tree hugger finds no love 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
This is a re edited version of a story I submitted previously now with more facts. www.lovearth.net/bethobrien.htm will provide confirmation.
April 13 2002
In the eagle creek forest a group of activists protesting the sale of the forest to loggers were climbing to their perch in an old growth tree to prevent its harvest when Beth O'Brien fell 150 feet to the snow covered ground. Due to the remote area of the forest it took rescue workers over 2 hours to reach her in which time she had already passed. The qualifying factor in this case is that the sale of the eagle creek forest had been canceled by sen. Ron Wyden 4 days previous to this event, a fact Beth was aware of rendering the protest unnecessary. This also begs the question," If a tree hugger falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
Submitted on 06/30/2002
Submitted by:
Casey Livingston
Reference:
lovearth.net/bethobrien.htm
More information from another submitter:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/04/13/treedeath.htm
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) A woman who climbed 150 feet up a tree to protest a
timber sale fell and died from her injures before rescuers could reach the
remote site in the Mount Hood National Forest. The timber sale she was
protesting had been canceled three days before her death Friday, 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 rescuers,
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.
Sarah Wald of Cascadia Forest Alliance, which organized the demonstration,
said protesters remained in the trees Saturday evening. 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.
Sen. Ron Wyden, 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.
Submitted by:
Kaylara
Reference:
lovearth.net/bethobrien.htm
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