UC Fences In Oak Protesters!

Police have erected a fence to seal-off and starve-out the tree-sit protesters in the grove. Early in the morning of August 29th, police surrounded the grove and soon workers began building a fence. The trees are still occupied by a group of tree sitters and there has been no move to evict them yet. Supporters held a rally at 5:00 that day. An Emergency Court Hearing is being held on Thursday, August 30th at 1:30pm in Alameda Superior Court in Hayward. The court will consider whether the fencing of the oak grove is a violation of the current court ordered injunction.

Coast Live Oaks are the primary woodland ecosystem of the east bay and a central part of what defines this region. Several years ago, Berkeley passed a law that prohibits their destruction. Under the law, which is called the Berkeley Coast Live Oak Moratorium (.pdf), it is illegal to cut down any mature Coast Live Oak within the Berkeley city limits which measures over six inches in diameter at chest height. All 38 threatened oaks in the Memorial Grove would be protected from destruction under the Berkeley moratorium, but the University has stated that because UC is part of state government, it is “not obliged to obey local environmental laws.”

Save the Oaks