Early Saturday, a man "Beaux" announced he had ascended the largest remaining Live Oak tree within the federally protected tract of Couturie Forest and stated he planned on staying up there for as long as he could. Beaux began livestreaming the destruction that was underway in the heavily wooded area that morning by the use of bulldozers and backhoes. Beaux posted over 40 videos of the construction on the WildIsFree livestream channel here: http://bambuser.com/channel/wildisfree.
The Second Line and Ceremony for the Trees of City Park took place to commemorate the demolished trees in City Park, especially a cypress tree that was cut down on March 24th after a protester ended his twelve day tree sit-in by being taken to the hospital after he fell from the tree. This peaceful event began at 1 pm and was described as follows:
On the morning of March 13th, Heart and Lloyd made home in the branches of an old cypress tree near Harrison Avenue in City Park.
Their brave action brought public attention to a space which has been, since Katrina, a refuge for people and wildlife, including coyotes and migratory birds.
The cypress tree the ecodefenders chose to nest in, along with over a hundred other various trees, had been marked for demolition in order to make room for a new and expanded golf course backed by FEMA money and private interest. This tree became a symbol of the campaign, receiving nationwide press under the banner #wildisfree.
Lloyd was on his 12th day in the tree when he was forced to abandon his post after a fall. Only hours later, while others concerned about the park's plans were in a meeting to voice their concerns to the park board, the tree was demolished in its entirety.
On Saturday we take to the streets of the park, to celebrate this cypress tree as well as all of the other trees in the park, the trees thriving, the trees slated for destruction.
We will meet under the wind chime tree at 1 pm, and proceed through the park to the site of the late cypress, where a ceremony and altar to honor this sacred space will take place. Bring musical instruments and things for the altar for the trees! Bands TBA
At Second Line and Ceremony for the Trees of City Park, about forty people marched peacefully across City Park, some playing instruments and others carrying a "Wild Is Free" banner.
Participants built an altar near the location of the felled cypress tree.
The procession then headed towards the location of the newly occupied tree.
John Clark described the events in a photo essay "COUTURIE FOREST DEMONSTRATORS CONFRONT THE MACHINE"
A citizen journalist documented the destruction site, noting that "This earth is just torn up. It's totally scarred."
The gravel path along the Arboretum Trail is not part of the construction site and is not fenced off (note: the Arboretum Trail is a trail that makes an approximately 2.5 mile loop around Couturie Forest).
Police arrived and told everyone standing on the Arboretum trail path, which is not part of the construction site and is part of a public park, that they were under arrest.
At that point, the procession ended and individuals dispersed without arrest.
Beaux, the protester living in a tree in the construction area, livestreamed his encounter with Sergeant Roberts.
"We are going to come and we are going to remove you. We're gonna get you down from there and you're gonna get to jail," said Sergeant Roberts.
Over the course of the day, news of Beaux's collection of livestreamed videos circulated, with reporters announcing the footage on Twitter.
Then City Park issued a press release with surveillance footage. Bob Becker, CEO of City Park claimed the protester was in possession of incendiary devices. Writer Jason Saul explains that Becker communicated the following statement via email: “The discovery of these incendiary devices has caused us and local law enforcement great concern for the safety of our visitors and the park itself.”
However, none of the images from surveillance cameras (STEALTHCAMS) show any incendiary devices, smoke, or vandalism occurring. One image is dated March 16th, which was the last night Heart occupied the initial Wild Is Free tree with Lloyd.
Note the lack of evidence of any incendiary devices in the image below.
Note the March 16th date on the image below, which does nothing but show that this event was photographed over a week prior to Beaux climbing a tree. However, the photograph was released with a press statement claiming individuals possessed "incendiary devices" and had committed vandalism on March 27th.
No facts to substantiate the allegation of incendiary devices have been presented by City Park, nor has a working definition of "incendiary devices" been offered. This sounds like a scare tactic and attempt to cause division among those united in resistance to the golf course development.
This warrants a discussion of the fence itself. The chain link fence that surrounds the City Park golf course construction area is covered in green tarp.
I have personally witnessed security and police telling people who go to the construction area that they are not allowed to touch the fence. Often, autonomous individuals who hear that people are living in trees go out to the fence to ask the tree-sitters if they're okay and if they have any food and water. For many, touching the fence seems like a normal thing to do since there is a green tarp on it that falls off in places and can be peered around without damaging the tarp. . For the past few weeks, law enforcement has stopped journalists, citizens, and legal observers from attempting to move the corner of the green tarp to see what is happening behind the fence. A camera drone has been used to document the destruction of trees and wetlands. The fact that people cannot see the construction that is occurring behind the fence has been problematic, especially since many allege that the construction occurring is illegal. As trees are bulldozed, City Park has spent thousands of dollars on private security detail to keep people from documenting or observing the destruction of trees and presence of nesting birds behind the construction fence. On March 17, a Sheriff's Deputy stated that City Park Chief Development Officer and Director of Public Affairs, John Hopper, had instructed them to prevent reporters from NPR, WWL, WGNO, and FOX 8 News from filming through the chain link fence. On that day, a corner of a flap of green tarp had slipped down, and police repeatedly pushed it back up to prevent news crews from filming the descent from a tree by a woman named Heart.
