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| Activists Re-occupy Trees and Challenge Pacific Lumber Climber's Liability Insurance; Week Two of Tree-sit Extractions Begins With Only One Tree-Sit Site Unoccupied and Cut For Immediate Release - Contact: Karen Pickett 510-548-3113; Remedy: 707-498-0601; Rod Coronado (707) 834-4604 Pacific Lumber spent considerable time and resources all last week trying to get tree-sitters off their land, but have not really gained much ground, since as tree-sitters have been removed, their trees have re-occupied by other activists. There were 25 arrests last week, several injuries to activists, and complaints filed by forest defenders with law enforcement about behavior and authority of climbers employed by the timber company, as protests of Pacific Lumber's liquidation logging continue unabated. Eric Shatz, a tree pruner and climber hired by Pacific Lumber to extract tree-sitters from the giant old growth redwood trees has liability insurance with Northwest Insurance Co. of Eureka for his tree-limbing work, but probably not for placing young activists in harnesses and lowering them up to 200 feet to the ground. Last Thursday, Shatz and two other climbers chased a young woman from her platform 130 feet up the tree to the very top of the thick-barked tree, about 200 feet up, where she climbed without a safety harness on, in order to grab her and bring her to the ground. At one point, Shatz told her, "If you fall, I will say it was a suicide." Observers concerned that Shatz is recklessly endangering lives in his contract work for PL are today bringing a video tape of a tree-sit extraction he carried out to Northwest Insurance. In addition to the liability problem of endangering the lives of young activists, timber company climbers are carrying out law enforcement duties, breaking up blockades, making citizen's arrests and sometimes using pain compliance holds, as Humboldt County Sheriff's Dept. look the other way. The tree sits are in the Freshwater watershed, east of Eureka, where local residents have long tried to prevent Pacific Lumber from cutting on steep slopes, bringing mud slides and stream sedimentation to this rural area on California's north coast. On Sunday, March 23, a large rally was held near the tree-sits to celebrate tree-sitter Remedy's one year anniversary in the tree. Remedy was on the ground in the crowd of over-100 at the remote rally location in the vicinity of the tree-sits, having been taken from the tree and arrested Monday, March 17 after 362 days without touching the ground.  << Back to Press Release Archive | Latest Press Release | Newsroom | | 
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