Tree Sitting

Tree sitting is a form of environmentalist civil disobedience in which a protester sits in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down (speculating that loggers will not endanger human lives by cutting an occupied tree). Supporters usually provide the tree sitters with food and other supplies.

Tree sitters have successfully prevented logging of ancient old-growth forests for months at a time, and in some instances have convinced logging companies not to cut trees in some areas. Sometimes, tree sitting is used as a long-term resistance strategy, with activists occupying trees for months or years at a time. On the other hand, tree sitting is often used as a stalling tactic, to prevent the cutting of trees while lawyers fight in the courts to secure the long-term victories.

When tree sitting occurs on private land, it is considered by some to be an act of trespassing. Some activists stand up to this charge in court, claiming a necessity defense – that the harm done by trespassing is negligible compared to the potential harm to the environment caused by the proposed logging. Sometimes logging companies will hire tree climbers to remove trespassers sitting in trees. Although it's argued that it is the companies' legal right to do so, some tree sitters are suing Pacific Lumber to challenge this practice. Most tree sitting in California occurs on private land. In Oregon, where there are more logging projects on public land (National Forests and BLM lands), tree sitting is usually not trespassing but tree sitters can be fined for violating closure orders or camping limits, or for erecting illegal structures.