Officials look to carefully uproot Berkeley tree-sitters

BERKELEY, Calif. -- UC Berkeley officials have won the legal right to oust tree-sitters who’ve been standing in the way of a new sports center for nearly a year.

But how do you uproot a tree-sitter in one of America’s most politically correct cities?

“Extremely difficult,” acknowledges campus spokesman Dan Mogulof.

Plenty of people have suggestions: Fire hoses, skunk spray and tranquilizer darts are among the thorny ideas Internet posters have planted.

So far, the university has moved cautiously during the standoff, which began Dec. 2. The root cause was the university’s decision to chop dozens of evergreen coast live oaks to build a $125 million sports training facility, intended mainly for California Golden Bears athletes.

Scuffles have broken out between police and the half a dozen or so tree-sitters occupying branches at any time. It’s unclear exactly how many protesters there are; many rotate in and out at night and wear masks, and they usually give false names. It’s hard to say how many are students and how many are activists unaffiliated with the school.

Although some spend few hours on a branch to show solidarity, others seem to hang out for days or weeks. Some trees accommodate several protesters on planks and tarps.

On the ground, supporters hoist food, water and reading materials in buckets. They haul out trash, excrement and other waste. Others keep an eye out for authorities, then tell tree-sitters -- who are trespassing -- to stay put for fear they’ll be arrested when they jump down.

Campus officials have put chain-link fences around the grove. University lawyers have told a judge they are considering pruning lower branches that hang over the fence -- eliminating the supply route for buckets.

Both sides say they don’t want a treetop confrontation in Berkeley, home of the Free Speech Movement of 1964, when students protested the university’s ban on campus political activities and touched off a national debate over freedom of expression. The city also is home to People’s Park, a haunt of ‘60s radicalism -- and site of a 1969 occupation by the National Guard on the order of then Gov. Ronald Reagan.

Last month, a judge ruled that university officials could remove the tree-sitters. But given the political sensitivities and physical challenges, officials have been unable to uproot the protesters.

“It’s not an easy thing to do, to climb into a tree, first of all,” said Doug Buckwald, a member of Save the Oaks at the Stadium, a group that supports the tree-sitters. “If you’re climbing up into a tree to try to wrestle with somebody and drag them down you are taking on a high level of risk not only for yourself but also for the tree-sitter.”

Mogulof declined to comment on what tactics campus police might use but said they were not planning “forcible removal.”

A ruling on lawsuits filed by the City of Berkeley, neighborhood groups and tree supporters is expected soon. The suits challenged the new center on the grounds it is seismically and environmentally unsound. (The Hayward Fault bisects Cal’s Memorial Stadium, which is next to the planned center.)