Tree Sitter Dies in Platform Fall-article/statement

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source - "gumbycascadia" <gumbycascadia@yahoo.com - Sun, 14 Apr 2002

Treesitter's Death: Statement from CFA

Cascade Forest Alliance (Oregon) Statement 

Last night 22 year old Beth O'Brien (known by friends as Horehound)
died in a fall from a tree sit at Eagle Creek. We are a community
shocked and saddened by Beth's tragic death.

Years of community efforts, heralded by direct action, have protected
the Eagle Creek area thus far. Beth's death came as we were preparing
to take down the tree sits upon receipt of a signed legally binding
contract canceling the sales. This document is expected to be signed
by the Bush Administration early next week.

Tree-sitting is a risk taken to protect our remaining native forest
from destruction. It is a tragedy that such risks must be taken.
While we recognize the dangers inherent in tree-sitting, we take
safety seriously. Tree-sitters and tree-climbing trainers are taught
the best safety available and constantly stress the importance of
conveying safety protocols to others. This tragic accident results
because communities must risk their lives to protect their land.

The timeline of events leading to the accident are as follows. For
two hours Beth and two companions snow shoed into the area with
supplies. At 7pm, after climbing to a height of 150 feet Beth fell
from a rope ladder between platforms. She did not use a safety
connection that was available. She survived the impact. Emergency
services were called by cell phone immediately. First responders did
not arrive on the scene until two and-one-half hours later. She was
pronounced dead upon examination.

We view Beth's death in a tradition of courageous action to defend
life that extends through decades of non-violent protest in the US
and abroad.

A candlelight vigil in Beth's memory is scheduled for Mt. Tabor City
Park tomorrow, Sunday at sunset.

Cascadia Forest Alliance
PO Box 4946
Portland, OR 97208
http://www.cascadiaforestalliance.org


***********************************

Associated Press - April 13, 2002

Tree Sitter Dies in Platform Fall

by Andrew Kramer

PORTLAND, Ore. - A tree sitter in the Mount Hood National Forest died
after falling 150 feet from a tree she was trying to protect from
logging.

In a sad twist, the sale of timber the woman was protesting had been
canceled three days before her death on Friday.

Local rescue crews struggled up snow-clogged dirt roads to reach the
tree sitters' camp in the Eagle Creek wilderness area, east of
Portland, after a fellow activist called 9-1-1 on a cell phone at
about 7 p.m., Clackamas County Sheriff's spokeswoman Angela Blanchard
said.

The caller said the woman, who authorities did not immediately
identify, was badly hurt and unconscious but still breathing,
Blanchard said.

By the time rescue crews arrived at about 9:30 p.m., the woman was
dead, she said.

Ivan Maluski, a spokesman for the American Lands Alliance, a group
involved in protesting the now-canceled Eagle Creek sale, said tree
sitters were days away from leaving the site after a three-year
vigil.

"People literally are waiting for the ink to dry (on the cancellation
deal). Probably we're going to be packing up and leaving this week,
assuming it is signed," Maluski said.

Sen. Ron Wyden (news, bio, voting record), D-Ore., an opponent of the
timber sale, announced Tuesday that the U.S. Forest Service had
reached an agreement to cancel the logging contract after an
independent review determined the deal required significant
modifications to prevent environmental harm.

At issue was the problem of blowdown, or trees not intended for
logging being felled by winds on the edge of areas where cutting was
planned. The Forest Service said tree sitters didn't influence the
decision.

The Forest Service and the timber company, Vanport Manufacturing,
agreed to cancel the deal, but tree sitters said they would remain in
the woods until the final paperwork was signed.

Tree sitters live in plywood platforms attached to the upper limbs of
trees slated for logging.


 
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