Tree Sitter Dies in Platform Fall
Sat Apr 13, 4:28 PM ET
By ANDREW KRAMER, Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A tree sitter in the Mount Hood National Forest fell 150 feet to the ground, was badly injured and died before rescue crews could reach the remote site.
The timber sale she apparently was protesting had been canceled three days before her death, and the protesters expected to leave the area within a week.
It took rescue crews over two hours struggling up snow-clogged dirt roads to reach the tree-sitters' camp after fellow activists 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, identified as Beth O'Brien, 22, of Portland, was unconscious but still breathing, Blanchard said. But by the time rescue crews arrived at about 9:30 p.m., O'Brien was dead.
She had unhooked herself from one platform and was trying to reach another by a rope ladder when she fell, Blanchard said.
Ivan Maluski, a longtime Eagle Creek protester, said tree sitters were days away from leaving the site after a three-year vigil.
About four people take turns living year-round in tree platforms in the area, Maluski said. After the cancelation was announced Tuesday, protesters said they wanted to see a final signed contract before they pulled out.
Another protester, who declined to give her name, said protesters were still up in the trees Saturday at Eagle Creek.
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 until the final paperwork was signed.
Tree sitters live in plywood platforms attached to the upper limbs of trees slated for logging.
At least two others have fallen in the past year. In June, one man fell in the Eagle Creek area but refused treatment. In October, another fell in the Tillamook State Forest and suffered multiple broken bones.
Sat Apr 13, 4:28 PM ET
By ANDREW KRAMER, Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A tree sitter in the Mount Hood National Forest fell 150 feet to the ground, was badly injured and died before rescue crews could reach the remote site.
The timber sale she apparently was protesting had been canceled three days before her death, and the protesters expected to leave the area within a week.
It took rescue crews over two hours struggling up snow-clogged dirt roads to reach the tree-sitters' camp after fellow activists 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, identified as Beth O'Brien, 22, of Portland, was unconscious but still breathing, Blanchard said. But by the time rescue crews arrived at about 9:30 p.m., O'Brien was dead.
She had unhooked herself from one platform and was trying to reach another by a rope ladder when she fell, Blanchard said.
Ivan Maluski, a longtime Eagle Creek protester, said tree sitters were days away from leaving the site after a three-year vigil.
About four people take turns living year-round in tree platforms in the area, Maluski said. After the cancelation was announced Tuesday, protesters said they wanted to see a final signed contract before they pulled out.
Another protester, who declined to give her name, said protesters were still up in the trees Saturday at Eagle Creek.
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 until the final paperwork was signed.
Tree sitters live in plywood platforms attached to the upper limbs of trees slated for logging.
At least two others have fallen in the past year. In June, one man fell in the Eagle Creek area but refused treatment. In October, another fell in the Tillamook State Forest and suffered multiple broken bones.
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