Tree-sitters in Arcadia removed, booked on trespassing charges

Four tree-sitters who tried to stop bulldozers from clearing a grove of oaks and sycamores in Arcadia were removed Wednesday night and booked on charges of trespassing, officials said.

The action culminated a daylong standoff between activists and Los Angeles County crews who were trying to clear out the 200 trees to make way for muck from a nearby reservoir. By nightfall, officials said, about 90% of the trees had been removed.

The four tree-sitters, two men and two women, were removed from two trees shortly before 8 p.m, said Kerjon Lee, a spokesman for the county Department of Public Works.

The four activists were booked into the Temple City sheriff's station.

Earlier in the day, actress Daryl Hannah was escorted from the site by sheriff's deputies after she had arrived to support the activists.

The Public Works Department, which owns the property, is preparing the site to take on 500,000 cubic yards of silt, rocks and vegetation from the Santa Anita Reservoir. The dredging project is part of flood-control efforts for foothill neighborhoods.

RELATED:

Trees felled as activists protest clearing project

-- Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Activist supports tree-sitters Wednesday afternoon. Credit: Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times.

Comments

[Robert Duncan]

It is unfortunate that our media have failed us in this and so many other stories. Nobody, not even the protesters in the trees, disagreed with the project to take the sediment from behind Santa Anita Dam and place it at this site. The site had room for the sediment without removing the trees. What you'll find in the EIR for this project is that the trees were removed to make room for future sediment storage from other dams and debris basins in the area.

It has been a very disheartening experience to watch our public officials intentionally misrepresent the issue to the public and to the media, and especially frustrating that so few in the media are willing to check the facts they are spoon-fed by government officials.

[Kimberly]

These four tree-sitter are getting trouble for doing the right thing saving nature. The police is gave citation to those who want to keep the trees that make no harm to us but are good for us in many ways. Polices have to realize that these people should not get in trouble for what they do but they should get acknowledged for their action of trying to save the environment.

[deepwater805]

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

[For Oaktrees]

May those who are responsible for removing those beautiful oak trees start experiencing and suffering pure hell in their personal lives. Beautiful Owens Valley came to my mind and that same department has killed that valley some time back.

[Ritesh Dhupar]

What a shame...This act of injustice toward nature shows how disconnected some are from mother earth. Because of improper residential planning, these trees have to be unnecessarily bulldozed? Even with this whole push toward education of this "tiny blue planet", people still take an anthropocentric view of nature. This 'emergency' bulldozing will most likely occur again somewhere else, and when that takes place then what? I guess we are not rational beings...animals perhaps? LA TIMES, if you can find the environmental impact report so we the public can see if everything was done properly, that would be great!

[SuperXing]

That has to be the worst excuse to cut down trees and arrest people I have yet to see.

[swimgurl]

It's too bad that they had to remove those trees and arrested people who were just trying to defend one of the few precious natural artifacts in the area. I wish this had been thought out more by officials.

[Firebird]

To FOROAKTREES sounds like you have been watching too many mindless earth day films like FAMILY TREE and FERNGULLY The facts is these wackos were tresspassing and dont respect private property and should be made to plant trees instead of sitting in them