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Calif.'Tree Sitters' face Criminal Charges on Earth Day-Daryl Hannah & Ed Begley Jr. lend Support
- nancyt3, CNN iReport producer
In Los Angels, California a Press Conference was held outside of D.A. Steve Cooley's downtown office. Actress Daryl Hannah and Ed Begley Jr. came out to offer their support.
Four "tree sitters", also known as Arcadia 4, were arrested while trying to stop the destruction of the last remaining woodland habitat, at the mouth of Big Santa Anita Canyon in Arcadia, California.
On January 12th, 2011, LA County Dept. of Public Works, (DPW), destroyed 11 acres of Arcadia Woodlands. The purpose of the DPW's destruction of this old growth forest was to make room for a sediment disposal site. Protestors joined forces to try and stop this unnecessary destruction of old growth trees.
The Arcadia 4; John Quigley, Julia Jaye Posin, Travis Jochimsen, and Andrea Bowers were all arrested and brought to the LA. county jail "on a watch commanders hold" Quigley stated. They were held overnight. They are being prosecuted by D.A. Steve Cooley and charged on many counts, including trespassing, & resisting arrest.
Julia Posin described their efforts that day: "As a last act of defense, four of us climbed into 11 plus acres of old growth forest in hopes of protecting these sacred woodlands" They remained in the trees for over 16 hours. "We watched the entire forest be decimated" she said.
A real life AVATAR, the destruction could not be stopped. With an ironic twist, the Arcadia 4 will go to their pre trail on Friday April 22, which happens to be EARTH DAY.While many people will plant a tree in honor of Earth Day others feel the need to protect the trees that are already here.
Begley Said, "These people are heroes. We should stop prosecuting people who, for the greater good, have taken this heroic stand to protect those trees"
The press Conference was also held to draw public attention to 5 other endangered wildlands in Southern California. The protestors are hoping that the devastation in Arcadia Woodlands will help stop the other wildland areas that are threatened. Immediate action is needed. Aliso Canyon is scheduled for May.
Other Areas Under Threat Are:
- Arcadia Woodlands-Remaining Fragment
The Department of Public Works (DPW) destroyed 13 acres of the Arcadia Woodlands leaving the remaining 10 acres of pristine woodland for future destruction as a sediment dump. The Urbanwild Network is working with Supervisor Antonovich to place a permanent conservation easement on this remaining woodland. The objective is to integrate this woodland with a fully restored “Lower Sediment Placement Site” once the Santa Anita Dam Sediment Removal Project has been completed.
To see pictures of the remaining fragment of the Arcadia Woodlands go to:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Camadile/ArcadiaWoodlandsRemainingFragment#<file://localhost/Camadile/ArcadiaWoodlandsRemainingFragment>
- Hahamonga Watershed Park (HWP), Pasadena
The HWP is a large reservoir basin located behind the Devil’s Gate Dam in Pasadena and is overlooked by JPL at the north end of the basin. HWP contains the world’s first Frisbee Golf Course, an equestrian center, oak covered picnic areas and a large basin filled with black willows and sediment that has washed down from the San Gabriel Mountains. The DPW has done little, if any, sediment maintenance at this site since 1993. The DPW wanted to use the two-year old Station Fire emergency declaration (and FEMA funds) to scrape out the reservoir basin and the Willows with no public input. LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich recently passed a motion to require the DPW to obtain an environmental Impact Report (EIR) at the urging of the Urbanwild Network. This EIR process will start soon and it is hoped that with public input, the natural environment within the basin can be enhanced with a carefully considered sediment removal program.
To see pictures of the Hahamonga Watershed Park go to:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Camadile/HahamongaJan292011#<file://localhost/Camadile/HahamongaJan292011>
- La Tuna Canyon
La Tuna Canyon cuts through the Verdugo Mountains from Montrose to Burbank. The DPW owns an entire tributary canyon consisting of three forks situated at the upper end of La Tuna Canyon. This Canyon, which is visible from La Tuna Canyon Road, contains over sixty mature oak trees and some historic cabin sites. The DPW was planning to wipe out this pristine urban wilderness to create a new sediment dump under the same “Emergency Declaration” as they were using at the HWP. On a recent hike into this beautiful canyon, it was discovered that the DPW had already hammered “Death Tags” into all of the resident oak trees. These are the same death tags used to identify the doomed oaks within the Arcadia Woodlands.
This is a fascinating case of “loving” nature to death. A powerful coalition of water districts and government agencies is attempting to build a $22 million taxpayer funded water museum and huge parking lot within this untouched natural area. This project is intended to benefit water district executives and agency officials who seem to believe that the destruction of nature is necessary to teach children to value it.
For more information on how to support the wildlands please go to:
La Tuna Canyon cuts through the Verdugo Mountains from Montrose to Burbank. The DPW owns an entire tributary canyon consisting of three forks situated at the upper end of La Tuna Canyon. This Canyon, which is visible from La Tuna Canyon Road, contains over sixty mature oak trees and some historic cabin sites. The DPW was planning to wipe out this pristine urban wilderness to create a new sediment dump under the same “Emergency Declaration” as they were using at the HWP. On a recent hike into this beautiful canyon, it was discovered that the DPW had already hammered “Death Tags” into all of the resident oak trees. These are the same death tags used to identify the doomed oaks within the Arcadia Woodlands.
To see photos of the La Tuna Canyon Site go to:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Camadile/LaTunaCanyonProposedSedimentDumpSite342011#<file://localhost/Camadile/LaTunaCanyonProposedSedimentDumpSite342011>
To see a map of the DPW proposed sediment dump in La Tuna Canyon go to:
- Whittier Narrows Natural Area
This is a fascinating case of “loving” nature to death. A powerful coalition of water districts and government agencies is attempting to build a $22 million taxpayer funded water museum and huge parking lot within this untouched natural area. This project is intended to benefit water district executives and agency officials who seem to believe that the destruction of nature is necessary to teach children to value it.
For more information about the threat to the Whittier Narrows Natural Area visit:
- Aliso Canyon Park, granada Hills
The City of Los Angeles is planning large development in Aliso Canyon Park that will destroy its natural character and its wild life. The project will cause not only environmental damage, but also pollution, congestion,and potential run off. The wild life we see in the canyon will be adversely affected by this development, making their only source of water more polluted and difficult to get to. The proposed development will destroy the beautiful and pleasant surroundings with buildings, bridges and parking lots and other intrusive trails to the extreme detriment of the natural environment.
For more information on how to support the wildlands please go to:
- TAGS:
- arcadia_woodlands,
- earth_day,
- ed_begley_jr,
- old_growth,
- environment,
- california,
- breaking_news,
- daryl_hannah
- GROUPS:
- News
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