Arcadia Tree-Sitters to Be Punished on Earth Day; Daryl Hannah, Ed Begley Fight Further Avatar-ization of SoCal Forests

By Simone Wilson Tue., Apr. 19 2011 at 1:10 PM

Saving the L.A. County woodlands: Hot.

In an ironic "F you" to Mother Nature and her gutsiest allies, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley is calling the four tree-sitters who (unsuccessfully) attempted to block a woodland wipeout in Arcadia this January to court this Friday. Here's the clincher: Friday is Earth Day.

Of all days to punish someone for loving the Earth too much...

Daryl Hannah, a big celebrity force behind the SoCal environmental movement, stood up at a downtown L.A. press conference this morning to scold Cooley for scolding the sitters. Her statement:

"The explosive population growth in LA has led to very few remaining wild open spaces. Residents of these communities deeply treasure these gems as evidenced by the community of Arcadia, which was devastated by the destruction of the Arcadia Woodlands. 250 old growth oaks and sycamores in the last remaining flatland woodlands in the San Gabriel Valley were unnecessarily bulldozed by the [Department of Public Works] for a sediment pit. DPW had other options that made more sense. Despite heroic efforts by the Arcadia 4 and legal battles from the community the DPW chose destruction anyway. Countywide there are several more eco-systems in imminent jeopardy. I urge everyone to get informed and lend support to Urban Wild Network's efforts to protect these areas."

We listed the endangered areas yesterday; They include whatever sad patch remains of the Arcadia forest; a tranquil reservoir in Pasadena; the old oak-heavy La Tuna Canyon; a picturesque river spot along the Whittier Narrows and a woodsy park in Granada Hills popular for hikers and bikers.

Unlike in Arcadia, the tough outback community of La Tuna may have the tree-huggin' manpower it takes to stop the DPW bulldozers before it's too late. The city meeting last night was attended by over 100 activists, according to the Poetic Plantings Blog -- and they've got a much roomier environmental-review period to work with.

Arcadia opposition leader Camron Stone photo-documents the La Tuna site, where the DPW has death-tagged over 60 oaks (just like in the days leading up to the Arcadia tragedy) in hopes of dumping all the mud and debris left over from the Station Fire. A preview:

via Flickr

Old-Hollywood environmentalist Ed Begley was equally ticked this morning about the Arcadia 4's Earth Day court date.

"I knew that four of my friends were clinging bravely to the canopies of those ancient oak trees and I feared for their lives. Now, DA Steve Cooley wants to punish the Arcadia 4 to set an example of what will happen to any citizen that opposes the actions of a rogue government agency.
This has got to stop now!"

We live in L.A. County because here, foliage and concrete coincide for an urban pop life that's still grounded by the lush, life-giving Earth-stuffs that were here before us. Props to the Arcadia 4, and here's to a defensive push against the same fate for La Tuna. And not just because Daryl Hannah said so.

But her words of encouragement certainly don't hurt:

[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]

Tags:

Arcadia 4, Arcadia Woodlands, Daryl Hannah, Department of Water and Power, La Tuna Canyon, sediments, Station Fire, tree-sitter

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silk floral arrangement

a Tuna Canyon was being planned for upcoming events for nearly 50 years. I started with aerial seeding and ended with a few hundreds of plants to give a decorative touch to make it look a bit more natural and deceive Hannah Begley.

Neo-now

The whys and whats of the origins of the trees existence as seen from the point of view of precedence are an irrelevancy on a planet where more and more each year the human race is squeezed into living indoors to escape the ugly poison that the planet is being turned into outside our very windows. The trees were a glimpse of what was and of what needs to be yet again if we humans are to be able to be human on OUR planet. Any person with half an education and half a brain knows that western "civilization" is in an advanced state of the inevitability of collapse and that instead of going further into demise that we should rebegin again by rebirthing our civilization before it is too late. We need to become humans again and that can only start with moving outdoors onto a beautiful planet rather than to become further trapped indoors as the planet has become a cesspit from which there is no escape. The more we give in the more we move closer to the edge from which there is no escape. Loser people subservient to those in power only prove that the greatest power on earth is the power of subservience. Fight now with daryl before it is to late....

Bobby Dias

La Tuna Canyon was being planned for the coming events almost 50 years ago. I started with aerial seeding and finished with a few hundred plants for a decorative touch to make it look a little natural- fooled Hannah and Begley.

Bobby Dias

Daryl Hannah and Ed Begley both are ignorant of the simpliest facts: the Arcadia Woodlands were planted by me in the 1950s, with the condition that the ownership of the trees and bushes stay with me and my giving the County of Los Angel a promise to appear in any court to stop anybody from interferring with the County of Los Angeles' operation of that property. I did that that in 61 of 61 court cases against The Nature Conservancy stopping them from interferring with the operation of the particular property of each case. Doing that to the juvenile Nazis that sat in a tree in the Arcadia Woodlands would have a duty and a pleasure for me.