Tree Protesters Arrested
Wednesday, Jan 12, 2011 | Updated 8:40 PM PDT
Watch aerial video and ground clips from the scene of a protest in Arcadia.
Local oak tree hero John Quigley and three other activists were arrested in Arcadia Wednesday night after deputies pulled the four out of trees they were perched in to protest the planned felling of hundreds of oak and sycamore trees.
The arrests were uneventful. Quigley stepped onto a forklift and was lowered to the ground.
John Quigley, who spent 71 days perched in an oak tree in Santa Clarita in 2003 returned Tuesday, trying to save a grove of coast live oaks and sycamores being cleared near Arcadia to make way for a sediment dump.
Quigley climbed a tree near the Santa Anita Reservoir where the county starting clearing about 11 acres containing 179 oaks and 70 sycamores. Some locals call the old-growth grove the Arcadia Woodlands.
Sheriff's deputies negotiated with Quigley, trying to get him to come down this afternoon. Some earth-moving work and tree removals were apparently going on around him.
Other activists who want to see the grove preserved lined the nearest road and demonstrated the clear cutting.
Around 6 p.m. activists light dozens of candles to protest the pending removal of the trees.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors delayed the work in an attempt to find an alternative site, but last week voted to forge ahead on the recommendation of public works officials, who said failure to dredge the reservoir could cause damage to the dam's floodgates, which are critical for flood control and water conservation.
Sediment from the reservoir and seven catch basins will be spread over the site, according to Chris Stone of the county Department of Public Works, who said the as much as 250,000 cubic yards of material would be deposited there.
The Santa Anita dam helps control both the water and debris flushed downstream in storms. The Santa Anita Reservoir, last dredged in 1993, also is used to recharge aquifers that the cities of Sierra Madre and Arcadia use to draw drinking water. It now operates at a reduced capacity due to its inability to meet seismic standards without being dredged.
