Protester Descends From Redwood

STAFFORD, Calif. — After living in an ancient redwood for two years, environmental activist Julia “Butterfly” Hill came back to earth Saturday, her legs wobbly after her sojourn in the towering tree she called Luna.

But she worked out the kinks then hiked--on bare feet--the two miles from the tree to a news conference.

Although Hill said she was sad at leaving her treetop aerie, “it was so cold and wet this morning, I had to laugh, because I was so thankful that I don’t have to sit through another winter.”

Hill, 25, who has lived in the tree since Dec. 10, 1997, to protest logging, reached an agreement Friday with Pacific Lumber Co. and promised to climb down from her 18-story-high perch, which is on company property.

She descended Saturday morning from the mist-shrouded treetops to practice walking, a skill she hasn’t used much during her time aloft. She had other new experiences to deal with as well.

“I haven’t sat in one of these in two years,” an emotional Hill said as she settled into a chair behind a small table covered with a purple cloth, a 4-foot redwood sapling in a pot on one corner and pastel roses among the dozen microphones.

She said she spent a lot of time wondering “how am I going to take this experience with me and remain centered in love, no matter what.”

She alternately cried and laughed, covering her face with her hands at times.

“There is no way to be in the presence of these ancient beings and not be affected,” she said.

Pacific Lumber representatives did not attend the news conference.

In the agreement, Hill and her supporters pledged to pay $50,000 to Pacific Lumber to make up for lost logging revenue. The firm agreed to spare Hill’s redwood and a 2.9-acre buffer zone around it. The company will give the $50,000 to Humboldt State University for forestry studies.