Yeah, 21 months. The protest began when Cal announced that they were planning a $124 million dollar expansion of athletic facilities just outside their football stadium. The tree-sitters decided the 42 campus trees had to be protected and have been living in their branches ever since. For almost two years, they've had their food and waste raised and lowered in buckets by supporters on the ground. In typical Berkeley fashion the Cal officials put up a fence surrounding the perimeter of the trees and allowed the protest to continue while litigation ran its course. Meanwhile, nervous Cal fans have believed that at some point Jeff Tedford would tire of the process and take a job somewhere else. But at long last, the protest is over.
Yesterday afternoon the four final tree sitters were removed from a single remaining tree. Meaning that when you go to Cal games now the primary attraction won't be listening to tree people hoot and holler in a language all their own from one barricaded tree branch to another. As if that weren't enough of a prize for the 2-0 Cal football team, fresh off a 66-3 beatdown of Washington State that no one noticed, they get to play Maryland this Saturday. Oskie the business bear is pumped.
Berkeley tree protesters climb down [New York Times]