Education

Saws Buzzing As Cal Begins Cutting Down Oak Grove

BERKELEY (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ― Chain saws roared through Memorial Grove Friday afternoon as the University of California, Berkeley began cutting down trees to clear the way for a controversial new sports center that inspired lawsuits and tree-sitting protests.

So far, four remaining tree-sitters in an oak in the vicinity of the felled trees had not budged.

University spokesman Dan Mogulof said UC officials want to make it difficult for the tree protesters to remain there, although they do not want anyone to get hurt or get into a confrontation.

Campus officials called on the protesters to come down peacefully.
 
Earlier in the day, arborists trimmed most of the branches from the Redwood tree occupied by the four. Campus officials also said that within three days, the university would no longer honor its agreement to ensure the tree-sitters had adequate nutrition and water.

The move came after the California Court of Appeal late Thursday denied a request from two citizens groups for an injunction barring construction of the athletic training facility after a 20-month legal battle. The groups said they planned to take the case to the state Supreme Court.

Mogulof said the university planned to cut down a total of 42 trees by Monday, some of which date back to the 1920s.

While the four tree-sitting protestors remained perched in a single tree near the Cal's Memorial Stadium, at least 50 supporters had gathered near the site to watch the trees being cut down.

Shortly after 5 p.m., UC Berkeley police arrested the leader of the ground support team for the tree-sitters, who goes by the name "Ayr."

A witness to the incident said "Ayr" was involved in a confrontation with a group of university students who supported removing the trees.
 
A much larger group of protesters has been in the trees at Memorial Grove since December 2006 when a UC Board of Regents committee approved the sports center project. The protest dwindled as the university racked up victory after victory in court against the city and neighborhood groups who had filed suit to block construction.

Mogulof said there were currently 70 oak trees in the grove next to the stadium and when the university finishes the work, 20 would remain.

He said the university would plant three new trees at the site for every one it removes.

Mogulof said the university expected that it would take two and a half years to build the new sports training center.

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