Ride it down, continued

[Bullpine]

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March 18, 2003 at 2:55:34 PST

Timber Company Brings Down Tree Sitters
By RON HARRIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

FRESHWATER, Calif. (AP) -

Climbers hired by a timber company began removing the first of 18 tree sitters perched high in a grove of majestic redwoods, but those who remained in the branches pledged to save the grove.

The removals Monday began four days after a court-imposed deadline ordering the activists down. It was unclear when Pacific Lumber Co. would remove the rest of the sitters.

By 6 p.m. it was clear the removal of all 18 activists could take days. Pacific Lumber spokesman Jim Branham said only two tree sitters, who called themselves "Remedy" and "Wren," were brought down Monday. Climbers were scheduled to return Tuesday.

While she was led away in handcuffs to a waiting sheriff's patrol car, Remedy said her time in the tree - four days short of a year - was not as important as the tree's time on earth.

Remedy yelled "Thank you, we love you," as about a dozen supporters were escorted away from the grove by authorities. Three people were arrested on the ground, officials said.

A 23-year-old sitter who calls herself "Opal" said she would try not to abandon the tree she calls "Anastasia."

"I'm going to the top and doing the best I can to protect her," she said.

Last Wednesday, Pacific Lumber served the sitters with a temporary restraining order giving them 24 hours to comply. The sitters didn't budge, insisting the ecology of the region was at stake.

The activists claim aggressive logging and timber harvesting practices have filled local riverbeds with silt, raising flood levels to new heights and harming residents. Pacific Lumber says it has improved its logging practices over the years and that the activists' claims of environmental damage are without scientific basis.

On Saturday, company officials using bullhorns told the protesters they wouldn't pursue civil cases against them if they agreed to come down from the trees and reveal their real names to authorities. The sitters scoffed at the offer.

"These individuals have put themselves and others at risk through their actions," Pacific Lumber said in a statement released Monday.

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[Tom Dunlap]

I was told by a friend who met with one of the "Bounty Climbers" that he gets $7,000 per treesitter. That kind of money would tempt most anyone's standards.

My friend also mentioned how silted the local river has become from the poor logging practices. Cutting these old trees has far-reaching effects.

Tom

 

[Reed]

$7,000 for each person. Wow.

I wonder if advocacy of anti-topping concurs with acceptance of redwood protection.

The going rate for a death contract is $15,000. It kind of tells me that a person threatening to elements of foreign policy or possible testimony damaging to a defendant is worth only twice as much as a tree sitter. Those trees must be very valuable to someone's business venture.

 

[swampwhiteoak]

How does one find out the going rate for a "death contract"? Perhaps I should get HBO and watch the Sopranos more, I feel out of the loop.

 

[Tim Gardner]

Perfect opportunity to practice AR! I remember when I would beat the sh!t out of someone for a beer but 7k to "rescue" them from a tree sounds like a deal.

 

[TREETX]

Who pays, the timber co or the county that can't remove these tresspassers. Hince the climbers are bounty hunters. 7K a head. Time to invest in a tazer!!

 

[Stephen Wiley]

Grant Money

$7000.00

Not bad, wonder how much more I could get in federal grant dollars to do a study on the effects of someone urinating and defecating in a tree for a year.

Oh yeah, saliva studys, bark scuffing, noise pollution, odor absorbtion into bark layers, etc.

Hey!! I urinated in a corn field once. Wonder how much that affected the farmers harvest.

I suppose if I had special dollars from a special foreign interest paying to prevent the removal of old growth corn stalks. We could shut down the good old USA corn market too.

 

[treeman82]

Reed, are you sure that a contract is $15,000? I was quoted $50,000 to make somebody dissapear. I was talking with somebody a few years ago who needed help with a job... either said he was getting paid $10,000 or that I would get $10,000. Not sure though. Who knows? Who cares?

 

[Reed]

Yeah, $15,000.

That's for garden variety, home, preferably sleeping, then fire. It's an official thing. No weapons, no trauma.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

See this is why your loosing alot of work to overseas contractors, it cheaper anywhere else in the world to get someone killed.

Okay I am a long way from the action but dont those logs get sent overseas whole? where are the jobs in the USA from that?

 

[ORclimber]

Originally posted by TimberMcPherson

Okay I am a long way from the action but dont those logs get sent overseas whole? where are the jobs in the USA from that?

Everyone that works for the timber company from foresters to accountants. The contractors like road builders, loggers, truckers scarifiers, and tree planters. All of the people that the logs pass by on the way like inspectors, scalers, and longshoreman. Too bad they aren't milled here or there would be more jobs.