110726181317/http://perth.indymedia.org/?action=default&featureview=423 . live .
  34. Web site: Jerome . Perth Independent Media Centre . Perth.indymedia.org . 2009-11-09 . 2011-07-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110726181017/http://perth.indymedia.org/?action=newswire&parentview=122628 . live .
  35. Web site: Camp Florentine: About Camp . Still Wild Still Threatened . 13 December 2011 . 27 December 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111227024913/http://www.stillwildstillthreatened.org/camp-florentine/about-camp . live .
  36. http://observertree.org/ Miranda Gibson
  37. News: Australian tree-sitter ends 15-month protest after bushfire . BBC News . 2013-06-02 . 2013-03-07 . 2017-10-14 . https://archive.today/20171014042637/http://www.bbc.com/news/21698875 . live .
  38. Web site: McIntyre . Iain . Environmental blockading timeline, 1974-1997 . 6 April 2024 . Commons Social Change Library.
  39. Web site: Rampton, Sheldon . Sheldon Rampton . 2000-08-12 . When Helicopters Attack: A Near Accident Leads To Coverup . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20111016070631/http://prwatch.org/files/pdfs/prwatch/prwv7n1.pdf . 2011-10-16 . 2009-11-09 . Center for Media and Democracy: Prwatch.org.
  40. Web site: Copyright NZ Native Forests Restoration Trust . NZ Native Forests Restoration Trust :: Our history . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100125004104/http://www.nznfrt.org.nz/index.php?page_id=111 . 2010-01-25 . 2009-11-09 . Nznfrt.org.nz.
  41. Web site: M11 Link Road. Harry Cohen. 11 March 1994. 18 December 2012. Hansard of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. 27 December 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121227175001/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1994/mar/11/m11-link-road. live.
  42. Web site: BBC On This Day - 1996: Green groups join bypass battle. 18 January 2004. 13 May 2019. 6 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190506223316/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/18/newsid_2530000/2530307.stm. live.
  43. News: Plans for homes next to Worthing's Titnore Woods voted down. 16 March 2010. BBC News. 17 March 2010. 11 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230211131340/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/8570425.stm. live.
  44. Is Germany's Hambach Forest Doomed by Coal? . . 2019-05-13 . 2019-05-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190513203522/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/04/hambach-forest-germany-logging-coal-conservation-science/ . dead .
  45. Web site: Solidarity with the Dannenröder Forest Greenwire Deutschland . 2022-09-20 . greenwire.greenpeace.de . 2022-09-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172547/https://greenwire.greenpeace.de/solidarity-with-danni-forest . live .
  46. Web site: Mueller-Ruchholtz . Joachim . Meet the guardians of an old growth forest in Germany . 2022-09-20 . i-d.vice.com . 2022-09-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220920173136/https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/n7vaqk/joachim-mueller-ruchholtz-photographs-dannenroder-forest . live .
  47. Web site: EJOLT . Dannenrod forest occupation against highway construction, Germany EJAtlas . 2022-09-20 . . en . 2022-09-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172937/https://ejatlas.org/conflict/dannenrod-forest-occupation-against-highway-construction . live .
  48. Web site: German police clear forest protesters for autobahn extension – DW – 11/10/2020 . 2023-02-11 . dw.com . en . 2022-09-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922041602/https://www.dw.com/en/germany-police-begin-clearing-forest-protesters-for-autobahn-extension/a-55557033 . live .
  49. Web site: Nieves . Evelyn . Last tree-sitters come down from Calif. redwoods . USA Today . 9 November 2014 . 23 September 2008 . 9 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141109160739/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-09-23-2743010178_x.htm . live .
  50. Web site: Life on the Battle Star (Do or Die) . Eco-action.org . 2009-11-09 . 2010-06-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100620082640/http://eco-action.org/dod/no6/battle_star.htm . live .
  51. Web site: Wiedel. Janine. Janine Wiedel. Eco Warriors. 22 December 2014. 22 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141222094642/http://wiedel.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Eco-Warriors/G0000ubmY9aKe.NM/I0000g.jzcqhQDjk/P0000sEQ5h1p56G0. live.
  52. Web site: Blamires. Diana. Judge allows eco-warrior, 11, to carry on living in protesters' tree house. The Independent. 22 December 2014. 27 August 1998. 25 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141225112020/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/judge-allows-ecowarrior-11-to-carry-on-living-in-protesters-tree-house-1174290.html. live.