UC Berkeley tree-sitters end their protest
Four men come down from a redwood after reaching an agreement to end the long-running protest. Campus Police Chief Victoria Harrison negotiated with them while dangling in a basket lifted by a crane.
Ben Margot / Associated Press
BERKELEY--Four tree-sitters ended their long-running protest over the planned construction of a new athletic facility on the UC Berkeley campus today, agreeing to end their occupation of a 90-foot redwood after reaching an agreement with university officials.
The protesters surrendered to police after scaffolding erected by university workers reached near the top of the redwood, the only tree remaining in a grove next to Memorial Stadium. More than 40 trees on the site have been removed since Thursday, when a state appeals court sided with the university and said it could proceed with plans to build a training facility for athletes on the 1.5-acre site.
For 21 months, protesters have tried to prevent destruction of the grove, saying it is one of the few natural areas on the campus. But the tree-sitters surrendered about 1:30 p.m., after supporters announced they had reached an agreement with the university that will allow the community more say in land-use decisions by the campus.
Tree protest: A caption accompanying a photograph in Wednesday's Section A of protesters perched in a tree at UC Berkeley said the demonstrators were students at the university. None of the protesters were UC Berkeley students.
Hundreds of onlookers watched, many of them cheering, as the four men surrendered, coming down to a platform on top of the newly erected scaffold. They were handcuffed and escorted down the steps of the scaffolding to the ground, where they were taken away by police.
richard.paddock@latimes.com