On March 29th, detail patrol from the Sheriff's Department claimed City Park had instructed them to prevent people from legally standing on the gravel road of the Arboretum Trail in order to communicate with Beaux. Police have repeatedly told supporters who stop by the area to shout support to the tree occupiers that they do not want people communicating with the tree occupiers.
Many who oppose the golf course claim that City Park is engaging in illegal unpermitted construction by bulldozing wetlands. If the construction is indeed illegal, as the lawsuit alleges, City Park is guilty of vandalism. These are not the only actions taken by City Park officials that need scrutiny. City Park officials - specifically Becker and Hopper - have indulged in scare tactics, directed the harassment of protesters and journalists including police shining spotlights on them for hours, orchestrated police intimidation (threats to arrest supporters of tree sitters for just standing in the area outside the construction fence and 3/17 threats to forcibly remove the tree sitters from the tree by a fire truck) and interference with freedom of the press.
On March 29th two Sheriff Deputy officers working detail told me they were in the area of Couturie Forest to make sure the fence was not tampered with. On March 29th and March 22nd, a Fess Security Officer claimed his job was to make sure the fence was not "compromised." This security officer laughed at supporters on March 29th and claimed he was there to make sure they did not communicate with Beaux by shouting into the trees (it is not illegal to communicate with someone in a tree). The security officer, who refused to provide his name, then drove a truck towards individuals gathered on the Arboretum Trail, forcing them to exit the trail onto Harrison Circle, before he drove his truck recklessly and above the speed limit while accompanied by a sheriff's deputy (Powell) who claimed citizens are not allowed to film the police. See video: http://bambuser.com/v/5389868#t=572s
The instruction the detail police at City Park are receiving requires review, as they are violating the civil rights of peaceful demonstrators, journalists, and individuals just walking around in the area.
The alleged amount of repairs Becker claims protesters have cost City Park should also be reviewed carefully, as the green tarp which only exists to block one's view of the construction is not a necessity. The green tarp on the chain link fence is not required for safety and serves no functional construction purpose. The only purpose that green tarp serves is to prevent people seeing the destruction of wetlands. One cannot help but theorize that City Park is trying to hide construction many consider to be illegal. The legality of the demolition is up to a federal judge to decide now that the lawsuit has been filed.
Growing speculation has occurred regarding "Wild Is Free" and whether this is a group of people, and who this group is. "Wild Is Free" was a phrase on a banner that the first tree occupiers (Lloyd and Heart) displayed on the cypress tree beginning on March 13, 2015. This same banner now hangs in the tree occupied by Beaux. Many individuals, including this writer, have used the hashtag #WildIsFree to document the activities going on around the construction area. To claim that anyone using this hashtag is part of a group whose members possess "incendiary devices" and commit "vandalism" is negligent on the part of the press. City Park for Everyone Coalition has made it clear that they are not condoning direct action, and it appears this has caused any individuals participating in protesting to be labeled part of "wild is free."
Benjamin Alexander-Bloch's assertion that "Two groups have formed in opposition to the project - the coalition and another group, Wild is Free, which appears to be a looser collection of individuals and often uses the #wildisfree on Twitter" requires clarification. There are not simply two groups, one that is the coalition and one that is "Wild is Free." There are numerous autonomous individuals who go out to the construction area and support the tree protesters because they find the tree protesters inspiring, and many of these people are not members of the coalition and do not consider themselves members of a group Becker is accusing of vandalism. The hashtag is at times being used (by some) to document events that are occurring in and around the construction area. It is my sincere hope that journalists will fact-check all allegations made by City Park et al, especially those related to this latest attempt by City Park to criminalize protest.
Hopefully, responsible reporters will demand Becker provide evidence to support his claim that one protester possessed "incendiary devices." During the time I have been documenting the activities around the construction area of City Park, I have not seen smoke bombs, flares, fireworks, or any illegal "incendiary devices." If Becker is referring to matches or a cigarette, he needs to make this clear. Those who oppose the golf course oppose it out of respect for and desire to protect the wetlands and nature and have shown no desire to damage it with any "incendiary devices."
It's obvious City Park's CEO does not want people knowing about the construction going on. Why Becker and the City Park board have gone to such lengths to keep the destruction of wetlands from the public is the question journalists need to ask relentlessly.
Photograph of uprooted tree in construction area.
Note: the photograph above was taken by a drone that flew over the construction area. The photograph was posted on the City Park for Everyone Coalition Facebook page. Someone flew a drone over Couturie Forest because it's impossible to see through the fence and photograph trees being ripped out of the ground. This photograph has been tweeted repeatedly with the #wildisfree hashtag. It's been tweeted by people who have never seen the drone and are not responsible for the drone but wanted to know what was going on behind that fence. The drone is not a member of any loose group called "wild is free" but was able to photograph what the public cannot see because of the green tarp on the fence.
I will continue to document forms of resistance to the golf course. While some may feel that autonomous individuals must be labeled as group members, I do not feel that way. I will continue to use the #WildIsFree hashtag to document a) resistance to the golf course happening around the construction area, b) photos taken by aerial drones, c) police harassment of any supporters of tree protesters. Please do not assume that any people, places, things I tweet are necessarily members of a group just because I'm using a hashtag. People across the nation have been following this golf course story, and I've used the #wildisfree hashtag in tweets about the coalition, about the tree sitters, about nature, about police harassing supporters of the tree sitters, about art that celebrates nature, about just about anything related to not wanting the golf course.
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